Encourage One Another

Today is the National Day of Encouragement...what a great idea!  I had no idea that such a day existed until I started reading the daily blogs provided by the website (in)courage. Each contributor has blessed and encouraged me every time.  I love the idea of a group of women with different giftings working towards the common purpose of glorifying the Lord through encouraging other women.

The website just celebrated a year of (in)couraging and a 30 Day giveaway.  I was able to snag some encouragement cards from Dayspring's new  Hope and Encouragement line from one of these giveaways.  (in)courage gave them away to encourage their readers to encourage others.  Of the ten cards I received I wanted to highlight one cards participant, my friend Kat.  Kat is the author of the blog Inspired To Action. And her blog does just that, inspires others into action.  Specifically Moms.  She shows you how to take an ordinary life and make it extraordinary.  She doesn't concentrate on crafts and recipes, she concentrates on your heart and fulfilling the purposes God has called us to.  I love it and I love her!  I pray the card I choose for her shows her the impact she has made on my life, although I am sure it will pale in comparison to what she has given to me!

Dayspring also offered a free encouragement card at their many retailers through today to also motivate us to encourage others.  When I went to pick up mine, my local retailer said I was the only person who had come to request one. So instead of offering me one card they offered me THREE packages.

My guess is there are anywhere from 25-50 cards in each pack.  I love cards, but this is too many cards for even me!  So I want to celebrate today with my very first giveaway!  Here are the details:

Two winners, with each one receiving one pack of the card image you see above.  You are free to share or send all of them out to encourage others!

You can submit one entry for each of the following, but in order to qualify you must leave a comment on this post for each entry.

Entry One:  Follow my blog, by selecting the follow me button.
Entry Two: Follow Kat's blog Inspire To Action
Entry Three: Follow the (in)courage  blog
Entry Four: Tweet this giveaway & include @jennilynncar in the tweet
Entry Five:  Blog this giveaway

Now truth be told I will have no idea if you complete entry two or three, but it will be up to you to follow the honor system.  I promise following either blog will truly be a blessing!  Giveaway ends Tuesday, September 14th at midnight CST and I will announce the winners Wednesday, September 15th.  Good Luck and go out there and encourage someone today!

"Encourage one another and build each other up."

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

Be blessed and incouraged!

Jenni

{live} like your dying....

{live} like your dying

Learning to live this every day, week, month, year and lately moment.

Life is fleeting.  Make a memory worth retrieving.

The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked."

Numbers 14:20

Christmas Cravings

I know, I know most people haven't put any thoughts towards their Thanksgiving meal, much less Christmas plans. But, I LOVE Christmas and because my family is HUGE , preparations are well underway! And just so we're clear when I say HUGE, I mean HUGE! My kiddos have 3 sets of Grandparents, 11 Uncles, 7 Aunts, & 10 cousins w/one on the way...that's HUGE baby! (That's just the immediate family!)

So planning for Christmas is a must. We live near most of our family and split the day most years. This year we are having three separate celebrations and I can't wait! What I can do without is all the hoopla centered around gifts. I shop year round for deals and typically have Christmas done before the summer time...this year it was Valentine's Day with the exception of the new baby! However, we are aiming for a homemade Christmas with the adults. Time and planning will be the factor if I can pull it off. I would love to share my ideas, but some gift recipients read my blog (at least I think so even though 'they' do not leave me any comment love!) .


Randy and I really wanted to try harder to emphasize Christmas being about Jesus and not gifts, so we mulled over ideas that would have greater impact. One idea was to purchase TOMS shoes explaining the effects of the purchase. TOMS provides one free pair of shoes for each pair purchased to kids in underdeveloped countries. I also read a post @ My Litter of Six, where Tiffany shared her idea of giving each child three gifts symbolizing the three gifts Jesus received from the Wise Men. I LOVE that & think we will start it as a tradition this year!

So, I wanted to share some sites that I thought were great opportunities to bring impact to your Christmas purchases.

www.tenthousandvillages.com
www.everytribeimports.com
www.tomsshoes.com

I also, would love you to share your thoughts, tips, & favorite Christmas recipes. So let's have it...share & share alike!

Compassion

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.
Loved this when another friend shared...in a time when we are preparing for Thanksgiving, there is no greater gift to give than to share our feast and bounty with another. If you would like more information about Compassion International, select the link on my page. I promise you won't be sorry, just thankful!