Attention Weight Loss Wednesday gals….Do not fear! We are still checking in today. Just scroll down past this 12 Days of Christmas interview to see our WLW post. After, of course, you’ve entered today’s giveaway!

We are hitting the homestretch people! There are just three Proverbs 31 gals left for me to introduce you to this year in our special series. NOTE: If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of interviews and giveaway goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the 12 posts until midnight EST on this coming Sunday, December 13th.

Today, you get to meet a pretty important woman at Proverbs 31 Ministries (not to mention a pretty woman too!), especially to our radio show co-host Renee Swope. Leah DiPascal is Renee’s personal assistant. Basically that means she is half of her brain (And with all Renee has going on in her life right now, she could use that half a brain!) She  is eagerly helpful, constantly  prayerful and adds so much to the ministry of Proverbs. She is one of those gals everyone wishes were her friend and I am fortunate to count her as one of mine.

So now, on our 10th day of Christmas, meet the sweet Leah DiPascal:

Leah is a very ordinary woman who serves a very extraordinary God.

She loves teaching God’s life giving Word to women of all ages. One of her heart’s desires is to help women understand who they are in Christ and teach them how to experience a more intimate relationship with Him. Leah lives in Charlotte, NC and is a wife to Keith and mom to Brody (14 yrs) and Carson (10 yrs).  She also has the incredible privilege of being on staff with Proverbs 31 ministries as assistant to Renee Swope.

Leah loves to travel with her family, play tennis, to go shopping with friends, and enjoy a homemade latte with her husband every morning.  She teaches a women’s Bible study and serves on the executive message team at her church.

You can email Leah at Leah.Proverbs31@gmail.com to connect with her.  She also is on Face book under Leah Hofmann DiPascal or she’d love for you to visit her blog at www.LeahDiPascal.blogspot.com

Leah, Can you share a Christmas tradition the DiPascal family has enjoyed over the years?

Sure! Each year our family receives Christmas cards from friends and family.  Most of them include photos which we really enjoy.  It’s amazing to see how everyone changes from one year to the next.

We place these cards in a basket and each night during dinner time someone gets to pull a Christmas card.  We’ll share a special memory about the loved ones in the photo and then pray for them before eating.  The following day, I’ll email that particular family and let them know that we prayed for them.

It’s a great way to focus on others during the Christmas season plus, it’s a lot of fun and our family really looks forward to it each year.

What activities do you most look forward to doing with your family at the holidays?

We love going to Christmas concerts.  There is a huge church in our area that hosts one every year.  The production includes over 300 singers, a full orchestra, drama, dance, and live animals.  It is spectacular and helps our family focus on the birth of Jesus and why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

Our oldest son is also in a teen choir and they have Christmas productions every year.  It so touches our hearts to see over 150 teens singing praises to God and rejoicing over the birth of Jesus Christ.

Do you have a favorite movie you watch at this time of year?

Our family loves to watch movies together.  Friday nights are movie nights in our home and during Christmas time we always watch “Elf” and “Jingle All the Way”.

You are offering a wonderful prize today to one of our cyber sisters. Can you tell us about it?

Yes, I’m so excited about my give-away.  I love clothes and always enjoy having something new in my closet to wear.  So, I’ve decided to give away a Proverbs 31 t-shirt today.  It’s one of my favorites!  If you’d like to take a peek, just click on the link below. The winner will just have to let us know what size to send.

http://shopp31.com/awomanwhofearsthelord-t-shirt.aspx

Thanks Leah for stopping by today and for the great giveaway!

Okay gals, since Leah is giving away an article of clothing, leave a comment today on the most memorable item to wear you ever gave or received at Christmas. Maybe it was a sweater, a piece of jewelry or a crazy item given as a joke. Perhaps it was a treasured article of clothing you opened as a child. As always, if you can’t think of something or have cookies burning in the oven and little time to comment, just say, “I’m in!”

I’ll start.

Hands down, the item to wear I most remember was when, in 1976  as a sixth grader, on Christmas morning I got a pair of white go-go boots.

Man did I look snappy wearing those shiny, stretchy, chunky-heeled wonders to Hayes Middle School that first Monday in January 1977 ……in 4 feet of snow!

Kinda hard to see white, knee-high, go-go boots in 4 feet of fluffy white snow. But I still hoped Benji Rivera would notice how hip I looked and ask me to the mid-winter dance.

How about you? Any special item to wear that you remember?

Wearing-a-Holiday-Smile Blessings,

On the 9th Day of Christmas….. here comes another Proverbs 31 speaker giving away a great gift! If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of interviews and giveaway goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the 12 posts until midnight EST on this coming Sunday, December 13th.

Today, you will meet my friend (and Kenzie’s other mother for the last four months) Wendy Blight. Wendy has a love for studying and teaching God’s word and helping women find their worth in Christ. She has authored a book, Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner. In it, she chronicles the story of being sexually assaulted in her apartment one week after college graduation and the resulting scars it left on her life. However, God did not allow her to stay stuck. He rescued and redeemed her life. Wendy’s story is one of transformation from trauma to rebirth through the power of the Word of God.

If you are around this gracious gal for even a few minutes, her beautiful disposition, others-centered personality and endearing smile shine brightly and you feel as if you’ve known her for years! You are in for a treat today.  As we are winding down our nearly two weeks of giveaways, meet the lovely and much-loved Wendy Blight:

Hi everyone! I am Wendy Blight. My husband, Monty and I have been married twenty years. We live in Charlotte, North Carolina with our two children Lauren (16) and Bo (12). Before moving to Charlotte, we lived in Dallas, Texas where I practiced law for several years. Since moving to Charlotte, I have been actively involved in both teaching and writing curriculum for Bible studies, as well as speaking to churches and various other organizations. I currently serve with an incredible group of women on the Proverbs 31 Speaker team.

Now for our interview:

Many of the gals have shared on this blog about favorite Christmas traditions. Does your family have one to share? 

Yes, we do. We have had a little Christmas book, ever since our kids were little, that we love to read each night in the days leading up to Christmas. It is an older, and now probably out of print, book entitled The 25 Days of Christmas. It has a Christian message for each day December 1-25 and really helps to keep us focused on the true meaning of the holiday.

What has been your most memorable Christmas as an adult?

When Lauren was a baby, a dear woman, who had made a stocking for me years earlier, made one for her. She even made one for my husband too so we could have matching stockings as a family. Later, she also crafted one for our son Bo when he was born. She was a friend of my great-grandmother (the famous fudge maker I mention below) and her gesture touched my heart so much. She has passed away now, but I always have fond memories of her and our special stockings made with love.

Is there a Christmas movie that holds a special memory for you? 

My daughter Lauren and I love to watch White Christmas, and the whole family adores watching Elf and giggling together!

What are some of your favorite Christmastime foods? Any recipe you might share with us?

We simply love my great grandmother Reppe’s famous Christmas fudge. She was my mother’s grandmother and she often made this most delicious treat she called Fantasy Fudge. Here is the simple recipe:

Fantasy Fudge

3 C. sugar

¾ C. margarine

2/3 C. evaporated milk

1- 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use only Ghirardelli brand)

17 ounces marshmallow crème

1 t. vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine  sugar, margarine and milk and gently boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla. Beat well and pour into a buttered  9 x 13 inch pan. Let cool and cut into squares. Makes 3 lbs.

Wendy, you are so thoughtful to be offering a giveaway today for one of the gals who leaves a comment. Tell us what it is. 

I will be giving away a copy of my book Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner and a $10 Starbucks gift card so the winner can sip something she enjoys while she reads!

Thank you so much, Wendy, for visiting with us today!

Well, if you’d like to win Wendy’s giveaway, leave a comment letting us know the answer to this Christmas question: How are you coming on your shopping? 1/2 done? All done? Not even close? Let us know! You’ll be entered in the giveaway.

I’ll go first….by my best scientific calculation, I would say I am 92.8% done. (or somewhere near that figure)

How about you?

Christmas-is-Getting-Close Blessings,

 

Merry Monday and welcome to the 8th Day of Christmas Giveaway. If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of interviews and goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the 12 posts until midnight EST on Sunday, December 13th.

As a woman, have you ever wanted a makeover? A chance to have someone knowledgeable about fashion, colors, body types and style give you a personal consultation on just what you should be wearing to look your absolute best? Then you are gonna LOVE my friend and fellow Proverbs 31 speaker Shari Braendel.

Shari is fun, full of faith and friendship; she has striking looks and style along with the  the most contagious laugh ever!! (She’s gotten me in trouble at a P31 meeting or two with our giggles over something trivial yet oh-so-can’t-stop-laughing funny.) Her mission is to help woman connect fashion and faith and be the best they can be. However, she also believes you are the most beautiful when you are closest to the way God made you, which, in an age of plastic and all things fake, is refreshing!

She also loves to inspire girls to embrace the phrase ‘modest is hottest” with her teen fashion shows she puts on across the nation. Shari is a speaker and author, writing devotions for Proverbs 31 and having self-published a workbook. She has her first book with a publisher coming out next summer entitled Good Girls Don’t Have to Dress Bad. She is offering a way cool giveaway today, so read on and meet my friend—and personal fashion/hair/make-up/does-this-look-okay-on-me?/ consultant, Shari Braendel.

Shari, fill us in on what life is like at the Braendel household this Christmas season. 

Can you spell b-a-s-k-e-t-b-a-l-l ? We are a basketball lovin’ family especially since our  6’6” teenage son plays so much of it! He is on the JV AND the Varsity team so we have LOTS of games to attend…even if they are 2 hour away games! If there’s a game, we’re there!  December is a month of relaxation for me as I don’t typically have any speaking engagements . So I sit a lot, write a lot (still have those deadlines) and watch a lot of college football and basketball on TV when not at Luke’s games. I also watch out for every raindrop and pray it turns into a snowflake!

Can you share a tradition your family has enjoyed over the years?

We are a blended family of six and one of my very favorite traditions the kids started at our first Christmas together is that once they all wake up, the kids then wake Dave and I up, but none of them go downstairs until Dave and I get downstairs and make our coffee! While we do this, the kids, all four of them, (the girls are now 25 and Luke 15) sit on the top step and wait patiently for us to call them down! I have taken a picture of them each year since we’ve been a family (the past 13years) of them sitting together in their jammies…it is sooo cute and you can see how they’ve grown up together. One of our triplets got married last year so she’s missing in the photo now, but I’ll bet she misses that early morning tradition with her bro and sisses!

What are some of your favorite Christmastime foods? Any recipe you might share with us? Ahhh, let me think….NO! No recipes, that is!!!! My husband is the cook at our house!

What activities do you most look forward to doing with your family at the holidays? My teenage son’s birthday is December 4^th so we always wait till after his birthday to get out all the decorations. Luke and I will put on Christmas music and sing and dance as we decorate the tree! My husband will cook dinner and watch us if our decorating goes into the night!

You are offering a great giveaway today to one of our cyber sisters. Can you tell us about it? 

I am giving away a copy of my workbook “If Clothes Could Talk”.  Since we’re so close to the January, it’s a perfect time to go thru the book to get a “new you for the new year!” It has everything from how to determine the best colors for you to the right style jeans for your body type…and everything in between! I’ll also include a copy of my workshop on CD that gives you an entire one hour session on audio…it will give you great insight and information to use along with the workbook…or just to laugh out loud with in your car when I talk about how to pull up your bra straps to make sure your ‘girls’ are in the right place! 

Thanks, Shari! Merry Christmas and happy basketball season!

All right gals, for today’s comment criteria, let us know what would be on a Christmas wish list for you if you were able to win a certificate for a personal consultation in the area of fashion. Would you want help picking the right colors and shades of clothing? Would it delight you to have a personal lesson in make-up application? Want to know how to pick jeans that flatter your body type? Need assistance choosing jewelry and accessories? What “fashion gift certificate” would you love to get in your stocking? Let us know. You just might win Shari’s workbook and cd!

Fashionable Holiday Blessings,

Happy Sunday and welcome to the 7th Day of Christmas Giveaway. If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of interviews and goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the 12 posts until midnight EST on Sunday, December 13th.

Today’s Proverbs 31 featured speaker is Sharon Glasgow. If you’ve ever longed for a spiritually in-tune friend, one who listens to God, knows His word and understands how to apply it to everyday life issues and difficult situations, then you will LOVE sweet Sharon. Her spiritual roots run deep and she is undoubtedly one of the most mature Christians I know— Don’t let the “she-is-so-pretty-and-looks-more-like-a-sixth-sister-than-a-daughter-in-that-photo” image on the P31 magazine cover below fool you! She looks like a teen, but is wise beyond her years. Today, take a few minutes to meet my P31 sister Sharon, in her own words:

Hi! I’m Sharon Glasgow. I live on a farm in Fredericksburg, Virginia with my husband and best friend Dale and our youngest daughter Elizabeth who is 14 years old. We have 5 daughters in all, Heather the oldest (26) is married to Jeff, they live in VA, Jennifer(25) works and lives in LA, CA, Hannah (21) and Rachael (19) are attending Virginia Commonwealth University.

We have owned our own business our entire marriage. Dale is a full time artist, and is able to work from home while I work along side of him writing and preparing messages to speak across the nation. Our daughters have followed in our footsteps, they are all artists and ministering.

Christmas is our favorite time of year, when we’re all together. We’re always huddled close to the fireplace and sharing what God is doing, giving spiritual insights and encouraging each other in the Word.

If you would like to connect with me, please visit my website @ www.sharonglasgow.com. I don’t have Facebook yet, but our daughters made me a fan page, www.facebook.com/pages/Sharon-Glasgow/89772909801. I pray you have a Merry Christmas!

Now, for our get-to-know-you interview:

Sharon, can you share a Christmas tradition your family has done over the years that stands out to you?

Christmas is a very hard holiday for many people who are suffering. I’ll never forget my first Christmas without my dad. I wondered if anyone really understood how bad my heart hurt that holiday.  The next Christmas I decided that from then on our family would start a tradition to minister to hurting families on Christmas Eve.

That year we knew of two families who had lost loved ones, a family who had undergone financial devastation and a lonely old man down the road. These would be our Christmas Eve targets. We made gingerbread houses and hot crab dip to deliver to them. We made everything look as festive as possible and then loaded the family and presents  into the vehicle and started out on our Christmas Eve journey.  

As each door opened you knew immediately you were where you belonged. One was drinking their sorrow away and cried when we gave the presents and offered to pray. The next didn’t have a tree up or anything cooked for Christmas, the hot crab dip would be their dinner. We finished our trip, I wish I could say the kids enjoyed it, but they didn’t! Instead they said, “This is the most depressing Christmas Eve ever, do we have to do it next year?” However, we kept our tradition going.  

Today as our children look back over all the holidays they may not remember what presents they got or how beautiful the tree was but they’ll always remember the faces of those people who were ministered to on Christmas Eve.

What are some of your favorite Christmastime foods? Any recipe you might share with us?

This is a recipe we have made for our Christmas Eve deliveries. The dish is a gift so look for deals throughout the year. We deliver the dish and baguette slices in a basket.

Crab Dip with Baguette Slices

• 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, free of shells
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup green onions, minced, optional
• 5 to 6 roasted garlic cloves or 2 cloves minced
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine all of the ingredients, stir and pour into a small casserole dish. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot with crackers or thin baguette slices toasted with a spray of oil on top.

You are offering a great giveaway today to one of our cyber sisters. Can you tell us about it? 

Sure! For my prize, I am giving away  a $15 Target Gift Card. Suggested use: Small baking dishes for your hot dip of choice to be delivered on Christmas Eve!

Thanks for sharing this great idea and family tradition with us, Sharon!

Sharon’s idea gives me and idea for your comment today. If you’d like to be entered to win her target card giveaway, leave a comment describing someone you feel God might want you to bless this Christmas and why. You may just win that gift card and then you can use part of it for a gift for that person (and save a little for yourself too!) 

CHRISTmas Blessings,

Thanks for joining us on the 6th Day of Christmas giveaway. We are half-way home! If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of Giveaway goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the 12 posts until midnight EST on Sunday, December 13th.

Today you get to meet a woman who truly inspires me to walk more closely with God. Her faith in Him and desire for His will in her life automatically spills over in anything she does. Luann Prater is not only a beautiful woman, her prayers are beautiful too. As our Proverbs 31 speaker team prays for each other via email, my heart is often stirred by the deeply heartfelt and completely creative prayers she sends that are chock full of relevant scripture. When I grow up, I want to be just like her!!! So, on this 6th day of Christmas….meet my godly girlfriend Luann Prater!

 

Luann is a wife, mother of three children, friend of two step-daughters as well as a grandmother.  She runs a small business, is a real estate agent with Keller Williams and is active in her church.  Luann has been with Proverbs 31 ministries for almost 10 years and she is contributing author to the book God’s Purpose for Every Woman, The Reason We Speak, the Proverbs 31 Women’s Magazine and Encouragement for Today email devotions reaching over 300,000 subscribers everyday worldwide.  Luann is also the host of a one-hour live call-in radio show every Saturday called Encouragement Cafe with Luann & Friends, which broadcasts across the nation and online worldwide. She loves life and her zest for living is contagious.  From stained tragedies to the brilliant glow of grace, she allows God to use her life struggles to portray a picture of hope and encouragement to others.

Luann, can you share a tradition your family has enjoyed over the years?

Cinnamon rolls and Stockings.  Years ago I would make the dough from scratch the night before and make homemade Cinn-a-bon-type rolls ready to pop in the oven at daybreak. I must admit that since I discovered Pillsbury Grands, homemade is a memory. We open our presents one at a time individually so we can take it in and see the expression on each face.  After everyone has opened one, I serve a roll and coffee or hot chocolate.  We take our time and laugh, smelling the moment.  When every gift is open and we breathe that big sigh, someone yells, “STOCKINGS!” I don’t know how it happens but we seem to forget about them until that moment.  Then I pass them out and we all dig in.  My favorite part is finding little goodies that mean something special to each person and stuffing it into their special stocking.  The unexpected squeals tells me I hit the mark.  Priceless times.

How do you intentionally focus on Christ during this hectic time of year?

We find an individual or family who might be hurting or in need and as a family try to fill their hearts and needs with the abundance God has provided.  Those are the memories my kids retell and remember. 

 As an adult, what Christmas has stood out the most to you?

I wrote about this in our book God’s Purpose for Every Woman. It was the year we taught my children that they just might be the answer to someone’s prayer.  We packed up all their old clothes and toys one year and loaded all 15 trash bags into the van.  I told them to pray and I would drive.  They were all in grade school and sweetly praying.  They told me where and when to turn. We ended up in a housing development in downtown Indianapolis.  They pointed to a house with two women sitting on the porch.  I shared that the children had been praying for God to lead us to someone who need our extras.  They both began to weep and then called into the house for the others to come to the door.  Half-clothed children began to emerge with no shoes on their feet, no coats, no sweaters, and no pants.  Only the thinnest garments covered their skinny bodies.  My children jumped from the van and formed an assembly line with the other children.  They worked side by side to move the bags into the house.  The women were praising and thanking God for answering prayers.

 Do you have a favorite movie you watch at this time of year?

Without a doubt, It’s A Wonderful Life!  It sums up what life is really about.  Reaching out to others and living not in a vacuum but with boundless, abandoned love, just like our Father did for us.

You are offering a fun giveaway today to one of the gals who leaves a comment. What is it?

I am giving an Encouragement Cafe T-shirt and mug. Your readers can listen to Encouragement Cafe on Saturdays from 2-3 EST. It is a live call-in radio show for women. Log on to www.EncouragementCafe.com or find a station near you that carries it!  Call in and share at 866-348-7884 or leave a comment on the site.

Or, you may want to plan to join us at the Encouragement EXTREME! Event in Greensboro, NC on January 29-30.  Only $119 includes your overnight stay at Embassy Suites, reception snacks Friday night, breakfast & lunch on Saturday and all event materials!  

Thanks for your time today Luann. Better go get that microphone on. Your radio show starts soon. I hope today’s interview will bring you some new listeners!

Okay ladies….. I know it is Saturday and you have places to go, things to do, perhaps even presents to wrap. So let’s mix it up a little today by leaving a simple comment. Let us know your favorite Christmas song or carol. Then, you will be entered in the drawing for Luann’s prize. 

I’ll go first. While my favorite sacred song is What Child is This?, especially verse two, my favorite just-for-fun song has got to be (appropriately for this blog!) the hilarious rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas by Straight No Chaser, the men’s a capella a choir of Indiana University. Click here to see it. But don’t forget to come back here and leave your favorite Christmas song (or if you think you might forget, comment first and then click over to see the song).

Merry Musical Blessings,

Hi and welcome to the 5th Day of Christmas in our special series. If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of Giveaway goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the 12 posts until midnight EST on Sunday, December 13th.

The fifth day of Christmas is fitting for us to host this particular Proverbs 31 sister of mine since she is known for writing and speaking on marriage—(Get it? F-I-V-E gold-en rings……!!!) Melanie Chitwood is a true gem…I’m talkin’ a huge, glorious, sparking gem embedded in one of those five golden rings. She is calming, caring, prayerful and the type of person whose very presence is a gift. I just love her smooth, soothing, southern voice. (as opposed to my Midwestern-talks-so-fast-listening-to-her-is-like-taking-a-drink-from-a-firehose voice!) Just being around Melanie makes my heart rate slow down and my worries melt away. Oh….and as you can see, she is stinkin’ cute too–with a family of males to match! So today…..meet my friend Melanie, in her own words: 

Welcome and thanks for visiting!  I’m Melanie Chitwood.  I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, with my husband Scott and two sons Zachary and Tyler.  We are co-owners of a new business, Carolina Courts, an indoor basketball/volleyball facility.  Our lives revolve around basketball.  I often think of myself as a Barbie doll girl in a basketball world.

 I’ve been speaking and writing for Proverbs 31 Ministries for three years.  It is so much fun to serve with the team of Proverbs ladies, both speakers and staff.  We provide each other encouragement, accountability, laughter, courage and inspiration in this journey of following Jesus with all our hearts.

 I’ve written two marriage books, What a Husband Needs from His Wife, and What a Wife Needs from Her Husband (due out January 2010).  In both of these books I ask wives and husbands to examine their hearts to see if they’ve truly surrendered their marriages to God.  Only when we’ve had a heart change will our lives really be transformed.  And believe me – I needed a heart-change! 

I don’t think of myself as a likely person to write marriage books because Scott and I have had – and still have– many challenges in our marriage.  But what I do offer is honesty, biblical truths, practical ideas and real-life victories as Scott and I have surrendered our marriage to God. My favorite part of each book is the Bible study at the end. I’d love for you to visit my blog, Melaniechitwood.com where I share bits of everyday life and marriage tips on Marriage Mondays.

Now, for our interview:

Melanie, how do you intentionally focus on Christ in the midst of all the flurry of activities that happen in December?

We are just getting in to the thick of basketball season for both sons and Scott is getting super busy with basketball leagues at our business, so we are going here, there, and everywhere.  I’ve realized at the Christmas season that we need to be really purposeful about what we say “yes” and “no” to.  We’ve realized that for us it’s okay not to go to every event, and that we don’t have to incorporate every single tradition each year. 

We ask each person in the family what’s important to them at Christmas time.  The boys like to be home on Christmas morning, so that means if we travel, we’ll do that before or after Christmas day.  I love reading portions of the Christmas story from the Bible several days a week leading up to Christmas day.  As far as traditions, I love a live Christmas tree and going to Christmas Eve service, and Scott… well this year, as a new business owner, Scott just hopes to get some extra sleep!  So we really just keep it simple.

What is your most treasured Christmas memory from your days growing up?

My mom and granny, who spent every Christmas with us, made Christmas a magical and fun time.  Stockings were always a favorite part of our Christmas mornings.  Everyone’s stockings would be completely stuffed with silly and special items.  Granny tucked money into the toe of the stocking.  Mom always found something funny to include, such as an embarrassingly awkward photograph or she’d write out a funny memory.  Stockings are one tradition that I’ve carried over to my own family.

And what Christmas has been your most memorable one as an adult?

Two Christmases stand out.  The first one I was in my twenties. One year toward the end of her life, my granny had to be in the hospital on Christmas day.  We didn’t want Granny to be alone on Christmas, but we all wanted to be a part of the Christmas morning fun.  I volunteered to be with her at the hospital that day.  I got up really early, drove about an hour away to the hospital, and I was sitting right by her side when she opened her eyes that morning.  I still treasure her sweet smile when she first saw me.  While I was growing up, Granny was a place of safety, security and peace.  So really, what I thought would feel like a sacrifice, turned out to be a gift to me.  It felt so good to do something for this special person who had loved me unconditionally all my life.

The other memorable Christmas was last year.  Our business was about to open in January, and we had been crazy busy the previous year preparing for it.  The only Christmas decoration we put up was our tree.  Christmas morning we opened gifts – and we really kept that simple.  Then we went to see the movie Marley and Me, where Scott and I made spectacles of ourselves sobbing because we have two labs and we probably just needed a cathartic release because of all the stress that year.  After that we went to Carolina Courts.  Scott and I painted the baseboards and the boys shot hoops.  We were all completely happy just being together.

You are offering a great giveaway today to one of our cyber sisters. Can you tell us about it? 

I’m giving away a $20 Target gift card because just about all a girl really needs can be found at Target.  Merry Christmas!

 Thanks for the chat, Melanie!

Okay gals, here is the scoop…..leave a comment answering this simple question: Since Melanie mentioned that her granny made Christmas extra special for her, is there anyone in your life who created fond holiday memories for you in your past? Let us know! Or, again, if you are busy, (you know, rushing off to the Christmas pageant or attempting to hit a store sale before they run out of an advertised item), just declare, “I’m in!” You’ll be entered!

And, don’t forget to hop on this site over the weekend. Days 6 and 7 will take place on Saturday and Sunday. More gals to meet and gifts to win!!! Happy weekend everyone!

Golden-moment Blessings.

Hi and welcome to the 4th Day of Christmas in our special series. If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of Giveaway goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the posts until midnight EST on Sunday, December 13th. 

Boy, is this getting fun! Love interviewing my P31 sistas, love introducing them to you and vice-versa, and LOVE seeing you comment and leave recipes and ideas and encouragement and all things Christmas-sy and Jesus-filled.

We may just have to hold a Christmas in July giveaway too!

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to a very important person at Proverbs 31 Ministries. I first met her when I came on the P31 speaking team in 2007 and flew to Charlotte for the annual summer She Speaks Conference. Feeling a little like the new girl in the junior high lunchroom not sure where to sit, I was a tad nervous. Our president Lysa sent her assistant to the airport to pick me up. When she did, she flashed a contagious smile across her pretty face, made me feel oh-so-welcome and we became fast friends. Holly Good is a woman who loves her God and wholeheartedly embraces the ministry He has chosen for her. Now, you can meet her too!

Holly is a wife, mother, and sold out servant of Christ. On staff with Proverbs 31 Ministries, her executive assistant position for Lysa TerKeurst finds her ministering to women at conferences, writing radio shows and authoring heart-stirring devotions sent to more than 300,000 subscribers. She is also the author of “Holly-days” a much loved part of Lysa’s daily blog. She enjoys her early morning runs with Lysa and is overwhelmingly humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve Him in this ministry in such an incredible way. If you’d like to take a peek at Holly’s writing, click here to read the Encouragement for Today devotion she currently has running at Proverbs 31.  You can e-mail Holly@Proverbs31.org to connect with her. She also is on Facebook under Holly Good, on Twitter as HollyKGood and you can click here for her blogger profile. 

Now for our Holly-Day  :-) interview:

Holly, can you share a special tradition your family has enjoyed over the years?

For many years when we used to live in PA, each November we would go to a Christmas tree farm and cut down our own tree! It was so fun to walk around the beautiful country side and choose the perfect treasure we wanted to cut and bring home.

Most of us have favorite memories from our childhood, but what has been your most memorable Christmas as an adult?

I would have to say that last Christmas was my most memorable.

Each year before we open our gifts on Christmas morning, we will gather together and read the Christmas story in Luke. When the kids were little, they would climb in bed with us to hear the story with patient but eager anticipation of what awaited them under the tree. Now that they are older (18 & 14) we still gather and read. It’s become a natural part of our Christmas morning routine. We acknowledge the importance of the holiday, so as to fill our hearts and minds with the proper perspective for our day.  

Last year was particularly memorable, because after we read the story, I felt led to take several minutes to focus on each of my children and tell them what I loved about them and why. I got a bit emotional as I further expressed our prayers and desires for their life. I then transitioned into a time of prayer over them. What started as an unplanned and unscripted moment ended up being a valuable time of bonding for us that Christmas morning.

What are some of your favorite Christmastime foods? Any recipe you might share with us?

For many years we have enjoyed making a very simple but very delicious salty and sweet chocolate pretzel treat. They are a fun and yummy gift that everyone always raves over! I promise that you will be the hit of every party with these! And the best part is that they are very easy to make.

Ingredients –

1 bag bite-sized round or waffle shaped pretzels

1 bag Hershey kisses

1 bag plain M&M’s (red & green preferred!)

 Directions -

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees. Line the pretzels on a cookie sheet. Place unwrapped Hershey kisses on top of pretzels. Bake 3-4 minutes. Pull cookie sheet out of oven and press an M&M into each Hershey kiss. Place in fridge until hardened. Delicious! They make great gifts in a mug or decorative tin etc.

That recipe sounds like a wonderful holiday sweet and you are so sweet to be offering a giveaway today for one of the gals who leaves a comment. Tell us what it is. 

For my gift, I’ll be giving someone two gift cards: a $10 one to Bath and Body Works and one to Starbucks for $5. That way she can treat herself to something sweet smelling and enjoy her favorite drink too! 

Awesome!!! Thanks for taking time to visit with us Holly!

Now, to be entered in Holly’s great giveaway, leave a comment answering any of the questions I asked her above. Or as always, if time is tight, simply say, “I’m in!” The drawing is random so you’ll all have an equal chance. (Unless of course I put in a false name on this one and pick myself…..gotta love me some B&BW and Starbucks!!! Someone alert the hubster and kids, okay?)

Happy Holly-Days,

Attention Weight Loss Wednesday gals….Do not fear! We are still checking in today. Just scroll down past this 12 Days of Christmas interview to see our WLW post. After, of course, you’ve entered today’s giveaway!

(If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the posts until midnight EST on Sunday, December 13th) 

On the third day of Christmas…..meet my gregarious, godly and oh-so-pretty P31 sista’ Melissa Taylor! Melissa’s heart for Jesus and love of people comes through in all she does, whether she is speaking at an event or writing a devotion or answering the phones in the P31 office (I actually can ‘hear’ her smile through the phone when I call!). She is a treasure to us at P31 and now you can know her too! Meet Melissa:

 

 

Melissa and her sweet momHi Karen’s blog readers and Merry Christmas! I am Melissa Taylor and I’m so excited to be included in this year’s 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!

 

I live in Charlotte, NC with my husband of 20 years, Jeff, and my 4 crazy fun and beautiful kids.  Speaking and writing for the Lord is my passion.  I’ve been doing that with Proverbs 31 Ministries for 8 years. I have a desire to encourage every woman I meet to be all that God created her to be and not to settle for anything less! Two years ago I also joined the staff at Proverbs 31 as the office Administrative Assistant and Prayer Coordinator.  I am an ordinary everyday woman who just wants to bless others with what God has given me. 

If you’d like to connect with me, please visit my website, www.MelissaTaylor.org.  You can also connect with me on Facebook, www.facebook.com/melissa.r.taylor or Twitter, www.twitter.com/melissartaylor.  Thanks so much!  I pray you have an awesome Christ filled holiday!

Melissa, can you share a tradition your family has enjoyed over the years?

We get bowls of popcorn and M & M’s  get in the car, turn on Christmas music and drive around the city looking at Christmas lights.   I love this because it’s just me, my husband and kids all together.  No cell phones or iPods allowed.  We’ve had great conversations during this once a year journey.

How do you intentionally focus on Christ in the midst of all the flurry of activities that happen in December?

Beginning December 1^st, we read from The Advent Book by Jack and Kathy Stockman right after dinner.  Each page reveals a door. You open the door and a piece of the Christmas story is there.  Whoever opens the door reads the passage for that day. And you aren’t allowed to peek ahead!  This is just one of a few activities our family does.

Do you have a favorite Christmas movie you watch at this time of year?

Absolutely.  It’s A Wonderful Life is my favorite serious feel good movie of the season.  Home Alone 1 and 2 are my favorite seasonal comedies.  Love these!

You are offering a creative giveaway today based on a special memory of yours. Can you tell us about it? 

With pleasure.  My giveaway is called Peppermint Memories and Music.  When I was a little girl, I used to visit my Grammy for Christmas. She always had peppermint sticks in a dish to give to anyone who visited her home. Grammy was a friend of Jesus. Her life radiated Christ. Now we have a dish with these peppermint sticks in it.  When we offer them to guests, we tell them of Grammy and her love for Jesus.  So ladies, if you are today’s winner, you will receive from me:  Grammy’s special peppermint sticks, a Christmas dish, and a $15 iTunes cards to purchase your favorite music.  Merry Christmas! 

Thanks for visiting with us today Melissa!

Alright ladies, leave a comment today with your favorite Christmas tradition, most loved holiday movie or way to focus on Christ at Christmas. Or, since Melissa’s giveaway involves candy, your favorite homemade or store-bought candy to savor while you ponder our Saviour at Christmastime. Or,  if you really need to get OFF the computer and onto life, (like I should be doing right now!!!) just say, “I’m in!!” and you’ll be eligible to win this creative giveaway!

Third Day Blessings,