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12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2017) – Day One

My 11th Annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways for 2018 starts HERE.

Welcome to my 10th annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2017)!

10th Annual #12DaysofChristmas Giveaways (2017) at karenehman.com.

A decade ago I had a little holiday idea. I asked 12 friends to join me for 12 days of Christmas giveaways here on my blog. Each of them shared a favorite recipe, memory, gift idea, decorating tip, or something else that would help my readers during the holiday hustle. They’d also give away a prize package and readers could enter to win by leaving a comment. The series was an instant hit. And it was the first time during my year of blogging that a post got over 100 comments.

Today kicks off our tenth year of this oh-so-fun series. You are gonna love meeting the 12 friends joining us this year and entering to win their prizes. And…..

THIS YEAR THERE IS ALSO A GRAND PRIZE!!!

One of you WHO COMMENTS ON ALL TWELVE POSTS AND ALSO SHARES ABOUT THE SERIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA will win a grand prize from me, pictured here.

10th Annual #12DaysofChristmas Giveaways (2017) at karenehman.com.

This grand prize is worth over $115 and includes:

* A gorgeous notetaking Bible in the CSB version. It has wide margins not only for notetaking but for the person who likes to also illustrate verses in the Bible.

* A set of 10 of my favorite erasable pens from Frixion. No worries if you goof. You can erase them!

* The DVD and study guide for Twelve More Women of the Bible. This is a series by myself, Lisa Harper, Bianca Olthoff, Courtney Joseph, Chrystal Evans Hurst, and Margaret Feinberg. It covers 12 women in the Bible including Deborah, Priscilla, the bent over woman, Ruth, Esther, the woman with the issue of blood, the Shulamite woman, and the woman in Proverbs 31. Each week has a video teaching from one of the contributors and a section of the study guide to complete as you dive into the Bible’s teaching on these women.

*And a $25 gift card to Amazon!

REMEMBER: in order to win the grand prize, you must leave a comment on all 12 posts. You can find them linked at the bottom of this post.

OK, let’s get started with our first day’s guest, Jodie Berndt!

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A Year of Prayer

Every December, I spend some time thinking about each one of my children. I ask God to open my eyes to what they might need (socially, spiritually, physically, emotionally), or what he might want to do in their lives. And then I keep a lookout for a Bible verse that addresses that need, and I make that my Christmas Prayer—one I will give to each child and pray through the whole coming year.

Here’s one example.

Our son Robbie is an athlete. You’d think that’s a plus (and it is), but back when he was in kindergarten, we discovered that he could hit anything—a baseball or a classmate—with surprising dexterity. Things like wisdom and self-control seemed to be hopelessly absent from his character and, after a series of depressing parent-teacher conferences, I was ready to buy the boy his first pack of cigarettes and put him out on the street corner, since I figured he’d wind up there, anyway.

That was the year I turned to Proverbs 23:23-24. Here’s what I prayed: Help Robbie to get wisdom, discipline, and understanding. Let him be the righteous man who brings joy to his parents, the wise son in whom we delight.

As the months went by, we began to notice little changes (Robbie’s sisters, for example, stopped flinching when he walked by), but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw on the next teacher’s report. Reading upside down, I could see what looked like a big, fat “zero” right next to the word “Behavior.” I wanted to cry. But then the teacher flipped the paper around. “I gave him an O for Outstanding,” she said. “I don’t know what you’ve done, but he’s really become a bright spot in the class.”

We hadn’t done anything.

But God had.

And while it hasn’t been a spotless journey from anger to self-control (a few of our friends still love to tell the story of when Robbie got ejected from a lacrosse game as a nine-year-old), it has been an incredible one. Today, as a college student, Robbie has truly become a righteous man who brings joy to his parents. And it’s not because of anything we did (I was the one with the cigarette plan, remember?). It is all because of God’s faithfulness.

Read more about “The Year of Prayer” in Jodie Berndt’s new book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children, which comes with a free Study Guide available here.

Day One Giveaway

For the 12 Days of Christmas series, I am giving away my three books on Praying the Scriptures, including my newest release, Praying the Scriptures for your Adult Children. Leave a comment below and let us know which one you would like to read most.

10th Annual #12DaysofChristmas Giveaways (2017) at karenehman.com.

Jodie Berndt is the author of several books, including Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens, and Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children. A speaker and Bible teacher, Jodie encourages readers to pursue joy, celebrate grace, and live on purpose. Find her writing at JodieBerndt.com, and follow her on Instagram @Jodie_Berndt, Twitter @JodieBerndt, and on Facebook. Jodie and her husband, Robert, have four grown children and two sons-in-law.

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12 Days of Christmas Giveaways Rules

  1. You can comment on all 12 days (once per person) up until midnight Pacific time, Sunday, December 17.
  2. U.S. Addresses only please.
  3. One daily winner will be chosen from each day’s comments and all winners (including Grand Prize) will be announced on Wednesday, December 20.
  4. Share the giveaway with your friends and followers using the share buttons below.
  5. If you’re not already subscribed, click here and receive an email notification each day of our series.

If you’re just joining us, you can catch up here:

Day 1 with Jodie Berndt (comment below).

Day 2 with Kristin Schell

Day 3 with Sara Hagerty

Day 4 with Lindsey Feldpausch

Day 5 with Alex Kuykendall

Day 6 with Arlene Pellicane

Day 7 with Heidi St. John

Day 8 with Ashleigh Slater

Day 9 with Kristen Kill

Day 10 with September McCarthy

Day 11 with Ruth Schwenk

Day 12 with Wynter Pitts

 

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1,048 Comments

  1. Jodie, this devotion realky spoke to me. Our 38 yr. old son still lives w us & is not the most responsible. He does work, but has had many jobs. The last job he really liked, but bc he has degenerative back disease which is getting worse, the could not continue bc he does manual labor. He is very negative, & efforts to help him falls on deaf ears. I will start claiming this verse for him as I know God is working in his life. The book on adult children & scriptures is what I would need.

  2. I have four grown children and I pray for them constantly. I would love to read specific bible passages meant for them, what an awesome book topic!

  3. This is such a blessing to see what prayer can do for our children. God is certainly still in the miracle working business. I have a child and his family who need a miracle. I would love to read Praying Scripture Over Your Adult Children.

  4. In this reading this day, I also am praying for my son, who is an adult… he needs favor, wisdom ,&direction &discernment,…like yesterday! Ty for your message.

  5. I came across this blog through a link in the Crosswalk Christmas Advent series.
    As I read this mornings post I thought of the book that I had clung to several years ago when my son had gotten into drugs and left home. I looked it up and sure enough, it’s Jodie’s book on praying the scriptures for your teens. Thank you so much! He came home a couple months later.

  6. I came across this blog through a link in the Crosswalk Christmas Advent series.
    As I read this mornings post I thought of the book that I had clung to several years ago when my son had gotten into drugs and left home. I looked it up and sure enough, it’s Jodie’s book on praying the scriptures for your teens. Thank you so much! He came home a couple months later.

  7. Very heart warming as we all have children who we do not know how to pray for at times. My daughter has become very distance and prayer is the only way forward.

  8. I would love to receive the book “Praying the Scriptures for your Adult Children”. My children and their spouses need my prayers . I want to know how to lead them to our Lord. I have been praying that they let Jesus into their lives but I need guidance and inspiration to help me to be diligent in my prayers. Thank you for this opportunity and I love this “12 Days of Christmas”.

  9. U would most likely want to read Praying the scriptures for my Adult Chilt. I enjoyed test your devotional,it made me stop and they about this wonderful time.

  10. As a blended family of 9 children and 5 grandchildren, any of the three books would be a great help to me, but I’d really love the one for adult children. The majority of our kids are grown and some of them are struggling with what they want to do in life, battling demons or just wandering thru life blindly. I don’t even know what to pray anymore. This is an amazing gift for anyone! Thank you for reminding me there is hope.

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