WOW. I was completely blow away with the comments on yesterdays post. I knew I was convicted but I had no idea what a chord it would strike. I so appreciate all of your stories.
I pray that each and everyone of us will tuck that word picture of looking for treasures in those around us into our hearts and be on the lookout all the time for the treasures God wants us to find.
I did the "random number" thingy and the winner is: Kris Lvnglyf73@aol.com Kris, I will email you today so I can get your gifts mailed to you. Congratulations..
Thanks to everyone that participated in our carnival. I think it was a great success.
I am so excited to share in the Proverbs 31 Carnival today. February 16, 2010. We are all sharing about different things we can or do celebrate. All of us are doing give-a-way's with them. I can't wait to see the results.
The celebration I want to talk about is the treasures we find in other people. Read this story below:
A man was exploring caves by the Seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him.
As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock .. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!
Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.
Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!
It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.
When I read this story my heart was stirred. How many times have I been guilty of not seeing a person the way God see's them. Do I do that with myself as well? Do I even do that with my kids? A resounding "YES" penetrated my being.
I over look the gems hidden in my children when they are rambling on about what seems like nothing to me (or my mind is on the next task at hand). I miss out on a hidden gem when I am waiting in a line or on an elevator and never take the time to speak to those around me.
Today I am giving away a $20.00 gift card to Starbucks and a copy of Karen Ehman's book; A Life That Says Welcome"
All you need to do is share a comment on a either a gem you have missed, or one that you uncovered.
Then take time to browse P31's carnival of giving. Some are celebrating their love of nature. Others grandbabies on the way. Come along and join the fun. Just click on the names below. Here's what you could win:
Wendy Blight is giving away a copy of the One Year Chronological Bible and her book Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner: The Transforming Power of God's Story.
Shari Braendel is givng away 3 beautiful jewelry pieces to begin a spring wardrobe with! One for a Glamour Girl, one for a Movie Star and one for a Rock Star!
Micca Campbell is giving away her book An Untroubled Heart, and a cute clutch purse for those fun summer evenings!
Whitney Capps is giving away a $30 Francesca's Gift card, redeemable at www.francescascollections.com
Melanie Chitwood is giving away One marriage conference call (see her blog for details) and her new book What a Wife Needs from Her Husband.
Lynn Cowell is giving away a prize for mom and a prize for a teen girl in her life – the 3 book series B.A.B.E. series by Andrea Stephens (Beautiful, Accepted, Blessed, Eternally Significant) for the teen and for Mom a $10 gift card to Starbucks along with Lynn’s CD “Building a Bridge to Your Child’s Heart”.
Karen Ehman is giving away a Winter White Basket that includes Skin Milk body wash, a white loofah, Winter White Citrus Bath & Body Works products, white lily linen and room sprays, white hot cocoa, a white mug and white-chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Along with it, a copy of her book on celebrations entitled Homespun Memories for the Heart: More Than 200 Ideas to Make Unforgettable Moments.
Zoe Elmore is giving away a journal, a copy of My Heart's Cry by Anne Graham Lotz and a piece of jewelry Zoe style!
Tracie Miles is giving away her CD "Overcoming Stress with Extraordinary Faith" and a Soulmates Slipper with Christian Notepad and Pen.
Rachel Olsen is giving away Bread for Life": a hardback copy of The Daily Message: Through the Bible in One Year by Eugene Peterson (which you can read this along with her this year) and the Williams-Sonoma Muffins cookbook.
Wendy Pope Wendy is giving away a copy of her book Out of the Mouths of Babes and her CD Yes, No, and Maybe of a Balanced Life
Luann Prater & www.EncouragementCafe.com are giving away an Encouragement Cafe mug and t-shirt at both sites!
LeAnn Rice is giving away a copy of her cookbook Sharing Grace: Recipes- Family Traditions-Gift ideas and a Starbucks gift card.
Susanne Scheppmann is giving away her Birds in My Mustard Tree Bible Study with an I-tunes gift card.
Lysa TerKeurst is giviving away a Mom's Book Club gift pack including 4 copies of Lysa's book, Am I Messing Up My Kids? and a 30-minute Q&A conference call with Lysa.
Van Walton is giving away her DVD for children - From the Pound to the Palace
Glynnis Whitwer is giving away her book work@home: A Practical Guide for Woman Who Want to Work from Home and a French Country Wire Silverware Basket She Reads is giving away two novels, Watch Over Me by Christa Parrish and Screen Play by Chris Coppernoll, and chocolate, courtesy of the authors. They will tell the story of how their writing brought them together - a love story, quite literally, fit for a novel!
RadRevolution Our ministry to teen girls is giving away a copy of Do the Hard Thing along with a RadRev t-shirt!
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves"
(Proverbs 31:8)
Hi to everyone,
I am very excited to team up with She Seeks for a project along with Compassion International to help the people of Haiti. I was blessed to travel with Compassion to Ecuador and saw for myself the impact they have at their projects. She Seeks has issued a challenge to speak up for those who can not speak for themselves. Please join us in the great opportunity.
Give to Compassion's Haiti Disaster Relief fundHERE!
As an extra bonus here are links to Karen, Suzie and Lysa'sblogs. They both have give away goodies today....
I am taking some time away from speaking to glean more from God and draw closer to Him. I need to be at home more with my children for a season. I will continue to post on my blog and update you all. I covet your prayers during this new season.
I over look the gems hidden in my children when they are rambling on about what seems like nothing to me (or my mind is on the next task at hand). I miss out on a hidden gem when I am waiting in a line or on an elevator and never take the time to speak to those around me.
