End-of-the-Year Celebration DAY 5!!

Sorry I'm late posting all this!

The winner of Day 4's giveaway is:

BookAddict (DreamingEvermore@...)

Congrats!

Lets get started with today's festivities! Remember, today and tomorrow are the final days of the Celebration! And you get to turn in your "banner points" for extra entries today! Here are the authors being featured in the final blowout giveaway!

Penny Zeller, Amanda Stephan, Loree Lough, Janice Thompson, and Suzanne Woods Fisher. :D

What is one thing or area where God has been changing you in 2010? Do you have any scriptures to go along with/support that?

Penny: God has been continually showing me how I can depend on Him in all circumstances – both big and small.  In July of 2010, our family was traveling home on the freeway from a Christian rock festival. We were involved in the worst blinding hailstorm the area had seen in years. I prayed for an exit where we could pull over from the freeway, and God provided one. As my husband maneuvered the truck and our travel trailer to the side of the road, we watched and listened as hail – sometimes the size of a baseball – hit against our truck and travel trailer. Our daughters crouched low on the floor in the back seat and we all prayed God would protect us as the loud hail came toward us with amazing force. In the end, our travel trailer was totaled (and would later have to be replaced) and our truck sustained over $7,000 in damage. Yet, no one was hurt. God had kept us safe.

As we ventured back onto the freeway toward the next two hours to reach our home, we saw people alongside the freeway with their windows broken out of their vehicles. Some vehicles were rolled over and people were standing sobbing alongside the road. Emergency vehicles were everywhere. As we crept along at a slow pace because of our damaged vehicle, we prayed for those we saw alongside the road. We were humbled and thankful. Things could have been so much worse. But God had protected us.

He is teaching me more and more the assurances found in so many books of the Bible, including Psalm 46:1-3, Psalm 91, and Habakkuk 3:17-19.

Amanda: Oh my, has God been changing me so much this past year! I was a stay at home, home-schooling mother that was quite content to stay behind the scenes and never bring attention to myself. Since the release of my first novel, I’ve had to be out in the public, talking and promoting my book. It’s been a tremendous step of faith. Ecc. 3:1 – To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. (KJV)

Loree: The Lord has always been a steadfast source of calm and peace for me, no matter how turbulent and tumultuous life becomes. I believe He has underscored this knowledge throughout 2010, and the scriptures I return to time and again are
John 14: Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe in me.

and

Philippians 4:6&7: …do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication and with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Janice: Several months ago our worship pastor preached a sermon about “success/fame.” Because I’m in a business where so much depends on people knowing who I am (and recognizing my name so that they will buy my books) the sermon hit me hard. He posed a question: “What would it look like if you stopped striving for success and just loved Jesus?” Wow. That question stopped me cold. I thought about it all the way home from church. When I arrived home, I took an eyeliner pencil and wrote those words on the mirror in my bedroom so that I would be confronted with them every morning when I woke up. God is really asking me to lay down my “striving” (pushing hard to be well-known/famous) and just trusting Him with my career. I’m learning that, as I crawl into His lap for one-on-one time, He will take care of the rest. What’s really important in the end, anyway? When I get to heaven, God’s not going to ask, “Why didn’t you do a better job marketing yourself?” He’s going to ask, “Hey, why didn’t I see more of you? I needed some cuddle time and you weren’t there!”

Suzanne: There have been a number of experiences this year in which I’ve been pushed way out of my comfort zone and have had to rely entirely on God, and He has been so faithful! The lesson for me is to continually invite God into a situation—every situation—take my sticky fingers off the controls and let Him work!

As for Scripture to support that: Proverbs 16:1-4: “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. All a man’s way seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for His own ends…” (niv).

Tell one thing that God did for you this year just to show He loved you.

Penny: His continued love, protection, and faithfulness in a variety of circumstances and His ultimate sacrifice of sending His Son to die for me tops the list.

Amanda: Narrowing it down to one is difficult! But, every time I felt like just throwing in the towel and giving up, He’d send along someone special to uplift my spirit. It’s much more common for people to tear others down than to exhort, so these people have really become very close to my heart. I look at these people as precious gifts.

Loree: My husband had a heart attack on New Year’s Eve, 2009, and after the ambulance rushed him to the ER and the team got him stabilized, the doc on duty told me that Larry’s main artery was 99% blocked, that the other two major arteries were 97% and 95% blocked, and that a couple of minutes was the difference between life and death, literally. I was too shocked to tell him that Larry had planned to head for the mountains to get in one last day of hunting before the season end. If not for a freaky, unexpected snow, he would have been there, and not at home, when he said “I’m not feeling very well….”

Larry went through surgery and recovery in record time—praise God and hallelujah!

Then, every single month after that, the family suffered at last one monumental blow. And every person I’ve talked with, from the cashier at WalMart to friends and family members I’ve loved for years, has had the same kind of year!

Yet…when we share our trials, we celebrate that God was and is with us through every tribulation, sure and steady and doling out comfort and peace even when things look most bleak. And we thank Him, too, when the waters grow calmer, that He has graced us with hearts that know and express gratitude for these gifts He has given!

Janice: Wow, just one? I could give you a lengthy list! Many of my readers know that I struggle with autoimmune arthritis. The pain is excruciating at times. Because this is a pre-existing condition, I’ve been unable to get health insurance, so getting the proper meds (and medical care) has been difficult. The rheumatologist told me about a medication that I needed to be on (a weekly injection) but it was too expensive to consider ($350/week). In January of ’10 I received word that I’d been approved for a grant to receive the meds for free for one year: $18,000 worth of medicine absolutely free. Talk about a miracle!

Suzanne: Just this morning, over coffee, I was telling my husband that this Christmas almost feels like the end of a book. This very week, a number of pending issues for our family have resolved in wonderful ways. One son has a fabulous new job, one daughter has graduated from college and is working/living in San Francisco, another son is happily adjusted to college, other daughter and son-in-law (who have a beautiful new baby)—just found out they will probably be moving back to the west coast within a few months. It feels almost scripted! My cup runneth over—to see my children all doing so well in life. God’s good gift!

What is your favorite memory from 2010?

Penny: I have many awesome memories from 2010, especially those involving camping with my family, but there is one that sticks in my mind… Our family was camping in the mountains over Labor Day Weekend. While it was chilly, we were having fun hiking, doing some target shooting, and sitting by the campfire. We watched later as people began to leave for home because of concerns of an early winter storm approaching. We prayed about it, then elected to stay since our travel trailer has a great heater. Besides, we were ready for an adventure! Hours later, we sat inside our trailer playing board games and eating snacks at the table until all hours of the night. It began to snow outside, the wind howled, and the temperature fell to 19 degrees.

In the morning, we awoke to more winter weather, but with wonderful memories. I wouldn’t trade that weekend in the mountains with my husband and children for anything.

Amanda: My favorite memory of 2010 is a recent one. This past week, our church put on a Christmas program. Usually I’m behind the scenes, but this year I headed it up. (gasp….) One little girl decided that she wanted to sit by me as I played the piano and not be in the play. As I was playing and the children were singing, she would do a variety of things like hang on my left arm and swing, lay her head in my lap, talk to me, and my favorite, stand up on the piano bench behind me. It was so cute!

Loree: When the surgeon said (on January 2, 2010, after 6 hours in the O.R.) “He did great, and he’ll be fine.” Yes, that was one bright and shining moment, for sure!

Janice: One of my favorite memories just took place a couple weeks ago. My second-oldest daughter and her husband live in Montana, a zillions miles away from our home in Texas. They came for a visit a couple weeks ago and brought my grandbabies. Two of my other daughters live here in the Houston area with their spouses and little ones. So, for ten days, I had three daughters, three sons-in-law, six grandbabies, and my mom. . .all together in one town! We did everything together. The house was a wreck, thanks to the six kids (the oldest is four) but it didn’t matter. We were just so happy to be together and to share in some new memories with the kids.

Suzanne: Personally, it was the moment when I held my first grandbaby in my arms!

Professionally, it was when “The Waiting” hit the top 50 bestseller list for both ECPA and CBA. Wow, wow, wow. I still have to pinch myself. Did that really happen?!

Do you have any New Year resolutions in mind?

Penny: I’m not really one to set formal New Year’s Resolutions. *grins*
I am seeking the Lord’s will for my life in 2011 and praying for His guidance, protection, and wisdom.

Amanda: Yes, and it’s rather stupid. I vacuum ALL the time, but I absolutely hate putting them away. ( I have two vacuums that I use everyday. I’m a vacuum-aholic) This year, I’m determined that when I’ve finished vacuuming for the day, I’m going to wind the cords up and put them where they actually go. (It’s going to be tough…)

Loree: I’m going to erase “extra sweets” from my diet. (Notice I said “going to” instead of “try to” because I’m also going to live more by the famous Yoda quote from Star Wars: “Do or do not; there IS no ‘try’.”

Janice: Might sound crazy, but I plan to rest more. I’m a workaholic. I literally work into the night most every night. Because of the autoimmune disease, however, I must slow down.

Suzanne: Oh… the usual. Lose five pounds. Plant a better garden. Improve my tennis game. Spend time nurturing my relationships. Stuff like that!

What is one goal you have set (or God has put on your heart) for 2011 apart from New Year resolutions?

Penny: To be better at prioritizing goals and doing a better job at managing my stress level.

Amanda: One goal is to try to be a better witness for Him wherever I go, no matter where I am!

Loree: I will spend more time writing. (Again, I won’t try to spend more time, I’ll do it!) Why? Because the Father has made sure I know, each day as I sit at my desk, that He aims to use me as a missionary of sorts to carry His word to the places and people He wants to touch and reach in unique and special ways, so they will know the power of His love and the blessing of His grace.

Janice: I hope this isn’t too shocking to my readers, but I plan to write less. I’ve been a full-time freelancer for years and have depended solely on the income from my writing. Because of that, I’ve taken nearly every job that’s come my way. My health will no longer allow that, so I’m slowing w-a-y down, and will probably only write three or four books this year, as opposed to the usual ten to twelve. (I’ve been doing a lot of write-for-hire work on “little” books—devotionals and short pieces.)

Suzanne: I want to be sure to continue to develop as a writer. Every book, I hope and pray, is better than the one before it. I am so grateful for this author gig—I can’t even begin to describe how blessed I feel with the opportunity to write for Revell, to connect to readers, to spend time doing something I love. What a gift!

~~~~~

Giveaway! These authors, along with Debby Mayne and Deeanne Gist, have generously offered these 8 books to one lucky winner!

McKenzie and Kaydie, autographed, by Penny Zeller

 

The Price of Trust, autographed, by Amanda Stephan

Maverick Heart, autograhped, by Loree Lough

 

Star's Collide, autographed, by Janice Thompson

The Search, autographed, by Suzanne Woods Fisher

 

Special Mission, autographed, by Debby Mayne

The Trouble with Brides omnibus, autographed, by Deeanne Gist (3-in-1 of Dee's books!!)

Rules:

For this party, only people with USA mailing addresses can enter. You must leave your email address in order to be entered so that I can contact you if you win.

Mandatory first entry: You must be a Google Friend Connect follower (in sidebar) of this blog, OR be an email subscriber (in sidebar) to this blog to enter this giveaway. Let me know in your comment to enter (with your email address) which you are.


Extra Entries:


+1 Post the link for this giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. (If you do both, that is +2)


+1 GFC follow or email subscribe to my other blog, Christian Book Giveaways.


+1 Put the buttons for one or both of my blogs on your blog. (You can get the HTML in my sidebar.) If you put both buttons up, that is +2.


+1 For every friend you get to come, enter this giveaway, and say that you sent them. (Make sure they use a name that I can connect with you. I want to make sure the extra points go to the right person!


+2 Post about this giveaway on your blog, telling which books will be given away.

+3 Leave a comment for at least one of the authors in this giveaway encouraging them with something you like about them personally, their writing, or one of their books.


I have one special way to gain extra entries, so pay close attention… For every day that the banner for this End-of-the-Year Celebration at the TOP of your blog (starting the 22nd) it will count as +1 entry towards the final blowout giveaway on the 30th and 31st. That means you can earn up to 10 more entries in the final giveaway!!! You can grab the banner’s HTML HERE.


**Today is the day to turn in your banner day count! Let me know how many days you had my banner up and it will count towards this giveaway!**


This giveaway ends tomorrow (Friday, December 31) at 11:59 p.m. CST. I will try to promptly contact the winner after that time or the next day. I will also announce all the winners a second time in a separate post on January 1, 2011!