Annual Subscriber Monday Giveaway!

So who braved WalMart and the mall on Friday? If you did, I applaud you! 
 
Remember when we used to have to wait until Thanksgiving morning to go through the ads and make our shopping lists? These days, ads are available online well before Black Friday, and the deals start way earlier, too! In a way, that makes me sad because it takes away from the excitement and anticipation. But, as a love-to-plan-aheader, I love it. I got some fabulous deals on Thanksgiving day. On Black Friday, I avoided the crowds and stayed home in my jammies to deck my halls.

And today is Cyber Monday, when the online deals are supposed to be REALLY good. I'm sure there will be a few hard-to-pass-up sales, but many are probably prices that were probably offered last week and/or will be offered again in the next couple of weeks. But, hey. I don't want to put a damper on your shopping experience. I hope you find that perfect bargain!

So for the past few years, I've featured a great giveaway on Thanksgiving weekend, which I've held either as a FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS FRIDAY GIVEAWAY on Black Friday or A SUBSCRIBER MONDAY GIVEAWAY on Cyber Monday. It's my way of saying THANK YOU for taking the time to visit me throughout the year, and even indulge me once in a while with your comments. Since everyone loves gift cards, I'm offering that again as the prize this year. Choose between one of the following:

1. $20 Amazon gift card
2. $20 Christian Book Distributors.com gift card
3. $20 eBay gift card
4. $20 Barnes and Noble.com gift card 
5. $20 FamilyChristian.com gift card

Simply leave a comment letting me know which gift card you would choose, and don't forget to include your email address so I can get in touch with you if you're the winner. I will be randomly selecting a winner from all comments next Monday, December 3.

RULES SCHMULES

*You MUST be a follower or a subscriber to be eligible. If you're not yet a follower, no problem! Just click on "Follow" (over there to the right) and you'll be automatically qualified. Then leave your comment.

*You MUST tell me which ONE PRIZE you would choose. None mentioned? More than one mentioned? No entry.

*You MUST leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you're the winner. No email? No win.

Winner will be selected at random using RandomLinePicker, from all entries received. Gift card will be sent electronically. Deadline to enter: 5:00 AM on Monday, December 3 (I get up early and plan to do the drawing first thing in the morning).

Let me just say again how much I truly appreciate you for reading my blog. I wish I could send every one of you a gift card (but my husband would kill me).

OK. That's it! Go ahead and leave your comment.

 

 

Looking ahead...I'll be offering a great 12 DAYS OF BOOKS GIVEAWAY. There will be 12 books and 12 winners! Just in time for Christmas! Be sure to watch for it!

Thankful and grateful and blessed...Oh, my!

I have so much to be thankful for this year! In pondering my blessings, I've listed my top 7. They may seem cliche' or predictable, but that's okay! There are many more I could have added, but these are the things I thank God for every day.

1. MY HUSBAND. Honesty time. My husband and I haven't had an easy go of it for the past several years. I won't get into it, but let's just say there have been moments we've been "this close" to calling it quits. Only by God's amazing grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, things are getting better. Not perfect, by any means, but my husband is one of those guys who is willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. And guys like that are few and far between these days. I am so glad we've stuck it out and I look forward to many more years together.

2. MY KIDS. Yes, they are to blame for my gray hair, but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. I am so blessed to be the mother of two awesome teenagers who make me laugh, warm my heart, and keep me young (along with the Garnier Nutrisse).

3. MY FAMILY. My husband and kids have already been mentioned, but I'm talking about the rest of my family. My mom...my dad...brothers...in-laws...So if you shook my family tree, a few nuts would fall out, but I happen to be a fan of nuts!


  

4. MY FRIENDS. Diane...Cari...Ginger...Deb...Susan...I seriously have some of the most fabulous friends in the world. Whether it's encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, a hug, a good laugh, or a movie and/or coffee buddy, each one offers something different, yet exactly what I need. 



5. MY CHURCH. Okay, so I know there are a lot of great churches out there, and I may be biased, but my church rocks. Not only literally - as in rockin' praise and worship - but it is filled with the most real, accepting, Christ-like people I've ever met, and Pastor Duane is an awesome teacher and genuinely great guy. Plus, God rocks my socks off by allowing me to do really cool things like co-write our church's Christmas production, How Christmas Saved the Grinch, which will be attended by a projected 20,000 people this year! Is that cool, or what? I am so grateful for the opportunity to use my gifts to minister to people and am so honored to be part of a church that's alive and growing!

6. MY JOB(S). I am so thankful that I am able to stay home and do what I love to do instead of going to a job I dread every day. Not to say it's always a piece of cake, and there are days I feel like tossing my laptop out the window, but God has opened so many doors to the writing world for me (mostly through people I've met along the way) and I never take it (or them) for granted.

  7. YOU! 

 I know I'm not the most faithful blogger, nor am I the most amusing, entertaining or interesting. I probably over-promote myself to the point where you want to gag, and sometimes I'm sure I don't respond to you guys like I should. That's why I am thankful for every single one of you who reads my blog - even if only clicking over for a quick skim - and those of you who take extra time to comment. I appreciate you more than you know!

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

What are you most thankful for this year?

Fabulous Followers Friday Gratitude Gift Card Giveaway!

 
It's here! Time for my annual Follower Giveaway! This year, I'm dubbing it the FAITHFUL AND FABULOUS FOLLOWER GRATITUDE GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY! (I challenge you to say that 10 times, fast!). Since I am SO grateful for every one of you, I love doing something extra special as the holiday season kicks off.

(By the way, speaking of special giveaways, this is the last day to get in on this week's 12 Books of Christmas giveaway, A Riverwalk Christmas, offered by Lynette Sowell, one of the contributing authors. ENTER HERE).

Anyway, today, I'm offering you a chance to win a great prize, just for being a follower of my blog! (I really do appreciate you all!)

Back by popular demand, I've decided to allow YOU to choose your own $15 gift card. All you need to do is post a comment on this post telling me which of the following gift cards you would choose. IF your name is selected, of course. The winner will be announced NEXT SATURDAY, December 3rd, along with next week's 12 Books of Christmas winner.

FIVE GIFT CARDS TO CHOOSE FROM:

Amazon.com
Barnesandnoble.com
Christianbook.com
Familychristian.com
eBay.com

RULES SCHMULES

* You MUST be a follower to be eligible. If you're not yet a follower, no problem! Just click on "Follow" (over there to the right) and you'll be automatically qualified. Then leave your comment.

*Only one entry per follower.

*You MUST tell me which gift card you would choose. None mentioned? No entry.

*You MUST leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you're the winner. No email? No win.

Winner will be selected at random using RandomLinePicker, from all entries received. A $15 gift card will be sent electronically after the winner is announced. Deadline to enter: 5:00 AM on Saturday, December 3 (Hey, I get up early and plan to do the drawing first thing in the morning).

Let me just say again how much I truly appreciate you for reading my blog. I wish I could send every one of you a gift card (but my husband would kill me).

OK. That's it! Go ahead and leave your comment.

GOOD LUCK!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your Thanksgiving table be blessed with lots of big thighs!

Have a wonderful holiday!

The Gift(s) of Writing

Over on the ACFW loop, we're talking about the gifts we've given and received this year. Because I haven't really thought about what I would blog about today, and it's an appropriate and interesting topic, I thought I would steal it.

Shhhh...don't tell.

So I've been thinking about what gifts pertaining to writing I've received over the past year. Here are a few that come to mind:

3. Fabulous critique partners. My critique group came together several months ago and is definitely a gift from God. Each member brings a unique perspective and a sharp eye to different aspects of a story, such as grammar, flow, research issues, etc. So here's a shout out to Val, Nicole, Patricia, and Heidi! Your encouragment and help has been awesome. You ladies rock!

2. A break from writing. This may seem strange, but the one week I spent with extended family at the lake with no Internet access was exactly what I needed. Yes, I snuck into town a couple of times to catch up on some work, but being able to write during those quiet mornings by the lake, without the lure of email and Facebook, was truly a gift. It was wonderful to declutter my brain and focus on what I truly love to do - write.

1. My dad. The biggest writing related gift I received this year came from my dad. Last year (2008), he told me that if I finaled in the Genesis contest in 2009, he would pay my way to the conference in Denver. I finaled, and he paid. It means so much to me NOT because of the large chunk of change that I wouldn't have been able to come up with otherwise, and NOT because I was dying to go, although both of those are good reasons! But the fact that my dad knew how much it would mean to me and wanted to bless me in this way is priceless. His thoughtfulness can't be measured and I can't thank him enough.

As for the gifts I've GIVEN...that's a little tougher. I could mention the books I've given away on my blog, or the Amazon gift card on Black Friday, but I don't consider those as gifts as much as rewards to you guys for taking the time to humor me by reading my blog.

It might be the amount of time I've invested in my critique partners manuscripts, but they do the same for me, so it's not really a gift, but an even exchange.

I did pay the entire hotel bill at the FaithWriters conference for myself and my friend, who might not have been able to attend, otherwise. I guess that would qualify.

I do hope this blog has been a gift to those who read it. I try to include helpful information that aspiring writers can use to improve their craft and hone their skills, and I love to offer book reviews to alert you to great reads. And there are the giveaways, of course.

I have received a couple of emails recently from readers who don't always comment on my posts but wanted to tell me how much my blog has encouraged and blessed them. So I suppose I would count that as the best gift I've given this year.

But, honestly, knowing I've done some small part in encouraging fellow writers is truly humbling.

EACH ONE OF YOU is a gift to me.

SO THANK YOU!

Now I'll pass on the question to you: What have been the best writing-related gifts you've given and received this year?

Faithful Followers Friday

Last year, on Cyber Monday, I held a Subscriber Monday giveaway to say thanks to those of you who follow my blog. Julie Arduini walked away with a $15 Amazon.com gift card and I'm sure she spent it on something wonderful!

This year, I can't post on Cyber Monday because of the 12 Books of Christmas giveaway going on (by the way, Margaret Daley is giving away TWO books this week and the deadline is midnight tonight, so if you haven't yet commented on THIS POST, do it now to be eligible for this giveaway). Anyway, because I can't post this special, now-annual, giveaway on Monday, I'm doing it today! Yay for you!

I've decided to allow YOU to decide your own gift card. All you need to do is post a comment on this post telling me which of the following gift cards you would choose. IF your name is selected, of course. The winner will be announced NEXT SATURDAY, December 5th, along with next week's 12 Books of Christmas winner.

FIVE GIFT CARDS TO CHOOSE FROM:

Amazon.com
Barnesandnoble.com
Christianbook.com
Familychristian.com
eBay.com

RULES SCHMULES

* You MUST be a follower to be eligible. If you're not yet a follower, no problem! Just click on "Follow" (over there to the right) and you'll be automatically qualified. Then leave your comment.

*Only one entry per follower.

*You MUST tell me which gift card you would choose. None mentioned? No entry.

*You MUST leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you're the winner.

Winner will be selected at random, from all entries received. Gift card will be sent electronically after the winner is announced. Deadline to enter: 5:00 AM on Saturday, December 5th (Hey, I get up early and plan to do the drawing first thing in the morning).

Let me just say again how much I truly appreciate you for reading my blog. I wish I could send every one of you a gift card (but my husband would kill me).

OK. That's it! Go ahead and leave your comment.

GOOD LUCK!

And the $15 Amazon.com Gift Card Goes to...

Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment about how wonderful I am! If I didn't appreciate my friends before, I certainly do now! You guys rock!

So this morning I wrote every name down on a square of paper and stood by while my 11-year-old daughter closed her eyes and selected a winner. And just let me say that - yawn - she sure did take her sweet old time - almost enough for me to whistle the whole Jeopardy tune.

Anyway, I am thrilled to announce that the winner of the $15 Amazon.com gift card is...


JULIE ARDUINI!

Woo-Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to Julie - your gift card will be arriving in your email inbox very soon. Hopefully this helped to make your Monday a little bit less Monday-ish.

And thanks again to everyone who entered. Keep an eye out for more contests in 2009!

Have a blessed week!

Subscriber Monday!

So who is taking advantage of CYBER MONDAY and all the great deals that come with it? Strangely, I had never heard of Cyber Monday, even though the term has supposedly been around since 2005 and I have been online for a lot longer than that! Guess I wasn't paying attention! Or maybe Cyber Monday is just getting more press these days. Regardless, it's fun, isn't it? Any excuse to shop works for me!

Three days ago on Black Friday, my friend, Julie Arduini, featured a poem on her blog that I wrote last year about the ominous Friday Shoppy Frenzy. Oddly, even never having heard of Cyber Monday, it ties in. Here's the link if you'd like to read it: TWAS THE MORN AFTER THANKSGIVING.

Anyway, just now, as I was finishing up my order with Amazon.com, I realized it has been a whole week since I've posted and started thinking about how I could tie in Cyber Monday with my blog. Well, as you can see from my title, I've come up with something.

Today, on my blog anyway, it's SUBSCRIBER MONDAY!

What exactly IS Subscriber Monday? I'm glad you asked.

I would like to give something back to you for reading my blog. Many of you regularly visit and spend your precious and valuable time reading my ramblings and sometimes even commenting! This makes me feel special, so I want to do something special for you. Well, ONE of you, anyway.

All you need to do is post a comment, telling me how wonderful I am. Then, in one week (December 8), I will randomly select one person to receive a $15 Amazon.com gift card. If you can't think of any ways I'm wonderful, feel free to say it's because I'm giving away a $15 Amazon.com gift card. And no, you don't actually have to BE a subscriber to enter. Visitor Monday just doesn't have the same ring to it, you know?

And that's all there is to it!

Seriously, THANK YOU for joining me on my track to publication. I DO appreciate you! I know $15 isn't much, but it should at least buy you a book. Who knows? Next year it may even be MY book!

Stay tuned...

Feeling Thankful? Check it out...

My good friend Julie Arduini is participating in November's National Blog Posting Month, which means posting 30 blog entries in 30 days. But as she is preparing for and will be recovering from surgery this month, she is featuring other writers on her blog. The theme she's chosen for November is THANKFULNESS and today I have the honor of being the featured writer on her site. If you'd like to check out my post, "Being Thankful is More than Words", click on over to The Surrendered Scribe and check it out.

While you're there, take a second to leave a comment and read the previous posts from other thankful bloggers.

And how about a challenge: post your own blog on this topic! Let's start a new blogfest of THANKFULNESS!

(And don't forget to wish Julie a quick recovery, too!)