And the winner is......

 AND THE WINNER IS..........

Elizabeth Buckner Hill!

YEA! 

Once again, a very official drawing was held, I have proof but the pics are uploading slow & I needed to post this while I had a chance!

Have a great weekend!

Blog Review & Give Away: You Were Made For This

I am very excited about this blogging for books review & GIVE AWAY!

First, let's handle the fun part.....Comment on this post to register to win a copy of Bruce Wilkinson's new book You Were Born For This. Be sure to include your name & email address so I can reach you if you win! Just like the last give away, this will be a very official drawing so make sure to have your name in by Friday (9/18) @ noon. What a fun way to start your weekend, knowing you will be receiving a brand new read!

I really looked forward to starting this new book. I am typically a fast reader but really had to slow down & take all of this in. That is not to say that it is an "over the head" book, I just wanted to make sure I was reading very carefully & digesting every bit. I must admit I went into the book a little skeptical. I tend to avoid books that seem like a sales pitch. In the past I have stayed away from books written by Christian authors that seem to much like an average self help book. I was afraid that this book may fall into that category. Not sure where I came up with that even before I read the book but just keeping it real!

Three questions that Bruce Wilkinson asked in the intro that held my interest & made me want to read further were:

"Why are experiences of the miraculous so rare for most people?"

"What if God wanted you to experience them on a regular basis?"

"And what if ordinary people like you and me are invited to partner with God to deliver them to others?"

I have often asked myself, "Why do we limit God? Why do we believe miracles were only a part of scripture as if the Creator of the universe would only multiply fish & loaves way back when?" 

Bruce Wilkinson shares personal stories of miracles he has witnessed. The part of You Were Made For This that I appreciated the most was Wilkinson's suggestions for sensing God's prompting or nudges, when He is calling us to be part of a miracle & how to respond. He also gives several examples of how we can be ready to respond to God's call such as when others are revealing to us that they are going through a difficult time, how we can be used by the Lord to bless them in miraculous ways. Most importantly,  Wilkinson is quick to give all credit & glory to the Lord. 

I would definitely recommend this book to others. I found it both challenging but also felt more equipped to respond to the Lord's nudges on my own life. I am excited about the ways He is ready to use me & pray I will be obedient to His call.

See the info below about where to find your own copy (that is if you don't win one here!)

www.waterbrookmultnomah.com.

One of the world’s foremost Christian teachers, Bruce Wilkinson is best known as the author of the New York Times#1 bestseller The Prayer of Jabez. He is also the author of numerous other bestsellers, including A Life God Rewards,Secrets of the Vine, and The Dream Giver. Over the past three decades, Wilkinson has founded several global initiatives, including organizations that recruited and trained thousands of Americans to address hunger, AIDS, and poverty in Africa. Bruce and his wife, Darlene, have three children and six grandchildren. They live outside Atlanta.

 

David Kopp has collaborated with Bruce Wilkinson on over a dozen bestselling books, including The Prayer of Jabez.He is an editor and writer living in Colorado.

Check out this video link:

http://bit.ly/wGT7l

 

1st soccer game

Jacob has been looking forward to his first soccer game for WEEKS! He was so excited that this day was finally here. All week people have been asking him how his first week of school has gone & he would say, "fine & I have my first soccer game on Saturday!"

Last minute pointers from Coach including a reminder about which direction to go

A water break & minute with Daddy

We forgot to tell Jacob that they would take "turns" sitting on the bench. He would have played the whole time if they had let him!

All of Jacob's fans

He made the statement a couple of weeks ago, "Mom, I know all the people that love me will be at my first game." We did explain that he had a lot of people that loved him but they might not ALL be there at the first game! He was thrilled with his fan club!

I told Jacob this morning that we will always remember this first game. It is hard to believe that this is just the beginning of MANY games of all kinds!

First Day of School

Today was Jacob's first day of school. 

Last year of preschool

Daddy was working hard at the church to help get everything ready for the first day in the middle of our church's construction project. This was our attempt to get Momma & Jacob's picture together while also keeping Logan out of the storm drain.

This was Logan after we dropped off Jacob & left. 

This was the way Momma celebrated our son's wonderful educational opportunities, thanks to my pampers points starbucks giftcard arriving just in time!

One skinny vanilla latte coming right up!

Fall is here. We are off to soccer in just in a bit. Jacob had a great day but is much more excited about soccer tonight!

Who knew?

This week I took the boys to the Mayfield dairy. I wanted to try and do a couple of fun things the last couple weeks before school started. This will be the last time that we won't start school after labor day since this is Jacob's last year of preschool. I really wanted to enjoy these extra 3 or so weeks. Well, then I spent a week of that pretty sick. (probably the latest flu scare...can anyone say oink, oink!) It always takes a while to get back to 100% after being down that long & our house is still not back to "normal" (whatever that is!) Moms just don't get sick days!

This is Logan wanting seconds!

Luckily I redeemed myself with the ice cream at the end. Who knew there were no cows at the dairy!?

This is the only cow we saw & you can see in the 1st picture, Logan was more interested in the trailer reflector!

You can see how cracked up I am in this picture. These were the hair nets we wore for the tour! Jacob & Logan looked thrilled! As one friend pointed out, at least this wasn't a field trip I had coordinated for his school!

Logan's first haircut

We took Logan for his first haircut this week. We waited a little longer than we did with Jacob. Looking back, I think Jacob's hair was a little longer earlier. A couple of weeks ago, Logan was in a yellow outfit & was called a girl so we knew we had to do the deed!

As with Jacob, I said "clean it up but save some curls." 

He was uncertain about what was going on. And then he quickly realized he did not like it one bit!

He finally stopped long enough to enjoy his first sucker! 

One handsome boy!