Awesome New Giveaway Blog

(well, new to me)

Second Time Around: DownEast Basics Review & Giveaway (2 Winners)

This is a fabulous online store that has some really classy and stylish outfits. I totally hope I win!

Go check out DownEast Basics and Second Time Around, my new favorite Giveaway spot! She is so on top of it all!

13th Anniversary, and Happy New Year ! A December Give Away too!

I will be taking an even longer bloggy break into the new year and here´s the reason why:

This year for our 13th wedding anniversary my husband and I will be going to Germany with our boys. Friends of ours offered to watch our boys while we go to a wonderful get-a-way hotel and spa. It will be a family vacation/ anniversary gift! (This is from moneies given as gifts and not as support money.)

So, as I will be missing in action for a week, please write me a lot. I love hearing from you! And I will be coming around to see you as soon as I can.

Happy New Years!!!
From Mine to Yours,







PS.
Go and check out this cool giveaway that will be given away on the 1st of Jan. So hurry on over.  Here is the link. Click here or on the picture.

Gifts announced! And Thank You Heidi!

These are the winning donators for the Candle in the Corner giveaway!

571- Tracie- Taiwan

489- Lindsay- Portugal

602- Nancy- Paraguay

439- Mellie- Spain - Congratulations, Mellie, I will get it to you asap. It´s all wrapped up and Heidi got me your address.

402- Gena- Russia

462- Garry- Argentina

6- Maria- Brazil

135- Theresa T.- Botswana

42- Joyce- South Africa

620- Elaine (Extra entry for linking)- Montana

106- Maribeth- Uganda

415- Tanya- Indonesia

The total amount raised: $4065!! Praise the Lord! This amount will be split between all the missionary families that participated in this event!

Thank-you Heidi, for this wonderful opportunity! Thank you for being used, broken and spilled out.

Thank you, all, who gave sacrificially.

THE LAST DAY!!!

Today is the last day for the Candle in the Corner give away. Your last oportunity to get in on a huge blessing. 

 Want to see all the great places we have been in two weeks? Want to see what you could receive for your donation?

The links are below.

You still have one more day to give to this great cause.

Our hostess, Heidi gives us this update...

Want something special to give someone this Christmas? There is still time to enter for a chance to win an awesome item from another country!

For quick reference, below are the links to all the participants so far. Meeting these missionaries has been inspiring to me and I know to you as well.

If you have entered and prefer a certain item, please let me know- if your number is drawn I will do my best :)

If you have donated, you should have received an email from me with your entry numbers. Also, if you have posted, linked, FB, twittered, etc about the giveaway and let me know, I am tracking those extra entries {so don't worry, I've got you covered :) } but I'm not emailing those because I'm waiting until the end to assign numbers.

We can't wait to see who wins! This is so much fun for all of us; thank you for playing a part!

Asturian drying house from Dani Joy in Spain

Rooster and table runners from Nina in Portugal

Scripture in Chinese/English and hand embroidered journal cover from Heidi in Asia

Handmade goodies and elephant bowl from Jen in South Africa

Dolls and mittens from Ashley in Russia

Nanduti lace from Julie in Paraguay

Place mats and table runner from Kelly in Uganda

Handbags from Ana in Brazil

Leather wallet from Kim in Argentina

Baskets and book from Sarah in Botswana

Quilt and basket from Sarah (Junglewife) in Indonesia


Tea pot and bags from Jessie on a campus in America

Now... Aren´t you ready to go!!! I know I am so burdened for so many new parts of the world!

But you can give. Remember to give to your local church missions giving first and formost.

Then, click on the Chip In to give just $5 more. It could mean a Bible or a tract or even food for someone in another part of the world.

Missionary Call

Missionary Call

by Patricia Finrow Clark

We want to go to Heaven,

But we cannot find the way.

Won´t someone come to tell us,

To teach us how to pray?

We want to go to Heaven,

But which idol tells us true?

Oh, children of America,

We´re waiting now for you!

Mayby you can not go to a forgein field, but you can give $5. Just think, your $5 donation could allow you to receive one of these cultural gifts from around the world!



The Candle in the Corner giveaway, is well underway. There is one more week to give and win one of these wonderful gifts.



Do you know where they are from? Can you guess? Click on them to see how well you know the different cultures around the world. You will be amazed at the things you will learn from your missionaries.

Don´t forget to click on the chip in or go to Moms Ministry and More for your oportunity to receive one of these precious gifts.

**** Go here to see the first four gifts from the Candle in the Corner giveaway! ****

Gifts From Around the World

Are you following the Candle in the Corner give away?

You can donate and receive one of these amazing gifts. 

Where are the gifts from?

Can you guess?

 Try to guess where they are from. Then click on the pictures to see if you were right. Then give to help these dear special missionaries who are working in areas where the dollar has dropped drastically.

Gift #4
 

Gift #3

Gift #2

Gift # 1

It is amazing the statistics you can learn about the world just by getting to know your missionaries. I learned so much today, and wanted to share these wonderful posts with you.

**** If you would like to give, just click on the chip in on the side bar.****

# 2 Gift for Candle in the Corner

One of my closest friends and my neighbor (by country), Nina at Portugal Bound,  is giving away this awesome Rooster and table runners from Barcelos, Portugal. 

Be sure to see gift # 1 from Gijón, Spain, and then go and chip in to help many other missionaries in many other countries for this Candle in the Corner missionary emphasis giveaway.

Just Because Roses

My dear husband surprised me so good today, with these "just because" roses! They are even bigger and better than the ones I got when we would attend the formal fine arts we had to go to at college back when we were dating. Whooo hooo!!!

And you have to check out the fall decoration giveaway at Becka´s blog!

She knows we missionary wives can´t get fall decorations like ya´ll can at Walmart and Michaels. So be a great bloggy friend and tell her who sent ya! I would love some fall decorations.

Oh , Becka, I love, love, smelly candles! Could that be part of the giveaway too???

What´s up with all the Pink?

Did you know that the NFL football web site went PINK?

( They took it off now but it was pink. Honest.)

Did you know what the pink stands for?

Most do, but when I saw the pink background on the NFL football web site I was so confused. I must admit that I stared and stared at that page for so long, and every time it opened up I just couldn´t get it. (You see it´s the home page on our main computer, so it´s open a lot) Then I finally saw the pink ribbon.

AAAAAhhhhhhh!!! I get it now!

It´s for

Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

It takes me a while to get these things. It takes even longer to get into the swing of things to do a post about it. When I saw Fringe girl´s Party in Pink, I totally wanted to get in on it, but didn´t have anything to post about, or so I thought.

Doing a little bit of thinking, while the smoke was filling the room, I thought I might be able to link it to one of my favorite things , Health and Fitness. Yes! Come to find out, they go hand in hand.

The National Breast Cancer web site answered some of my questions.

Can physical activity reduce the risk of breast cancer?

Yes! Most definitely!

Exercise pumps up the immune system and lowers estrogen levels. With as little as four hours of exercise per week, a woman can begin to lower her risk of breast cancer.

This is a huge thing for me, even though there is no history in my family of breast cancer, I still get to wondering and sometimes even probing to make sure I don´t have any lumps. We all should be doing the tests, but knowing that exercise lowers the risk made me a little more at ease. Now if you aren´t exercising, what are you waiting for? Here is a great reason in and of itself to get started!

Can a healthy diet help prevent breast cancer?

Yes, it sure can!


A nutritious, low-fat diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. A high-fat diet increases the risk because fat triggers estrogen production that can fuel tumor growth.

This made me so happy to know! It´s a boost to stay fit for life, to stay off those fatty fast foods and stay on the low sugar, low trans-fat, whole grain, lifestyle that gives energy and reduces the risk of cancer. Now this gives me even more motivation!

I don´t know about you all, but I am so glad that women are out there helping us to become aware of how to lower our risks of breast cancer and to support those who have it.

A huge THANK-YOU to

Domestic Fringe - Check out her great post and all the pointers she researched.

Fullnest - For her awesome give-away and links for breast cancer awareness.

Moms Ministry and More - for her special post and inspiring me to join in on the party!

I am also linking up this week with Sandy. She has a great outlook on health and fitness! She is definitely motivating!

My three step proposal:

Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might!

Get disciplined and healthy for you and your family!

Stay that way!

(praying this for my life)

Go PINK!

and

Have a great weekend!

"It Only Takes a Spark"

I know I have many photos that I can scan from our pre-digital days, but I thought I would share one very special flashback in honor of the up coming blog event "Candle in the Corner" even though it´s not a scanned image. (You´ll forgive me, won´t you, Alicia)

Are you familiar with this old chorus? It is so perfect for this up coming blog event and for what I want to share today. Break out into song with me!

"It only takes a spark to get a fire going.

And soon all those around will warm up to it´s glowing.

That´s how it is with God´s love.

Once you´ve experienced it.

You want to sing. It´s fresh like spring.

You want to pass it on."

This picture was taken when we first started the church plant work in Gijón, Spain. It was in March of 2005, when we moved from our townhome between the two cities we were working in, to start full time in the city of Gijón.

It was a big deal. We were moving to a new city. No Baptist churches were there that we new of. We didn´t know anyone really, and we were to be working all alone for the first time in the 5 years of being missionaries.

What does this mean for missionaries? It means church services alone. Singing solos as congragationals. Going door to door alone. Passing out invitations by the thousands. Starting programs not knowing if there will be anyone besides your own 3 three little blessings and many many more alone times in between. Of course, though, no TRUE missionary is really alone.

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

Romans 8:37

It only takes a SPARK!

Here is our little spark.

***Please be sure to be on the lookout for "Candle in the Corner" blog event. ***

Drum Roll Please!!!

Announcing an upcoming Blog Auction Fiesta Party!

My friend and fellow missionary has been led to host this awesome fund raiser for missionaries in areas where the dollar has suffered greatly.

CANDLE IN YOUR CORNER

hosted by:

This will be a great opportunity to become aware of other mission fields, learn more about your missionaries and give sacrificially what the Lord puts on your heart to give.

I will be participating by donating an article from our area of service, Gijón, Spain. I am so excited to share with you what is happening on the harvest field of Spain. Through out the time I will be doing some specific posts about the ministry and linking to this awesome event!

By participating in the Candle in the Corner event you could win a cultural item from one of the following countries while supporting missionaries and their work in taking the light of Jesus Christ to their corners of the world:

- Spain

- Portugal

- Indonesia

- South Africa

- Honduras

- Russia

- Uganda

- and more!

The list is ever growing!Does it sound great or what?! Here are the details on how it
will work: (over at Moms, Ministry, and More)

~~~The Candle in the Corner event will take place at Moms,
Ministry, and More from October 27 - November 10.

Please stay tuned for the gifts and more updates.

Check Out this Gift!

Lorrie, my third place winner of the caption contest, got her package. She cracked me up how she tried to hide the package from her boys so she could open it. Her boys were so excited to get a package from Spain. Head over and check it out.

Announcing ... Caption Give Away Winners!

And the the winning caption is...

"Where did he come from?"

Submitted by Nina @ Portugal Bound

Please remember my hubby picked the finalists without knowing the authors,

and you all did the voting.

She got 27 votes.

I am so happy for you, Nina!

Congratulations!

Hope you enjoy these.

You won these fabulous prizes from our mission field, Gijón, Spain.

mini oil painting on wood.

And the famous Madreñas!

The second place winner is...

Joye @ theJoyful Journey

her caption was;

"Ummm... How do you turn this thing OFF"

Joye received 10 votes.

Joye, you won this little trinket from the mountains of Asturias, Spain!

Maybe one day you will come and visit this gorgeous land.

The Third place winner is

Lorrie @ My Spot on the Shore

her caption was

"If I just move my hand a little closer...
I can plug him up and fix all this."

Lorrie, you have won this olive oil pitcher from the Peaks of Europe.

(please remember these are only about 5 in. tall. but they are authentic.)

Congratulations, Ladies!

This was so fun!

I thought all the captions were so cute and, want to thank all of you for joining in.

To finish off a great day, I post for you pictures taken from my phone this lovely afternoon.

Did you know a colt born from a white horse will not be born white but will shed his coat several times before becoming white? I just learned this today.

Finalists For Friday Photo Flashback Caption Contest

Here are the winners of the Friday Photo Flashback Caption Give Away Contest.



Here is the picture once again.







And the finalists in no particular order:

Drum Roll...

The envalope please.

Oh remember ... my dear hubby chose these finalists not knowing whose caption was whose.

Now where was I?--- Oh yeah... the finalists are...

Joye @ the
Joyful Journey submitted,

"Ummm... How do
you turn this thing OFF"

Lorrie @ My Spot on the Shore sumbitted,

"If I just move my hand a little closer... I can plug him up and fix all this."

Nina @ Portugal Bound submitted,

"Where did he come from?"

Please vote for your favorite caption up on the side bar to determine who wins first, second and third place. There are prizes for each. Voting will end next Thursday Night. So get all your friends to vote for you, girls.

Thanks for participating. This has been my first give away, and I have had so much fun with it. Hope you have too.

What´s up with the Crew Wednesday - Ice Cream Run and Prizes

Two of my boys helped me today. We ran out really fast to hunt for the Caption Give Away first place prize and for an ice cream run. They got ice cream, I got the prize.

We walked a half hour in the hot summer sun, searched high and low for just the right gift and hand picked not one but two very special prizes.


A small miniture painting of our coast and the stoic San Lorenzo Catholic church.

And I wanted something you can´t get anywhere else in the world. Something that no one would even know how to get unless they came here to visit or live.

In Gijón, Asturias, SPAIN, the older people actually still wear wooden shoes to work in the fields. They are called Madreñas. If I sent them without an explanation you might think we lived in Holland but noooooo they are standard for the older generation who grew up working in the mountain fields of Asturias.

These beautifully hand crafted Madreñas will be awarded to to the first place winner of the Caption Give Away Contest. The winners will be voted on this coming Friday.

There is still time to enter your caption.

"What caption?"
you ask.

Well, you can head over to this post, check out the picture, and get as creative as you like. I can´t wait till my hubby and I sit down to read them all together. He will pick the top three and you all will vote on your favorites. There are prizes for the first, second and third place winners. Enter as many captions as you would like.

Can´t wait to see who wins!