December Kindness Month

Today I wanted to share with you a post that Jenn from My {Not So} Glamorous Life is sharing today on her blog.  

I am so excited for this campaign.  December Kindness Month will be a month of spreading kindness everywhere we go.  Kindness is letting the person go ahead of you in the long line at the grocery store.  Kindness is refusing to say that sarcastic comment even when you are completely justified.  Kindness is letting the that ridiculous driver who speed up to cut across you in traffic to go a head and get in.  Kindness is buying the Starbucks of the person behind us.  Kindness is taking your neighbors paper to their front door.

Kindness is many things, and when we do it our action can brighten the world around us.  Read Jenn's post below and get ready to spread kindness.  Tweet about it. (Tag it with #dkc.)  Post about it on Facebook.  Let's do something to start a chain reaction that will change the world around us.

"There would be less suffering in this world if humanity would learn this one truth: 

It is not what we receive but what we give, that heals us."

~Richard Paul Evans (The Carousel)

Kindness is something this world can never have enough of. It is something that I strive to teach my children, not only with words, but with examples. When my boys are bickering, the first thing I usually say to them is "Be Kind". When someone does something that isn't nice, I will say "that wasn't very kind."

Kindness is a virtue that will never become outdated, and one that all of us could improve upon.

Now, I know that in this busy time of year, it's easy to become caught up in all that we have to do, where we have to be, what we must purchase or wrap or decorate. Many times during the month of November we see our friends and family taking time to post on Facebook, Twitter, or on blogs what they are thankful for. I love that. But why let this wonderful season stop because thanksgiving is over? Let's extend that thankfulness by giving someone else something
to be thankful for!

Recently, I felt led to do a series on Kindness. I invited Danette from All My Love for All My Days to co-host this series with me, and she graciously agreed. (If you're not already following her, you should be. She's such a fabulous lady!)

This series is going to run throughout the month of December. Danette and I are challenging ourselves, our families, our friends, and our fellow bloggers and readers to perform an act of kindness EACH DAY, no matter how big or how small.

During this busy time of year, this challenge would be a great way for people to conscientiously pause, and consider others more deliberately instead of just going through the motions of the season. By participating, we could all have our best Christmas seasons yet!

Each Friday in December, post what you did for each of the days the week prior. Danette and I will have the link ups on our blogs where you can share your blog post about it. If you're not a blogger, simply tweet it, share it on Facebook, and/or share what you did in the comments.

Please consider participating and remember, no act of kindness is too small.

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

~Ephesians 4:32



For great resources on kindness, check out The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

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make Christmas bright...a Christmas Free Printable

Today I'd like to share with you a printable to brighten up your day.  Just follow the link below and save.

link to download

Hope you enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

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making Christmas bright...the reason I want to Sparkle

Alone.
Cold.
Misunderstood.
Doubting.
Aching to be more, but with no means to be.
Hurting in a sea of total blankness.

These are all emotions that I've felt in my life.  Emotions that made me dull and boring and took away my spark for life.

As a child I was quite weird unique.  I was a child who wanted to live in an adult world and who fought to be an adult.

Yes, that was me.  The girl who wore only dresses because she really wanted to.  The girl who, at the age of 12, was mistaken for a manager at Wal-Mart (true story).  The girl who used the playground to advance my political agenda.  I was that girl.

And sometimes I still am.  I still care too much.  I still believe to passionately.  I'll still tell the cashiers how to run their machines (and for the record, I'm usually correct).  And I still sometimes feel like a person surrounded with humanity--with people who love me--but with no one who understands me.

And sometimes that's a lonely place.

But it's in this place of social silence, of secret solitude, that I'm reminded of one certain truth.  During my darkest times, this truth has become the rockbed of my foundation...the one truth to grab ahold of and refuse to let go.  It's in the Season, the season of celebration for Christ's de-scension from Heaven, that I'm reminded most.

God became flesh and came to dwell among us.  To live among us.  To die among us.  To rise among.  To be Immanuel, God with us. (John 1:14)

When I remember this truth, my self-doubt leaves.
My loneliness goes.
I feel warmth again.
I discover that emotions--hurt and joy--are gifts from God and a reflection of His personality.
My self-worth finds a home in God's opinion only.

It's for this reason that I can Sparkle.


I strongly sense that maybe this is all we really want...connection to something.  To know that we aren't alone...to know that somebody understands us.  And so we reach out into this community of  the social media world looking, hoping, wanting to not be alone.  But when you close the computer or shut off the phone or turn off the television or leave the restaurant that dreaded loneliness returns with a vengeance taking hold of our emotions.

But here is the truth of the Season: Jesus, God, Lord, Savior, lover...is Immanuel, God with you.

I challenge you in the busyness of the holidays, find Jesus.  Find God with you.  No longer alone, but surrounded with His manifest presence.  Be a reflection of His love and His light.

Sparkle.

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make Christmas bright with Marbleized Letters

Today I'm starting a series that will last through Christmas.  It's called making Christmas bright.  I hope that you feel inspired to change your environment,  your home, your life and the lives of people around you.

On Friday, Jenn of My {not so} Glamorous Life and I will reveal a big surprise.  It has all to do with you making the Christmas of the people around you brighter.  I think you're going to enjoy this challenge.  Be sure to come back on Friday.

Here's a little project I worked on this week.

Here's a look at the finished product. In hindsight, I wish the letters were bigger.  I got the largest available for purchase at the craft store, however, the bigger the room the larger the letters should be and this foyer is a very large room.

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to enter the giveaway.  And Friday, don't forget to come back and discover how you can make this Christmas season brighter for someone else.  Let's make Christmas bright!

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Thank you, November Sponsors + a giveaway

I don't know if you know this, but All My Love for All My Days has many wonderful sponsors.  Some of mothers.  Some are teachers.  Some love fashion and other love to cook, but there's one thing that they all have in common.  They are all passionate about what they write about.

I don't know about you, but that's something that I can appreciate--a person who believes so strongly in their passion that they are willing to invest time, energy, money, and intellectual power into advancing their passion.

I know these ladies would love if you would take a few minutes to stop by their blogs and follow along.  Plus, if you do you'll get points in the giveaway which everyone know increase your chance of winning a super sweet prize like a Starbucks giftcard or even a sponsorship spot on their blog.  

Let me introduce these ladies to you.  

starting at the top right corner

Brooke from Covered in Grace

Claudia from Lashes and Beard

Torrie from Free Spirit Reigns

Ashley from Wannabe Green

Tiffany from The Dwelling Tree

KW + CP from Ladies in Navy

Sarah from Life in the Breakdown

It's time for a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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a Very Special Edition of Sister Talk

This week I got to spend quite a bit of time with my sisters and I loved every minute of it.  Here is a brief look at the Sisterhood in my family.  (Our sister in law is missing, but you may remember here from this edition.)


I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I want to wish you a Merry Christmas.  I'm sure you're aware, but it's Cyber Monday.  You should check out Outfit Additions.  They're got a sale going on that's oh so sweet.  The sale ends today so make sure you get in on it.

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Saturday's Song Link Up

Join

Laura @ Upward Not Inward

Shannon @ Imperfectly Perfect Grace

Danette @ All My Love for All My Days

Rachel @ My Hearts Mission

for

Saturday's Song is a Blog Hop where bloggers who love Christian music share the music that God uses to speak to them! So, turn on your radio, Pandora, Jango, or pop in your favorite CD, and get your post ready for next week's Link Up!!

This goal of this Blog Hop

is to broaden your view of

Christian music using a different

theme/challenge each week.

If you are a blogger who loves Christian music, join us in connecting with other bloggers and sharing our love of Christian music with the blogosphere! Enjoy!!

This week's theme/challenge:

A song off a Christian album you listen to, but you have never heard that song on the radio.

Last week I posted a Christmas song too.  I just heard this song this morning.  I was in tears.

Next week's theme/challenge:

A Christmas song by a Christian Artist

Get your post ready for next week's Link Up!!

Did you fall in love with a song after purchasing the album for a different song? Tell me all about it!

Let's get this Link Up Party started!

We would LOVE it if you linked up with a post about what song did you fall in love with after purchasing the album for a different song.

Saturday's Song Blog Hop Rules:

1. Write a post that follows the weekly theme/challenge.

2. Follow the host and hostesses via GFC.

3. Grab a button to put on your blog - the more the merrier!

4. Check out (and comment) other people's blogs.

5. Be blessed by all the sisters and brothers around the world!

Love music?  Me too.  Here's a few links to a few other music posts. (here, here, here, & here)

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Sparkle Your World Giveaway

I'm a big fan of sparkles.  Big, I tell you.  Somehow the holidays just make me want to sparkle more.

I want to give you a chance to sparkle here on my sidebar so I'm hosting a giveaway.  There will be three winners of this giveaway.  Come enter and help me spread the word.

Let's sparkle!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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a Week of Thanksgiving...Tiffany Cutcliff

Hello.  My name is Tiffany Cutcliff and I blog at The Dwelling Tree.  I write about life and family.  I'd love to have you stop by and send a greeting.

I am so thankful to Danette for having me! I have been a follower of her for a while now and am amazed at her creativity, vision, and ability to bring other bloggers into the spotlight. She is very generous! 

In keeping with the theme of gratitude, I am delighted to write a post about this subject. 

Isn't it amazing how fast our lives become complicated and heavy? Even if we have a roof over our head and food on the table, we have other things to worry about as well. Broken relationships, failure, and loneliness can plague our hearts. I have often made the same mistake over and over, or have regretted something I have done and wish I could turn back time. 

"...as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12

Forgiven. A new start. I am free. 

This year, I am thankful for new beginnings. 

I have a past. My past contains many regrets I have and a trail of broken relationships, both romantically and non-romantically. To be painfully honest, I experienced a failed marriage in my early twenties. I truly believed in "till death do we part", but that didn't mean that I was exempt from experiencing a failed marriage. I thought I would never get my life back, and I hit an all time low. I viewed the world from rose-colored glasses and thought that giving my life to Christ prior to marriage meant having a joyful and blessed life. Divorce did not fit into that picture. 

I was about to find out that as a child of God I am not going to always have an easy life. Something I was going to learn was that God was the author of my life, that he walks with me through my heartache and pain, and that he could even turn my pain into a beautiful story. He is the God of New Beginnings, and he was going to give me my very own. 

See, my story went on. I found friends who loved me in my struggle, I found that God was with me every step of the way, and I eventually found love again. God redeemed my life and I enjoy a husband that is my best friend and I have a beautiful baby girl named Lillian. See, that isn't my new beginning though. I value my baby and husband more than I could express in words, but what God really wanted me to see was my New Beginning with Him! Jesus used my husband to build trust again, and my baby to show me what unconditional love is (as much as I even think I can understand)- all in an attempt to show me what He really did when He died on the cross. Jesus pardoned my sins as far as the east is from the west, and He gave me a new start. He promised me that he would renew my soul. He can fix broken relationships, failure, and loneliness. His promise of my New Beginning and the fact that he cleanses makes me more grateful than I could have ever imagined. 

What New Beginnings have you experienced this past year? Where has God renewed your life? 

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! 

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

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a week of Thanksgiving...Dalayna Dillon

The warmth, the smell, the laughter in the air
today is Thanksgiving day.
You greet and smile, with plans to stay a while
but the day will all too soon come to an end.

This time of year you hold what's dear
in such a high regard.
The normal things that appear mundane
are the very things we are so glad to maintain.

It is easy to get caught up on all that we do not have,
we are people of want much more than people of need.
The things we have can soon be caught away
with other worries, concerns, and cares of the day.

But now we see, as we gather to be
together for just a short while,
that the things we want are not what we need,
the two are very different in fact.

As we gather today, to laugh and to play,
our hearts are more happy and won.
Won with gratitude and won with praise,
overflowing with joy and love.

Our thanks is not contained to a day or a date,
November the 22nd or 23rd, fouth, sixth, or the eighth.
No matter the day or season, we should always remember the reason
to count our blessings not our lackings
and give praise to God with a heart of thanksgiving.

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a Week of Thanksgiving...Lanie Luttrell

Hello, let me introduce myself. I am Lanie Luttrell from "Shoutin' It Loud" and let me just say I am SUPER excited to be here! Thank you so much, Danette, for giving me this opportunity to guest post. It is definitely an honor to post on one of my favorite blogs.

A couple things I am thankful for is God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, the Bible, my family (including my pets), my church, friends (this includes your pets too!), my house, food, clothing, and showers. Now this may be the basics, but not everyone has the basic necessities. But there is a couple things I would like to share with you that I'm recently thankful for that has been radiating in my heart.

So lately I have been reading in the 4 gospels and something that has really been brought to my attention is when Jesus feeds several people with what looks like not enough. Every time the disciples ask if there would be enough, Jesus took the food and gave thanks and there would always be food left over after satisfying all the people in the crowd. (Mark 8:1-13)

There are several things you can pull from this story, but one thing I pulled out is the simple truth that He, God, is always enough. In fact, He is MORE than enough! When it looks like we won't have enough to get us through, we can still give thanks to Him for what we do have, and God will take care of us as long as we keep our eyes and heart on Him. That is another thing I am thankful for. Just remember, God will NEVER leave us, or forsake us!  

So anyway, Here is some more things I am thankful for that, well, isn't a need, but things I enjoy!

Music, my instruments (I practically collect them... there's so many!), my phone, the mall, my car Lulu, computer, twitter, Facebook, and last but definitely not least, my blog! 

Thank you so much All My Love for All My Days readers! I would love to hear back from you! Just comment below! 

Wanna come check me out, or at least... check out my blog?! Then here ya go!  http://lanieluttrell.blogspot.com/ 

I am thankful you read this :)

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Not Quite There Yet

Welcome back to the brand new link up 

Not Quite There Yet!

This link up is specifically for non-mommy and/ or unmarried bloggers.

(We still love all you married with kids folks!)

This will be a weekly link up rotating through different social media outlets for us to connect through. I hope that this link up will facilitate the making of many new friendships and partnerships. We are all in the same boat, let's get to know each other and support each other through life's twists and turns.

Alright, let's kick this thing off!

We will be linking up our Blogs this week.

You know the drill...

1. Follow your host. That's me! :D

2. Follow ALL of your co-hosts. please and thank you!

Stacey from Beautiful Solutions
&
Danette from All My Love For All My Days

3. Link up your Blog.

Next week we will be connecting via Facebook.

4. Find some other great bloggers and follow along.
And be sure to leave a comment so we can all follow you back!

5. Button up and spread the word!
Share this post on Twitter & Facebook!

<center><a href="http://dalaynadillon.blogspot.com/search?q=not+quite+there+yet"><img border="0" src="http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii560/Dalayna_Dillon/linkup.png"/></a></center>

If you are interested in co-hosting email me at 
dalayna {dot} dillon {at} gmail {dot} com.

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a Week of Thankgiving...Lauren Frank

Hello all you lovelies! I'm Lauren and I blog over at Tutus & Tea Parties about parenting, crafting and some stuff in between. I'd love for you to come by and say hello!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is this week? I feel like the holiday rush has already started. Shopping, decorating, visiting family...stress! I always like to be sure that the season is celebrated for what it really is all about...being thankful! This Thanksgiving, I want to be extra certain to count my blessings. The Lord has given me so much to be thankful for this year and I want to make sure He knows how truly thankful I am!

If you follow me on Instagram, you will notice all month I have been posting a photo a day of what I am thankful for & today I would love to share some of those with you:

 My faith in my God! How awful life would be without Him.

 My hubby who always knows how to make me smile.

 These three kiddos who have such great hearts.

The relationship I have with my family. I love how close we are!

Friends who are so caring and would do anything for us.

I can go on and on about all the other things I'm thankful for...but these are the most important to me. Oh...and coffee!

  

Thanks you for having me here today Danette! 

 Don't forget to acknowledged all the things in your life you are thankful for this holiday season. If you want to see more of what I am thankful for I would love for you to follow me on Instagram. :)

Don't miss a thing, keep up with me here:

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