Giveaway at Heaven's Walk!

 ♥

Because you 

inspire

teach

visit 

pray

give 

embrace

and 

support

 

and because over 300 of you now follow my humble little blog,

I want to give something back to you ~

source

So,

I'm having a

Giveaway at Heaven's Walk!

Yup

You heard right!

I poked around in my kitchke closet...

You know,

the closet where one keeps all of one's treasures
that one buys during the year

(and then doesn't ever use....)?

The closet where if one opens it too quickly
all the treasures come tumbling out onto one's head?

The one that should have a warning sign posted on the door?

The one closet that we really can't live without?

The one closet that we have whether we like it or not?

Yeah, that one.

(I know you have one *wink*)


Well....I've got some fabulous little treasures

just for you, my friends!

*  *  *  * * * *  * * * * *  *  * 

The "Beach Blue Giveaway"  ~

a jar of beautiful sea glass
Yankee Candle 'Beach-Walk' scented votive candles
a blue ceramic waterlily votive
and a handmade wooden shorebird

all gathered up in a sweet little wicker basket

And the second giveaway

Yup ~~ you heard right again ~~

there's a second giveaway!

The "Shabby Pink Giveaway" ~

two pink floral ruffled euro shams
a sweet little embossed pink glass jar
and a vintage pale pink rosette iron hook
snuggled into a darling wicker basket.

 

Oh, and I'll include two of my clay tags, too.

For a chance to win one of these two giveaways,
here's all you have to do...*

1.  Become a follower and leave a comment that you are.
2.  If you're already a follower, let me know that you are. 
3. Answer this question:

"Which Heaven's Walk post is your favorite and why?"



If you want an extra chance to win...

4.  Post this giveaway on your blog with a link back.


(Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.)

(Remember to include your email address in one of your comments

if you don't have it posted in your profile so that i can notify you.)

My sweet hubby will gleefully draw two winner's names
on Friday, May 6!

So thank you...

for being a friend

for caring

and just for being you...

you're awesome


  {{ blessings and two big hugs to you! }}

*(you need to have a United States address for me to ship to)

Linking to the parties located at the lower right of my sidebar!
Just click on the buttons - and have a great time!

HALLELUJAH!

Praying that you all have a very blessed Easter!

HE IS RISEN!!!

Hallelujah!

{ hugs }

Sailing Faith

I had planned on writing a different post for this week.

One on a completely different subject....

But after seeing a friend of mine in church today,

God nudged me to write this one instead.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Remember the book I mentioned that hubby and I read while

spending our vacation on the beach?

It was called "Sailing Faith: The Long Way Home".

It was written by a friend of ours, Gregg Granger.

We've known Gregg and his family for many years.

They are long-standing members of  

Gun Lake Community Church with us.

When we heard that Gregg was taking his family on a two year journey 

aboard a 56 foot sailboat named Faith of Holland to circumnavigate the world,

(that actually ended up being a four year adventure 

sailing 36,000 nautical miles around the world),

we didn't know what to think.

"Good for you!"  

"How exciting!" 

"Is he nuts...?" 

"Sure hope he writes a book!" 

"We're going to definitely have to pray for them..."

But after reading about their experiences aboard Faith of Holland

as they traveled around the world

meeting people from all walks of life and

diving into the various cultures headfirst,

we were amazed, speechless, and in awe of this 

special family that God indeed kept safe in his embrace.

As Gregg writes in the prologue, the reaction that the family received upon 

sharing the news of their plan was,

"You're going to a lot of places where they don't value human life like we do."

But having more than the faith of a mustard seed,

Gregg loaded up his wife, two teen-age daughters,

and his five-year-old son in 2003,

spent one week aboard a charter in Florida learning how to sail,

and then waved goodbye to the Unites States,

firm in the knowledge that God was protecting them all the way.

The Grangers on Faith

Their journey was about more than travel and culture.

It was about relationships.

Relationships with God, each other, other people on similar journeys,

and with the people in the 38 countries they visited.

They witnessed about the power of God's love 

all the way around the world

and touched a lot of lives while doing just that.

Teaching school in Saumlaki.

Faith docked for repairs with the workmen who repaired her.

Faith heeling on passage to Sudan.

By God's infinite grace, 

they survived malaria, broken bones, vicious storms,

and other incredible struggles.

But they also experienced the incredible vastness

of God's mighty hand in creation.

The Grangers at the pyramids.

Relying on the ocean for food.

Sailing past the Rock of Gilbraltar.

Taking a break on passage.

As Tom Rademacher (newspaper columnist and author) wrote,
"....{Gregg} and his family embrace a fascinating planet,

one port at a time......Sailing Faith: The Long Way Home will have you

reconsidering....what precious moments each of us have left

for chasing dreams."

In his book, "Gregg sought to demonstrate that the world

and people everywhere are wonderful gifts from our Creator,

to be explored and marvelled at."

I tell you,

this book is a must-read.

You will never look at the world the same way again...

I promise.

{ Faith-ful hugs }

{You may order "Sailing Faith: The Long Way Home" from Gregg's website.

You can also visit www.faithofholland.com for more information

and photographs from the Granger's journey.

Free free to contact Gregg directly with comments, 

suggestions, or inquiries at gregg@faithofholland.com.}

I am not receiving any payment nor acknowledgement for this post.

I just needed to share with you how fantastic this book really is! 

I am linking with the Linky Parties found

at the bottom right of my sidebar!  

 Just click on the buttons!  :) 

Beach breathing.....

During vacation a couple weeks ago

I kept a journal of sorts whiling away my days on the beach.

I logged my thoughts and feelings 

on scraps of paper, backs of magazines, 

and in a small pad of paper I found tucked away in my purse.

I find myself returning to that little journal

time and time again

when I need to escape,

to regroup,

and to feel close to God.

This is an excerpt from that beloved journal.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~ 

I plant my feet deep in the sand and lift my face to the morning sun.

I feel God's warm embrace.

I hear him calling to me in the splashing of the waves on shore.

The wind tousles my hair around my eyes

and I


am in


His heaven.

My soul drinks up the moment and savors it ~

holding it close to my heart...
wanting never to forget.

I hear people walking by
sharing memories with each other

of happy times spent on this beach in years past,

and I open my tear-filled eyes to see
shimmering diamonds on liquid blue.

A father holds his baby daughter as he wades into the water

picking up shells to show her.

His young son yells "Look, Daddy!  Look at what I made!"

as he points to a sandcastle perched at water's edge.

Velvety gray dolphins rise out of the water around a boat
making it's way across the bay.
They jump and play tag in the frothy wake.

The boaters slow and call out to them.

As an osprey floats overhead and settles in the Australian pines that embrace the rustling palms, 

pelicans hover by just inches above the surface of the ocean.

Little sandpipers scurry along the shoreline

searching for a snack in the wet, glistening sand.

I breathe in the warm, salty air....

and sigh.

This is God's embrace.


This is where I can truly see him
feel him
hear him.

I breathe deeply and close my eyes.

I lift my face,
spread my arms...

and



begin to dance...

{ Hugs }

Thank you, sweet Kerrie, for reminding me...


{Linking with the lovely Linky Parties posted on my sidebar toward the bottom.
You can get to each one by clicking on the buttons!}

sweet sanibel memories...

blissful perfection...

utter paradise...

complete peace...

i want to go back.....

theses are the phrases that still float lazily through my mind as i close my eyes
and think back to our two-week vacation that we returned from a week ago...

it could not have been better
 and it could not have meant more to us

it was complete perfection all wrapped up in a coconut scented beach towel
still warm from the hot sun

but re-entry into reality once we arrived home was brutal

really brutal

we dragged our tanned toes
and dug in our sand-softened heels
reluctant to let the world back in to the beach life we had
so grown accustomed to and fell in love with

so i cling daily to the sweet memories of our perfect little island getaway...

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~ ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~ 

as always ~ it was emotional for me to return to our beloved little island

we always tell each other how it feels like we're going home again

once that ocean breeze washes over our faces through the open windows of the car

as we cross over the causeway

once on the island

we hear 

the rustling of the palm leaves

the waves washing up on shore 

the tinkling of shells as the waves tug them back across the wet sand

the hum of air conditioners

the crunch of flip flops on crushed shell beach paths

we smell 

the saltiness of the ocean

the sweetness of the beach

coconut suntan lotion

and

flowering jasmine bushes

we feel

free

lazy

irresponsible

close to God

grateful

and

peaceful

we were blessed to spend 14 days in glorious sunshine

beaming from cloudless azure skies

the temps ranged from the 70s during the evening to 86 during the day
with the famous florida humidity level as low as we've ever experienced it at 30%

talk about heavenly weather....

(sigh..!)

we shared cups of sweetened java in the morning while reading the local paper
with the ever present ocean calling to us through the porch screens

 our vitamin d therapy sessions lasted from 10 am to 4pm  ~

reading,
taking long walks on the beach,
capturing 300+ photos,

meeting new friends from all over the world,
sharing glasses of fatcat♥happydog wine,
happy to kick back with debbie and jim who met us down there mid-vacation ~

we felt truly blessed to just "be" together ~

my sweet hubby and me
with two of our best friends

rog and me

debbie and jim awaiting their first sunset on sanibel

my spot in the sun

what we read:  "sailing faith; the long way home" by our friend, gregg granger - a definite summertime must-read that you can pick up at faithofholland.com. 

rog catching dinner

jim snoozing in the shade

debbie sharing a moment with God

we spoke of goals,

prayed for our future,

shared invigorating and insightful discussions with deb and jim

about our faith, the rapture, and our relationship with God,
and spent endless hours just sitting and listening to the ocean waves
trying to soak up that beautiful sound into our being
and carry it home in our heart

i was so glad to be able to share it all with debbie ♥
knowing everything that she's been through in the past few months

 we grilled in many evenings instead of spending the big bucks on dinner out -
and with a "chef" for a husband
i certainly wasn't going to complain!

the view couldn't have been any better in a restaurant...

 we did eat out at our favorite restaurant one evening
to celebrate hubby and my birthdays

we all gorged ourselves on
fresh spinach salads, hot wings, bungalow bread, grouper, and crab cakes
and washed it down with margaritas ~
(and jim and debbie surprised us with a birthday key lime pie complete with a candle)

jimmy decided to get a little frisky during dessert.....hmmmm....must have been something in that pie...

the old birthday couple

 evenings were always spent taking the beach path to hang out on the shore,
share a glass of wine,
and wait for the spectacular sunset
that God sent to us each night
filling the sky with his love

our hearts may belong on this old farm ~
but the ocean has stolen our souls...

...and we can hardly wait to return to sanibel's warm embrace next year...

 to share more beach memories with debbie and jim

{ hugs }

♥

p.s.  be sure to check back soon!

heaven's walk first giveaway is on the horizon

and i know you'll love it!

xo