~Black Friday sale!!~
Today, November 25, 2016 through Monday, November 28, 2016 all signed copies of my books are on sale if you purchase through me personally!! :) "I Dare You: Finding Your Passion and Lighting Your World" is on sale for $8 a book, plus additional shipping (retail $12.99+shipping) "The King's Princess: A Magazine Compilation" is on sale for $6 a book, plus additional shipping (retail $12.99+shipping) "Worth it All: Running the Race of a Lifetime" is on sale for $10 a book, plus additional shipping (retail $14.99+shipping) Don't miss out on these special prices! :) These special prices are only available through me personally, not online, so if you want to order please comment below or send me a message and I'll get in touch with you!! :) Also, please remember that through the month of November if you were a National Bible Bee 2016 family/volunteer, "Worth it All" is available for $8 plus shipping. :) ~~ALSO! If you are a young lady or mother of a young lady and you are not currently receiving my girls e-magazine, "The King's Princess" now is the time to do so!! Because between now and Monday, the first 15 people to sign up for my FREE, monthly e-magazine will all be entered into a drawing to win a FREE copy of my book "The King's Princess: A Magazine Compilation." Don't miss out! :) To sign up for the e-magazine comment or message me and I'll send info :) Spread the word!! :D <3 <3 <3
6 Comments
Hey everyone! Welcome to my blog today! I know I haven't been very faithful with posting lately, but today you are in for a treat because I am doing a special blog interview with Miss Livy B.! Livy is here to share with us about a ministry opportunity she is super excited about! Ready? Let's have some fun!
Bella: Hi Livy! Thank you so much for joining us for a short Q&A as well as sharing with us about something you are really excited about! It’s an honor to have you with us on the blog today! Livy: Thank you so much for this opportunity, Bella! I’m super excited and honored to be here! Bella: First, tell us a little bit about yourself and how old you are! :) Livy: Sure! I am a teenage girl who loves her Savior Jesus Christ, reading God’s Word and doing things to further God’s Kingdom! I love writing and emailing friends, reading books and Christian magazines, writing my book and articles, and much more! I am a diehard skier, and am so excited for the upcoming ski season! I’m currently reading a book called “I Dare You” by Isabella Morganthal, and I would highly recommend it to everyone reading this! It really is an inspiring and encouraging book! Bella: Aw, you’re sweet, thank you. :) So tell us about this ministry opportunity that you want to share with us? Livy: I am hosting a fundraiser for an organization called “The Voice of the Martyrs” for their “Bible for Every Believer” campaign. VOM is an organization who gives funds, aid, and Christian resources to persecuted Christians in foreign countries. In their “Bible for Every Believer” campaign, they were asking that people donate funds so that for each $6 donated, they can give a believer in a foreign county a Bible of their own to read or listen to and share with others. They recently updated their “Bible for Every Believer” campaign, and they no longer specify how much it is for a Bible, although, I think it is still probably the same amount. In reality, $6 dollars is a very small amount of money that will change the life of not only one person, but many! Bella: That sounds awesome! When did you first hear about VOM? Livy: Well, I have known about VOM for a long while because my Mom has been receiving their monthly magazine for a really long time, and I would occasionally flip through an issue when it would come in the mail, but I never really took the time to read any of them. It wasn’t until recently that I sparked a passion for persecuted believers in foreign countries, and VOM’s monthly magazine really tugs at my heart! Bella: How did you first get involved then with this ministry? Livy: I had recently been reading the VOM magazine that they put out monthly for free, and a couple months ago, they sent a flyer with the magazine, telling about their “Bible for Every Believer” campaign, and it really tugged at my heart! I so wanted to donate to them so that people could read or listen to and own a Bible for their very own; so after telling my parents about it, we were able to donate to VOM! Bella: How wonderful! Why do you believe in this cause so much? Livy: I just have this burning desire deep in my heart to spread God’s Word to others and this is such a great opportunity to do that! Bringing people to Christ is so important to me, I pray every day asking the Lord if He would like me to become a missionary, and if so, where He wants me to go! I have recently felt my heart being pulled towards the country of Nigeria after reading one of VOM’s recent issues, which was all about different missionaries and people who have suffered in the hands of the horrible group Boko Haram in the country of Nigeria. But, I also know that missionaries are needed here in America, so, if it isn’t the Lord’s will for me to go to Nigeria, then I will be content being a missionary here in America, or wherever the Lord leads me. Their magazines are such eye-openers about what our fellow Christians are facing in this world; it really ignites my passion to help others! Bella: Tell us a little bit about the special gift you have for those who participate in this ministry opportunity :) Livy: Well when you donate to VOM’s “Bible for Every Believer” campaign I am offering a gift of appreciation to all who donate to their campaign though my fundraiser. However much you donate, you can receive my gift of appreciation! You can choose between a “Specially Handmade Just for You” handmade greeting card with a matching envelope, or a “Specially Handmade Just for You” elegant bookmark. All gifts of appreciation are uniquely handmade by yours truly in the USA through my business called “Olivia Rose Originals ~ A Beautifully Handmade Crafts Company”. I am really looking forward to making them for everyone who is so caring to donate! Bella: Why do you think others should get involved in this fundraiser? Livy: Because we as believers in Christ are to spread God’s Word to all the peoples of the earth, and by donating to this fundraiser, you can do just that! VOM will take the funds you donate, and send either audio or printed Bibles to Christians in foreign countries all over the world. Think of it as throwing a stone into a pond; the way it creates a ripple effect. You send someone a Bible, they then read it to others, and those people spread the Word as well, hopefully making a big impact on their communities and bringing many people to Christ! Bella: Thank you so much for joining us today, Livy! It’s been a pleasure having you! Keep changing the world! Livy: Thank you so much for having me, Bella! Having a great friend who shares my passion to spread God’s Word means so much to me! I had a great time doing this interview with you! :) To donate to VOM visit their website here . To donate to VOM through the mail, please send your funds to the address below, and be sure to specify that you would like your funds used for the “Bible to Captive Nations” drive. The Voice of the Martyrs P.O. Box 443 Bartlesville, OK 74005-0443 ~To contact Livy about the special gift she is offering those who donate, please use the contact form here on my blog, and specify you would like the message to go to Livy~ It is finally that long awaited week.
That week we have waited all year for. Our "Rehearsal for Heaven," our "family reunion." The week where we are finally together again after being apart for so long. It's finally Nationals week and I'm not there with all of you. As much as I would love to hug each of you and talk to you in person, this is the next best thing :) Although I was going to make a YouTube video instead, I'm sometimes much better with words on paper :) So this is for you, dear 2016 National Bible Bee contestants... As you come to Nationals this week I want to say a few things, but first I want to say congratulations. You all deserve a round of applause and a standing ovation. Which I’m sure you’ll get this week though at the Opening ceremony where the clapping doesn't stop. ;) I just want you all to know how very, very proud I am of each and every one of you. You have worked so hard to stand where you are standing right now. You have run so well to make it to the end of this finish line. And I’m proud of you especially because you know that your true treasure and your true reward is of much greater value than any part of this competition this week. Your treasure is already in your heart as you have poured hundreds and hundreds of verses into your soul these past few months. As Nationals approaches, it’s just been a flood of different emotions. Not getting to join you and not getting to participate as a contestant is completely different. Being Alumni is much harder than I thought it would be! But as Nationals 2016 approaches I can’t help but remember all of the times that I would study for Bible Bee. I had five summers I got to study for Locals and four falls that I got to study for Nationals. It was intense, it was hard. There were so many times when I didn’t know if my brain could possibly handle any more memory verses or Greek words. But every year I would get to the end and it would be worth it. It would be so worth it, just knowing that in my heart was a treasure so much greater than anything else in this world. Nationals 2015 was my greatest adventure on my Bible Bee race. And I still remember that moment when I realized that I had become Alumni of the National Bible Bee. As I stood onstage in semi-finals and they called me forward to be eliminated, I knew that this part of my race was over. And now here we are at another Nationals. Our favorite time of the year. Standing at the beginning of this Nationals week as Alumni is to me like passing on the torch to all of you 2016 finalists. All of us alumni who aged out have that joy of getting to pass this torch on to all of you, and encourage you to run this last part of your race well. And as an alumni, I ask of you three things as you come to Nationals tomorrow. I promise they aren’t too hard. :) First, cherish every moment. It goes so fast. I know it can be easy to get caught up in all the nerves or stress of testing and preparing. Last minute verse reviewing and cramming on all those cross-references. But cherish even the moments during the tests when those butterflies fill your stomach. Because someday you’ll be alumni too, and someday you won’t get to take these tests ever again. So cherish it. Second, do your best. You don’t have to make semi’s. You don’t have to make finals. You can get a 10% on your written. None of that is what matters. I just ask you to give it your best shot and leave the rest with God. He can carry it from there, trust me. Third, I ask you to glorify God no matter what the cost or the result. It will hurt, there will be disappointment at Nationals for those who do not advance. But won’t you please glorify Him, no matter what? Look where He has brought you! Coming from a National contestant, I can tell you that none of that was me. Getting to nationals, getting to semi’s...it wasn’t me. It was God, all God, and He is worthy of that glory and that praise. And I ask you to glorify Him, even if it hurts. Glorify Him for where He has brought you. He is worthy of all praise. Finally, 2016 National Bible Bee finalists, the world is watching you. Every time you step out onto that stage, whether it be to get your medal or to recite passages of God’s Word in Semi’s and Finals, make sure the world sees Him. The impact of what you are doing right now is beyond what you can see. These verses are going to stay with you through your adult life, and how you allow them to affect your life, can change history. Don’t let all this study and all this time go to waste. For truly, it would be a waste if you never let it change you. So let what you learned change you and do something great with it. Praise Him with your every step down that aisle to receive your medal. And thank you all so much for being my second family. Thank you for all the laughter, the joy, the memories and the adventures. If we aren’t together again on this earth, I can’t wait to join you on Heaven’s shore to worship Him forever together. I am so, so, so proud of you all! You can do this. Run well. "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." ~Hebrews 12:1-2 Congratulations, National 2016 contestants. Shine for Him. I love you all more than you know! Wow, I first need to apologize for the fact that I completely missed my blog post to end out my blog tour for my brand new book, “Worth it All.” It totally slipped my mind on Sunday and the past few days have been crazy so I just have not had the time to sit down and write. I am so sorry! I hope you still enjoy this blog post anyway, as late as it may be. :)
I want to give a huge “thank you!!” to the 5 blogs and young ladies who so willingly participated in the “Worth it All” blog tour. It was an honor to be featured on each of your blogs and I had so much fun reading each post, as I hope you all did! So thank you, girls, from the bottom of my heart! ♥ I didn’t have exactly set in my mind what I wanted to include in this post so I have just decided to share about the journey God has led me on as I have written and published my third book, Worth it All: Running the Race of a Lifetime. When I first began my Bible Bee journey in January 2011, the day I first signed up to be a contestant during the 2011 season, I had absolutely no clue I would stand here today. I had no clue the challenges, excitement, joy, and difficulty along the journey to come. It was going to be the greatest adventure of my life and I had no way of knowing it on that snowy January night when I visited www.biblebee.org for the very first time. Choosing to spend my teenage years in the study and memorization of the Word of God was the greatest thing I have ever made the commitment to do. Not only because it changed my teenage years, but also because it changed my life to come. In the years to come I have determined to never give up memorizing, but to keep going. Even to set the goal to memorize the entire New Testament. During Nationals 2013, I saw God do incredible things. Just the fact that I got to Nationals was His miracle. Because of this, I yearned to declare His goodness. I wanted to shout to the world that everything else about my life was loss compared to knowing Jesus Christ more. Nothing else about the Bible Bee, as amazing as it was, could ever be compared to the greatness of knowing Jesus deeper. Because I had learned this during my studies in 2013 and the miracles He gave me, I decided I was going to write a book and I was going to call it, “Everything as Loss,” with the theme of Philippians 3:7-11. I began the book but didn’t even get past the first chapter really, I just wasn’t sure how to write down everything I wanted to say. And in my heart, I felt God’s leading to put the book on hold. I knew He was asking me to wait to write this book until I aged out of Bible Bee and became alumni. I didn’t know what else He was gonna teach me or what else I was going to learn, but I knew whatever was to come I wanted to write it in a book too. So I put my Bible Bee book on hold and began to work harder on my first published book, I Dare You: Finding Your Passion and Lighting Your World. As I lived through my 2014 and 2015 Bible Bee journeys I was amazed by what God taught me and what I learned. I was blown away by the miracles He did, by the dreams He fulfilled. And Nationals 2015 was like the culmination of my entire Bible Bee race as God granted my name to be called as a 2015 Senior Semi-finalist, my dream come true. Leaving the JW Marriott hotel in San Antonio, TX that November day in 2015 was the day I became alumni of the Bible Bee. And the first thing I did was start my Bible Bee book… I had renamed the book to Worth it All and it took so many times of rewriting the first chapter before I finally had a first chapter I liked. :) And as each chapter went by it was like writing out a story of God’s faithfulness that He had written with my life. I still can’t believe after all this time that I sit here typing with my book, Worth it All sitting next to me. This book is so dear to my heart, it is about the greatest race God ever asked me to run. My prayer is that as you read the pages of this book, you will be encouraged by the faithfulness of God. You will come to the realization that if God can do miracles in the life of an ordinary teenage girl like me, He can surely do them in your life too and He will if you will let Him. My prayer is that you will be challenged to run your race of knowing Jesus well and that you will give up everything to make Him your first Love. Love Him well because He loved you best. Thank you all for reading. Thank you all for your support. May God bless each of you richly. Never stop running. Hey y'all! This post is going to be short because it's late, but I realized that I totally forgot to announce the name of the winner for the "Worth it All" blog/facebook party giveaway that I did during release week! :) And the winner is...
Rae K.! Congratulations, Rae! You will receive the book shortly. :) Right now there's another "Worth it All" giveaway going on over at Beth's blog: www.thisredeemedgirl16.blogspot.com Check it out! :) Today is the official SIXTH day of my "Worth it All" blog tour and it's happening with a giveaway over at Beth's blog:
www.thisredeemedgirl16.blogspot.com So thankful to Beth for sharing about my new book and getting the word out with this special giveaway! Be sure to head on over to her blog, show some love, and leave a comment! :D Thank you, Beth, for participating in the blog tour! For the last day of the blog tour join me here where I will be writing a special blog post! :) Today is the official FIFTH day of my "Worth it All" blog tour and it's happening over at Elizabeth's blog:
www.onelightinadarkworld.blogspot.com So thankful to Elizabeth for sharing about my new book and getting the word out! Be sure to head on over to her blog, show some love, and leave a comment or two! :D Thank you, Elizabeth, for participating in the blog tour! Day six link for the blog tour coming tomorrow! :) First, I so apologize I didn't get the chance to post this yesterday on the official day four of the "Worth it All" blog tour! My day got busy and it slipped my mind. But here is the information for yesterday's blog stop:
Day four of the "Worth it All" blog tour was happening over at Bethany's blog again: www.girlonfire116.wordpress.com So thankful to Bethany for joining the blog tour again! If you remember, she started the whole tour and it's such a blessing to have her join us again :) Thank you, Bethany! ♥ Day Five link from today coming soon! Today is the official THIRD day of my "Worth it All" blog tour and it's happening over at Katherine's blog:
www.songbeyondsilence.wordpress.com So thankful to Katherine for reviewing my new book! Be sure to head on over to her blog, show some love, and leave a comment or two! :D Thank you, Katherine, for participating in the blog tour! Day four link for the blog tour coming tomorrow! :) Today is the official second day of my "Worth it All" blog tour and it's happening over at Rae's blog:
www.godspeculiartreasurerae.wordpress.com So thankful to Rae for sharing about my new book as well as my first two books! So head on over to her blog, show some love, and leave a comment or two! :D Thank you, Rae, for participating in the blog tour! Day three link for the blog tour coming tomorrow! :) |
Archives
October 2019
Categories |