I’m hosting a fantastic give away over at my new site. You don’t want to miss it!

Yesterday I did one of the most emotionally draining things ever. I clicked “send” on an e-mail that had an entire book manuscript attached to it.

I purposefully did said deed at my favorite coffee shop for a couple of reasons:
1. The theme of the book is coffee.
2. I wrote a large portion of the book there.
3. I wouldn’t dare melt down, which is exactly what I felt like doing.

The funny thing (well it’s funny now), is that I had to send it two more times. For some unknown reason, the inter-tubes weren’t working correctly  and the editor only received the first ten pages. Finally, Kedron zipped the file for me and then everything was fine. Well except for my stomach. It felt like I’d been at Cedar Point riding roller coasters like I was twelve again.

Then I tried to write a blog post for Circle of Friends. Apparently, I have exhausted my supply of words because I kept looking at the word count thinking, “Really? Only 300 words? Why does it feel like 3,000?” So I kept it short and sweet. You can read that post here.

I give you my heartfelt thanks for all of your prayers, kind words, and encouragement over the past six months. Writing the book has been an incredible journey, and while this isn’t the finish line,  it is a giant milestone. Thank you for everything.

You can view the video of the interview here at Circle of Friends. You will love Liz! She is warm, funny, delightful, and one of my new best-friends. (She just doesn’t know that yet! shh!) I have read the book, and as you can see in the interview, I loved it. Circle of Friends is giving away five copies of her book on the blog. Make sure to enter! There are a variety of ways you can gain entries, be sure to check them all out.

I also have one copy of the book to give to one of my readers! So you have lots of chances to win this inspiring new book. Check below to see all the different ways you can enter. I will draw the winner next week and announce it on the blog.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was trying to hide. I just wanted to sit and write and not see anyone I knew. That morning I’d had an incredibly frustrating doctor’s appointment that left me with more questions than answers. Leaving the office emotionally and spiritually drained, I decided against visiting my usual writing spot. Instead, I went to the coffee shop across the street from the doctor’s office. I never go there and was certain I’d avoid seeing anyone I knew.

Read the rest over at Circle of Friends!

In other news, my husband Kedron has been doing a month long design challenge spreading his love for Michigan called Michigan Crush. If you haven’t check it out yet, there are a lot of great designs available for free download, including a Michigan CrushWord puzzle (Feb 8), a Michigan Crush Wordsearch (Feb 15), the 8-Bit Mitt (Feb 11), and High Five (Feb 6).

Yesterday, Michigan Radio contacted him, and today they did an article about Kedron and Michigan Crush on their website! I’m rather proud. Read it here: If you love Michigan, give stuff away for free!

And last but not least in today’s news, I have drawn the winner for Elisa Morgan’s book and button She Did What She Did (actually, I had Little Miss pick the name out of the bowl)…

Congratulations, Mom!!

I find that when God has a lesson for me to learn, it becomes a running theme in my life. Everywhere I turn, I hear the same message - at church, in my Bible study, in my reading, at conferences I attend. He speaks the message so often, through so many venues, that I can't help but pay attention.

My most recent lesson has been on living a life of generosity, and how even the simple gifts have great value. It started with a chapter I wrote for my book, then continued with a few diet cokes. Then the enemy attacked and I wondered if my money should have been better spent. I started to feel guilty that I don't do enough for the world around me. But I pressed forward, doing the next small thing. I knew I wasn't alone in my fear that my giving wasn't good enough. Many of you left comments and messaged me saying you often felt the same way and heard the same lies.

I attended the Cornerstone University Women's Leadership Conference last weekend, and guess what our main speaker Elisa Morgan spoke on. Living generously. Each of us doing what we can. I sat there with my internal mouth hanging open.

Her talk, and most recent book, She Did What She Could (SDWSC) is based on the story of Mary of Bethany found in Mark 14:

³While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you,and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Did you see what Jesus said when the men started to attack her for act of generosity given to Jesus out of deep love for Him? "Leave her alone!" (verse 6) She did what she could! (verse 8)

Elisa says in her book:

"Most of us care. We really do. We care about our own lives, for sure, and also about the lives of those around us. We care about poverty and injustice, about orphans and the sick. We are about the folks who live and work alongside u and about what happens in their families, in their hearts, and in their heads. And yet, weighted down by everyday responsibilities - bring home a paycheck, putting food on the table, shuttling kids around - we question our ability to make a difference. When we're bombarded by the latetest celebrity-help-the-world-athon, we shrug our shoulders in futility. Me? how? Faced with the seeming insignificance of what we have to offer, we don't offer anything.

Elisa goes on to ask the question, what if I did what I could, and you did what you could and together we all did what we could, right here, in our own communities, where God has planted us? What might the world look like? She reminds us that Mary didn't wait to be invited, pushed past what might have held her back. She didn't just think about doing something someday and then forget about it. She did what she could. Right then.

She asked us at the conference, "What if I respond to the one thing today that crosses my path?" God doesn't ask us to do everything. He didn't even say she did all she could. She did what she could. In that moment she acted out of a relationship with Jesus in the context of who she was. She was living loved.

What if we lived like we are loved by God, every single day? What would we do? Who would we reach out to? This is freeing, friends.

I was so moved by the message, that I wanted to share it with you. So I bought one of her books, She Did What She Could, to share with a reader. I asked Elisa to sign it and told her, "This is a conversation we were just having on my blog this week! I'm going to give one of these away on my blog!" Elisa's face lit up with a big smile and she handed me a button and said, "Give them a button too! And please encourage them to sign up for the FullFill magazine." Then she gave me a hug!

Elisa has a free online magazine called FullFill. Her website says:

We are influencers, you and I. All of us. From the moment we wake to the second we slip off to slumber, we are affecting our world and the people in it. Whether we know it or not. Whether we try to or not. Whether we choose to or not. We are influencers. We can influence by accident or we can influence by effort.

Welcome to FullFill™ ... a place where you can live out your influence.

FullFill™ is for women in all seasons of life. FullFill™ is a ministry of Mission: Momentum, a nonprofit effort focusing on mobilizing women to invest their influence in the world for God's purposes.

You can sign up for FullFill free, here! And while you're at it, check out the weekly ReFill blog. In fact, one of my friends and fellow writers, Lisa, had a post on the blog just last week!

Here's how you can enter to win a signed copy of Elisa Morgan's book She Did What She Could and a button with SDWSC on it:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Tweet this post and then leave a comment letting me know you tweeted it.

Enter to #win Elisa Morgan's book She Did What She Could from @amrhodes http://storiesfor.us/?p=2456 #giveaway

3. Share this post with your friends on Facebook (you can use the buttons below this post), and then leave another comment letting me know you shared it on FB.

4. Go "like" my new writing page on Facebook, here, and then leave a comment on this post letting me know!

5. Go sign up for FullFill, and leave another comment here letting me know you signed up.

FIVE entries. Whohoo!! I love giving stuff away!

Deadline for all entries is Friday February 24, 5 p.m. EST.

But until then, here is the winner of the DaySpring gift certificate! Congratulations to Suzanne, who I discovered is also an avid runner! I hope you enjoy your gift from DaySpring! I’ll be e-mailing you soon!

The evening after I dropped off 3 diet cokes and cookies to my friend, a cloud of discouragement and guilt rolled in as quickly as a summer thunderstorm. The storm’s winds dissipated the joy I experienced from reaching out to help a friend in need, and I began to doubt why I had thought that small act would make a difference.

The lies darted at me like lightning.
“Who do you think you are?”
“There are so many starving kids and you think coke and cookies was a good idea?”
“You could have spent that $5 so much better, something that would have made a bigger difference.”

Then the big crack of lightning struck. “The world is so full of hurt. You can’t make a difference.”

That one got my attention. I recognized that voice. It was the enemy. The father of lies.

I think sometimes we forget that Satan lies to us. The lies come disguised as our own thoughts, or worse, we think it’s God’s voice. But Satan is the master of lies, and one of his schemes is to get us to think it’s really God talking.

Remember the scene in the opening of the Bible, where he twists what God said to Adam and Eve?

Genesis 3

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil

He’s crafty. He takes what is meant for our good and twists it into something horribly wrong. He wants us to believe that God doesn’t want what’s best for us. That we mean nothing to Him. That it doesn’t matter what we do; it’s never good enough.

I wasn’t going to let him steal my joy.

So I answered. With truth.
“Who do I think I am? I know that I’m a child of God, rescued by Jesus, made whole and worthy because of His love.”
“Yeah, it may have been a little thing. But it was a little thing within my reach. I’ll do the big things too. But today, God just asked this small thing of me. And I obeyed.”
“You’re right. I can’t make a difference in this world of hurt. But Jesus can. And I’m committed to helping Him.”

God doesn’t ask us to change the entire world. He just asks us to  meet the needs within our reach – with the gifts, talents, and resources He’s given us. When He makes us aware of something, we get the privilege of assisting Him in what He is already doing. If we would all just meet the needs within our reach, imagine what the world could look like.

One of the best ways I’ve found to combat the lies is to keep moving forward. To keep obeying. So a couple days later when I heard another good friend, whose husband was out of town, was battling the flu (she and 2 of her 3 kids), I whipped up a batch of my go-to-easy-t0-make comforting chicken noodle soup. Then I remembered there was a Starbucks inside a Target close to her house and I had a buy-1-get-1-free coupon. I headed across town asking God to bless the trip and bring encouragement to my friend.

I walked into the Target, on a side of town I hardly ever visit, and immediately saw a woman I know and hadn’t seen in awhile. I caught up with her and encouraged her to come back to our writer’s group and let her know how much I had missed her. Then I saw another woman I know walking into the store. Seriously, I don’t think I had ever been inside this store before and there were 2 women I hadn’t seen in months! After catching up with these friends, I called my sick friend and told her I “happened” to be on her end of town and “happened” to have a B1G1 coupon for Starbucks and asked what she wanted.

I dropped off my love to her house and when I left, she and her kids were giggling and laughing. Just a little hope and help to make it through one more day.

Just a little change of perspective for me. My little gifts can be part of the bigger picture of God’s work.

I squealed as I opened the box and unwrapped the Blessed & Loved collection, a pretty blue and spring green coordinating set including a journal, Daybrightener (calendar with quotes and inspiration) and an adorable teacup with a lid.

The verse on each item is Numbers 6:24 “The Lord bless you and keep you.” It was a blessing I needed on that cold day when I wondered what in the world I was trying to do as I write a book in the midst of laundry and dishes and parenting.

The set even came with a matching gift bag and tissue paper. It’s foolproof gift option for someone like me who can’t coordinate anything to save my life.

And as much as I wanted to keep these all to myself, I know exactly who to give this set to. But I can’t say here, because she might be reading.

Be sure to visit DaySpring’s page for their monthly deals, and might I suggest the Blessed & Loved set as a perfect birthday or graduation gift?

And I have something to share with you! DaySpring is graciously giving one reader a $20 gift certificate to use in their online store! This month they have a Buy-2-Get-1 Free offer, making your $20 go farther! (Shipping charges will apply.)

Ways to enter:

1. leave a comment on this blog post.

2. share this post on Facebook! then leave another comment letting me know you shared it on FB

3. tweet the line below, and then leave another comment letting me know you tweeted!

Make sure you leave a comment on this post for each entry. Deadline for all entries is Monday Feb 20, 7 pm EST!

You are blessed & loved!

*DaySpring provided these items for me to review, but the views are entirely my own. I happen to really love their products!

We woke up yesterday to ice-covered streets. But we breed ‘em tough up here, and school wasn’t even delayed. I bobbled my way down to the bus stop with the kids, and I nearly made it home before my feet slipped out from under me. With arms and legs flailing, I landed in a snow bank in front of our house. Did I mention that I was wearing a skirt? Thankfully it was a long one because I had an audience of neighbors still making their way home from the bus stop as well.

Kedron was just getting into his car and he called out, “Are you ok?”

I did a quick assessment of my bones and quickly bounced back to my feet. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just getting ready to tell you to be careful because it’s icy!”

He chuckled. “I see that!”

Whenever I fall (which seems to be often), I figure I have three options for getting up.

A) I can lay there and see what else I can do while I’m down there, wait for help, and take advantage of the sympathy offered.
B) I can bounce up quickly and act as if nothing happened. Who me? Fall? No! That was your imagination.
C) I can act as if I meant to fall and turn it into a comedy routine.

Since I’m not much of a stand-up (or would it be fall-down) comedienne, that rules out C. The older I get, the more A becomes the best option, since getting up isn’t as easy as it used to be. But most of the time, I pick option B. I bounce up, hoping no one noticed, and if they did I brush it off as nothing.

I tend to do the same when I stumble in life. I lived for years believing I had to always appear like I had everything together. I developed a tough outer shell, and when it cracked and people saw me stumble, I brushed it off as minor. I could handle it. I still had things together.

I’d rather be the one extending a hand to help. It’s my type-A/firstborn/driver/pride showing through. But I’m learning to reach up and accept the help of those around me when I fall. I’ve learned the beauty of a community of friends who offer shoulders to lean on and slow their pace to limp along with me.

Getting up gracefully isn’t easy, but I’m learning.

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10