What's in the Bible Theme by Big J

Congrats to Beth for winning the "What's in the Bible" DVD giveaway!

In honor of her win, Big J decided to do a little singing for you...

A Beautiful Night

Last Sunday night, I was blessed in many ways.

First of all, I attended a Selah concert with a very dear friend (THANK YOU to my hubby for keeping the kids at home!), and heard the most beautiful voices and music live. Their arrangements of old hymns were gorgeous, especially "It Is Well With My Soul," which my hubby sang at his grandmother's funeral last year. And they finished it all off with "You Raise Me Up" and "Amazing Grace." I was in tears several times throughout the concert, but we also had plenty of smiles watching Allan play the piano! You can tell he loves what he is doing!

The second blessing was getting to see a friend who I go all the way back to elementary school with! Jess and I hadn't seen each other in years, but have kept in touch through our blogs, Twitter and Facebook. Didn't even know she and her mom would be at the concert, so it was a beautiful surprise! So good to see you Jess!

And the third, and biggest, blessing of the night was this lady...

Angie (wife of Todd from Selah) is a beautiful woman of God who has blogged her way through the heartbreaking loss of their baby girl Audrey. Bring the Rain has been a place of healing and inspiration for thousands of women and Angie was at the concert to speak about their experience. It was amazing to hear her share in person and cry along with her.

And cry we ALL did as they sang the song Selah wrote just for Audrey, along with a slideshow of the months before and hours after her birth - so powerful...

Angie claims she is not a gifted speaker, but trust me, she had a completely captive audience - crying, laughing (something about a deranged gopher...) and praising the Lord for His faithfulness and comfort - and for the little baby girl they are expecting later this year!

I had the privilege of meeting Angie afterwards and had such fun chatting with her - about our shared love for Seeds and getting to see each other again at Relevant in October!

If you haven't read Audrey's story - or Angie's blog at all, for that matter - I strongly encourage you to head over there now to see God at work in this beautiful family.

It was a beautiful night.

Birthday Giveaway #5: Stitches by Sara

Oh yeah - this is the FIFTH giveaway this week! You can enter the previous ones here: #1, #2, #3, & #4.

Sara, who blogs over at Happy Brown House, is a kindred spirit.

A former kindergarten teacher, she decided to stay at home after having her son. As a creative outlet, and a way to earn some extra money while staying at home, Sara started her Etsy shop - Stitches by Sara. You will find her crafting away during naptime and after bedtime! Busy lady!

Wait til you see some of the CUTE stuff she makes...

Personalized pillows...

Crayon rolls...

Market totes...

Coffee cozies...

And that's not all - key fobs, children's birthday shirts, tutus, monogrammed baby items, and more! All personalized gifts with a unique touch!

Did I mention she is hoping to go to Relevant as well? This is her way of earning the money to go!

In honor of Friday, the day of the week I most need some good coffee (Monday is a close second), Sara is giving away one of her adorable coffee cozies like the one she made for me...

I LOVE IT! Can't wait until I can go grab a cup of joe and use it!

How can you win your own? Leave a separate comment for any or all of the following...

-Follow Sara's blog

-Follow Sara on Twitter (@HappyBrownHouse)

-Follow me on Twitter (@homewiththeboys)

-Become a fan of Happy Brown House on Facebook

-Tweet OR post on Facebook - if tweeting, include the direct link to this post, @homewiththeboys & @HappyBrownHouse

-Write a blog post about it with linkbacks

And for three extra entries, make a purchase from shop :) The hard part will be deciding what NOT to buy! The more the better - get Sara to Relevant!

This giveaway will end Friday, April 2nd at 9:00 p.m. CDT, when the winner will be chosen by random.org.

Thank you to the lovely Sara for providing my beautiful cozy and this giveaway!

Happy Birthday to Me!!! Giveaway #4

It's a whole week of giveaways to celebrate my birthday! You can enter the previous three giveaways here, here, and here!

Yep, today is my actual birthday! {Insert your beautiful singing here!}

And what better way to celebrate than with ANOTHER giveaway from a fellow Relevant attendee?!

Megan, the blogger behind Half-Pint House, is good friends with Monica (from yesterday's giveaway) and together they are crafting their way to Relevant - trying to sell 100 items each!

So what does Megan make? These...

Her handmade zippy bags are major cuteness! AND they are monogrammed! AND each one is made to order by Megan herself! Like this super fun one she sent me...

I love the color and the details!

And Megan wants to put together a special one just for you! You can go to her blog to check out her ideas, pick the fabric (all 180+ choices!!!) you like and let her know the monogram you want - and help her get to Relevant!

Since I know you're going to go buy one for yourself, why not win one for a friend?

Oh yes, Megan is giving away one of these personalized zippy bags to ONE OF YOU!

So it's time to get your entries in and here's how (separate comments please folks!):

*Subscribe to Megan's blog - Half-Pint House
*Follow Megan on Twitter (@MeganDunham)
*Follow me on Twitter (@homewiththeboys)
*Tweet about this giveaway - please include the direct link to this post, @MeganDunham & @homewiththeboys OR Post about it on Facebook

*And for three extra entries, you can head on over to Half-Pint House and order a zippy bag!

This giveaway will be open until Thursday, April 1st at 9:00 p.m. at which time the winner will be chosen by random.org!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Megan for providing me a zippy bag for this review!

Birthday Week Giveaway #3: Easter Garland

Thanks for joining my Birthday Week Giveaway Celebration! You can enter giveaway #1 here and giveaway #2 here!

Monica is another one of the wonderful ladies joining me at Relevant and crafting her way there! I just love the name of her blog - The Homespun Heart - isn't that beautiful?!

Monica makes lovely "Names of Jesus" garlands for both Easter...

and Christmas...

We already have our Easter one hanging above our front window and Jeremiah asks me daily to read it! Love that! I encourage you to head over to Monica's post to learn more about the care and thought that went into creating these.

Monica is giving one blessed reader one of her handmade Easter garlands, just like this one...

And just in time for Easter! How perfect!

So how do you enter? Any or all of the following ways...

*Subscribe to The Homespun Heart
*Follow my blog
*Follow me on Twitter
*Tweet about this giveaway - please include @homewiththeboys and the link to this giveaway - OR post about it on Facebook

*And for three extra entries, order your very own garland from Monica - only 4 Easter garlands left, but Christmas garlands can be ordered as well!

At last count, Monica was only 34 garlands away from her goal - let's get her to Relevant! You can follow her progress and find out how to order here.

This giveaway is open until Wednesday, March 31st at 9:00 p.m. when the winner will be chosen by random.org. Please make sure there is a way to contact you if you are the winner!

Thank you so much to Monica for providing garlands for this review and giveaway!

Gather Inspirit

I have had many women talk to me recently about starting a blog. Some are worried about the time it will take or that no one will be interested in what they are saying. Whatever it is, I sense hesitance from many of them.

And maybe it's because there isn't really a place for new bloggers to really feel supported and encouraged.

Or there wasn't - until now.

I am so excited to let you know about Gather Inspirit, a new site dedicated to Christian women bloggers - big and small. And I am so honored to be a part of the Gather Inspirit team!

Rather than rewrite everything this site is about, I want you to hear the words of the woman who started it all, Chele...

We are a group of nine ladies from various walks of life. We all are mothers, writers, bloggers, and encouragers seeking to expand our personal God-given ministries by reaching out through an incredible combined website. Our vision is simply to inspire, encourage and uplift all bloggers in their journey and in life. We believe that if you put the Lord first, all other things will fall in place. He will show us the way even in blogging.

Our foundational Scripture is “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truths and teach me for you are God my savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalms 25:4-5 (NIV)

When Chele shared this vision, how could I not be on board with it?! I really believe it will be a valuable resource to all Christian women bloggers.

And to help connect all of us out there in blogland, there is a fabulous forum as well. Women have already started connecting there and I love to see that happening!

Whether you are new or experienced, big or small or even just thinking about blogging, this site is for you and we hope it will be a blessing!

Birthday Week Giveaway #2: Heart and Soul Reflections

This is giveaway #2 of my birthday week celebration! If you missed the first giveaway, you can enter here.

I am so excited about the rest of the giveaways this week because they are each from ladies who are going to the Relevant Conference with me!

And each of these women is selling handmade goods to get herself there! I love handmade!

Today's beautiful giveaway is from a lovely lady - Cherie from Heart and Soul Reflections! We met through Twitter and are now both part of an amazing project that I will share about later today!!!

Anyway, I just fell in love with Cherie's pendant necklaces - made from washers!!!

How fun is that?!

Each one is unique and eye-catching...



Isn't that fun and funky?!

And Cherie is giving away this sweet red pendant necklace to one of you!



Here's how you can make it yours...

*Follow Cherie's blog publicly

*Become a fan of Heart and Soul Reflections on Facebook

*Follow Cherie on Twitter (@MySoulReflects)

*Follow me on Twitter (@homewiththeboys)

*Tweet about this giveaway - please mention @MySoulReflects and @homewiththeboys and include the link to this giveaway!

*Post about it on Facebook

And here is a special deal - if you order something from Cherie's Etsy shop (which you can find from her blog) during this giveaway, you can get 3 extra entries!

Let's get this girl to Relevant!!!

This giveaway will close Tuesday, March 30th at 9:00 p.m. CST. The winner will be chosen by random.org. You must leave a separate comment for each entry!

A huge thank you to Cherie for providing me a necklace to review and giveaway!