If there’s anything I’ve learned from five years of blogging and publishing my first ebook, it’s this—–when people share their gifts with you, handle with care.
That song or poem or post or painting has likely come to them at a heavy cost.
They have been brave and generous in their sharing and we are blessed by their gift.
The emotion and self-doubt that I’ve been plagued with this week has reminded me that I have not encouraged them enough.
I haven’t told them how much their art has impacted my life.
I’ve been busy and preoccupied and selfish.
And now that I’m on receiving end of so much kindness, I am just stopped dead in my tracks.
I’ve been on an emailing spree this week, thanking the people who have bravely blazed a trail of light in this noisy, dark world.
And I’ll never look at created work the same again.
This has been such a valuable lesson to me.
Thank you, to all of you mommas, who bless us with the work of your heart and hands.
The world is better because you share.
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If you’d like to host a giveaway on your blog, let me know and I’d be happy to send you and two of your readers a free download,
as very small way of saying ‘thank you’ for showing up, for making the time, for taking the criticism, and for doing the work you were made to do.
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If you haven’t bought the book yet and would like to buy it now for $5, click the buy now button. Once you pay, you’ll be redirected to downloads page. If you don’t get redirected, let me know and I’ll email you the link.
If you’d like more information, click here.
Thank you to all my awesome friends who have shared about the book already: Darlene, Angela, Emily, Ruth, Shaunna, Emily, Tara, Paige, Sibi, Jennifer, Ruth, Heather. Your posts remind me that I’ve got the best friends. I love you all dearly!
For those who’ve sent emails and messages about my new ebook—-THANK YOU so much!
Here area a few of my favorites—that make me all verklempt.
from Mary-Beth
I just wanted to tell you that I just finished reading the Ebook and I LOVE it. I found your blog in BHG this month and loved your house, so I looked up your blog. I pored over your archives and read and reread your 31 day series on hospitality and shared it with all my girlfriends. I am 30, live in Austin, TX, and I’m a stay at home mom to my two little boys, who are two and a half and 5 months old. I resigned from my work as a pharmaceutical research auditor after my first child and was saddened that so many people told me I was wasting my education to stay at home. I am putting my education to perfect use! Your writing SPEAKS to me. I seek Christ with my whole heart and my heart’s desire is to glorify Him moment by moment, though I always fail. I think I feel so connected to the words you write because your love of Christ and repentance comes through in your writing. Since finding your blog a whopping two weeks ago, I have ordered a ridiculous number of books from Amazon, embraced my inner soup making goddess, set up a baking station, perhaps gained 2 pounds, just finished _The Privilege of Being a Woman_, and am listening to Issues, Etc. podcasts daily. All this to say: I think you are doing a stellar job with using your blog to encourage other women and glorify Him. I have noticed from reading others’ comments on your posts that so many of us have the desire to be more adept at being godly keepers of home, but we lack mentors. I love that you are giving a voice to those of us who carry on what is really an ancient and sacred role, raising families who seek Christ and modeling Christ’s love to our children. I am just so happy I came across your house in BHG.Warm regards and big fat hugs from Texas,Mary-Beth Archer, www.shortsweetseason.blogspot.com
my sweetie sister (this one made me teary)
“Just finished the book. It was amazing, life-changing, heart-wrenching, God honoring, funny and I loved it. Sissy, you have truly found your ‘sweet spot’! Fabulous!! Thank you for your time and endless effort on this project! You are such an inspiration to me and I’m thankful for you. Love you.”
How blessed am I to have a sister like that? I know, pretty darn blessed.
And the one that still has me laughing:
“PLEASE UNSUBSCRIBE ME FROM YOUR BLOG. I’ve tried several times but I still keep getting emails. It’s like Hotel California.”
Now, that’s just funny. And I was finally able to unsubscribe her. I don’t blame her a bit, I unsubscribed too—-from my own blog. Too many emails 🙂
I’ve since remedied that and am not sending emails every time I post. It’d drive a fella to drink, all those emails.
You can safely subscribe now with my new email service and I promise it’s not at all like Hotel California. All together now, “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”
Subscribe here 🙂
You are so amazing. A totally amazing mentor and an inspiration to anyone who reads your blog.
Thank you for all you do here. I share your blog with everyone I can.
Ruth
you’ve been such a faithful friend, ms. ruth! love to you and many thanks:))
i love what you do…you are such a gift. thank you xo love from muskoka
thank you, leanne! it means so much to me.
xoxo,
edie
My blog is small time lady, so I wouldn’t feel right getting a free book – I would rather spend the $5 to support your lovely work! I totally agree with the above sentiment – every post I write I over analyze and wonder “Is this overshare? Is this interesting? Is this funny? Am I doing my part to glorify Him?” Putting out words is a bit like putting a piece of yourself out there. Congrats on the beautiful work and the great reaction!
awww, camille, i’d be happy for you to do a giveaway!!
and your fears are so normal.
read ‘The War of Art’ and you’ll see that there will always be ‘resistance’ to sharing your art/work with the world. share anyway!
much love to you,
edie
ah haaaa – I have to agree with Camille – my blog is tiny and boring – could never feel right getting it free – besides….. I ALREADY bought it and read it – it was awesome. There are just a verrrry few blogs that I keep going back to and yours is at the top of the page. I do feel like I should post a picture on my blog of you and I at the Pearl Event last year so everyone will know I met a FAMOUS person 🙂 all kidding aside – I totally adore you and loved the e-book. You are truly one of a kind! Love your Florida friend 🙂
oh it is not miss sheri!
and i am so blessed to have met you last year.
i adore you and thank you for your love and support.
mwahhhh!
I can’t believe you made it through this week and hope you are sleeping gooood tonight! I’d love to offer a free book to the readers of my blog…you didn’t say how big my blog had to be and a couple of my readers (close friend, family) said “oh I saw that article in BHG you blogged about.” I already bought my book, too, but you can be my first “giveaway.” What a gift!
what a blessing—that you had the courage to come to my house and meet a few total strangers! i’m so proud of you and thankful to have met you, carol!
thanks for sharing the book. it means a lot.
:)))
Ok Edie, now you just have to enables us to “like” comments, LOL! Because I always want to “like” what the person (or 19) above me say! I subscribed to the newsletter and now I’m buying your ebook! And praying to God I can download it to my ipad, as Sheldon Cooper would say I’m a “newb” on the ipad 😉
Kristi
i know, we do need a like button. i used to use disqus for comments and i’m thinking of using them again. they had a ‘like button’ and then when i respond to someone via email, it also posts it on the blog. and thank you sweet friend for your years of love and support.
tell me we’ll meet someday??
much love to you,
edie
Your e-book sounds like something I would really love to read. I love reading your encouraging words and the subject of hospitality is something that I want to learn more about and improve upon. If you like, I would be honored to host a blog giveaway on my own blog for your new book. If not, I plan on buying your book anyway. ; )
thank you so much for hosting a giveaway, dawn! i was just over visiting your blog and it’s beautiful. i’m so honored that you’d share the book with your friends and readers.
bless you:)))
I am so ever thankful Miss Edie that your first week of your e-book’s publication had brought you encouraging words and lots of love. I have to tell you though friend, there is no way that I would agree with you that you don’t love on and encourage others who are out there using their gifts and talents to do the work they were meant to do. You DO encourage and you do love and you do it with gusto! I will never forget meeting you for the first time after your house fire at the little tea room near where you live. There you were so beautiful and full of God’s love shining through even though you had just lost your home. Not once did you complain or say woe is me. You showed me and all of us with you the heart of someone whose full trust was/is in our heavenly Father. I had brought you gifts for you and your sweet little bits, but it was you and they who gifted me with true hospitality and love and you bought my lunch too! Your genuine gift of self to me taught me so much in that first meeting and I have always felt inspired and encouraged by you. As Paige said you are the real deal. You allow us all the opportunity to see ourselves as prehaps our own Father in Heaven does. So do you encourage, and open your heart, and love on and show great hospitality to all of us, you betcha! I have bought your book and downloaded it immediately because I am a paper kind of girl. I can say honestly, it is the best thing I have read in printed paper form in many moons. It sits right by my Bible, CS Lewis books and Southern Living magazine on my nightstand. We (Howie and I) are reading a couple of chapters every night. We are both eating it up and already things are a changing in our approach to our household and others. I will shout it from the Smokey Mountain Tops, thank you! Thank you for sharing your gifts and talents, for allowing God’s light to shine through you and for being willing to make room for us all in your very generous heart! I love ya dear beautiful friend! You truly are the best! xoxo
oh, miss amy, you’re gonna make me cry!! i feel so privileged to know you and am thankful our little paths crossed. you have been such a blessing and encouragement. you have that gift—ya know. i hope to see you soon to hug your neck and thank you in person.
sending you love and hugs,
:)))
edie
keep warm today and be careful out there—it’s still pretty icy here!
and ps. i’m a hopeless paper girl too. printed out 2 ebooks yesterday?!?!
Hi Edie,
I’ve been reading your blog for over three years….I think this is the first time I’ve ever commented! I love visiting you and I’m so excited about your ebook. I actually bought it the other day and thought an email would come with the link….but now I understand that I should have been redirected to a page with a link. I don’t think that happened. Will you send the link to me please? I can’t wait to read it!
Thanks a bunch!!
sent you the email, marie!
and i’m so glad you finally introduced yourself to us–don’t be a stranger!
hope you enjoy the book:)))
I’d love to do a giveaway for your e-book on my blog! I learned so much from your hospitality series and it completely changed how I look at hospitality. Thank you for sharing your talents with us all!
sent you the link, emily! thank you so much for sharing the book.
love you blog name and header! and the kitten in the tree? too cute!!
much love and blessings,
edie
“So many of us have the desire to be more adept at being godly keepers of home, but we lack mentors. I love that you are giving a voice to those of us who carry on what is really an ancient and sacred role, raising families who seek Christ and modeling Christ’s love to our children.”
Mary-Beth’s email powerfully said it best.
For being a mentor to me….. Thank you.
From the bottom of my heart.
In a world that often times looks down on Stay-At-Home-Mom’s, you remind us of why we do what we do.
Would love to do a giveaway on my blog.
Just to promote your series again if nothing else & bring more people to your ebook.
Women everywhere need to read this.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
what a blessing you are to me, meggan!
and i do think blog world is a great place to learn from each other—in our spread out, isolated world.
i just hopped over to your blog—-just lovely.
keep up the good work.
i sent you an email to the links page.
much love and thank you for supporting my work!
xoxo,
edie
Welllllllllll, there’s always one in the bunch! Too funny! 🙂
P.S. Always one that will work a little harder, hug a little longer, encourage a little stronger, and love a lot sweeter! XOXO
i know, isn’t that funny!!
I’m so happy for all the support you are receiving (and giving) for your ebook. My blog is so small time (I’m singing John Cougar Mellancamp in my head now) I don’t think you’d get much traffic from it. I’m sharing anyway. Who knows who may need that book of yours?
Hotel California? That’s hilarious.
(“Small Town” beats out “Hotel California” in my head music.)
Here’s my link: http://itwasbroughtonbylove.blogspot.com/2013/01/edies-dream.html
thank you so much, sweet renee! that touched me and made me realize how much God has blessed with me with such good friends. thank you from the bottom of my heart.
i would love for you to giveaway the book if you’d like. no pressure but i’d be so happy to give two of your readers a free download!!
much love to you.
you’re the best.
:)))
Hi Edie,
I ordered your ebook on Wednesday but didn’t get the download. I tried to send an email to you last night but my phone was acting super weird so I don’t think the emails went through. If they did, I apologize if you already received this information. Can you send me the link to the download. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Kat
sent you an email dearie! hope it worked fine:))
thank you for the support!!
Edie I’m like so many others’ who have shared their adoration for you! I SO dream of being your neighbor and being able to just pop over for a cup of coffee and inspiration for my day. Usually I find that through reading you in this space. I would LOVE the opportunity to share YOU and your wisdom with my readers. I know they would instantly fall in love as I have!
awww, you sweetie pie—you just made my day! and wouldn’t it be fun if we could live on the same street as all our favorite bloggers?!!! i’d be in heaven—but it’d be a busy street!!
i tried to send you an email with the link. let me know if you didn’t get it.
thank you so much for the love!
:)))
Hello Edie! Just finished reading an article about you and your home in BH&G and instantly laid the magazine down to visit your website because the name “Life in Grace” grabbed me! I’m so very glad I was led to your blog! It’s always so wonderful to find another woman in the blogging community who chronicles her life with her family and her relationship with the Lord. I’m looking forward to getting your book as well!
Dear Miss Edie,
You are the reason I started blogging! I had read about your experiences on another blog and I followed yours anxiously as you rebuilt your life. I am so happy for you and your family and for your success! I haven’t done a giveaway yet on my newby blog, but I would be honored to try one for your book!
Xoxo
Erin
After a few attempts I finally got your book to download…it is wonderful and so honest and encouraging. Please let us know when it will be available on Kindle. I love your comment about handling a person’s gifts with care. I paint…it is my passion and it makes me happy, but I am very selective about whom I give my paintings to. The best gifts are those that are from the heart, a poem, a pie, a painting. I love the gift of your blog and now this lovely book. Thanks!!!
A friend mentioned how wonderful your book was, so I came over to take a peek. It does sound wonderful! And if you are still looking for people to do giveaways… I would love to host a giveaway for you and share this with my readers!! 🙂
I have followed your blog for a few years and it remains one of my very favorites! I always leave inspired, encouraged, and ready to re-decorate my home 🙂 If my blog wasn’t so teeny tiny, I would LOVE to giveaway your e-book!