The Lord Gives and Takes Away

One of my all-time favorite songs. It speaks for itself...

Rain on Me Book Give-Away

I spent the entire month of June (and bits of both May and July) with my foot elevated and unable to bear weight because of a broken bone. I am still in a walking boot and won't know for another month if I will avoid surgery or not, but am very thankful to be walking once again! During my six weeks of rest I was blessed by the loving care of family and friends that God sent to provide all our needs and was continually amazed by God's creativity in supplying for His children. But I also had moments of self-pity and needed reminders that God could bring good out of this season of pain and setback.

One beautiful thing God did through this time where I had no option but to "be still" was to allow me to take a 40-day walk through the beautiful new book by Holley Gerth, Rain on Me: Devotions of Hope and Encouragement for Difficult Times. As an author I have frequent opportunities to review books and do enjoy many of the ones I am blessed to read. But there are a handful that stand out to me as "the cream of the crop" and Rain on Me is one of those beautifully crafted treasures that speaks to the heart. The writer in me just relished in all the delightful word pictures and the way Holley made a seemingly mundane topic such as "weather" come alive. The frustration in my own spirit over being down, and on a wider scale the ongoing struggles of chronic illness, were ministered to very personally way by Holley's reflections. So many meet me right where I lived and I kept thinking, "I'll have to ask Holley if I can reprint part of this one on my blog when I post about her book!" only to have the same thoughts about a different devotional a few days later. The "counselor" in found myself listing the names of so many hurting hearts who would be encouraged and ministered to by this amazing little book.

So rather than try to reprint so many portions of her devotional reflections, Holley has generously shared a free copy of her book that I will be thrilled to send to one of my blog readers at the end of this month. To be entered into my random drawing for Rain on Me please post a reply on this blog entry before midnight on July 31, 2009. Be sure to leave me an email address of some valid form of contact so I may get in touch with you and request your mailing address when you win. (Original winner will be given 3 days to reply to contest winning notification or I will move on to a secondary winner drawing.)

For more wonderful reading, drop by Holley's blog. Not only does she write beautifully, but she also gives away beautiful DaySpring gifts from time to time. ;)

Can't Afford Medical Care?

Rest Ministries has put together a wonderful resource list of health-care related ministries that may be able to help you out if you need assistance obtaining medical care due to financial limitations.