Last month I was praying about how I can bless people this Christmas when the Lord gave me the idea to have my own “Favorite Things Giveaway.”

My Favorite Things may not have as high a price tag as Oprah’s, but they each have provided tremendous value to my life this past year. And I will be forever grateful to the authors who took the time and made the effort to write them. Yes, most of my favorite things are BOOKS!

So I will be giving away a book (or two) every day for the next several days.

Each one is special to me in a different way and I will be sharing how each one has impacted my life this year. I have always loved to read, and have read lots of books throughout my forty-something years, but this year books have had a greater impact on life than ever before. My prayer is that each book will go to the very person who needs the exact message of each particular book at this particular time in their lives. It is also my prayer that there will be people who previously were not “readers” who will, like my husband, become readers. (More on that later.)

I don’t believe in coincidences, but in God incidents. If you are reading this, I believe it is by God’s design. I believe He wants to bless you and use you to bless someone else.

One of the stipulations of this giveaway is that, if you win a book, after reading it, you must then give it away to someone else. I am not giving away brand new copies – these are MY copies that I have read myself. But it’s OK, they are all in fairly good shape… no pages are missing or anything like that. The words are still the same even if some of the pages are a bit wrinkled, bent or highlighted.

The first book I will be giving away is “The Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundance” by Bruce Wilkinson.

The reason this book is special to me is that at the beginning of this year I asked the Lord what habit I should focus on developing this year. His answer was: Abiding in Me. I asked Him how to do that and one of the things he said for me to do was to read “The Secrets of the Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson. I had read that book before and knew that I had a copy because I had been given a copy as a gift. But I searched throughout my whole house and could not find the book anywhere.

The next day this is what I wrote in my journal:

Jesus, I see you in a vineyard, teaching. You are holding two clumps of grapes. One clump has tiny, grapes that are beginning to get old, dried out and withered. The other clump has very large, plump, succulent grapes. And your are explaining to me that I have been producing tiny grapes, but you are pruning me so that I will now produce large succulent grapes and I will produce more clumps as well, instead of just one clump of tiny grapes.

So the next time I went to town (I live about 30 miles from town, so try to limit my trips) I went to the Christian bookstore to see if they had the book. They did, but I did not have enough money that day to purchase it, so I stood there in the aisle reading it for awhile. It was like cool, sparkling water to my thirsty soul. It was so hard to put it down, but I felt a little self-conscious standing there in the aisle reading, so I put it back on the shelf and left. I finished running my errands and went home. But I could not get that book off my mind, so the next time I went to town I had the idea to go by a bookstore that I know carries used books to see if I could find one a little cheaper. Sure enough, I found a used copy that I could afford.

As I read the book, it was confirmation that God was indeed doing in me what He showed me, that I had written in journal. And it was also confirmation that I was hearing God! Praise God! I am so thankful that He loves me enough to not leave me the way I am, but is willing to do whatever it takes to bring me to a place of fruitful abundance.

From the back of the book: Are you ready to break through to the abundant life? Is it time to trade in mediocrity for a life of consequence? Do you want to experience the joy of making maximum impact for God? Join Bruce Wilkinson for a journey through John 15. Find out why Jesus in the Vine of Life and explore the four levels of “fruit bearing.” You’ll learn three surprising secrets that will open your eyes to your unrealized potential in Him… starting today!

My Favorite Things Giveaway #1:
Secrets of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson

To enter the giveaway: Like this post, then comment below (on facebook comment section.) Tell me the name of a book that has been special to you this year and/or why you would like to read Secrets of the Vine.

Now click one or more of the share buttons below to let your friends know about this giveaway, too. (Not required, but appreciated.)

Contest deadline: Dec. 22, 2010 at 12 midnight CST. (I will only ship to a US address.)

Winner will be announced on Thursday. December 23, 2010. (I will only ship to a US address.)

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