Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Anniversary Giveaway!

July 3rd made one year for us officially on the waitlist for Easton.  

It also means we began this whole crazy adoption process two years ago . . . it seems to have flown by and crawled by at the same time!

These milestones are just that . . . not the end, just stops on the way.  Rather than lamenting how long the journey has been, we have the chance to look back at two years in process and one year on the waitlist and give thanks.  

If you look at any of the tabs above that give details about our adoption story, one thing becomes crystal clear . . . God has been and is at work for our good and for His glory.  

We have so many reasons to give thanks.  He {the God of the Universe} has spoken to us {an incredible thing that we often take for granted} in amazing ways to guide our steps, strengthen our faith, stretch our faith, test our obedience, and reveal more of Himself to a family who doesn't deserve to know Him at all.  He has provided every penny we've needed and blessings upon blessings that have gone above and beyond our needs.  He's been so close by the Spirit, through the Word, and through the Body as we've struggled in the wait, always gently reminding of His perfect plans that cannot be thwarted.

So we give thanks to the only One worthy and we continue to wait with much anticipation for the revealing of our precious son!

But that's not all!  We've got another major milestone happening this week . . .

July 12 is our 10 year anniversary!

I can't believe it has been 10 years.  I couldn't be more grateful for the man God chose for me, undeserving as I am for such a blessing.  I loved him when we got married, but I couldn't have anticipated the depth to which our love would grow in a decade.  Maturity, times of loss, times of great joy, kids, ministry, and most importantly, growth in our intimacy with Christ has created a love between us that is far greater, deeper, solid, selfless, and joyful than I could have ever imagined.

So to celebrate these two anniversaries, I'm doing a giveaway!

The prize is something that puts the focus on the root of why we have a thriving marriage 10 years later and why we have joy in the {long} wait for Easton . . . the Word of God.

There is absolutely nothing that has strengthen my intimacy with God and therefore strengthened every other area of my life like consistent, daily, worshipful time in the Word.  God has spoken, delighting to reveal Himself to us.  The Word transforms hearts and lives.  It is living and active, absolutely relevant to what we face in this broken world each day.  Through the Word we are equipped for every good work God has prepared in advance for us to do.  In the Word we are sharpened and refined, humbled and astonished by grace, strengthened in faith and convinced of Truth.  The Gospel is clearly proclaimed and this is a Gospel we need to preach to ourselves each day.

So I am obviously really thankful for the Bible, but my depth of love and gratitude has increased over the last few months because of one thing . . . memorizing Scripture.   

Having your daily bread in the morning is so good, but memorizing the Word is like having a constant feast before you all day.  

I can't even tell you how blessed I have been since I started memorizing in April.  Knowing the Word has protected me and sustained me, but has also readied me to be willing and able to share the Truth at a moment's notice.

I wrote a few months ago about the giveaway that I won with all the materials for a Scripture memory system.  It might not be for everyone, but I have loved it! 
 
{I'll give a basic explanation, but if you want more details you can go to my friend Shauna's blog which has a video with all the details.}



You have a box with a Daily tab, Monday through Friday tabs, and a tab for each day of the month {1-30}.  You write a verse {or verses, chapter, whatever you choose} on a notecard and it first goes behind the Daily tab.  You work on it each day until you've got it.  Then you move the notecard to one of the Weekly tabs where you'll review it once a week.  Once you feel like it is down deep, you move it to one of the Monthly tabs where you will review it once a month . . . forever!

So here's how it will look each day . . .

On the morning of my anniversary {Friday the 12th}, I'll work on each notecard that is in the Daily tab.  Then I'll review each notecard behind the Friday tab.  Then finish by reviewing all the notecards behind the 12 tab.

Make sense?  It is a simple system, but has been so good for me.  I need structure and routine, but enough flexibility to make me not get overwhelmed.  I usually have one longer passage and one or two shorter ones that I'm learning daily and I don't add another daily until I move one of those to a weekly tab.  I try to push myself, but not get so piled up that I'm jumbled and frustrated!

A big thanks to my friend, Mandi Eastwood!  She read my blog in April and not only got the materials for herself, but also got an extra of everything so I could do a giveaway!

So here's how the giveaway will work . . . Just comment on the blog or on my facebook with one of your favorite verses that you've memorized.  Easy as that!  I'll keep a list of everyone who comments and use random.org to choose the winner.  

I'll announce the winner on Friday . . . what a great way to start my anniversary! :)

18 comments:

  1. I just found your blog today and have enjoyed reading about your preparations for Easton. When you have him home and are ready to complete your readoption process we would love to help out. Damon has done this for another family and would not mind handling it for you to help reduce your costs. When the time comes just look him up at www.PourciauLaw.com. In the mean time we'll pray for your family as you wait! And Happy Anniversary!

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  2. Thanks Scarlett! You better believe we'll be contacting Damon when that day comes! You didn't leave a verse so I'm not sure if you want entered in the giveaway, but I'm putting you in anyway. :) Praying for us and offering to help certainly deserves a chance to win!

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  3. Isaiah 41:10 - Love y'all, and Happy (early) Anniversary!!

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  4. Jenny Fernandez: John 15:5 - Love you and so thankful for the great friendship I have in you. You certainly sharpen me.

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  5. I loved memorizing Philippians! But since I didn't keep it up I have started working on it again this summer. I might need to try this system.

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  6. Cole,

    I am memorizing all of Song of Solomon :). Just kidding, I am memorizing 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5. love you!
    Leah

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  7. I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy hearing Leah recite SOS out loud :).

    Romans 8:24-25 "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it."

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  8. Love you ladies! Thanks for the encouragement ... and the laughs! Can't wait to see who wins!

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  9. Been dwelling on Matthew 5:16 this week. "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." All for HIS glory!

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  10. I wish there was a way to "like" Leah's comment. That girl is hilarious!

    Probably one of my favorite verses memorized is Psalm 73:26: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." My commitment to memorize this verse was came as a result of a very trying period, but man, has it come in handy in other trying times that have followed.

    And I just have to testify that I have seen the fruit of this system in your life. Lately it seems every time we speak/email, you are recalling and sharing Scriptures like a snap of your fingers. It's been really awesome to witness. I'm excited for you. And if I don't win, I'm going to get the supplies for my own kit. :)

    Something else that helped me memorize Scripture was sticking it up around my house where I'd see it all time. I put Ps 73:26 right about my sink (since I've estimated I spend 67% of my life washing dishes). I made some cards that are easy to read and I uploaded them all onto my business blog. I don't use it anymore but the cards are still there if you're interested in downloading some: http://creolepaperie.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20Memory%20Cards

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  11. Thanks Tara for sharing the link to those cards! I actually just made Ava a smaller version of this same memory system {3x5 cards} to get us back on track with her memorizing too. The first thing she did when she got up this morning was to grab her box! And thanks for your encouragement ... I'm doing this giveaway precisely because I've seen much fruit in my own life!

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  12. I'm memorizing Romans 12 right now. :)

    And I'm so happy that I saw Scarlett's comment because now I know about her blog and can keep up with the Pourciau fam!

    Praying for y'all as you wait so gracefully.

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  13. Love this idea for memorization!

    I have recently memorized Joushua 24:15.

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  14. These comments are cracking me up!
    Fantastic idea Cole!

    "The Lord is my strength and shield, in him my heart trusts and I am helped. My heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him." Psalm 28:7

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  15. John 3:16-17, Its awesome to know that Christ came not to destroy us, but to SEEK and save us. There's an awesome notion to believe and trust that HE is actively seeking a daily relationship with me.

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  16. I'd love to like Leah's comment AND your comment about Ava's memory box -- each for entirely different reasons. The verse I am most grateful to have memorized this week -- I seem to be using right and left as people invite me into their relationships and struggles -- is Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;See if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way."

    I have a question for you memorizers out there. What translation do you use? Even as I started to type this verse that is so familiar to me, I ended up copying and pasting it from Bible Gateway -- I love the different words used to translate it in different Bibles, and I never can consistently quote it from just one. I'm that way with other verses, too. It plays havoc with memorization. Do y'all have favorite translations to memorize from? Or do you vary according to the verse? By the way, I used NASB for the verse above. It has most of my favorite words!

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  17. Christi I struggle with the translation thing too. Until a few years ago everything I memorized was in NIV, but now I use ESV. The great thing about this system though is that you can jump from translation to translation and it doesn't matter. Instead of practicing the verse from your one translation you read, you can just pick which translation has the most of your favorite words and put that one on the card!

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  18. I've memorized and been meditating on Psalm 119:92 this week: "If you law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction." So much encouragement for me in those verses.

    Thanks for posting this and for challenging me to be more faithful to hide His words in my heart!

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