Happy 2019, friends!! I’m SO excited for the new year. I love new beginnings, don’t you? I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us. I hope you had a blessed Christmas with your loved ones.
December flew by in a blur, but it was such a joy to watch our Allison Rose discover the wonder of the season. To be honest, I’m not quite ready to part with all things festive. We still have too much to celebrate! 😉
I’ve been blogging for 5 years now and it’s been such a gift. YOU have been my gift! I can’t imagine this journey without you, my faithful friends, readers, and encouragers.
As you may have already noticed – or maybe you saw my social media announcement – The Engrafted Word received a little makeover for the new year. It’s been on my heart – and in my prayers – for awhile now to freshen things up a bit and offer more to my readers.
God answered those prayers through my writing friend, Heather Snyder. We actually met through blogging and our love for stories. It is my delight to welcome her to The Engrafted Word and introduce her to all of you! Heather has such a kind heart, loves the Lord, and loves people. She’s an avid reader and writer with adventures and stories all her own. I’m so blessed to know her and you will be too!
Together, we’ll be bringing you more giveaways, interviews, reviews, and stories in 2019. Let’s keep celebrating Christian fiction and the beautiful Author of our lives!
Giveaway
How about ringing in the New Year with a giveaway, shall we? It’s no secret that one of my favorite authors out there is Laura Frantz. Not only is she an incredible writer, but she is one of the sweetest people I know. A Bound Heart just released and I’d LOVE to give away a copy to one of you!
Thanks for entering! Contest is open only in the U.S. and ends January 8, 2019. The winner will be notified by email. Happy Reading, everybody!
My mother has dementia but every fifth day she is as clear minded as can be. We are very blessed to get her back like we do.
Oh, Melanie! Blessings to you and your family. My grandpa had dementia, so I know that journey well. What a gift those special days are. Hugs to you!
This will be my 5th year of book blogging too and I’ve also updated the appearance of my site. I love your new look, it’s so bright and fresh.
Blessings for a happy New Year!
Amanda Geaney
Thank you, Amanda! You have a lovely site! It’s fun to start fresh from time to time. Happy Reading (and blogging!) 🙂
I like the fresh, clean look to the pages! The blog previously was very nice but this looks very attractive …… simple and uncluttered, for lack of better adjectives! I am looking forward to my husband’s retirement.
Hi Cathy! Yes, it took me awhile to part with my original design, I really did enjoy it. But it was time to update things and it feels refreshing. Thanks for following along! And enjoy your hubby’s retirement! 🙂
Happy New Year Savanna! This year I’m looking forward to strengthening my relationships with my husband and children. Thank you
That’s wonderful things to look forward to and focus on, Linda. Blessings to you and your family! And Happy 2019!!
Happy New Year!! I’m horrible at making goals, but I would like to get my house more organized this year. I’m also working on being more diligent in my scripture study!
I’m totally with you on the struggle to stick with goals, but the ones you mentioned are great pursuits. Do you have any particular study in mind for your Scripture readings? I’d love to hear what you’re digging into. 🙂
GOD met my every need, and then some! 🙂 It’s the way HE blessed me w/ the “and then some!”
Oh, Barb, that makes my heart smile. God is so good and faithful! Love love love your message.
I am grateful for our family of supporters. We have forged a bond that can only be done through suffering.
I wish I could give you a hug right now, Sonnetta. Don’t know what your family is going through, but I’m grateful to hear of your deep bond. What a blessing that is! Lifting you up to our Heavenly Father today.
2018 was not an easy year for me but God is always there! I’m looking forward to a better 2019!
Dear Joan, I’m so sorry to hear that last year was so hard, but yes, God is always present, never-changing, always-faithful. Praying for you and hoping 2019 brings countless glimpses of HIS grace.
One of my biggest blessings in 2018 is my son moving back to this state, about 15 minutes from me. He had lived in other states for the previous 8 years. Now I can see him every week instead of a couple of times a year.
Oh, Pam, that is wonderful news. What a blessing to celebrate as we begin a new year. 🙂
My biggest blessing of 2018 is the Lord sparing my husband’s life! This healthy, robust man unexpectedly went into congestive heart failure and had to have emergency open heart surgery on December 26, 2018. He went to urgent care thinking he had a respiratory infection and found out that his heart had a tear in his mitral valve and his heart was filling with fluid. Had he not gone in, he would have died within a few days. God is so good! Now a year later, we are rejoicing and celebrating God’s goodness and the miracle of my husband’s life!! All praise and glory to our faithful Saviour, Jesus!!!
Oh my! Alison! So SO glad your husband is okay. God’s mercies are so very abundant. Praising Him with you!!
I am looking forward to a new year and new beginnings and a closer walk with God. I like the way you freshened up your web site.
Thanks for being a faithful visitor to the blog, Perrianne. Wishing you a blessed 2019 and joyous walk with the Lord.
I’m looking forward to enjoying my retirement. I just retired at the end of last year.
That’s wonderful, Connie. Savor it!! Just think of how many books you can read in a year now! 😉
Happy New Year! I’m excited to see what the Lord has in store for this year!
YES, so glad this new year is completely in His hands. Hugs and Happy New Year to you too, Caryl!
Love the new design! It’s beautiful 🙂
Blessings!
Raechel
I’m so glad you like it, Raechel. It means a lot to me that you took the time to stop by and comment. Have a blessed day!
2018 was FILLED with MANY GREAT blessings, one being the launch of our Etsy store and FIRST SALES! 😀 HALLELUJAH GOD IS SO GOOD! 🙂
Hugs, Amada (pronounced: a.m.a.th.a)
Yay, Amada!!! Congrats! I love Etsy. Send me the link to your page. I’d love to check out your products. 🙂
One of the things I’m most excited about is pursuing writing in a serious way! I’ve dreamed about it forever, but the Lord seems to be saying that now is the time! I can’t wait to see how He leads.
Oh, Erin, this post makes me so happy! I can’t wait to see where God leads you and your work for Him. You should definitely come to our ACFW meetups in Springfield. We’d love to have you join us!
Savanna, So sweet of you to ring in the new year with A Bound Heart giveaway! You are one of the most thoughtful and generous people I know! Your new web home is just beautiful – someone else said it best – very clean and uncluttered which is something I look forward to continuing in our season of life as empty nesters. Thank you, thank you!! You have many friends here already and I’m happy to share, too!
Dear Laura, it always means the world to me when you stop by! When I was deciding on a giveaway, your book instantly came to mind. It’s my joy to share it with a fellow reader. I can’t wait to begin reading my own copy this week as Andrew and I take a road trip to Colorado. Your stories make for great company. 🙂 So grateful for your friendship!
Prayers with you as you travel! I don’t think Lark and the laird will mind a bit 🙂 Colorado is such a beautiful state! Thank you, friend.
So happy to meet Heather, too! I had to visit her first before commenting again. Love that she’s a tea queen! 🙂 You all make a wonderful pairing!
I’m super excited to have Heather join me this year. Her friendship – much like yours – has blessed me time and again. So glad you checked out her site, Laura. That was so sweet!
Hi, my Friend! I love your new Engrafted Word logo! As you know, Laura Is one of my favorite’s as well. Thanks for the giveaway. I feel so blessed to have had some extra time with my family over the holidays. Looking forward to what the Lord has in store for the new year!
Hi Cynthia! Thanks for visiting, my friend. So grateful for you! Hope you get to read Laura’s latest book soon too. 🙂
My biggest blessing from last year was finally getting the answer to all of my chronic health issues!! It’s been over 14 years or waiting, hoping and praying and this past August those prayers were finally answered! This year is going to be all about killing this horrible virus, getting my body back to where it should be and getting my life back.!! I’ve been given a second chance at life and I’m not going to take anything for granted!
Oh, Abby! There is such hope in your words. Praise Jesus! I can’t imagine all the difficulty you’ve gone through, but please know I’m praying for healing and joy in the recovery process. Thanks for sharing!
The blog is looking good. I just love Laura Frantz. She’s such a fine author. I noticed you are from the Missouri Ozarks area. I’m a Missouri gal too. Small world!
How fun!! Where in the state are you from? So glad you could join us, Mary!
One of my writing-related blessings in 2018 was having Focus on the Family use an article of mine ((Stay Connected When Your Teen Leaves for College) on their website. So grateful to God for this opportunity!
Congratulations, Cheryl! That is exciting news! I’d love to read it if you want to post the link below. 🙂 Blessings on your writing in the year ahead!
Savanna, congrats on the make-over! This is a beautiful space. In 2019 I’m looking forward to retiring and having more time to write. 🙂
Thank you, Karen! So appreciate you. And I’m thrilled to hear you have more writing time coming soon. That is so exciting! You’re from southern Missouri too, right? We should meet up for lunch sometime and chat writing and books! 🙂