Congratulations to Edye Green from Illinois, the winner of the $10 Starbucks gift card!
After-Christmas letdown is a real phenomenon that occurs after the holiday season is over. The wonderful experiences of Christmas are over, and we’re back to real life. In many parts of the country, we’re facing cold, dreary days until spring arrives. To warm things up and alleviate some of the strange sadness of January, I’m joining The Kids Did It blog and The Mommy Island blog to participate in the 4th Annual Jeepers! It’s January! Giveaway Event, which runs from January 8, 2019, to January 22, 2019. The winner of my first giveaway of 2019 will receive a $10 Starbucks gift card.
One entrant will be selected to win a $10 Starbucks gift card. Open for entry in the Continental US/Canada Only, 18 years and older from 01/08/2019 thru 01/22/2019 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification email to claim their prize or a new winner will be selected. See Gleam form for official rules. Event hosts and participating bloggers are not responsible for fulfilling prize obligations from sponsors or self-sponsoring bloggers.
Staci’s Jeepers! It’s January! Giveaway Event
Echoes of Joy: A Devotional for Animal Lovers
Blurb
Do you have a favorite memory of a childhood pet? Perhaps you have a furry family member in your life right now. In Echoes of Joy: A Devotional for Animal Lovers, author Staci Mauney recalls the lessons she’s learned as a pet owner.
From taking care of rabbits and birds to caring for dogs and cats, animals have always been a part of Staci’s life. In this 30-day devotional, she chronicles her adventures with her sassy Yorkshire terrier, Lilly, as well as other pets she’s had throughout the years. Through the antics of her pets, she has developed a deeper relationship with God and grown in her faith.
These messages will encourage you in your walk with Christ as Staci reveals spiritual truths she’s learned. You will feel joy and your spirits will lift as you consider the wonders of the animals with which God has entrusted us.
Day 1
Calming an Anxious Heart
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil 4:6)
Lilly, my Yorkshire terrier, has separation anxiety. It’s plagued her since she was a puppy. When I would leave for work, I could hear her nails click-clacking across the floor as she ran to hide under my bed. Over time, she adjusted to our routine.
Now that I work from home, I see signs of her separation anxiety coming back. If I leave for a significant amount of time during the day, I know I’ll have a shadow when I get home.
To relieve some of her anxiety, I leave the TV and lights on when I’m gone. I take her for walks and for rides in the car when I go through a drive through. She rides in the backseat, happy as can be, barking at random passersby.
Like Lilly, we can let anxiety get the best of us when we feel uncertain or face a new situation. I’m not qualified to speak about anxiety as a medical condition. But I can speak about anxiety as an emotion that threatens to overwhelm us. I’ve faced that type of anxiety, and it can stop us from making decisions, interacting with others, or moving forward. It can be very isolating.
When we face situations that cause us to worry or fret, we should give thanks instead. Offering thanks for a difficult situation seems contrary to our natural reaction, which is to turn inward and focus on the problem. When we give thanks for the blessings in our lives—even those stressful situations—our eyes turn from our worries and onto God and the good things he has done for us.
The Lord gives us peace and calms our anxiety when we let him: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Col 3:15). We should cling to him as he takes our fears away. And we will feel his peace, no matter our circumstances.
Dear Jesus, thank you for calming my anxious thoughts. You provide peace that passes all understanding when I give you my worries. Help me to always give thanks and turn my attention from myself and onto you. Amen.
Thanks for stopping by and reading a little of my Devotional for Animal Lovers! Remember to visit the other blogs listed below that are participating in this hop and enter to win more wonderful prizes! Good luck!
A new year means another round of incoming holidays.
I love looking forward to spring time each new year.
Always new and exciting things to come in a new year. Look forward to my kids being a year older and seeing all they accomplish.
Favorite thing is that everything feels brand new.
My favorite thing about starting a new year is getting reorganized!
I like getting a fresh start to things with the new year
I like that we have more time to continue doing the things that we did in the previous one
Getting my house ready for spring
I like the feeling of a fresh start.
Starting a new year to me is about starting a new me, finishing up things I should have finished last year and starting the things I want to do and get accomplished this year, like working on me, being more humbled, getting out and doing more volunteer work,,things like that.
@tisonlyme143
I like the seasons starting all over again.
Starting with a fresh start!!
Looking forward to spring and I start Spring cleaning, so when spring comes around I can enjoy it!
A new year feels fresh. I feel renewed and ready to see what adventures are in store.
A new year is a chance for a fresh start and new beginnings.
My favorite thing about starting out a new year is getting back into the everyday stuff after all the Christmas running around.
I like the clean slate feeling of a new year.
a fresh start!
new things
My favorite thing about starting a new year is that my kids are off from school on vacation.
New memories!
Organizing and purging is my favorite thing to do in the New Year!
I like the feeling of a new year and starting with a clean slate.
Knowing that there is always something to try that is new.
Even though each day is truly a fresh start, or even each new hour, minute, second is. the beginning of a new year feels extra fresh, empowering, liberating, inspiring, almost as if it has a bit of magic in it.
I also absolutely love looking through my previous year’s wall calendar and choosing a new one with great care and putting the new dates and anniversaries, birthdays coming up etc in the new one and thinking of all the priceless memories we made the past year and all the new ones yet to come and look forward to.
My favorite thing used to be getting to start over with things….but the older I get, the more things hurt worse, the more money it takes, the more medical appointments I have, etc etc, so I’m not sure any more lol.
My favorite thing is everything is a blank slate in a new year
New beginnings!
My favorite thing each year is being able to see my nephew grow up. And yet I want him to stay young forever.
Sweet title and cover art
I like that the stress of the holidays is over and things settle down a little in the new year.
I like getting rid of the clutter with the old and organizing for the new
A fresh new start, start with a positive outlook.
We are trying to get pregnant! Definitely a positive step for us!
A chance to improve yourself, start afresh and renewed, if only through your thoughts and inner self.
Improving myself and setting goals on what I would like to accomplish.
My favorite thing about starting a new year is looking forward to spring and summer and planning things to do and places to visit.
My favorite thing about this New Year is we are planning on retiring in the spring! YES!
I like the feeling of a fresh start with each new year.
A fresh start and a positive outlook to do it better than the last.
A new year means new beginnings, and saying goodbye to last years misery.
I love the “fresh start” of the new year.
My favorite thing is that the days are starting to get longer (I want my sunshine).
Thanks for the contest.
My favorite thing about starting a new year is looking forward to positive things ahead.
My favorite thing about the new year is feeling like we have a fresh start and let the past go.
It is time for a fresh start and to eliminate things around the house we no longer use or need.
I like to hang up fresh new calendars
Choosing a fun new calendar to hang up!
I like to think of it as starting fresh for the New Year. A brand new year to start fresh with a positive mindset!
Starting fresh.
I always like the idea of a fresh start int he new year!
I like the idea of a fresh start
It means a fresh start!
It is like having a brand new canvas just ready to start painting new goals on.
I am excited to start some new goals and see where it takes me.
My favorite thing is just that new year new start feeling I have. I like to get organized again because the holidays can be brutal sometimes.
I think it is the anticipation of what lies ahead.
My granddaughters birthday is in January so it always fun to celebrate her.
New hopes and dreams.
I like all the opportunities of the new year.
I like starting a new year because the craziness at the end of the year has died down.
I like when the New Year starts because it’s the end of the holiday madness. Which I do enjoy, but it’s nice to get back to normal.