Petals from the Basket

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Day Three = Three Lessons Learned

The “About” Page for Petals from the Basket begins with the following paragraph:

The baskets of our lives are filled with petals from work, family, special events, hobbies, and much more! I believe that each petal—even the wilted ones—can represent blessings that God gives us through each season of life. My desire is that as I open my heart and transparently share ideas and resources for everyday Christian living, I will be able to point to the fact that the baskets of our lives are lovingly woven with the Weaver’s touch! Thank you for joining me on this journey!

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Oh wait…I did say that! It applies here as well, though, because I truly want to thank you for an amazing first year at Petals from the Basket. The best way for me to conclude the three-day anniversary celebration for this blog is to share three important truths that I have learned this past year:

1. What I thought would be a detour of doubt became a journey of joy as I learned firsthand that God keeps His promises. One of the first verses God gave me on this new promise-paved path was Exodus 14:14 (NLT), “The LORD himself will fight for you. You won’t have to lift a finger in your defense!” He did; I didn’t; and it’s been amazing!

2. Complete perfection is impossible; transparency brings freedom; grace is everything. I didn’t want to start another blog, because I’m not perfect. I sin. I mess up—often. But when I decided that I would focus on God’s perfection and not my feeble attempts, I could be transparent about what He was doing in my life, because it’s all about His grace. I don’t deserve one stinkin’ thing, yet God gives me His grace—daily and freely! Wow–it’s never too late, and don’t let anyone tell you it is!

3. Faith and prayer are not about my faith and my prayers; they are about believing heart and soul in the One Who actually listens when I avail myself of the privilege He has given me of coming to Him with my requests and my praise. It’s this incredible cycle: He gives me grace; I praise Him; therefore, I learn more of Him; and I trust Him more…thereby increasing my faith—because of His grace; so, I praise Him, and, well, you get the idea! He is faithful to His Word, so why do I not claim and cling to every word? My three favorite words right now are “He. is. able!” (Read Jeremiah 32:17!)

After learning those three things in year one (among many, many other important lessons), I can’t wait to see all He lets me learn of Him in year two! So, I’ll close this section with one more heartfelt thank you for taking time to read Petals from the Basket. To God be the glory!

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The winners of the Anniversary Day comment post are:

*Cheryl H.

*Darcy F.

I’ll be contacting you within the next 7-10 days so that you can select your cards from the Ed G Biv Etsy site! Congratulations!

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In closing, I promised to share some exciting news, so here it is (it’s exciting to me, anyhow):

Last year, I wrote the “skeleton” set of material for my Bible Study book entitled The ABCs of T2:3—Integrating the Names and Character Qualities of God with the Principles Taught in Titus 2:3-5.

When I completed it, I made it available only on this site, but I will confess that there was very little of my heart in it. (In fact, I feel so bad that people paid money for that version that they will receive a free copy of the new one!) So, yes, that’s the announcement.

I am greatly revising The ABCs of T2:3, and it will be available by late June 2013. My precious friend Dee is going through each chapter as I complete it, and then a “study group” will go through it. Then, after one final phase, it will be available as a 14-lesson study for women. It will contain five days of lessons for each week of study. The emphasis on this revision is no longer on facts and material; it is on the importance of living our faith and applying what we learn from studying God’s Word. I’m super excited, and I can hardly wait to share it with you. For starters, it will only be available via this website, and you will be able to purchase either a downloadable copy or a printed copy! But more about that in the months to come!

In a few weeks, I will make a FREE sample chapter available to let you have a glimpse into the style, purpose, and contents of the study. I would sincerely be honored if you would please pray with me that this will be a tool used of God to teach all of us more of Him so that we might live more like Him!

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I love surprise blessings, so please check back on Saturday (no post tomorrow because of Good Friday observances) to find out about one more little fun giveaway for the anniversary celebration!

By Petals from the Basket | March 28, 2013 | Bible Reading, Books, Contests, Ebooks, Events, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |

Still Celebrating!

Day two of the “Anniversary Celebration” is a congratulatory post, announcing the winners of a recent contest! Tomorrow’s post will conclude the three-day celebration with a from-the-heart post (I hope that’s the origin of every post!), an exciting announcement about an upcoming book revision, and a related announcement about a free “sample chapter” download! And just because I love surprise blessings, I may throw in one of those, too!

Tomorrow, I will also post the names of the two winners who will each receive a set of seven Christian greeting cards from the Ed G Biv Etsy site (featured in the link at the top of the left-hand sidebar). Thanks to all who participated!

But today, it’s time to announce the winners of the WRW Month contest in February! Without bemoaning something that gave me so much joy, I will tell you that it took many, many hours of adding point totals to find the top three prize recipients—making me almost two weeks late in posting this! So…drum roll, please…the winners are:

1st place: Courtney H. — Prize: $50.00 Amazon gift card

2nd place: Michele P. — Prize: $30.00 Amazon gift card

3rd place: Jennifer P. — Prize: $20.00 Amazon gift card

There are more “honorable mentions” than I have time or space to mention, but I’d like to give a special shout-out to Lynnette S., Alice D.,  Doris W., Cheryl H., and Jennifer H.—all of whom had amazing point totals as well! Our first-place winner is an amazing teen striving for godliness, and I love that she put forth a stellar effort and knocked it out of the park!

Congratulations to each of the winners! I’ll be contacting you within the next week to send your prizes to you! All three gifts were anonymously donated by three kind and generous friends—and though they asked not to be mentioned by name, I want to tell them publicly that I am grateful beyond words!

Thank you ten thousand times over to all who participated, to all who cheered them on, and to all who returned in March even when there was no longer a contest as an incentive to do so! You made February of 2013 one of the best shortest/longest months ever!

 

By Petals from the Basket | March 27, 2013 | Contests, Events |

Do Blogs Celebrate Anniversaries? Yes—for Three Days!

Exactly one year ago today—March 26, 2012—I used the title “Chalkboards and Changes” for the first blog post published on Petals from the Basket. What an incredible year this has been! In that first post, I shared the following:

One week ago today, my life went pear-shaped (i.e., the bottom fell out)…Change. But a change appointed by my unchanging God.

A few moments ago I walked from one side of my apartment to the other and dropped off some freshly-folded towels in the bathroom. As I turned to leave, I glanced up at the never-touched-by-chalk chalkboard on the wall. I stopped to wipe away tears of joy as I thanked Him that I’m facing each new day, each change, with fresh mercy! (Click here to read the entire first post.)

And that is exactly what this year has been: a year of seeing the grace and mercy of God at work in my life and in the enlarging scope of this blog and website.

I humbly admit that I had absolutely no direction when I hit “Publish” for the first time. I just knew that I love to write. Over the first few months, I tried things that I thought would please readers; I even asked for random people to “like” the Facebook page (which I no longer ever do); and I tried doing what famous blog writers do to get “followers.”

But while preparing a devotional one night, I read my life verse, I Corinthians 10:31, and felt the complexity of its simple truth hit my heart: “Do all to the glory of God.” That’s when I began to love the process of blogging—because I was finally doing it for the reasons that were right for me!

To those who have taken time to read some of the 194 posts, I thank you! To those who have participated by leaving one of the 279 comments, I thank you! To those who have stuck with me through the zig-zagging journey of my life—reflected in this blog—I thank you!

Your notes of encouragement, promises of prayer, Facebook “shares,” and contest participation have been used of God to bless my life, and I am sincerely grateful. I’m aware that you have many options, and I am blessed that you even occasionally choose this site as one of yours.

As a way of saying thank you today, available only through a visit to the actual website, I am giving away a set of seven beautiful, Christian greeting cards from the Ed G Biv Etsy site. You even get to choose which seven cards you would like! In fact, I’m feeling so grateful today that I am going to randomly choose (through a third party) two winners to each receive a set of seven cards!

Simply leave a comment with your name and last initial and the city and/or state (or country, for overseas readers) where you live, and you will be entered! The winners will be announced on Thursday, so you must submit your “entry comment” by midnight tonight! (Example: Susie A., Chicago, IL)

Thank you for reading Petals from the Basket. Thank you for uplifting my spirit at times you didn’t know you needed to. Thank you for sharing in the joy of this anniversary!

And thanks for coming back tomorrow—this is a three-day celebration!

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Please leave a comment by midnight tonight (PST) for a chance to
win the seven Christian greeting cards of your choice from
the Ed G Biv Etsy site!

 

By Petals from the Basket | March 26, 2013 | Bible Reading, Contests, Events, Life Changes |

The Omnipresent Rose

During the month of March, I am forming a bouquet of blog posts using a variety of “roses” that will be formed with these petals from the basket : (1) a quotation, (2) a daily verse, (3) a devotional thought, (4) a book dealing with that day’s topic, and (5) an idea to put into practice!

Petal 1: “We cannot escape from Thy presence and control, nor do we desire to do so.” —Valley of Vision, “Fifth Day [Thursday]: Morning”

Petal 2: “I can never get away from Your presence!” (Psalm 139:7, NLT)

Petal 3: The thought, “I can never get away from Your presence,” has a contrasting impact on me when I hear it. On one side, I am reminded that He is always aware of my actions; this puts a reverential fear of Him in me. On the flip side, I receive great comfort and security in knowing that He is always there with me. Perhaps my current actions, thoughts, or needs are the determining factors for which side I am dwelling on at that moment: if I’m about to make a wrong choice, it is good to respectfully remember that He will see what I am about to do; if I’m feeling alone and uncertain, it is good to whisper to Him in gratitude, “I can never get away from Your presence!”

Petal 4: Today’s book recommendation is Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. These words from the Preface describe it best: “The prayers in this book are drawn from the largely forgotten deposit of Puritan spiritual exercises, meditations, and aspirations. They testify to the richness and colour of evangelical thought and language that animated vital piety in an important stream of English religious life.”

Petal 5: Choose three points throughout your day to stop and recall that God is there with you; then, determine which “side” comes to mind based on the action or thought you had upon remembering His presence.

 

By Petals from the Basket | March 21, 2013 | Bible Reading, Books, Ideas |