I'm sorry I'm so belated in announcing the Commending Christ Pastor's Conference Ticket Winners. Here are the numbers:

RANDOM.ORG - Integer Generator: Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

21 12

Timestamp: 2009-01-18 13:56:33 UTC


Those are:

Cora and Lizzy


Congratulations to your hubbies, girls! I pray with all my heart this is a meaningful time for them both. Heck, I hope they can meet up at the conference! No sense in them not taking full advantage of their wives' invisible friendships, right? Please keep us posted on how it goes and again, I'm so happy for both of you!

Your info will be forwarded to Desiring God. Expect to hear from them soon.

By the way...If you didn't win it's not too late to register! Use the button in my sidebar for all the pertinent info.

Happy Lord's Day!

One of my favorite things to do around here is give you things. There have been some fabulous gifts I've been blessed to offer you in the past but I am literally clapping my hands and squealing to announce the coolest thing yet.

Because I'm married to a pastor, I know how important it is for ministry leaders to be on the receiving end of excellent teaching and encouragement. I am so thrilled to tell you that our friends at Desiring God have graciously offered TWO free registrations for their Commending Christ Pastors' Conference taking place February 2-4, 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. {A $125 Value!}

YES, I'M SERIOUS!

So, let's think about this a moment. Before you enter there are a couple of questions you should ask yourself:

1. Will my minister husband be able to attend if he wins? Because we want to be sure the registrations make it into the hands of someone who can use them, I respectfully ask you not enter if you are unsure your hubby can make the event.

2. If your husband is not a minister, would you be willing to use this registration to bless your pastor and see to it that his transportation and hotel are provided so he has no excuse to turn you down? Speak to your church leadership about funding the trip or take up a love offering. There's no calculating the return on that investment!

3. Are you a reader with airline/hotel points who would be willing to make this a full-blown retreat package for the two men God means to rejuvenate? If He asks you to do such an amazingly generous thing, please contact me so I can add that to this giveaway.


Considering those things, here's how to enter:


1. Enter once by commenting on this post only.

2. Earn a second entry by posting about this giveaway on your blog and putting the button in your sidebar. Return here and leave a second comment with that link.

<center> <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/Events/PastorsConferences/Archives/2009/?utm_source=banner&utm_medium=tpw&utm_campaign=pascon"><img src="http://www.desiringgod.org/media/images/DGad.gif" /></a> </center>


3. Deadline for entry is 10 p.m. CST Thursday, January 15th. I will use the random number generator to announce two winners on Friday, January 16th.

4. Be sure to leave an email address with your entries if you do not have a blog. Winners will be contacted directly by the staff at Desiring God with further instructions.

5. And by all means, if you are a minister man who happens to be reading, ENTER! There is no shame here! :)

John Piper. Mark Dever. Matt Chandler. Michael Oh. Y'all, this is some kind of line up. Do all you can to get the favorite minister in your life to this conference. He'll never get over it and you'll reap the benefit from his time of being refreshed in the Word.

Blessings!!



p.s. Oh, yeah. HAPPY 2009! I have lots to share about the Xtreme Conference soon and yes, I got to meet darlin' Tammy!

Sorry it has taken me so long to announce the winners of the Megan DiMaria Spice Series giveaway. I won't bore with the details of my neurotically, psychotically, overcommitted life.

You are so very, very welcome.

Again, I did not use the random number generator because dadgummit, I can not stand trying to count comments. Is Blogger working on that? Geesh. We've developed our own Russian Roulette version of randomness round here that involves scrolling my cursor up and down with my eyes closed and having my kids point at names when the screen comes to a stand still. It's effective and I hope considered fair.


Here are the winners of 'Searching for Spice':

Sandra at 8 Reasons
Cheri @ Keeping Up With His Plans
Sallye @ The Garden Experience


And 'Out of Her Hands':

Brandie @ Paradise
Shannon @ Sunshine and Open Hearts
Cora @ The Adventures of the Sykes Family


Congratulations everyone! Please email your addresses so we can send your books along! Thanks again Megan for such a great giveaway. If you didn't win, please feel free to use the links in my sidebar to order your own copies. I'm almost finished with Spice. So far, my favorite part has been when the teenage daughter accidentally (kind of) poisons her teacher. What does that say about me? Grab the book and find out. You'll be grateful for the light-hearted read in view of all the madness in the world.

Happy Wednesday!

I had to pop in and tell you about something really cool that Rachael is doing on her blog, Our Front Porch. For those of you who don't know, she is a fellow pastor's wife and crafts hand-stamped jewelry. She is hosting a giveaway of $100 of jewelry this week. Seriously. Y'all have got to get over there and enter.

Rachael also has an Etsy shop called ElliNoelle Designs. I'm ordering a special someone a piece of jewelry for Christmas and I'm already so thrilled about giving it to her. Don't you love giving something you would love to have for yourself?? It also makes me very happy to think we can support a fellow pastor's wife in her home business!

Oh well...I know it's been giveaway central around here lately but I didn't want you to miss out.

Now get! And don't forget to tell her I sent you..:)

I mentioned over the weekend I am in the midst of reading two really fun books that do not make my brain feel like it will soon explode. (Yes, that is a compliment.) They are by Tyndale House author Megan DiMaria and are called Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands.

I'm only 3/4ths complete with Spice but something is happening already that I didn't anticipate: I'm actually looking for ways to be sweeter to Luke. This book sneaks up on you by helping you realize how easily the rhythms of life will cause marital relationships to drift in different directions if we aren't intentional in nurturing them. Nobody ever set about to neglect their husband or wife but it can easily happen when we aren't looking. Thankfully God puts flashing signs in our midst - like this book for one - to remind us of what is at stake.


Megan has generously offered three copies of each book to give away. To enter, simply leave a comment telling the name of the book you are currently reading. I love hearing what's on your nightstand! It would also be great if you would go say hi to Megan on her blog, A Prisoner of Hope.


The six winners will be announced Friday evening, November 14th.

Yay!! I just love giving y'all stuff!

The title of this post cracks me up a little. Congratulations! You've just won some spectacular sin! Aren't you thrilled?

I think I may have mentioned Luke and I were heading out of town for a few days. We are in Florida with some of our best friends on the planet. We have already laughed more in a few hours than I have in weeks and it feels great.

I just wanted to pop in to say WOW - I think we'll be doing a Book Club on Spectacular Sins. Y'all shocked me with your response to that one! We'll begin at the first of the year. I'll give more details soon.

I also wanted to point you to my right sidebar for two more books by Tyndale author, Megan DiMaria. Look for a giveaway soon! In the meantime, check out Megan's website.

Have a great weekend....See you soon!

Remember yesterday when I told you I had an amazing surprise for you from a very special pastor/theologian/teacher/author? Well, it's time to spill before I bust a gut from all the secrecy.
On behalf of Desiring God Ministries, Abraham Piper (John Piper's son), has graciously offered FIVE COPIES of his father's book Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ for me to give to you! *squeal*cabbage patch*booty shake*fist pump*whoot whoot*

{So I'm a little excited.}

My first intention was to do a simple giveaway in conjunction with a review. But, the more I thought about it I realized there was no way on earth I could adequately tell you about this book in one 3-4 paragraph post. Truthfully, my adding any commentary to this work would be like giving my Kindergartner a Crayola to color over a Monet. The word 'injustice' comes to mind.

The truth is, this isn't the kind of book that I want to breeze through. It's one on which I want to feast. Traditionally, one doesn't sit at a banquet table alone. He or she is surrounded by family and friends which brings me to my next thought.

What do you think about Book Clubbing Spectacular Sins? About discussing it chapter by chapter (perhaps sometimes through live chat?) and truly studying the scriptures in relation to sin and suffering? Girls, it is vital that we become diligent in girding ourselves in knowledge and understanding over these hard questions so that we will always be ready to explain the hope within us. 9 out of 10 times I have the opportunity to talk about the Lord with an unbeliever they inevitably say, "If God is so loving, why do such horrible things happen in the world?" I want to be able to answer that question authoritatively instead of with a string of cliches that find no basis in Scripture. Only when we settle those issues in our own minds will we be able to do the same for someone else. As Piper says, "Knowing great things about God will make us ready not to collapse under cataclysmic conflict and personal catastrophe."

I want to know those great things. Don't you? This Book Club will definitely be a No Fluff Zone. We are SMART girlfriends and it's time we started believing it! Let's consider great things and build a little muscle in our physical and spiritual noggins. You with me?

{Crossing fingers and hoping you will say yes..}

Okay, first things first.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment. No bells or whistles or hoops. You can earn a double entry by linking to the giveaway and leaving a second comment with the post url. I will use a random number generator to choose FIVE WINNERS on Friday, November 7th.

Secondly, let's see about the Book Club possibility Poll Daddy style:




Okay, now we need to consider when to begin...



Alrighty then. I can't wait to hear your thoughts! Again, thank you to Dr. John and Abraham Piper for being so extravagantly generous with this giveaway. Your awesomeness knows no bounds!

p.s. I have to give a special shout-out to my dear friend Brooke who gave me this book for Pastor Appreciation. I've already highlighted every other sentence. Good stuff, girls. Good stuff.

When Luke and I served as NAMB missionaries in Mississippi, part of our ministry was in the Crisis Pregnancy center located in Clarksdale. The work they do is vital and I don't think enough can be said for the lives that are saved as a result of their labor - both the lives of unborn children and the lives of the mothers.

I've been privileged to have met (online) Pay Layton who is the author of the bible study, Surrendering the Secret. This study deals with the pain many women experience post-abortion, especially if this is something they have kept hidden. My friend Melinda at Traveling the Road Home is hosting a giveaway of FIVE study kits. I would love it if you would visit her to find out more of this wonderful study and enter for a chance to win.

Blessings on you!

Lisa

In a very scientific approach to arriving at a winner for the Blog Makeover GiveAway, I asked Son Three to pick a number between 1 and 68. I should have known he would choose his baseball/football jersey number which is....

It's a fact of my life that I never win anything. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I didn't have one friend who is currently at DollyWood with tickets she won on a radio station or another who is going to stay at the Opryland hotel for three days with a prize package she also won on the radio. Geesh.

Understandably so, I was thrilled last year when I won my first thing ever - Sue's Praise and Coffee Giveaway. In fact, if you'll remember, my prize caused an all out ruckus at our house.

I don't know if we are short on ruckus-es or if God is just being sweet to me, but I just found out from darlin' Yvette at Charm House that I won her first giveaway! And y'all. This isn't just any 'ole giveaway. Look at what all is in this basket of southern love!

If you've never visited Yvette, you simply must go to this post of hers. It is of her beautiful garden. Props will go to the girl who can figure out what my favorite thing is in it.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

This is the perfect opportunity to announce a little Summer Giveaway of my own.

Are you ready for a blog makeover? Then this giveaway is for you! I have a blog design (Package A) from my friend Amy at Split Decisionz. Go HERE to browse her portfolio - you'll love what you see. I'm also including three credits from iStock photo so you can pick out the perfect graphic for your new design. Amy has a waiting list but the winner will be contacted as soon as her order pad re-opens.

You don't have to jump through hoops to enter. Just leave a comment here and a winner will be randomly chosen on Saturday, July 12th!

Happy Summer!

In case you haven't noticed, this blog o' mine now officially has Advertisements. I'm so excited to tell you the first one (and I'm hoping not the last!) is from my new friend Tina Ann Forkner. She has written a novel called Ruby Among Us published by Waterbrook Press. I've not read it yet, but the reviews are fantastic and I definitely plan on taking it with me to the beach in TWENTY-ONE DAYS.

But who's counting?

Tina Ann has graciously provided not one but FOUR copies of her book for me to give away. How cool is that?

It's easy enough to enter. Leave a comment on this post before Wednesday midnight CST. I'll randomly choose four winners on Thursday. If you do not have a blog, be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you.

Oh, and don't forget to go read an excerpt of the book and check out the reviews. The girls from Point of Grace and Jordin Sparks (American Idol) are just a few of those raving over it. I have a feeling we will be too!

Brandi and Boys

Spring is in the air, the kids are out of school, and I'm in the mood for something new - hence my new Summer Blog 'Do!

I hope you'll take a look around using the handy, dandy navigation bar under the header. I've added a section called 'Surveys' so all you ministry wives can easily find the great information we've accumulated where being married to a pastor is concerned. I'll be adding new features over the next couple of weeks so keep checking back.


I'd also love any suggestions from you that would make the site more user-friendly. Click around and tell me what you think!

And, as a reward for doing so, I'm going to host a little giveaway. Simply leave a word or two of feedback about the new design between now and Monday at 1 p.m. CST in the comments to be entered for a copy of Life Savors. This is a compilation devotional in which both Linda Crow at 2nd Cup and I have stories published. It really is a great little book packed with big inspiration.




I want to give a big 'ole thanks to Amy at Split Decisionz for my re-do. She is wonderful to work with, has the patience of a saint, and gave me more than I asked for. Go give her a visit if you are tired of looking at your old design!

Visit Mugs of Truth


Love your coffee and some great tunes? There is a great giveaway going on for the month of February at the Internet Cafe!

Mugs of Truth has provided a Limited Edition "Love Mug" as well as 2500 points to be used in their new online music store. Most songs are only 89 points so that adds up to lots of new tunes for your iPod!

Remember, all you have to do to enter is comment daily on the Internet Cafe Devotional posts.

Some time with Jesus and a chance to win a new coffee mug and music?

It just doesn't get any better !!

Thank all of you for entering. I'm SO enjoying returning your visits.

There's just no end to the cool blogs out there!

I hope to have another great GiveAway very soon!