12th Day of Christmas Giveaway…..with Lysa TerKeurst

WEEKEND UPDATE: Just got word of ANOTHER great interview and giveaway happening next Tuesday you WON’T want to miss. I am so excited, I can hardly stand it! Kinda like a kid at Christmas!!!!

So, on your check list, make sure to do the following:

  • Comment on all 12 Days of Christmas posts;
  • Join us Monday for the awarding of the 12 prizes(and a bonus prize for one person who comments on all 12 posts);
  • Enter to win a new contest Monday in conjunction with a Proverbs 31 devotion I’ll have running and then,
  • Tune back in Tuesday for ANOTHER awesome Christmas interview and giveaway with someone I’m sure you’ll all know!!! FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!!!!

NOTE: If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of interviews and giveaway goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the 12 posts until midnight EST on this coming Sunday, December 13th.

Today is our last day together in the 12 Days of Christmas journey. Makes me kind of sad. I love connecting with you each day, reading your comments and getting new ideas. If you are new to this blog and found your way here by way of this series, keep coming back, okay?

I love finding new friends.

And I love introducing you to my friends too. You get to meet one of my favorite’s today.

But, I want to tell you two important things…..you can leave a comment on all 12 posts until this Sunday evening at midnight EST. Tune back in Monday when the winners will be announced and then ANOTHER giveaway will be offered in conjunction with a Christmas devotion I’ll have running at Proverbs 31 and on Crosswalk.com.

So, if you have time, visit all the posts in this 12 day series and comment. You increase your chances of winning one of the giveaways that way. Oh…..and there may just be one more prize thrown into the pot for one fortunate gal who comments on all 12 posts. I’m just sayin’…….

Now, I saved the 12th Day of Christmas to feature our president at Proverbs 31, Lysa TerKeurst.

I first met Lysa in 2001 (or 2002?) at a Heart at Home conference where we were both workshop leaders. She struck me instantly as a transparent woman who wanted to help others ‘do life’ and do it well, introducing them to the God who had so changed her life. And she struck me as someone who was fun, as she (and my friend and her culprit Julie Barnhill) struck me with paper wads launched from their book tables to mine. When I looked over to see who it was, they’d get all spiritual, put their arms around whomever was standing near, bow their heads and say, “Let’s pray.”! The nuts!

Anyhow….back to Lysa.

Her story is remarkable.

So is her God.

She however, would be the first to tell you that, despite what women sometimes think of well-known authors/speakers/bloggers, she…… is not.

She is ordinary.

She is quick to point out that she struggles with junk drawers, cellulite, having patience with her kids; she asserts, “I feel like a success in my everyday life if I get through the day having spent time with the Lord, exercised in some way, had a laugh with one of my kids, had clean underwear in my husband’s drawer when he needed them, made a friend smile, and limited my chocolate intake within my weight watchers points!”

Yep….Lysa is an ordinary gal, just like us. (In fact, I thought about having my daughter, who spends time each week at the TerKeurst house, sneak and snap a pic of Miss Lysa for this post in her sweats, sans make-up, and undone hair, but I restrained myself. :-))

Seriously, it is Lysa’s faith in that remarkable God that makes her so sought out as a speaker and successful as an author and treasured as a friend.

So ladies, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to my friend, one of my daughter’s part-time employers/mentors….our P31 president and resident ‘God’s girl’, Lysa TerKeurst.

0102_TerKeurstLysa is a wife to Art, mom to five priority blessings and a nationally known speaker. She is an award-winning author of 12 books including her newest release from Zondervan publishing titled ‘Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl’. She has been featured on Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, Good Morning America, Woman’s Day Magazine, “O” Magazine and on the Oprah Show.

Lysa, this is our 12th Day of Christmas here and many of our P31 sisters have been sharing their favorite aspects of Christmas. How about you? Do you have a favorite Christmas song?

Hmmmm… I’d have to say that Silent Night is probably my most favorite.

How about holiday foods? Is there something you enjoy at the TerKeurst home each year at Christmastime?

Yes ma’am….there is! Even though I am a southern girl, I love a dish with a northern name. Every year for Christmas morning, we serve Yankee Spoiler. It is a fabulous dish that I discovered when I was at a party at a Bed and Breakfast once. Our family really looks forward to having it each year. It is a sausage and egg casserole dish that includes grits and cornbread. Yum!

Does your family have any traditions they’ve enjoyed over the years?

When my girls were little, I would tell them the story of the first Christmas by making cookies in the shapes of bells, hearts, angels, stars and trees. Using these symbols, we would work our way through spelling out the real meaning of the holiday.  In fact, years ago, I turned that idea into a book called The Sweetest Story Ever Told. Even though my kids are older, they still enjoy this activity.

Speaking of books, any favorite Christmas book you or your family enjoys?

Well, there isn’t any one book in particular. However, I do enjoy reading and sharing the account of the first Christmas written in the Bible in Luke chapter 2. You just can’t improve on God’s word!

When it comes to God’s word, you have a passion for inspiring women to not just study the Bible, but to apply it successfully to everyday life situations too.

Yes I do. Have you ever gone to Bible Study, felt all spiritually empowered, and then came home an hour later only to have a melt down over bleach being spilled on your favorite shirt?  Or one of the other one million things that can invite us women to have a good old fashioned emotional tirade?  The danger of these moments is this question that weasels its way into the core of our soul, “Why doesn’t Jesus seem to make a difference in my real life stuff?”  It’s easy to sit in Bible study and theorize spiritual answers, but how effectively is all this translating to our everyday life?

Your latest book speaks to this topic, addresses the issue of connecting with God in a real way over our Bibles each day, and provides women with answers. Tell us about it.

Sometimes in the rush of everyday life, it’s easy to reduce our devotion time with Jesus to being just another item on our to-do list— Something else that’s required of us for which we simply don’t have the time.  We know we shouldn’t feel this way about God and we hear other Christians making much of their thriving devotion time.  Shame sneaks in wagging its fingers and hissing out accusations that it will never be better for us so why even try.

There is a chapter in the book that frees women from the to-do list mentality regarding her devotion times and equips and empowers her to make this the most essential part of her day.  Not because she’s supposed to do it, rather because she can’t imagine her daily life without it. She’ll learn it is possible for her to unpack spiritual truths for herself, read verses in the context they were written, understand how these verses apply to her daily life, and practical ways to live out what she learns.

That is awesome! (That is not just an expression. I actually know. I have read this book and am leading a study on it at my church in January!) Well, for your giveaway to close out our series, what are you offering to one of our readers who leaves a comment on this post?

I will send her a signed copy of the book we have been chatting about. It is called Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl. To take a peek at it, click here.

Thanks for popping over today Lysa. And I want to thank you and my other P31 sisters personally for all you have done for our daughter since she moved from Michigan to Charlotte in August. I’d tell you to keep her away from that Yankee Spoiler, but I think my little Yankee has already been spoiled. She now guzzles sweet tea by the gallon and actually has been occasionally overheard saying “Ya’all”!!!!

Now, ladies…..this is your last shot to enter for a giveaway. Today, let’s be a little more serious. When it comes to Jesus, the greatest gift ever given to mankind (and womankind! :-)), how hard/easy/complicated/glossed-over/stagnant/vibrant is your relationship with Him and with reading the Bible?

Ever tried reading it? Did you once read it regularly, but now your passion has waned? Do you have goals for 2010 that include Bible study? Could you use some advice on how to actually live out your faith in the midst of your own crazy/busy/sometimes frustrating life? Leave a comment on this topic and you’ll be entered to win Lysa’s book. And yes, I’ll say it again….if today is one of those crazy, busy times, you can simply leave a comment stating, “I’m in!”.

Merry Christmas everyone. Don’t forget to hop on here Monday to see if you won any of the 12 Day prizes or the special bonus prize for someone who leaves a comment on all 12 posts. And remember, there is another big giveaway on Monday you won’t want to miss! (oh…this is so fun! It really is more blessed to give than receive!)

Giveaway Blessings.

91 Comments

  1. I am new to this Web-site,Luv it !! am glad to read about other Women having struggles also,Kinda let’s You know You are not alone.I am trying hard to increase My Bible Study time,and will continue to check this Web-site to get names and Authors Storie’s for Christian Book’s!Also,The Sweet Lady’s advice on what not to say to someone grieving helped Me ,I’m a Hairdresser,and struggle with customer’s losing Loved One’s all the time.I appreciate this Site GREATLY!!!!!

  2. My goal is to read through my Bible in 2010. I’ve tried to do it for the last few years but I get off track somewhere throughout the year.

  3. I enjoy my time in God’s Word but it definitely is not regular as I would like. I feel like there isn’t enough time in the day but I don’t want to use my busyness as a mother excuse my lack of being in God’s Word daily. Every day is a fresh start…why wait for 2010!

  4. The best tradition in my family was listening to my Great Grandmother read the Christmas Story (from Luke 2) before gifts on Christmas Eve.

    Now my DH reads it for us and our DD (4) will REALY know what he is reading this year and I cannot wait!!

  5. I’ve read the Bible through in a year. It is wonderful to continually find those treasures God has for us in his word. Thanks for counting me in.

  6. I’m reading through the Bible this year with Wendy Pope. Sometimes I get lost, behind, or discouraged, but other times I can’t wait to get reading and see what God says today. I definitely want to read this newest book to see what more I can learn to help as I read!

  7. That books sounds great! I’m going through that exact thing right now. I really want to have a deeper relationship with God, and I know getting into His Word daily is a key to that, but it always seems to become another part of that checklist or reading assignment. For 2010, my goal is to learn how to study the Bible and grow from it instead of just reading it. I also know I need to find a good women’s group to get involved in for accountability.

  8. There are so many times that I struggle with having what I consider a good quiet time…where I really feel the presence of God and others where it is just rote. Lysa’s book sounds as though it could really shed some light on how to deal with these day to day struggles. Thanks…

  9. I love leading Bible studies and especially for and with women. My request to God when I retired was to be able to do this frequently. This also helps me stay in Bible study. When I miss studying my life feels empty.

  10. I know that if I spent more time with God, other areas of my life would be easier and more manageable. So why is it I can’t seem to find the time for God? I prayed for a brick once before in an area of my life and He answered. Think maybe I need to do that again but am afraid of what may happen. Boy, if that’s not Satan and/or me wanting to be in control, I don’t know what is.

  11. I definitely have a goal to read my Bible more in 2010, hopefully on a daily basis as I have been slack with that this past year. I hope to do several bible studies as well!

  12. When it comes to reading God’s Word, I’m pretty consistent with an everyday reading plan. However, when it comes to studying God’s Word – well, that’s another story. Honestly – I’m sad to say that I do sometimes treat my daily Bible study time as more of a “checklist” more often than not. I hate that! I really do deeply desire to dig into God’s Word more consistently, but I tend to do so in cycles. When life gets hard (which has been quite often lately), I go back into “checklist mentality”. Read Bible. Check. But, the absorption of it is lacking!

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