Winner of hislovenduresforever Giveaway!




I randomly chose the winner for the New Friends Giveaway - His Love Endures Forever Etsy shop... 

And the blessed one is

Alicia from

A List Creations who said...
Oh my goodness. can't even pick just one!
But, since I have to choose, I think I will pick this as my favorite,http://www.etsy.com/listing/49435732/praise-the-lord-ladies
I do love to praise Him!
What a wonderful giveaway! Definitely hearting this shop!

Congratulations, Alicia!  Ricardo and Tiffany will be contacting you directly, ok?

Thank you everyone for participating!  I absolutely LOVE doing these giveaways for you guys!  Keep checking back!


Learning to Earn on Swagbucks & SALE announcement!




If you're looking for the His Love Endures Forever Giveaway, scroll down or click here.
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Do you do a lot of searches on the internet?  Is your default search engine THE ONLY search engine you use?  I don't blame you.  I used to "google" everything!!  Seriously... I would search for recipes, tutorials, names, directions, photos, shopping sites, coupon codes, YOU NAME IT! 

UNTIL...



Swagbucks came along...
I know a lot of you have heard of Swagbucks before. 
But if you haven't, here's BRIEF description of what you should expect. 
- Swag Bucks are digital dollars you can earn and redeem for merchandise and gift cards. 
(A $5 Amazon.com gift card could be redeemed for 450 Swagbucks). 
-  You earn Swag Bucks just for searching the internet, participating in daily surveys, shopping online, trading in old cellphones or games, or simply by using their toolbar!

Earning that many Swag Bucks might not sound like an easy thing to do, but if you're already searching the internet, WHY NOT try?  You might as well earn a few Swag Bucks along the way. 

To sign up, just CLICK HERE!!!

I joined Swagbucks a few months ago and earned almost 1300 SB's already!  And I didn't even have to do anything fancy... just SEARCHED the internet!  How easy is that???  So, what am I planning to do with all of my points!  I'm hoping to get enough to do some CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!!  Wouldn't that be fun?  And since everyone is thinking and talking about al the Christmas in JULY SALES...
Here's another announcement!!

Helen's Corner is offering $0.99 SHIPPING all ALL orders until July 25th!
WOW!!!!

So, earn some Swag Bucks for your Christmas shopping... OR DO some Christmas Shopping on Helen's Corner!  Let me know what your strategies are for doing some early Christmas shopping...  Wow, are we really talking about Chrismtas?  In July???

New Friends GIVEAWAY! - CLOSED




About 3 weeks ago I was browsing a few Etsy shops that purposefully place a significant emphasis on sharing the Word of God through their items. I came across His Love Endures Forever and immediately contacted their seller! I made a purchase and a few days later…

OH.... MY... GOODNESS!!!!!

Look what I got in the mail!!!

I totally “fell in love” with their product and the idea behind their shop!

The Lord really orchestrated this order! And here’s why… through this purchase, I can honestly say that I found 2 wonderful friends!



They are a husband and wife team, who loves the Lord and strive to share His love to others through their work. Let me introduce you to Ricardo and Tiffany, my new Etsy friends!


How did His Love Endures Forever Start?
I learned to sew when I was in third grade and have always been in to crafts. Since then, I have had a passion for designing and wanted to have my own clothing company. Ricardo and I found Christ about two years ago. We moved from California to Washington in January after I finished my B.A. in Apparel Marketing and Design, with the intent to start a clothing company. We had no clue what to do but God opened all the right doors and we are on our way. We designed our own silk screen press and learned to print ourselves. It has been a fun and trying journey. We are still working out the kinks but God is amazing and we know that ultimately His will be done.
Ricardo is in the process of finishing his B.S in Entrepreneurship and Marketing at Sacramento State University, therefore we are moving back to California.

What is your inspiration for your shops designs?
I do most of the designing but Ricardo has a say, as well. As we do our daily devotions and bible studies, we come across verses and messages that we find valuable and worth sharing. I usually work around the message or verse to come up with design. God inspires me and I just go with it. Everything starts with the Word of God. I constantly doodle on my papers, especially during class, so I have a few note books full of ideas that I have yet to finalize. I have to clarify that I did pay attention in class for the most part.

Ricardo says to keep doodling.

What is your favorite item in your shop?
Ricardo – Love Coasters, when someone comes in to your house, they will most likely use a coaster. I pray that they would be inspired and ask questions about the message of them. I think it is an easy way to share your faith with a guest. Tiffany designed them specifically for our house, as well, and I love them.
Tiffany – Mustard Seed Shirt, when I was in junior high my older brother gave me a necklace with the passage and a real mustard seed but it did not mean that much to me then as it does now. Without faith, there is no hope and everyone needs that.

How did you meet?
We met in junior high through mutual friends and started dating in high school. We got married a year ago in Santa Cruz, CA and could not be happier. God has blessed us tremendously with patience and love. Putting God first in our relationship is the key to our marriage.

Do you have any hobbies?
We love the outdoors – hiking, biking, snowboarding, jogging, etc. We enjoy hanging out with friends and cooking delicious meals. There is nothing like a great meal to end the night. Ricardo loves to play the guitar and read, as well. I love anything crafty. I am a very DIY person. Designing for fashion shows or just sewing something for myself is always fun.

What are your goals?
Our main goal is to share the love of Christ. We were fortunate to find Him and know how blessed we are because of it. We would love to grow and expand. We are planning to start our own website and eventually open a store front, God willing of course. We would really love to start our own ministry through His Love Endures Forever by putting on fashion shows at local churches to raise support for missionaries. We have a heart for missions and our company reflects that. We donate a portion of our proceeds to missions.

Check out some of their work!

Love this Mustard Seed Shirt


And look at these lovely coasters...


And for the guys...


And don't forget the little ones...

They really have something for everyone!

And CHECK THIS OUT!!!!

Ricardo and Tiffany have generously offered to give ONE of my BLESSED readers a $25 credit toward a future purchase on their ETSY shop!

That’s right!!!! $25!
Think of all the wonderful things you can get there!

HERE'S HOW TO WIN!!!!

ONE COMMENT PER ENTRY PER PERSON!!!
You must be a Follower of my Blog.
Check out His Love Endures Forever Etsy shop, and post a comment with your favorite item.
Leave me your name and best way to contact you (email, Etsy shop, etc).
(1 entry)

EXTRA ENTRY: 
Blog, Twitter, Facebook ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY.
Leave me your name and best way to contact you (email, Etsy shop, etc).
(1 entry)

Giveaway will end on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 at 11:59pm ET.
Winner will be announced on Thursday, July 22nd.

So, what are you waiting for?  Check out their shop!  Give them some love (as they're new to the Etsy world), come back to comment, and you could WIN!!

Back from camp!




So, for the past 4 days, me, hubby, and Joshua were down at Ludlow Falls Camp (by Troy, OH) for a family/youth camp.  For the first time in a LONG time, I found myself at camp and surprisingly without any "big" responsibilities... no cabin leading, no prayer ministry leading, no small group leading... just being a mom among other campers.  It was nice :)

I had a wonderful time just relaxing, enjoying time with hubby, and my baby son. 







One of the surprinsing delights I had these past few days, was that I had TIME to READ!!!! 
Here are the current books I'm reading...




and



I usually read one book at a time, but for some reason I've been fascinated by all 3 and I can't put them down!  Let me know if you would want me to talk about any of these books in more detail.  I'm still so FULL from reading bits of pieces of them... you know what I mean?

God is definitely doing something amazing in my life currently... I can't pin-point exactly what it is right now.  All I know is that I am EXCITED about some things coming up in my near future.  On my drive home from camp today, I started writing down on my journal some ideas, "inspirations" from the Lord about what He would want me to do with my time, skills, and resources.  We'll see where He's leading me.  And stay tuned!  I am definitely bringing my changes here, to this blog! 

Back "home"




After a very FULL and long weekend with family and friends, we're "home". 

What is "home" anyway?  I've moved so much in the last 10 years of my life that "home" is a very relative term, I must say...  But for now, home is where we "feel" comfortable and somewhat familiar with the day-to-day surroundings... and that means my home is currently here in Cleveland.

However, this past weekend reminded me of the many places, sites, and temporary quarters in which we all find ourselves from time to time.  My husband grew up in the farm, in a small town in Indiana.  For some reason my son feels completely "at home" there, too.  It was a relaxing time for us.





The sunsets out in the farm are so beautiful!  Praise the Lord!


We went to the lake cottage for the 4th of July celebration...


Joshua with cousin Maddie...

...who beautifully featured one of Helen's Corner's creations...


It was a beautiful evening...


And the perfect night for the fireworks!!!  Gorgeous!!


Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!