Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Friendship for Grown-Ups GIVEAWAY

Book: Friendship for Grown-ups
Author:  Lisa Whelchel

"Isnt that what we all want? To be seen, in all our glory, for better or worse, the good, the bad, & the ugly & still be embraced?" If only such friendships were easy to find.  And keep.  For Lisa Whelchel & millions of others, friendship is a challenge.  The vulnerability, trust, balance, grace & time required to develop & maintain strong friendships to not come easily.

Growing up as an actress in Hollywood, there were few people Lisa could trust & even fewer to guide her.  By the time she reached adulthood, she had learned to be self-sufficient.  She was strong, "safe" & she was lonely.  One day, Lisa found that "the desire to experience connection was stronger than the desire to be safe".  She determined right then to finally understand friendship;  how to create one, sustain it, & experience the sheer joy of having it.  But it wasnt easy. 

Since then, she has traveled the ups & downs of friendships, learning about herself, others & the kinds of friendships God designed.
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I zoomed through this book in a few hours... it was just a good read & easy to comprehend Lisa's story & her growth & the things she learned.

For me, I have been very, VERY blessed with friendships.  All through all the stages of my life... from childhood, through teen years, as a young adult & as a woman.... I have had friends come in my life for seasons, but have always had amazing people there for advice, laughter, tears & just plain old friendship.  I just have never had a problem making friends....

After reading this, I can see what a blessing I have had in my life because apparently it is not the case for everyone....

I guess that's what had me so intrigued about Lisa's story & struggle on finding friendship & experiencing it.  It sort of made me open my eyes to people who may have that same struggle. 

But as this wonderful Christian writer goes about her struggles & growths, she has God in it all - with scripture & spiritual lessons & just advise that everyone could take. 

For example - I wrote down this quote out of the book that doesnt necessarily have to do with friendship, but just with a Christian walk:

"I've lived enough life to know that my best intentions are no match for the enemy's brillant use of the weapons of deceit, moments of weakness & things hidden...."  -Amen sister....

Thomas Nelson sent me 5 copies of this book to give away too!  How amazing is that!!!!!  If you are a Women of Faith fan, you will love this book... I loved the questions with each chapter & I especially loved the "Conversation Prompts" at the end too.... perfect for a blogger.

So all you have to do to win... Just leave me a comment & tell me why you love your friends in your life... what makes them so special?  Easy enough! 

And remember - FIVE WINNERS!  WHOO HOOO!!!

Good luck! .... I'll draw the names on Sunday - the 4th of July....

My Rating: 4 skeins
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The Random Generator drew the numbers & here are the winners!!!

1. Gretta
2.  Mimi
3.  Lynn
4.  Lamb Around
5.  Megan

Then I just felt like someone needed this book more then me so I'm giving my copy away as well & the last winner was
6. Becca

Congrats ladies!!!!

13 comments:

Gretta said...

My friends help hold me accountable spiritually, they encourage me, uplift me, celebrate the good times and bad and most importantly, we always have a blast when we are together. I am very blessed to have a wonderful circle of friends.

bamagv at aol dot com

Lauren said...

Pick me, Pick Me!!!
I love the friends in my life because I have such a wide range of friends and they all bring some unique and different to my life and add a spice of their own to the friendship!!!! I am blessed!! :)

Heidi said...

I struggled with friendships and fitting in as a child but I now have a few friends as a adult that have truly built me back up when I was at my lowest and have seen me at my best and my worst and still love me. They are a true picture of God's love for us and I thank them not only for their friendship, but for making His love so much more real to me!

Lynn said...

Like you, I've had many friends in different seasons of my life, but honestly, it doesn't come that easy... acquaintences, yes... but real friends, sometimes hard to trust all your "stuff" to people...
My dearest friend during this season... that would be you Bec, and I love you dearly and trust you with ALL my 'stuff'... and there are others who I've grown to love as well, and I count them as family... they allow me to love on them, to help carry their burdens, and to be a part of their lives... and to me, that is a great gift... God has truly blessed me...

2cats said...

I love my best friend because she is my Spiritual mentor. I have questions and she she usually has the answer. I am still a newbie Christian and there are a lot of things I don't yet understand. She is always patient. Plus, she had been with me through the most difficult periods of my life.

Kitty Deschanel said...

My friends help draw me out of my insanely antisocial shell. If they didn't suggest things like going out to lunch together, I would probably never talk to anyone! :)

Shelley said...

I love my friends because they don't judge me. They love me, they need me as much as I need them and we all make each other laugh. I love these people.

Unknown said...

I really want to read this! I'm so sad because my bestest friend EVER just moved to Texas - she was such a source of encouragement, accountability, fun and inspiration in my life . . . My friends are the only reason I'm able to do the ministry I do - without their support, I'd be lost!

Megan said...

Sounds like a really awesome book!

I'm lucky that I have a group of friends that have been with me since elementary school, but I find that as we've gotten older it's harder to get together so I really treasure the time that we DO get to spend together. I love that they 'get' me and I can be myself. We have so much fun laughing together and reminiscing about our childhoods. They're my BFF's. =)

Amy said...

My life has been a wild ride the past few years. My friends often comment that I am so strong. My secret is that I am as strong as they help me to be. They are supportive and objective and don't let me carry on with pity parties, but let me cry when I need to. I think women are so lucky to have each other as friends.

Mrs4444 said...

I can't imagine needing to read a book like this, to be honest; it seems like such a foreign concept to me. I agree, though, that it would be a wonderful gift for someone who struggles in this area.

I love my friends because we are always able to pick up where we left off, even when a lot of time has passed between our get-togethers.

Mimi said...

OH I really want to win this! I just wrote a post to put up in a couple of days about having trouble making friendships. Sounds like just what I need!

Mimi said...

Thank you so much for having this giveaway! I really am looking forward to reading this! Hooray for me and all of the winners!