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! :)