Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Turners.

Blog Birthday Winners

So I'm running a little late on this announcement! For those who know me, that's no surprise I'm sure. Congratulations to winners. Here they are:

Forgotten God by Francis Chan-Fran H.
$15 iTunes Card-Ann C.
Potluck Club Book-Rhonda F.

Please e-mail me your address so that I can get these to you quickly at turnerbm@bellsouth.net! Thanks to everyone who participated and signed up to receive updates via e-mail.

Also, later this week I'll be doing my first ever blog interview. I can't wait to tell you all about a new ministry I learned about this past week. Stay tuned and stay in the Word.

Potluck Club Giveaway

The Potluck Club is a book that a friend gave me to read about a year ago. It stars 6 very different, but very relatable women. They're just like me and you and all of our friends. Their lives are intertwined and they love each other, pray for each other, eat together and get on each other's nerves! Sound familiar? You will read with laughter, a few tears and much anticipation of what will each one do next. I will warn you now, once you start The Potluck Club you won't want to put it down. And you'll want the next one, and the next one after that to read quickly! Each book has a special bonus; they include some of the recipes that are talked about in the chapters. Good stuff!

This is the last giveaway in the blog birthday celebration! Go here and read the last couple of posts to find out how to sign up and what the other gifts are! Also, here is the potluck club website. It has lots of fun stuff about the Potluck Club ladies and the wonderful authors.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my posts for the past few years.

Music Giveaway

Music is something that makes me smile and I love it! So I put a $15 iTunes card as part of the Blog Birthday celebration give away. Go here to read about the celebration and how to enter to win.

Anyway, my love for music started really early. I grew up with my Daddy playing bluegrass/country music in our house all the time. He taught himself to play the guitar and for most of my middle school/high school years he played in a band. Now before anyone falls off their chair, I am NOT a fan of bluegrass music. However I do have fond memories of writing down words to songs for my Daddy, so he could learn them for his band. Remember cassette tapes? Well I used to have to listen to the songs, hit play, listen again, hit stop, write down the words, hit play, listen again, hit stop, etc, etc, etc. I would do this until I got the whole song down!! It was insane, but it played a big part in teaching me to not just hear music, but really listen to the words.

I got an iPod for Christmas a few years ago and that has been such a blessing. To hear a song now on the radio and be able to get it quickly to listen to again is amazing and a real treat for me. Right now I'm loving Christmas music of course. My favorites are the Mercy Me Christmas cd and Glory in The Highest by Chris Tomlin. What's yours?

Forgotten God

I read Francis Chan's Forgotten God a few months ago. It's one of those books that has stayed with me. I keep thinking about it, picking it back up and re-reading the parts I highlighted. (Which, by the way, is most of the book!)

The big take away for me in this book was that I need to live like I have Christ's Spirit in me everyday. I know that. I say that. But in looking at how I live, I didn't seem to live like it most of the time. Mainly I live in my own power, my own strength and my own wisdom. Chan says that "when a person is habitually and actively submitted to the Spirit, what comes out of his or her life is the fruit of the Spirit." Galatians 5:22,23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Ouch, ouch, ouch!

Opportunities abound daily to display God's Spirit through the fruit. What I realized is that I have to be intentional about seeking the Spirit's leading in these moments. Not just go through the motions because I can. But to really stop and ask God to lead me the way He wants to go. It's a process that happens over and over again. Hopefully I'm getting more consistent each day.

Lastly my favorite part of the book is the stories. After each chapter, Chan gives stories of people who make the choice to live by the Spirit and to seek God's wisdom and direction in their lives. They are powerful examples of what a life lived in the Spirit looks like.

**I'm giving away a copy of this book later this week. Go here to read about how you can get signed up and possibly win. **

Happy Blog Birthday!!

Today, about three years ago, this blog was born. It was a scary adventure for me to start writing; and even more terrifying to write and share it with you! But God has a way of breaking us in for what He has planned for us. I had no idea when I started this blog that I would shortly be writing a Bible study and publishing it! God did. That's how He works.

So in honor of this bloggy birthday, I thought I'd do a little give away. Over the next few days, I'll blog about three different things that I've enjoyed this year. First will be Francis Chan's book, Forgotten God. Secondly, I'll post about iTunes and give away a $15 iTunes card. And lastly, I'll give away a copy of The Potluck Club book by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson.

In order to be eligible to win, you need to subscribe to the blog. Just enter your e-mail address in the form on the right hand side of the blog. That way you want have to keep checking for updates, you'll automatically get an e-mail when I update or post. Also, leave me a comment about which item you think you might like and I'll choose a winner for each gift. I'll leave this open until Thursday night and post the winners on Friday morning.