Anniversary Week: Giveaway #1

It's Anniversary Week and time for Giveaway #1.

Alright...

Who wants to win a $10 iTunes card?

To be eligible for the giveaway, leave me a comment and tell me the name of a song or two (or ten) that you could listen to over and over and over and never get tired of hearing, OR what songs/albums you would buy with a little extra iTunes money.

Me? I would buy Chris Tomlin's Christmas album (because I love Chris Tomlin and because I started listening to Christmas music in September). Or perhaps this soundtrack (because I love it and my cassette tape has completely disintegrated). Or some Coldplay (because my son thinks they're awesome and I like them too). Or anything by Nichole Nordeman. Right now I have this song and this song of hers (go listen to them both!) on repeat on my iPod. (I'm a huge Nichole Nordeman fan.)

If you're wondering if you have to have an iPod to win an iTunes card--you don't! You can use it to download music to your computer and listen to it from there...or burn your downloads to a cd. Just wanted to be clarify that for all you non-techy people. Smile.

Now it's your turn. I'm all ears.

The fine print: Giveaway will close at 10pm on Saturday, October 31. Winners will be chosen at random and posted on Sunday, November 1. Contest is open to US and international residents. You don't have to have a blog to enter, but you must leave a way to be contacted should you win.

Gladitude Monday

My friend, Gretchen, does a blog post every Monday of happy things that put some GLAD in her ATTITUDE. My heart is brimming with happy stuff today so I'm copying her Gladitude Monday idea.


1. Glad that the sun is shining and yesterday's snow is quickly melting. I've only got a few patches left in my yard!

2. Glad that my husband had the day off and we got to spend it together! He was also off on Friday and we had big plans, but just as we were leaving for Co Springs, the school called telling me that Abbey had a fever. (She's fine now, but I was feeling pretty grumpy that our plans got shelved).

3. Glad to have discovered this song (One Thousand Hallelujahs) at church yesterday. Hallelujah is a celebratory word and we refrain from using it during Lent, so One Thousand Hallelujahs was quite appropriate yesterday. Sarah loved it as much as I did and asked if I'd find it on iTunes for her. I did and I've been listening to it over and over. LOVE it.

4. Glad that Coldstone Creamery was open today and that the kids got to redeem their gcs after school.

(Will was there too, but he didn't want to be in the pic. I guess it's a 12-year-old boy thing.)

5. Glad about the sweet conversation with Abbey at breakfast this morning. Every month she asks me to call her something different. In October, she asked me to call her "Pumpkin". In December, she chose "Candy Cane", and this month she decided she'd like to be called "Sunflower". So stinkin' sweet.

6. Glad to have my husband "back" this week. Whew. It was hard living with the lord (lord with a little "l") last week. John played Jesus--one of four--at our church's Easter drama and I had a HUGE time teasing him.
Conversation was pretty fun at our house. I enjoyed singing the following responses (and more) to him and he loved rolling his eyes back at me.

"Have thine own way, lord, have thine own way."

"It's all about you, it's all about you, jesus"

"lord, whatever you ask, I want to obey"

"Draw me close to you..."

7. Glad for the creativity of our church leadership and SUPER glad they sang Chris Tomlin's, "How Can I Keep From Singing" yesterday. Seriously, I think it is THE BEST Easter song EVER.

I was struggling a little bit during our service yesterday. The message was good, the music was good, but I just wasn't connecting with the day, UNTIL I was in line for communion and we started singing this song. I couldn't hold back my tears of gratitude.

How can I keep from singing Your praise?
How can I ever say enough?
How amazing is Your love?
How can I keep from shouting Your name?
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

8. Glad for a doubly clean bathroom. I cleaned bathrooms this morning and evidently cleaned one that John cleaned last night. I thought it looked better than normal. (Thanks, J).

9. Glad about some plans that are taking shape for late summer!

10. Glad for laughter. John and I have laughed together a LOT today. So good for our hearts!

My Favorite Christmas Song...

Yesterday I was helping Sarah download some music to her ipod (yeah, she has an ipod and her parents don't!) and she wanted some Christmas songs on it. It was then that I realized I haven't heard my favorite Christmas song this season. She had some itunes money left and was gracious enough to let me purchase it (secretly, she loves it too), and I keep listening over and over and over. (There is much rolling of the eyes when she catches me with her ipod. I have to ask permission first or pay her a quarter).

Anyway, the song I love so much is Welcome to our World by Chris Rice. I think it is so, so beautiful, and these lines always make me cry:

Fragile fingers sent to heal us,
Tender brow prepared for thorn,
Tiny heart whose blood will save us,
Unto us is born. Unto us is born.

So wrap our injured flesh around You,
Breathe our air and walk our sod.
Rob our sin, and make us holy,
Perfect Son of God. Perfect Son of God.
Welcome to our world.