Winners and New Blog Ideas!

Gifts are a special part of Christmas-time, so for the last official day of "Christmas in July" I am thrilled to announce the winners of three different giveaways! =)

Quick Note: For Julie Lessman's giveaway, those who didn't leave an e-mail address (if I did not already know the e-mail address of the person) were not entered in the drawing. I apologize if I didn't make it more clear, but I'll try to clarify more in the future. As for the other drawings, I'm getting kind of confused on who wants to be entered or not, so in future drawings I'll try to remember to only enter those who say they want to be entered and leave their e-mail addresses. Again, I'm so sorry for the confusion! Also, I used Random.org's List Randomizer when picking the winners for these drawings.




The winner of her choice of one of Julie Lessman's books is . . .

Bekka!








The winner of the "Christmas in July" Giveaway is . . .

Julia!







The winner of my 100th Post Giveaway is . . .

Bluerose!





Congratulations to all of the winners! Be looking for my e-mail and please respond ASAP! Thank you! And to those of you who didn't win these giveaways, be sure and check in often--you never know when there will be another one. =)

Thank you so much to all of you for your comments and for visiting my blog! The post with Julie Lessman's interview garnered the most comments I've ever had on one post! I'm so grateful for your enthusiasm.

Now, for the other part of this post! I've been thinking a lot about having my own weekly posts (ones that are repeated every week according to the theme of that day). So I've come up with a list of potential ideas that I would love to hear your thoughts on!

Below I will describe each of the possibilities, and then I would greatly appreciate it if you would pick your top three favorites and let me know in the comments section. I'll probably end up using three or four of these, and I'll make a final decision within the next couple of weeks. I will take the your comments into consideration when making my choice. =)

CHOICES:

Sundays by the Sea: The ocean is a beautiful and mysterious part of God's creation, and I have been blessed to live close to the Pacific Ocean my whole life. For "Sundays by the Sea" I would post devotional thoughts inspired by the sea, drawing from my own experiences and from movies/books which are set on the sea.

True Love Tuesdays: This is for the romantic at heart! On "True Love Tuesdays" we would discuss examples of true love from books, movies, and real life. This would also be an opportunity to share romantic quotes,along with recommendations for clean romantic books and movies.

Winter Wednesdays: To go along with the title and purpose of this blog, "Winter Wednesdays" would be an opportunity to share encouraging thoughts with each other for those times when we're in the winter of our "Seasons of Humility." We all could use some support and comfort for the hard times, as well as reminders of God's sovereignty and plan for our lives.

Travel Thursdays: This would be an opportunity to share where we've traveled in real life, or where we've traveled through the pages of a book. There's much to learn about different places in this vast world, so "Travel Thursdays" would be a fun way to find out more about those places!

Furry Friends Fridays: Many of us are the proud owners of adorable pets! "Furry Friends Fridays" would be days set aside to share fun anecdotes about our four-legged friends. And while I'm at college, I'll either be able to share about the creatures I see on the nature trail or elsewhere on campus, or I could share some of my cute memories of my own pets (from the past and the present!).

Sharing a Smile Saturdays: I've actually implemented this one several times already, so I can continue this if everybody likes it! "Sharing a Smile Saturdays" are meant to make you laugh or at least smile, and the posts can be about jokes, funny college stories, or practically anything that's smile-worthy!

OK, you've seen the choices! (And yes, I realize there wasn't one for Monday. I didn't come up with anything clever for Mondays, so I guess those days will be reserved for reviews or rest!) And I should also say that these posts will only be for those weeks that are not already themed weeks. (For example, I would not do these weekly-themed posts for the "Reading Retreats" Week or the "End of Summer Bash.")

*New update: This morning I went to a MOAA (Military Officers Association of America) meeting at our local Coast Guard station, and I was blessed to have my dad share the videos I had put together from our experiences at Washington D.C. I am so grateful for the United States military, and it was while I was in the car a while after the meeting that an idea came to me. The one day I hadn't come up with a theme for was Monday--and I have a strong desire within me to honor the military in some way. So I'm going to have Mondays for the Military: a day set aside to pray for and in some way remember the U.S. military and the sacrifices they make. This day will not be an option to vote on because I want to implement it no matter what. =) But please feel free to express your ideas on the other options!*

I thank you again for taking the time to look through this and share your thoughts! Have a wonderful weekend!