One of the biggest highlights of the last couple of years – for me, at least – has been emceeing dotMOM with Melanie. It is such a fun, laid-back event – such a great blend of solid teaching and worship and encouragement for women who are at all stages of motherhood.

This week I’m heading to Dallas for my first-ever out-of-town dotMOM (both of the previous dotMOMs have been here in Birmingham), and I cannot wait. Priscilla Shirer, Vicki Courtney, Angie Smith, and John Croyle will be teaching, and Travis Cottrell is leading worship. That means that over the last couple of weeks I have dedicated way too much energy to thinking about what kind of jokes Melanie and I can play on Travis, but in the end I’ve decided to take the high road and behave and maybe try to talk Travis into letting me sing back-up.

For the record, I am not a strong singer. But I try not to let that little pesky detail get in my way.

Regardless, this weekend in Dallas (February 22-23) is sure to be just the thing for a weary mama’s soul. Or even if you’re not feeling particularly weary, dotMOM will still be a great place for you to sleep a little later than normal and soak in some refreshment for your mind and your heart. I also think it’s safe to say that you will laugh. A LOT. Because wherever two or more women are gathered in His name, laughter surely follows.

And while I know that this next thing isn’t going to convince anyone to join us, I think I’ll share it nonetheless: last night I was washing clothes, trying to figure out what I’m going to pack and whatnot, and based on that process I think it’s safe to say that any dotMOM attendee is also going to enjoy the sweet privilege of seeing me recreate some of Maude’s most memorable ensembles.

Seriously. The layering is going to be epic.

I know that there may not be many people reading this post who can get away for a couple of days this weekend – especially if you don’t live near Dallas – but if you can make it work and you’d like a couple of free tickets (or if you’d like to give tickets to someone who lives in or around Dallas), you have come to the right place. Just leave a comment on this post, and you’ll be entered to win. I’ll draw for a winner on Tuesday so that you have time to make any necessary arrangements.

Hope to see some of y’all there!

Love,
Maude

This giveaway is now closed. I’ll notify the winner via email tonight (Tuesday).

– I am way behind on TV right now, so last night I decided to watch an episode of Scandal before I went to bed. It was the episode from week before last – the one that involves a character who is on her death bed – and y’all, that was the most intense hour of television I have ever seen. I had the most visceral, “OH, NOOOOOOOOOOO” reaction to the last ten minutes of the episode, and I was so haunted by it that I had trouble sleeping. I wasn’t even a little bit prepared for the way the whole thing unfolded. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Let us be mindful of spoilers in the comments, by the way.

MINDFUL OF THE SPOILERS.

– Have any of y’all been in Gap lately? Because last week I ran in there to get some jeans for the little guy, and they have some of the cutest spring clothes. Bright colors, cute styles (though still too much of the skinny jean for my personal preference), and tons of great-looking accessories. WELCOME BACK, GAP. I’ve missed you. And I hope you’ve grown out of that whole stretchy-pants-for-men phase.

– I got some bookmarks in the mail today.

First thought: Ohhhhh, sweet Nellie Olsen this makes me nervous.

Second thought: I think “insights” is a strong term.

Third thought: I would like to go hide somewhere very small.

I have to say, though, that I am so happy with my book cover. I wanted something that was a little loose-y goose-y and artsy and whimsical, and by diggity the design team at Tyndale totally delivered. It makes me smile whenever I look at it, and that is a very lovely thing indeed considering SWEET MERCY, MY NERVES.

– For some reason, whenever I type “the Lord” on my phone, it autocorrects to “The Lord.” And it makes me feel a little bit like Moses. Or at the very least Charlton Heston.

– Today at lunch A. was telling me how much he loves to write. “I may even write a book someday,” he said. And when I asked him if he knew what the book might be about, he said, “Oh, yes ma’am. It’s going to be called My Life: Burps I Have Loved.” So y’all be on the lookout for that sometime around 2036-ish. It’s gonna be a must-read.

I promise that I’m going to get to the giveaway part in just a second. But first I want to tell you a quick story.

About a year and a half ago Melanie and I were in Nashville to do some stuff for dotMOM, and a friend of ours invited us to her house for supper on the last night we were there. I knew the second we walked in the door that the supper was going to be seventeen kinds of memorable, primarily because I caught a glimpse of homemade pasta draped over clothes hangers in the kitchen.

I mean, I may have spent my whole life in the deep-fried Deep South, but I have sense enough to know that homemade pasta is always a promising sign.

There were four or five other people at supper that night, and Lisa Harper was one of them. Lisa was in charge of making the salad, and I will NEVER forget what she served us. She used gorgeous little Heirloom tomatoes from her garden, along with fresh basil, goat cheese, some sort of fig balsamic reduction that I have tried (and failed) to replicate, and she topped off everything with the a pinch of the most glorious sea salt I have ever tasted. It was one of those dishes that was so simple, so elegant, and so unbelievably delicious that not a single one of us could stop talking about it.

Well, apparently I went on and on and on about the salad – especially about the texture of that sea salt – because when Melanie and I got ready to leave a few hours later, Lisa walked in the kitchen, picked up her jar of sea salt, and pressed it into my hand right before I walked out the door. She insisted that I take it, and ever since then, whenever I see Lisa, hear her, read something that she’s written, or try to copy that salad she made, I think, Well, there’s sweet Lisa Harper – she’ll give you the salt right off of her back.

[AND THUS CONCLUDES OUR “QUICK STORY.”]

[WE WILL NOW SEGUE’ INTO THE GIVEAWAY PORTION OF THE POST.]

[ALSO: I MIGHT NEED TO PRACTICE MY TRANSITIONS.]

Last year Lisa released a new Bible study called Malachi: A Love That Never Lets Go, and it is all about the never-ending mercy of God. So often we can fall into thinking that God has forgotten about us or has finally – FINALLY – gotten completely fed up with us, but in Malachi we see how God pursues His people and continues to love them, even when they’re (we’re) at their (our) most rebellious.

Lisa is such a gifted communicator – so wise, so funny, so real – and she’s also a Bible scholar. Those two qualities make for some mighty fine teaching, and Malachi would be a perfect study for a small group at your church or for a eight-weeks-o-Bible-fun with two or three close friends.

If you’d like to win a DVD leader kit for Malachi: A Love That Never Lets Go, here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. The end.

I’ll leave comments open until Friday night. As soon as I close comments, I’ll draw for a winner using random.org.

And listen. If I could throw in one of those salads that Lisa made, I totally would. However, I can’t really recommend eating a salad that has traveled to your home via the USPS. I have some odd hang-ups about things like, you know, refrigeration. And whatnot.

Y’all are going to love this study – hope your week has been great so far!

This giveaway is now closed. I’ll notify the winner via email sometime on Saturday.

Here are several things that I’ve been meaning to talk about – all in one convenient little post. Isn’t that oh-so-handy?

1. Benefit Erase Paste

Right before Christmas I saw about three or four people mention this product online. I made a mental note to try it, but then I got sidetracked by trying to watch all the Parenthood episodes in record time.

A few days ago I finally bought the Erase Paste, and y’all, it is epic. At least it is for a fair-skinned somebody like me. It brightens that troublesome area underneath my eyes better than any concealer I’ve ever used. I haven’t had any trouble with smudges or creasing, but I do wear loose powder on top of my concealer because I don’t like for my make-up to look “dewy” (after all, I’m Southern, so if I look “dewy” that generally means that I am burning slap up in the middle of August).

2. David Crowder Band’s Give Us Rest

I know. I KNOW. I’m a year late to this particular music party. And when the album was released a year ago, I knew that it was brilliant and memorable and whathaveyou, but it never really caught on with me, probably because I was way too busy being obsessed with the last album by The Fray.

But now? BUT NOW? I cannot quit listening. This album is absolutely beautiful, and it is such a gorgeous account of a life of faith: belief and doubt and struggle and surrender and despair and joy and hope and Hope.

3. These crackers

Seriously. They make all the other crackers so jealous. Because THEY’RE THE BEST ONES.

4. Capri Blue Volcano Candle

I don’t like super-flowery fragrances, so I tend to gravitate toward stuff that is a little more herb-y or citrus-y. This candle falls in that latter category – and in the most mild, lovely, unobtrusive way.

5. This soup recipe

I made this soup last night, and at first I thought, I don’t know – it could be a little weird. But it was and is so delicious. We had the leftovers tonight. It’s totally hearty (LO, EVEN MY HUSBAND AGREED) but not too heavy or creamy. I will definitely make it again. And you don’t even need a crockpot – I made it on the stove in 20 minutes.

Love,
Fancy

(Yes, I know that the whole “Fancy” thing is random.)

(But I was thinking about the Reba McEntire song, and it seemed like the right thing to do.)

(It was my one chance. And I didn’t want to let you down.)

Well, I drew for the five winners…

…and then I felt like there needed to be more winners because, well, did you see all those comments?

So I drew for three more winners.

See? I really am slightly codependent. But it really is one of those books that you want all of your girlfriends to read so that you can talk about it and quote your favorite lines and tell your own versions of similar stories.

And truth be told, I probably would’ve done a drawing for three more copies if I weren’t afraid that Tyndale (Melanie’s publisher) (mine, too) would put me on giveaway lockdown for the rest of my earthly days.

(They really wouldn’t do that.)

(But I didn’t want to push my luck.)

Here are our winners.

657 – Sharon Edge
514 – kaki
512 – Beth
203 – Tonya
158 – Cherry
68 – Aubrey Williams
405 – Kathie
496 – Leslie Mertz

I’ll be sending y’all an email very shortly, so keep an eye on your inbox.

Thanks so much, everybody, for making today such a fun bloggy day. And if you didn’t win, you certainly don’t have to miss the Sparkly fun; you can order a copy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook.com, LifeWay, or any of your favorite online or local retailers.

You may have picked up on the fact that I highly recommend it.

So this morning I was thinking about what a big week it is for Melanie and her book and everyone who’s going to get to read her book because it is hilarious. And touching. And fantastic.

And then I decided that I have some sort of codependent enthusiasm disorder that causes me to be over-the-top excited about something going on with a friend – to the point that other people might be tempted to ask me to HUSH IT, POR FAVOR.

Regardless, I am so proud of my sweet friend, and since I am in fact beside myself that her book releases this Friday, I thought it would be fun to do a little impromptu giveaway. I haven’t even told Melanie that I’m going to do this, primarily because she would try to talk me out of it.

TOO LATE FOR THAT, SISTER.

So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m giving away five copies of Melanie’s book, Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn – but you only have until 5 o’clock central time on Tuesday to enter the giveaway. A little after 5 o’clock I’ll draw for five winners, and I’ll notify them by email ASAP. And if you’ve already ordered a copy of the book, feel free to enter and then give away your prize if you win. I’ll even have it shipped to someone else if you want. Just please make sure that your email address is accurate when you leave your comment since that’s the way that I’ll contact the winners.

So. If you’d like to enter, just leave a comment with your answer to this question: what’s your favorite song right now?

(I have no idea why I picked that question.)

(But let’s just run with it.)

Remember – you have to enter the giveaway by 5 o’clock central. PM, of course. Because if you think I’m going to wake up at 5 in the morning to moderate giveaway comments, then perhaps I should introduce myself.

Can’t wait to see who wins!

(Well, really you’re all winners.)

(At least that’s what pageant emcees say.)

(And you know what? I believe ’em.)

This giveaway is now closed. Winners will be notified shortly!