Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Giveaway Winner


Thanks for so many comments on yesterday's blog. My all-time high was 62 comments on March 30... I was hoping you all would top that ---and you DID. I even had five new folks who visited yesterday.


This is my first Giveaway ---and I wanted choosing a winner to be as simple as possible. (You know I'm all about SIMPLE.) SO----I went through my comments and made a list of those who signed up for the book giveaway. Then I numbered all of them off ---from 1 -44. (Several who commented didn't mention the book or the giveaway, or had already read the book.) George had no idea what I was doing ---so I just asked him to pick a number between 1 and 44... He came up with Number SIX. And the person's name next to Number six is the WINNER.


Congratulations to BETH who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in gorgeous North Carolina. Beth has been a regular viewer (and commenter) on my blog since the end of February. I really like this young woman. She is a great writer. Here's some info I found on Beth's profile:


Hi, I’m Beth, and I’m happy to say that I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Most of my early life was spent as a preacher’s daughter in Eastern North Carolina, but I always felt most at home in the Appalachians. So, four years ago, my family and I followed our hearts west. As they say, I wasn’t born here, but I got here as quick as I could.


I’m married, with two children, who, if I may say so, are simply the most extraordinary children ever. My youngest just left for college. Empty nest? Are you kidding? They might be gone, but their stuff isn’t. Books, papers, art supplies, computer parts, amps, guitars—I am still surrounded by the remnants of my children’s lives. But I don’t really mind. Truth is—I’m not quite ready to completely let go.


My abiding interests and passions—besides raising my children—are reading, hiking, porch sitting, and trying to grow a little every day in my spiritual life. I have been a secretary, library assistant, and a janitor. My husband is a carpenter and handyman. And both of us want to write.


I used to write. Poetry, essays, fiction—even got published a time or two, but the past twenty years have been hard ones. They’ve taken a toll, and I’ve lost something. Oh sure, I still write, but it comes hard. That’s why I started this blog—to see if I can find what I lost and to see if I can ever hope to become a real writer.




Beth recently wrote a blog post that just blew me away. I wrote her and told her that she needs to send it to Guidepost magazine (or some publication). Please click on her name above and read the post entitled "Signs and Wonders and Marvels and Miracles"... It's long---but very powerful. You will be glad you read it.


Congrats to Beth ---and to all of you. You are ALL winners in my book.


We are heading back to Hendersonville today /tonight ---for a family get-together --so I won't be around to check your blogs.. I will catch up SOMEDAY.


Hugs to all,