Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings Book & Board Game Review & Giveaway 12/15 WINNER ANNOUNCED

CONGRATULATIONS TO ....

billdebstanton!

An e-mail was just sent and they have 48 hours to respond before I pick a new winner via random.org.

Thanks to all those that entered and Merry Christmas!

The holiday season is fast approaching and with those special times there seems to be a renewed sense of thankfulness.  Thanksgiving is one of those special holidays where we give thanks to whatever we want and count our blessings for what we have been granted by God.  Christmas is another occasion that some tend to stop and think about all the glorious good things that have been bestowed on us.  Even without the holidays, it's a good practice to count your blessings daily as well as a good lesson to teach your children. 

From the creator/inventor of the wildly popular game, ‘Balderdash’ (more than 15 million copies sold), Canadian resident Laura Robinson and co-author, Elizabeth Bryan, a Southern California resident, comes the next installment of the #1 best selling book series of all time, ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings’. The book, and Count Your Blessings board game is vintage “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and is originally co-authored by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Amy Newmark.

The book contains more than 100 contributed stories of thankfulness amidst life’s rough patches. These ‘mompreneurs’ developed the board game based on the book that focuses on finding the silver lining in all of life’s scenarios. Together, they offer inspirational stories about navigating life’s toughest challenges by finding blessings -in-disguise. From illness to foreclosures to family fortitude, there’s a story in this book that will leave a lasting impression on everyone’s heart. With the book selling for $14.95, and the game’s suggested retail price of $24.99, it’s still easy to find “silver linings”… even this holiday season. A great holiday gift to inspire the whole family to count their blessings. Look for the book and game, which is eco-friendly and made from recycled material, to launch in November.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings Book

Product Details:

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Chicken Soup for the Soul (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935096427
• ISBN-13: 978-1935096429
  

Review Coming Soon!

Chicken Soup For The Soul Game: Count Your Blessings

Product Features:

• Chicken Soup For the Soul: Count Your Blessings is the fun feel good family game that gets everybody talking.
• The game is inspired by the #1 sellilng New York Times book series.
• Count Your Blessings is all about finding the bright side to each scenario on the cards.
• Everyone wins when we all remember to count our blessings!
• There are no hard and fast rules - only fun.
  

About the Game:

The game uses clever copy and engaging logic to get players to go from “tired to inspired, frazzled to dazzled and stressed to blessed” by navigating challenging (and often funny) real life scenarios about health, home life, work, school, and finances. Players can head to the Thank Tank and hear why losing their phone could be a reason to “cell-abrate,” or try on the Bright Side Glasses and “see” a ripped pair of pants in a “hole” new light! Here are a few sample questions:

What are three positive things to “cough up” about having the flu?

1. You’ll get to miss school or work and finish that novel on your bedside table.
2. You’ll take lots more vitamins, boost your immune system and get healthier in the long run.
3. For once, you are the center of attention in your family!

What are three “silver linings” that turn a fractured elbow into a “lucky break?”

1. You learn how to adapt and do things with your other hand.
2. You have to quit the volleyball team, but join a choir instead and find out you have a stellar voice.
3. You don’t have to take out the garbage for at least six weeks!

What are three silver linings you can “fire off” about losing your job?

1. You get a great severance package and can take a well deserved and needed break.
2. Your job sucked and you hated your boss – now you can find something you LOVE to do.
3. Your kids will get to see you more – they miss you!

  

In order to get this giveaway out before Christmas, I want to post the giveaway with the review forthcoming.

                                  

The Giveaway:

Your own copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul:  Count Your Blessings book and game!

To Enter:

Follow my blog and leave a comment.


Extra Entries:

Subscribe to my blog, leave a comment


Tweet about this giveaway, leave a comment (can be done daily)


Blog about the giveaway, leave a comment (can be done daily)


Follow me on Twitter, leave a comment


NEW: Want EXTRA chances to win any of my giveaways, vote for me at DivineCaroline (widget top left) and get FIVE extra entries! Just vote, return back to the each giveaway and leave five entries with what number of voter you were. Easy!


Enter any of my on-going giveaways and receive five extra entries for this giveaway!

Giveaway ends 12/15 at midnight.  Winner will be chosen by random.org.

US only please.

Enter Your Dove UPCs & Dove Will Give $1 & A Chance to Win a Gift Pack from the Dove Self-Esteem Fund 12/15 WINNER ANNOUNCED

CONGRATULATIONS TO....

happi shopr

I took the comments from the posts and inserted them into the spreadsheet based on date and time to ensure they were all in order.  From that, I verified the winners met the requirements and used random.org to pick the winner.

An e-mail has been sent to happi shopr and she has 48 hours to respond before I pick a new winner from the next random.org generator.

Thanks to all those that entered and watch for more giveaways!

Preface:  You can jump to the bottom to read how you can help but you have to hurry as the offer ends 12/15/09.

I don't know about you but I really get tired of seeing "beautiful" women as deemed by others bombarding my television shows, movies, advertisements and so forth.  I think it's reckless to both women and men and especially girls.  This unhealthy cramming of media socially-defined image of perfection is not healthy nor ideal.  When I started seeing the commercials from Dove that actually showed imperfect or as I would say, normal women, I was beyond happy!  I'm not so much of a prude but I am tired of seeing all that is portrayed today and can't help but wonder why any researcher is puzzled over the growing number of eating disorders among the very young and women in their 30's, 40's and 50's. 

When I was asked to participate in spreading the word on the Dove Self-Esteem Fund (DSEF), I jumped!  I have three girls at home and a step daughter that need all the self-esteem they can get.  Come to think of it, I can too!  DSEF was established as an agent of change to inspire and educate girls and young women about a wider definition of beauty. The DSEF is committed to help girls build positive self-esteem and a healthy body image, with a goal of reaching 5 million girls globally by 2010. It has already reached 2 million young women.  You can watch videos on how some girl's lives have already been impacted HERE.

I love the concept of this program and only think that nothing but positive will come out of it.  The Dove Self-Esteem Fund is not just focusing on the US but it's a global effort designed to widen today’s stereotypical view of beauty.  

For example:

• In the U.S., the DSEF supports the Boys and Girls Club of America and the Girls Scouts of the USA to help build confidence in girls 8-17 with after-school programs, self-esteem building events and educational resources.
• In the United Kingdom and other countries, the Fund supports Body Talk, an educational program about body image and self-esteem in schools. Since 2006, the Dove brand has conducted nearly 2,700 self-esteem educational workshops around the world.

Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem, commissioned by the Dove® Self-Esteem Fund, reveals that there is a self-esteem crisis in this country that pervades every aspect of a girl’s life including her looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.

• Seven in ten girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.
• 62% of all girls feel insecure or not sure of themselves.
• 57% of all girls have a mother who criticizes her own looks.
• More than half (57%) of all girls say they don’t always tell their parents certain things about them because they don’t want them to think badly of them.
• The top wish among all girls is for their parents to communicate better with them which includes more frequent and more open conversations as well as discussions about what is happening in their own lives.
  

Go HERE to find ways to help redefine beauty within yourself, your loved one or anyone!

Here is how you can help, enter your Dove UPC and they will donate $1 to inspiring
self-esteem projects.  Hurry as it ends December 15, 2009.

The Giveaway:

One lucky reader will get two "True You" workbooks, a plush terrycloth spa robe plus two Dove products!  I absolutely love this project and very grateful to Dove and Victoria from RocketXL for including me!

To Enter:

Follow my blog!

Leave a separate comment for each one in the form below and don't forget to include your e-mail.

Extra Entries (worth two extra entries):

• Enter a UPC (can be done more than once)
• Become a fan on Facebook to get more updates.
• Follow me on Twitter
• Vote for me on Divine Caroline (widget on left side of blog)
• Tweet about this giveaway (can be done daily)
• Blog about this giveaway
• Enter any of my other giveaways
• Subscribe to my blog

Giveaway ends 12/15 at midnight.  Winner will be chosen by random.org.

Thank you and good luck!  Get those UPC's!

* I was not financially compensated for posting this entry.

12 Pearls of Christmas: Jesus Comforts

How to Cope with Christmas
by Stacie Ruth Stoelting

Last night, I dreamed that God resurrected my beautiful adopted aunt, Mary Jo Hoffman. But morning renewed my mourning for her: Christmas trees, snow globes, and music greeted my grieving heart. Relate?

In previous years, my maternal grandpa (a.k.a. "Papa Ray") died near Thanksgiving and my adopted "Grandpa Morley" died near Christmas. Now, people cannot compare grief. But I believe we all know that the holidays challenge the grieving.

Christmas arrives like a pretty package full of grief triggers: Empty chairs, missing faces, and silent voices seem to haunt the holidays. Here are "12 Ways of Christmas" for the Grief-Stricken that have worked for me:

12 Ways of Christmas for the Grieving

1. Don't put excessive expectations on yourself. Don't expect the holidays to be the same.

2. Rest. Cut down the Christmas clutter and just get away from the typical, if possible.

3. Rearrange furniture to reduce "absence" reminders.

4. Avoid sugar highs and lows because they naturally induce emotional lows. Also steer clear of over-eating and under-sleeping. Eat well-balanced diets. Some mood enhancing natural foods include yogurt, kefir, green tea, omega-3 rich foods (i.e. salmon, cod liver oil, etc.), and lower sugar dark chocolate. One excellent resource for healthier lifestyles is First Place 4 Health, founded by the knowledgeable and kind Carole Lewis: http://www.firstplace4health.com/.

5. Admit grief. Trying to move forward while denying the reality of grief causes one to fall face forward. Does your face smile while your heart weeps? Give yourself permission to cry. Jesus wept. Weeping releases excessive tension. Address depression. Don't deny it. Pretending the nonexistence of depression only promotes its growth. (I include a list of counseling centers on my page for hurting hearts: http://prayingpals.org/linksforhurtinghearts.html.)

6. Forgive and receive forgiveness through Jesus. Release everything to the Lord -including any so-called regrets about your departed loved one. In Loved by Rebecca St. James (FaithWords, 2009), the point of God's abiding love encourages us: "He [Jesus] is ready to...stand in the gap between you and the pain, and to be your constant companion in the dark hours. He loves you."

7. Reach out to the more burdened and hang around kids this Christmas. It may not feel easy. It may even feel impossible. Ask Jesus to love thru you and get your eyes off problems and on to Him and others.

8. Understand the concept of new normalcy. The onset of new traditions and expectations may seem daunting, but God gave you your previous normal. Ask Him to give grace/hope in the face of the new normal. Let Him lead you to a place where you can relax and let Him beam His light on you.

9. Take a "hands off and hands folded" approach to the holidays. Reduce activity and increase connectivity through prayer and Christian companionship. If you're isolated, feel free to join my weekly online prayer group (http://www.prayingpals.org/). And stay in touch with your local church.

10. Face and treat chronic health issues. If you feel sick, everything feels worse. (One excellent resource for those with chronic health conditions is Rest Ministries.)

11. Reclaim your Heavenly purpose on earth. Ask Jesus to grant supernaturally His grace, hope, love, peace, and comfort this holiday season. Then don't fight His help. Be open to His opening of doors to cope and hope this holiday season. Just receive Jesus. Ask Jesus to give you a Heavenly perspective on earth. God holds good things for you! He grants you great purpose for your life hereafter...and here, too. Embrace His grace and seek His face. He's there. I know. In the face of grief, I'm with Him right now.

12. Remember: Trials don't indicate a reduction in God's love for you. He loves you and promises to make things right in the end. Spend time focusing on His unchanging love for you. "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39, ESV)

Holidays include lots of grief for relationships/loved ones that left, forsook, or died. But let's focus on the essence of Christmas: the present of Jesus' presence in our lives! Wow, may a relationship with Jesus be our miracle and encouragement this Christmas! "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15)

Could you think of anything greater than receiving God for Christmas?

While my dream didn't come true today, I know it will: Mary Jo will be resurrected and we will be reunited. This year, focus on a different angle of Christmas: Let Christmas remind you of Jesus' birth to banish death.

____________________________________

After Stacie Ruth met Jesus, her life blossomed with true joy and purpose! Life's blows hurt her, but Jesus heals and strengthens her. Now an author, actress, and recording artist, she laughs at the irony and praises God, who uses unlikely people...like herself. To find out more about her ministry visit http://www.brightlightministries.com/.

__________________________________

A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit http://www.pearlgirls.info/

SproutBaby Twelve Days of TwitterFest: Tuesday

Today's Twitterfest deal from SproutBaby.com is 20% off Sprout Food! Simply follow @sproutbabyclub on twitter and purchase using this link: http://bit.ly/8V9jtS.

Every 7th buyer will be rewarded with a FREE Repeat Utensil set!

Watch as Sproutbaby.com’s youngest helper, 3-year-old Eden and mom Emily tell us about today's deal. Visit http://www.youtube.com/sproutbabyclub for their special video!

Also don't forget that SproutBaby.com is still celebrating its first birthday with $2,500 giveaway! Every purchase at http://www.sproutbaby.com/ between October 15, 2009 and December 15, 2009 will automatically enter you to for a chance win. Every completed purchase is a new entry into the drawing, so come back and visit us as many times as you like!

Last day so hurry!

SheSpeaks and CharityWater.Org: Clean Water Campaign

Clean water is a women’s issue. Women and children bear the brunt of this problem wasting hours each day walking up to 30 miles to find somewhat clean water. Young girls drop out of school since they need to spend daylight hours walking to find and haul water. But, clean water is there. It’s just buried deep in the ground. To access it, drills and wells have to be built. That’s where charity: water comes in. charity: water is a non-profit organization that was developed to help provide the resources needed to drill and build wells.

This year SheSpeaks has decided to engage our community in an effort to help raise awareness about this important cause. Every mention and dollar helps. charity: water gives 100% of the money raised directly to project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. 

Want to help:

• Participate in the SheSpeaks campagin, click HERE.
• Contribute to CharityWater.org with a financial donation by clicking HERE.
• Visit CharityWater.org to learn more!

SheSpeak's Goal:


Our goal is to raise awareness and some much needed funding for charity: water. Every dollar counts. It costs $5,000 to drill and build a well in a village that will provide clean drinking water to 400 people for 20 years! We’d like to see our collective efforts raise at least $5,000 for the cause. You can track our progress at www.charitywater.org/shespeaksup.

Facts:

ALMOST 1 BILLION PEOPLE ON THE PLANET DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO CLEAN, SAFE DRINKING WATER. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Since the inception in August 2006, charity: water has funded over 1,549 freshwater projects in 16 different countries, serving over 820,675 people.

Just $20 can give one person clean, safe drinking water for 20 years.

100% of public donations to to water projects.

Free One Year Subscription to Weight Watchers

Free one year of Weight Watchers magazine but you have to qualify for this complimentary business subscription.  I work in health care so I did qualify but there were many other fields to choose from. You have to complete a small survey but it's worth it for some great recipes and tips.

Just click here:  http://a388.g.akamai.net/7/388/1603/0001/www.freebizmag.com/emailweight02welcome.htm

Give All Year Round

Good points to live by every day and not just at Christmas:

The Thanksgiving-to-Christmas season really brings out the best in people, but it can also lead you astray.

By all means, give this holiday season. Volunteer, drop toys in the Toys for Tots bins, throw change or a few bills in the Salvation Army Santa’s kettle. But keep these points in mind, too:

1. People need your help year-roundL The toy drives your local organizations carry out are pretty successful. In December. When May comes around, though, shelters have little on hand to give out.  Sick kids in hospitals, children in battered women’s shelters who have fled their homes in the middle of the night, and others might like a toy or two, but nobody’s donating in the middle of the year – and most non-profits can’t afford to store their December bounty year-round.  The same goes for other forms of volunteering – there are homeless, disabled, ill, poor, and otherwise hurting people who need help year-round. 
2. The recipients of charity are people with feelings, value, and dignity - Poor people don’t need the dregs of your life, whether in the form of your material cast-offs, or your time, emotion, and advice. Being poor means lacking resources, not lacking humanity – if you can’t connect with the people you aim to serve, as people, then nobody is the better for your alleged charity.
3. Consider the gift of autonomy - One of the resources most lacking for impoverished people is autonomy. The greatest hardship of poverty is the way it limits you – often in ways that create greater poverty, like the way stores in poor neighborhoods often charge higher prices than stores in better-off neighborhood, because the poor often lack the transportation options to make meaningful choices about where they shop.  Think about the way you volunteer or give charity – is there a way you could increase people’s abilities to make their own choices, to follow their own paths, to develop their own abilities? 
4. Only connect  - Too often, people in a position to help hold themselves apart from the people they hope to assist. And no wonder – for the once-a-year volunteer, there is little time to get to know anyone, let alone really understand what their lives are like. If you can, make a long-term commitment and open yourself up to the lives of the people your charity is aimed at. Get to know people face-to-face, as friends and colleagues and equals.
5. Forget you - Last but most important, remember, it’s not about you. Yes, it feels good to give, and there’s no point in feeling guilty about that, but don’t do it because it makes you feel good, or because you earn points towards a merit badge or college credit, or because it’s part of your organization’s charter, or for whatever other way that charity benefits you. Do it because you must, because being a giving person is right.

And this year, instead of giving during the season of giving and then returning to your “normal life” when you pack away the tree and lights, let the holidays be a starting point to a life of year-round giving.


Sources: Lifehack November 20, 2009

Overlooked 150 Year Old Household Cleaner a Remedy for Swine Flu?

Very interesting treatment for Swine Flu that Dr. Mercola just published.  I had no idea and wonder if it really works.

Posted by: Dr. Mercola December 15 2009

In today’s modern world of medicine the FDA just will not let companies that sell products make medical claims about them unless they have been tested at great expense, and approved as a drug. But this was not always the case.

In a 1924 booklet published by the Arm & Hammer Soda Company, the company starts off saying, “The proven value of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda as a therapeutic agent is further evinced by the following evidence of a prominent physician named Dr. Volney S. Cheney, in a letter to the Church & Dwight Company:

"In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks.”

Recommended dosages from the Arm and Hammer Company for colds and influenza back in 1925 were:

• During the first day take six doses of half teaspoonful of Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at about two hour intervals
• During the second day take four doses of half teaspoonful of Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at the same intervals
• During the third day take two doses of half teaspoonful of Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water morning and evening, and thereafter half teaspoonful in glass of cool water each morning until cold is cured

Sources:   Sodium Bicarbonate November 30, 2009

12 Pearls of Christmas: Just God

A Tangible Reminder
by Mary Byers

Last year I read Me, Myself, & Bob: A True Story About Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables by Phil Vischer, creator of the Veggie Tales video series. I was interested because my children grew up on Veggie Tales. But I was also interested because somewhere along the way I noticed Phil Vischer was no longer with Big Idea, the company he founded. I knew there must be a story there, so I picked up the book.

Though millions of children can sing the Veggie Tales theme song, Big Idea no longer exists. After expanding too quickly, the company was forced into bankruptcy. Vischer writes about the experience in his book, which is part memoir and part business tutorial. And it's a touching example of how one man encountered grit and allowed it to be turned into grace.

At the end of the book, Vischer outlines the lessons he learned from the rise and fall of Big Idea. In part, he shares, "I was ready to be done, if that's what God wanted. To just rest in him and let everything else fall away. At long last, after a lifetime of striving, God was enough. Not God and impact or God and ministry. Just God."

His words convicted me. As an author and speaker, I realized that I'm often more focused on my deadlines or my next speaking engagement than I am on God. I have it backwards. God first, then everything else will fall into place.

It's a powerful message for us as women, too. When we focus on God first, we'll have everything we need to handle whatever is happening in our families and our lives. As Vischer reminds us, God is enough. As we approach Christmas, I'm reminded that this is the time when God shared his Son with us-a tangible reminder of his love for us. And a reminder that when we have him, we have everything we need.

____________________________________

Mary Byers is the author of Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof. She offers advice and encouragement for moms work from home for profit at www.makingworkathomework.com.

__________________________________

A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit http://www.pearlgirls.info/

Pettiness & Giving this Christmas: Military Respect

I try to stay out of politics on my blog but being pro-military and an Army wife, I took great delight in this news story on Yahoo:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_calif_senate_race_ma_am

If you hadn't heard, during a hearing back in June while Brig. General Michael Walsh was testifying, he was interupped by Senator Boxer mid-sentence with "Do me a favor?" she said. "Could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?' It's just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it. Yes, thank you."

To me, that is insulting to the military as they are accustomed to using "Sir" and "Ma'am" when addressing someone and there was no intended insult directed to Senator Boxer.  I saw this as a cheap shot in a growing trend of disrespect for our military.  I hope this Christmas, everyone takes a moment to understand and appreciate why we in this GREAT country, have the freedom to celebrate under any religion we want due to the countless men and women who have and continue to defend our nation.

I was writing Christmas letters from Santa to my six year old's classmates as a showing of sharing.  As I read the want lists from the parents, it's truly heart wrenching.  One was a request to have her father home from Iraq and another was from a mom who said all her three kids wanted were for their father to come home from being treated for his wounds at the Wounded Warriors hospital over three hours away.  This military member has been away from his family being treated for two years now.  Four children personally affected by these unselfish men defending our country and a senator is going to be high and mighty and call a General on his addressing?

Next year, my children will have the same wish and that is their father to be home from Kuwait.  I harbor no ill wills or unfairness jabs as this is my duty as an Army wife as well as my duty as a great patriot of this wonderful country.

Kmart Bluelight Teasers for December 19-20, 2009

Christmas is almost here but the Kmart Bluelight Specials keep coming!  Below are the teasers for this weekend December 19th and 20th:

• Boys/Girls Licensed Hoodies $8 (reg. $18.99) 
• Essential Home 10 pc Sets $29.99 (reg. $49.99) 
• Rollercade $49.99 (reg. $79.99)

Don’t forget to follow @KmartDealsnNews and use the #KmartBLS hashtag for a chance to win every day! For more info & rules: http://tr.im/KmartBLS. Good luck!

Happy Holidays and happy shopping!!

SproutBaby Twelve Days of TwitterFest: Monday

Today's Twitterfest deal from SproutBaby.com is 40% off all BabyGanics! Simply follow @sproutbabyclub on twitter and purchase using this link: http://bit.ly/8V9jtS.

Every 7th buyer will be rewarded with a free FREE Thinkbaby bottle!

Watch as Sproutbaby.com’s youngest helper, 3-year-old Eden and mom Emily tell us about today's deal. Visit http://www.youtube.com/sproutbabyclub for their special video!

Also don't forget that SproutBaby.com is still celebrating its first birthday with $2,500 giveaway! Every purchase at http://www.sproutbaby.com/ between October 15, 2009 and December 15, 2009 will automatically enter you to for a chance win. Every completed purchase is a new entry into the drawing, so come back and visit us as many times as you like!

Only one day left so hurry!

Link Up Your Giveaway Monday

Link up your giveaways!  

National Buzzed Driving Campaign: Have a Safe Holiday & Take the Pledge

It's holiday party season - time to celebrate all of the exciting winter holidays with our friends and loved ones. Our mailboxes are flooded with invitations to parties and dinners and other holiday get-togethers. With these parties come food, fellowship, gifts, and in many cases, festive alcoholic drinks.

In 2008, nearly 12,000 people in the U.S. were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes - and during the periods around Christmas and New Year's, this number was particularly high, with 316 people killed in alchol-impaired driving crashes. In 2007, 162,493 women were arrested for a DUI, an increase of almost 29% since 1998. You can't help but wonder if lives could have been saved if people thought twice before getting behind the wheel. With the holidays approaching, it's important that drivers be reminded about the dangers of buzzed driving. Who knows...it could save a life.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) and the Ad Council are asking everyone to drive smart this holiday season and to pledge not to drive buzzed. Help spread this message during the holiday season by posting about the dangers of buzzed driving, sharing a story or experience you might have had with buzzed driving and encouraging readers to follow Buzzed Driving on Twitter (@buzzeddriving) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/buzzeddrivingisdrunkdriving) to get the latest updates and news.

You can also visit the Buzzed Driving website (http://buzzeddriving.adcouncil.org/) where readers can sign a pledge to not drive buzzed, play an interactive game which demonstrates the difference between buzzed and drunk, and hear personal stories from people who have driven buzzed.

While at holiday events, it's easy to lose track of a drink here or there - but this can be fatal. This holiday season, keep you and your family safe by spreading this message.

Have a safe and happy holiday and remember that buzzed driving IS drunk driving.
 
Take the pledge to not drive buzzed here as I did: http://buzzeddriving.adcouncil.org/.
 
 

12 Pearls of Christmas: Home

COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
by Virelle Kidder

My mother had remarkable zeal for Christmas. Weeks in advance, she would come home from teaching school and bake late into the night. I helped clean the house and decorate the tree while my older brother Roger wired the house with Christmas lights, transforming our humble red house into a place of magical beauty. Following the church candlelight service, a crowd of happy people crunched through the snow to our house for cocoa and cookies.

We were, like many, quite alone in the years after my father left. Our Christmas open house was my mother's supreme effort to make us feel complete. It almost worked.

Despite years in church and Sunday school, God was more a distant relative I wished I knew. I grew up with a gnawing sense of incompleteness, and longed to find meaning and purpose in life. Strangely, it was shortly before Christmas years later that it found me.

My husband Steve was fully absorbed with his new job at Johns Hopkins University, and I was home with a two year old. We wanted friends, but were both hesitant when Steve's officemate his wife invited us to attend their church. We had nothing in common with "religious types," but Steve said, "Let's be nice and go just once."

Sitting in church that Sunday, my temples pounded. Hymns and Scripture verses long ago ignored called to me from my childhood. Could others tell I didn't belong here? Oddly, I felt jealous of their peace. They looked happy.

First thing Monday morning I began tearing through the unpacked boxes in our basement. At last, I found my mildewed Bible from fifth grade. I resolved to read it cover to cover. I opened to Genesis, chapter 1. Same old story; I've heard this a hundred times, and quickly slammed it shut.

No one told me God could hear my thoughts. A soft Voice whispered, Why not read as if it were true? I opened my Bible again. Suddenly I was listening to the most interesting person I had ever heard. By afternoon I was still reading in my pajamas. I couldn't stop.

I read for weeks until one day, a picture popped in my mind of a beautiful old house with wide porches, brightly lit at night. Music, laughter and lively conversation carried onto the porch where I stood in the dark, peeking in. I saw a feast and a fire on the hearth, much like the Christmas open houses from my childhood, with one important difference. There was a Father here whose face mirrored love and warmth at His children's presence. This was God's family, and I desperately wanted to be inside. But how?

A voice taunted, Why would God want you? You don't fit in this crowd! It was true. I considered giving up. Instead, I marched upstairs to our bedroom, knelt down and prayed out loud, "Lord, help me find the way! Please don't let me go!"

Verses I'd read made sense. Jesus said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

Our friends explained that God already knew I was a hopeless mess and loved me anyway. Opening the door to Heaven was a gift that cost God everything. It was on the cross Jesus died to pay for my sins. He rose again to prove forever that He is the Truth. Weeping at such love, I knelt and gave Christ my life. I found that, with or without a happy family, no one is ever complete without Jesus.

_______________________________________

Virelle Kidder is a conference speaker and the author of six books and numerous articles whose passion is sharing the love of God with women around the world. For her latest books, please visit her at http://www.virellekidder.com/ and http://www.meetmeatthewell.fm/

_______________________________________

A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit http://www.pearlgirls.info/