Winter Is Coming Giveaway Blog Hop

Posted on by Staci Mauney

Congratulations to Laura Jacobson from Minnesota, the winner of the $15 Amazon gift card in the Winter Is Coming blog hop!

Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. Like many of you, I have cherished memories of family gatherings. I’ve spent many hours throughout the years cross stitching gifts for others and baking sweet treats with my mom. As adults, we can feel overwhelmed and stressed by the season for many reasons: financial difficulties, too many activities, family members who don’t get along…the list goes on and on. Joy seems elusive, but we can experience the joy of the season when we remember why we celebrate this season: Jesus.

This Christmas season, I’m joining The Kids Did It blog and The Mommy Island blog to participate in the Third Annual Winter Is Coming Giveaway Event, which runs from December 4, 2018, to December 21, 2018. The winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card.

Enter through the Gleam form below for your chance to win!

Staci’s 2018 Winter Is Coming Event

One entrant will be selected to win a $15 Amazon gift card. Open for entry in the Continental US/Canada Only, 18 years and older from 12/04/18 thru 12/21/2018 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.

Echoes of Joy: A Daily Devotional for Christmas

Blurb

Echoes of Joy: A Daily Devotional for Christmas is the second volume in the Echoes of Joy devotional series by author Staci Mauney. Containing 25 devotionals, this book will inspire and encourage you during this busy season. Each devotional contains a Bible verse and prayer along with a story from the author’s life or a lesson learned that will point you toward Jesus.

From playing an angel in a Christmas program to struggling through the holidays after divorce to finding hope in unlikely places, this book features stories from the author’s own life as she explores the lessons learned at Christmas which apply all year long.

During this time of year, we find that emotions are magnified – both good and bad – and that our busy schedules rob us of our joy. The short entries in this book will allow you to focus on Jesus and remember why we celebrate this season. You will find messages of joy, hope, and perseverance throughout this devotional written with you in mind. As you look toward Christmas and into the New Year, let the messages contained inside this book move you into God’s presence.

Excerpt

Day 1

Christmas Memories

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Ps 100:4-5)

As a child, my family would either drive across town to spend time with my mother’s parents on Christmas or drive several miles out into the country to eat with one of my dad’s siblings. No matter which side of the family we went to see, my brother and I always had lots of cousins to play with, and my parents had lots of adults with which to play games and visit.

As we got older, my brother and I played games with the adults. My brother would start a round of his favorite game, Clue, with anyone he could convince to play. I preferred card games such as Skip-Bo to board games. My grandma was often our competition in these games. She loved all games and us, too, so she never turned down an opportunity to learn whatever game we wanted to play.

My dad and uncle weren’t interested in board games, so they played pool instead. My uncle had a pool table at his house – upstairs – and my brother and I always tried to talk the men into letting us play. However, they made us wait our turn, which meant we got bored and left them alone to play for the rest of the day.

I’m thankful for the memories of Christmases spent with family, several of whom have passed away. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful family and good friends. Though we’re scattered far and wide now, we have memories (and social media) to keep us close. I’m thankful for those such as my grandma and my parents who have shown me who Jesus is as they live out his example each day. And I’m thankful for Jesus, the one who makes all of this possible. I’m thankful that he sacrificed his life for mine so that I could live forever in him. He is the ultimate blessing and the reason for this season.

Dear Jesus, thank you for wonderful family memories of Christmases past. Help us to remember the importance of family and to stay in touch, even though we may be miles apart. Amen.

Buy the Book!

Thanks for stopping by and reading a little of my Christmas devotional! Remember to visit the other blogs listed below that are participating in this hop and enter to win more wonderful prizes! Good luck!

51 thoughts on “Winter Is Coming Giveaway Blog Hop”

  1. My favorite thing about the holidays is spending quality time with loved ones and making new memories together!

  4. The excitement with my kids is my favorite and seeing them with their church group helping others and feeding the homeless.

  9. My favorite thing about Christmas is buying presents for all my nieces, great nieces and great nephew 🙂

  15. Decorating the tree, riding around looking at lights and the look of aw in my granddaughters face.

  20. My favorite part is spending time with my family. Even though I am an adult and have kids of my own, all of my cousins still get together every year and bake and decorate sugar cookies for our Christmas party!

  22. My favorite thing about Christmas is that I get to bake cookies for the local homeless shelter and see others enjoy my cookies.

  24. My favorite thing is decorating the tree and the peaceful feel of seeing it lit every night. Something about it is very calming and makes me want to relax and enjoy it.

  27. MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT CHRISTMAS IS THAT IT’S ALSO MY SON’S BIRTHDAY, SO WE GET TO CELEBRATE DOUBLE HOLIDAYS!

  28. my favorite thing about Christmas is spending time with my family and relatives we don’t see a lot

  32. My favorite thing about Christmas is being able to spend time with my sister and her kids that moved over 6hrs away! We only get to see each other this time every year so it is special to me.

  35. My favorite thing about Christmas is getting together with our children/grandchildren to make and decorate cut-out sugar cookies.

  36. My favorite thing is being with the entire family and opening presents with them and seeing all the children open their presents and seeing Santa.

  38. Oh I really love all the beautiful Christmas lights! We love driving around and just looking at them all and all the beautiful displays!

  41. My favorite thing about the holidays is spending time with family and friends, especially those that we don’t see often.

  43. My favorite thing about the holidays is seeing all of the wonderful Christmas lights and decorations around the neighborhood.

  48. I love baking cookies and watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel with my family.

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