Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The Power & Joy of Testimony (Plus TWO GIVEAWAYS)


Hi there - I hope that everyone enjoyed all of the great talks given this weekend in General Conference.  We are so blessed to know that God still speaks to men on earth!

Today, I want to introduce you to my new friend Dedra.  When I approached her to do a giveaway of some of her cute bow ties for our Easter Blog Party, I had no idea how incredibly awesome she was.  She agreed to the giveaway, which you'll hear more about in a minute, but she also expressed a strong desire to bear testimony of Jesus Christ.

Without further ado, here's Dedra!



I’m so excited to share my testimony of Jesus Christ!

I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father. It’s so easy at this time of the year to feel that they are real and that they love us. It’s amazing to see green buds showing up everywhere – even on the rosebushes I hacked back last fall, which have looked so dead for so long. Now it is as if they are coming back to life.

Just like the spring turns the darkness of winter into a glorious, radiant light, so a testimony of Jesus Christ and His divinity and earthly mission bring joy and happiness to our lives.

For me, my testimony is a power – almost as literal as to be able to touch. My faith in Jesus Christ, my Saviour, has gotten me through years of waiting for children, miscarriages, over a year of half paychecks from my husband's work and living off food storage and crazy frugality (I now know what will NEVER go in my food storage again for fear of having to actually eat it), having our house on the market now for what feels like an eternity and just the regular daily struggles we all go through. 

My faith helps me to make my trials into sources of joy, because through Jesus Christ I can see the big picture but I know how to live in today. I can taste the glorious blessings ahead if I can just ground myself in the present and ENJOY!!!

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that “men are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). HOW?!?!? You may ask. Well, for starters I’m 5 weeks pregnant. There is a VERY big chance this pregnancy won’t last, that I’ll never be able to hold this baby, BUT—I’m excited. 

I’m excited to have a part in Creation. I’m excited to sacrifice for someone else. I’m excited to put my trust in Jesus Christ because at the end of the day, or year, or in the eternities, He will make everything right. 

He is my Rock. My Anchor. My Savior. He makes my life wonderful, happy, and full of joy. 

Just trust Him and choose to have joy along your journey of life.

I promise you that if you seek daily for true joy you will find it—and here’s a hint: It is almost always in the little things. Don’t worry about your destination. Find a way to enjoy traffic, poopy diapers, breakfast, chores, poor health, errands, etc. and at the end you’ll arrive where you always wanted to go.


Now for the Free Giveaways!!!

The Hello Handsome Collection Pick 4   0 to 3T

Visit Modish Podish and reply to this post listing which item is your favorite. Be sure to list the title. One winner will be selected to receive their favorite item (as long as it is still in stock by the end of this contest, or something very similar).

Superhero Girls Digital Clipart - Great for Paper Dolls, Birthday Invitations, Scrapbooking, CardsLet's Go Camping - 12 300 DPI PNGs - Personal Use Only

Visit Prettiful Designs and reply to this post listing which item is your favorite. Be sure to list the title. 10 winners will be selected to receive their favorite item!!!


The winner of the bow ties  the 10 winners of the digi-designs will be announced Friday!
Good Luck!!

34 comments:

  1. My little guy officially needs bow ties now!! I love them all, but I think I like the Presidential collection best.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If only I was a scrapbooker. . . But, I love some of the cliparts. My favorite is the polka-dot animals with the superheros a close 2nd.

    ReplyDelete
  3. There is nothing stronger to get us through the downs than a rock solid testimony. I will think the positive thoughts for this 5 week old babe...who I think needs to come to you. Eliminate the negative, Latch on to the affirmative, and don't mess with Mr. In-Between...as a favorite song of mine goes. And thanx so much for your testimony. It is an example of what is going to be needed in the days that are sure to come to each of us as earth winds down her time in mortality.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the 0-3T Polkas bow ties. My lil nephew would be the handsomest lil guy in these.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the Choose You This Day in Brown, Blue or Red.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the The Sprightly Collection collection!! So springy and too cute:)I have two boys so they would get a lot of use out of these bow ties!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I also love the Design elements swirl from Prettiful Designs! So much fun!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great testimony! And the bow ties are terrific!

    =)

    ReplyDelete
  9. What adorable bow ties! I love the Dignified collection. I also really love the "I can do hard things" print. Everything is just cute!

    ReplyDelete
  10. If ever I become a digital scrapbooker, Prettiful Designs will be my favorite shop! As it is, I still love looking and I love the animal clipart, the polka dot animals will be perfect for my son!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love this Easter celebration:) My favorite Modish Podish are the ties in the Stylish collection. So cute!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love the Festive Pack at Prettiful Designs.
    Thank you for sharing your testimony, Dedra!

    ReplyDelete
  13. How could I possibly pick just one?! They're so dang cute! Though I think I like the Hello Handsome collection best (My daughter says PINK! -shhh.. don't listen to her... ;)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds silly, but I liked all of them! My baby girl is in desperate need of hair accessories. Her mom doesn't even do her own hair so she needs help!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Uplifting testimony, thanks. So hard to choose which bow ties, but I think I'd go with the Dignified Collection.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I like the Choose You this Day poster!

    ReplyDelete
  17. My boys LOVE bow ties. I would choose the Going to Harvard collection for my baby boy or the brown and blue stripes one for one of my older boys.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love the Clip On Bow Tie - 0 to 3T - Stylish Collection - Pick 4. So adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I like the Alphabet tree Poster!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I just have to say Congrats and that I hope your body can hold the baby! You have such a positive attitude and I'm so glad to know you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. What an amazing perspective Dedra has about babies. I hope the best for her! Best!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love the polka dot bow ties. Any of them are wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  23. There are some cute designs but I have no idea how to do digital scrap booking.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love the Hellow Handsome collection but just in the bigger size if possible for my boys! Hope I win! Great Testimony!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I like the Relaxation Digital Scrapbook Kit.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love the Hunk Collection for the bowties!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I liked the Digital Paper pack - Spring. Like those colors! So many good combinations of color in the store.

    I also liked Clip On Bow Tie - Size 4-7 - Be My Valentine - Pick 4 of the bows. I saw bows at first and didn't even think to look at them as we have all boys. Cute bow ties!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oh, I also thought it was totally cool that Dedra wanted to share her testimony with this. She was listening to Elder Uchtdorf's talk in conference. Thank you all who help bring us unto Christ!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wow, what a solid testimony! Thank you for the optimism and "rock" solid faith in Christ!

    ReplyDelete
  30. ooo I like those animal silhouettes in Prettiful Designs! And, dang! All those bows are cute!

    ReplyDelete
  31. So great! I love the Hello Handsome collection 0-3t. I actually love them all!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love the Rise and Shine poster. Such cute choices!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I love the suave collection of the bow ties they are cute and will make great gifts.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Scrapbooking, oh how it relaxes me... the serendipity collection is the top of my favorites, although there are so many to choose.

    ReplyDelete