Bliss defined

Yes, today is the day I announce the winner of my giveaway. Yea!!

But, before we get to that I wanted to gab a little about BLISS. Hope that's ok.....
if not, go ahead and take a quick peek at the bottom of my post to see the name of the winner.
Then just please make sure you come back here.
OK?  Go ahead, I would ..........


So now, ready? Let's define bliss......

What is the dictionary's definition of bliss?
Not surprisingly it is a noun and is defined as:
supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment. 
So, I guess it would be correct to say:
bliss is a feeling or state of being. 
I think of it as a big sigh deep down inside of me.

What does the Bible say about bliss?
My Bible's concordance doesn't have the word bliss listed.
That surprises me -  I think of the phrase "heavenly bliss".
Nope, guess that's not a biblical phrase. Silly me.
Looking through the concordance further,
I found there were many listings for verses that contain
the words - happiness, joy & contentment.
There are so many that it makes me think it's
important and something the Lord desires for us.
Now that's a blissful thought isn't it?!

What did your comments tell me about bliss?
Bliss for you  has a lot to do with the desires of your heart,
family, love, Jesus and a little bit of chocolate.
I loved reading each comment. Impressive acronyms ladies!

What is my idea of  bliss? 
I guess it's pretty much the joy and contentment I feel
by spending time with family, knowing I am loved,
resting in God's faithfulness and grace,
accomplishing a task and a job well done
(and that would be the planner/ list maker in me)
and of course a little bit of chocolate and some laughter.



So, friend, thank you for stopping by.
And now to announce the winner of my very first giveaway........

and the winner is...... JoAnn!  Congratulations! 
I'll be mailing out your beautiful BLISS tote later today. 

Bliss is..... a giveaway!

Hello friend! Whether you've stopped by before or this is your first time at "Finding Hope & Joy" I appreciate you taking the time to visit.

Can you believe it has been six months since I started my little blog? So, I've been thinking - this would be a good time to celebrate!!

It's been a lot of fun creating this space, sharing my thoughts and life through my posts, and connecting with others here in blog land. I've shared about--- Reflections, Challenges, Happy Little Sunflowers, Grief, Clicking, Memories, Gathering, Symptoms, Gabbing, Believing, and of course Hope & Joy. There are even 3 two-part posts. Whew! I never knew I'd have that much to say..... yea, right, you don't believe it do you - especially if you know me or have read the "The Gift of Gab" post.

Ok,enough with the reminiscing already! Let's move on to the celebrating! I may still be fairly new to blog land, but I do know that the best way to celebrate is with a  FREE GIVEAWAY!

And, I guess you probably would like to know:
What I'm giving away (surprisingly it's not chocolate)
and How you can win it (giving you two chances to win).



Here it is:

As you can see on this side it says:
BLISS
He satisfies the longing soul... with goodness Psalm 107:9


And here is all you need to do to win:

1. Add a comment to this post telling me what your idea of Bliss is.

2. For an extra chance to win just go to my Blessings Unlimited website at: http://www.debbiegabelman.blessingsdirect.com/ and click on the "Shop Online" tab. Check out the wonderful products. Then come back here and leave a second comment about a product that you liked. In fact you can see the Bliss tote on my site. It's in the "NEW! SUMMER 2010 SUPPLEMENTAL CATALOG" section.

Your comments need to be posted  no later than midnight EST on Thursday, July 22. I'll announce the winner on Monday, July 26th.

Oh yea -  on the other side of the tote  it says:
BLISS
Let your heart bring you joy in the blessings of God

And friend, that's what I'm wishing for you ~ Blissful Blessings!

Twenty-five Random Things ~ Part 2

Hey, you're back! Ready for part two?

Remember: I've gone ahead and made new comments under each random thing on the list. So, what I wrote back in Jan.'09 is in bold and my follow-up comments today are in italics.

Here are numbers 13 - 25 from my "Twenty-five Random Things About Me" list:

13. I usually drive five miles over the posted speed limit. (only one ticket)
~ No, I don't believe going a little over the speed limit is a sin (I really did have a preacher that taught this. And you don't want to know what he'd have to say about my tattoos! Refer to #4)

14. Friday is pizza day!
~ It's routine. Refer to #1

15. I would rather do yardwork than housework.
~ Oh yea! Even in the Florida heat - I don't mind getting dirt under my fingernails and sweating and.... Ummmm, TMI?

16. I love the beach and sunsets.
~ Don't you?!

17. I love my husband and can't imagine my life with anyone but him. He is my BFF!
~ Always and forever true!

18. I grew up in New Jersey but, I consider myself a Floridian by choice.
~ born and raised a Jersey girl (don't cha know) and Floridian by choice (y'all).

19. I hate to see someone eating by themselves.
~ Like in a resturant and especially if they're old... it's so sad.

20. I do not like to see other people be made fun of or have their feelings hurt (except on American Idol)
~ Simon Cowell tells it straight

21. I do not like trying new foods.
~ Every once in a while I'll try something different... Like parmesean crusted chicken. Yum! But, nothing too crazy, and not fish, and not Chinese, and nothing with cottage cheese or ricotta cheese.

22. I can not smell. Sometimes it's a blessing (my desk is directly across from the men's room at work- wish I couldn't hear sometimes). But I also wish I could smell- Tom's aftershave, roses and if supper is burning.
~ My mom says my lose of smell is because of using too much nose spray. Refer to #3

23. Thankful every day for God's mercy, love, grace and faithfulness!!
~ AMEN!

24. I am so thankful that TJ & Amber are back in Florida!!
~ They're my son and daughter-in-law who are living with us right now, with their pug (Buggsie) and cat (Jack). They've been such a blessing to us.

25. I love hugs!!
~ And a big {{HUG}} to you friend!

So, it was fun sharing some random things about me. Glad you stopped by.

* * Please make sure you check out next week's post... it's a fun surprise to celebrate six months of blogging! Yea!!

Twenty-five Random Things ~ Part 1

I recently found a list of "Twenty-five Random Things About Me" that I compiled back in January of 2009. It's one of those Facebook lists that goes around from time to time. Someone sends you a list with info about themselves and you make up your own list. You then send it back to them and on to your other Facebook friends.

The info on your list can be funny, interesting and even surprising. As I now look over my list, 18 months later, it is neat to see what is the same and what has changed.

I thought it would be fun to share it here on my blog as an opportunity for you to learn a little bit more about silly me. I've gone ahead and made new comments under each random thing on the list. So, what I wrote in 01/09 is in bold and my follow-up comments today are in italics.


Ready? Here are numbers 1 - 12:

1. I do not like random- I like planned and organized
~ True - but why did I even do a random list? And, I think I should add that I also like to have a routine.

2. My favorite food is chocolate. I believe chocolate is an actual food because it's made from seeds from a tree, just not sure if it should be classified as a fruit or vegetable (they grow on trees, too, - so no I'm not silly)
~ I'm standing by my beliefs on this one... as I eat a double fudge chocolate brownie.

3. When I'm sick I hate having a stuffed-up nose.
~ Why I shared this I do not know. Pretty random though don't you think?

4. I have two tattoos - one of which I designed- and I got them when I was 50 yrs old. (Yes they hurt)
~I've found that people who don't have tattoos usually will ask if it hurt

5. I do not like to journal/blog. I prefer verbal communication. Although I like to read other's blogs.
~ This one makes me chuckle.... I heart blog land! I enjoy blogging!!

6. Love iced coffees and hot or iced lattes - carmel, mocha and white chocolate are my favs.
~ Adding McDonald's Frappe to the list

7. I miss my Kyle every day.
~ This will never change

8. I love Facebook so I can keep up with friends and how they are doing/ what's going on in their lives.
~ Even though I still go on Facebook at least once a day... it just seems to be more or less the same stuff day after day. Not so much in love with it any more.

9. I love music - especially praise & worship at church.
~ Still love music. And Praise & Worship is the best! Some extra randomness: I also like Christian rap/hip-hop. Even have taken a liking to some Country music.

10. I like to read- but I mostly like books that I read for a purpose rather than entertainment. Books that have a message, meaning, are life changing.
~ This one hasn't changed much. I did recently read "The Shack" and enjoyed it a lot. I'm now reading "Crazy Love".

11. I want to learn how to quilt. Sounds like a boring thing. But, I want to make a memory quilt from Kyle's shirts.
~ Still haven't learned how to quilt. But, I've decided to make a rag quilt out of his shirts. It sounds a lot easier than traditional quilting. Hope to get started on it soon.

12. I do not like heights. No higher than say the roof of my house.
~ To clarify: I do not get on the roof. Only go high enough on a ladder to paint or clean gutters.


Any questions? Does it make you want to share a few random facts about yourself with me?