Someone Beautiful

Having lived through 13 years of infertility, miscarriage and adoption losses I know how painful this time of year can be. (Well, every day can be painful, but certain landmarks such as Mother's Day can hold an extra sting!) So I typically avoid the sappy typical Mother's Day posts like the plague.

Having so many friends who have lost their moms or who have poor relationships with these women even if they are still living, I realize how uniquely blessed to have a loving relationship with my mom. I feel it is important to take the time to honor those in our lives who have blessed us. So today I ask your indulgence as I introduce you to someone who has brought much beauty to my life.

My mom, Betty Camp, was just selected as a top five finalist for a Mom of the Year award for the way she has gracefully lived with Fibromyalgia while selflessly giving to help me survive and thrive through my own chronic illnesses.

Would you please join me in celebrating Betty by reading her story and voting for her with a "5 star" rating at http://www.fmcpaware.org/mom-2? Public voting (you will be asked to register for a username but can uncheck any/all auto-subscription boxes if you do not wish to receive email from the Fibromyalgia website) remains open through May 9, with the grand prize winner being announced on Fibromyalgia and CFIDS Awareness Day, May 12. Thank you so much!


------- Sponsorship Message and Coupon Code -------

My heart is in sharing beauty with women, first heart beauty, but also affordable, healthy ways to care for our physical bodies that God calls the "temple" of His Holy Spirit when we allow Him to live within us through grace. To this end I am happy to represent Affordable Mineral Makeup™ (AMM) as a beauty adviser and to offer this high quality line of pure mineral products to my readers. AMM does NOT contain harmful bismuth or other skin irritants fillers, talc, nanoparticles nor micronized minerals. Our soothing line will not clog pores, contains natural SPF properties, helps calm irritated skin with its zinc content, and is water resistant.

For one more day [please visit "discount codes" to look for current promotions if this is expired by the time you see it], take 25% off (yes, that's 5% higher than our normal best offer!) every Affordable Mineral Makeup™ purchase of $19.95 or greater, placed from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com when you use check out using coupon code:
maydaze411

With this code, qualified orders (over $19.95 and properly following instruction for submitting freebie requests) will also receive a wonderful free gift of one 30-gram sifter jar with your choice of product - up to a $30.79 value with your purchase! To redeem the free gift offer, please list your requested free product selection in your order comments (not added to your cart!) when you place your order. Promotion items cannot be shipped separately.

Please visit http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" link to get started by viewing our catalog. (I greatly appreciate when my return customers remember to always come back and start at my consultant link so that the computer knows to credit me for your purchases.) If you remember to list my name, Jenni Saake, in the comments section when you place your order, I would appreciate that too. Thank you for your business and support!

Asking a Favor

This post has little to do with "beauty," thought it is beautiful news to my ears. My book, Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage & Adoption Loss has been nominated by the oldest, and one of the largest, infertility support networks in the nation, as one of the top four "best" infertility books for 2010. Their selections are now open for public vote and I would so appreciate if if you would take a moment and visit www.resolve.org/vote to cast a vote for Hannah's Hope in the "best book" category. Thank you so very much!!!

Woman's Health Hero

I was blessed to be nominated as a Woman's Health Hero and I need your help! (Head's up to my friends who are sensitive to mentions of pregnancy, the sponsors of this award do promote pregnancy-related books on their website, so please be for-warned before following this link.) Out of all entries, just 20 names will be inducted into a Health Hall of Fame. Two Hall-of-Fame selections will receive special honors as either Staff Pick or Audience Choice award determined by the public (that's you!).



You will be allowed to vote on all entries between now and May 14 (extended one week from the prior May 7 deadline), 2010. The entry that receives the highest overall ranking will win the Audience Choice award. Last year's Audience Choice winner was my dear friend Lisa Copen from Rest Ministries. I would be delighted to add a similar honor to my "resume" as I continue working on writing my book on the life of Paul as encouragement for living with chronic pain/illness.

Will you please help me by heading to www.ourbodiesourblog.org/blog/2010/05/comforting-those-with-fertility-challenges-jenni-saake and selecting the "thumbs up" voting button at the bottom of my profile? Thank you so much! :)

Speak from the Heart

If a home is a man's castle, then I think it must be a woman's place of self-expression. What I feel on the inside is the personality I want to reflect as I create a home. I just found a really fun way to do that (and enter to win some beautiful prizes) at Nesting Place where I created this sign for the Write Them on Your Doorposts give-away today. :) These words are based on one of my favorite Scripture verses, Psalm 4:8.

Women of Faith

Do you want to win 2 tickets to a Women of Faith conference near you? Visit womenoffaith.com/contests/1-11-10.html by Jan. 14 to register!

Mineral Makeup GiveAway

I'm sponsoring a give away of some Affordable Mineral Makeup™ samples on a friend's blog. So far only one person has entered, so head on over and leave a comment because you have great odds of winning!
www.garibaysoup.com/2009/12/mineral-makeup-giveaway.html

Contest runs until Friday, December 18, 2009 @ 11:59pm.

Joy

What brings you joy? I'm not talking about material happiness, like a new car or even your favorite drink from the corner coffee shop, that might bring a glow for a season, then fades into emptiness and wanting more. I'm talking about that deep, abiding joy that can be there even in the midst of dark circumstances.

Maybe you are unemployed, single or facing some life challenge and think, "Once I find a good job" or "get married" or "regain my health" then this empty place in my heart will be filled. It was like that for me through infertility, thinking that having children would bring lasting joy.

But you know what? Three living miracles later, I'm very thankful for them and they do fill my heart in so many amazing ways, but none of them were "the answer" either. This is not to say that I am not overwhelmingly aware of the blessings these answered prayers are in my life and I am so humbled and grateful to be in this season. It's just stating the reality that my children didn't fix every lonely and broken longing of my heart as I sometimes dreamed they might, just as marriage or a new job or whatever answer you are aching for cannot fill you with full joy either.

The only true joy I've ever found came in the form of the Baby born in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago. Through infertility, the Baby mocked me from the manger, for if even a virgin could give birth, I was in sad shape to not be able to conceive or carry even with cutting edge medical assistance. But it was in looking beyond the manger, to the Father in Heaven who gave His Son and knowingly took up the anguish of a grieving parent so that He could call me His adopted daughter, that made the manger a beautiful place in my heart.

It was in watching that Baby grow, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who willingly exchanged my sin and shame for the His own life, taking on death to buy my eternal life, that I realized the source of deepest, lasting joy.

There are many things that bring me happiness in this life, my husband and sweet babies certainly at the top of my list. In preparation for Jesus' birthday party, I also delight in beautiful sights, smells and sounds that fill our home. But true joy is found only at a manger, a cross, an empty tomb, and in the hearts of those who believe in the certain hope of all we cannot see.

The (in)Courage blog is offering a whole month of Joy-themed posts that I'm really en-joy-ing. One that especially resounded with me last week was Still Happy? about the "golden thread of joy" that can weave through our lives even in painful seasons. And if you are struggling to hold onto joy in the midst of unhappy circumstances in life, I invite you to visit my Harvesting Hope™ blog for an encouraging give-away!

To add to the fun and celebratory spirit of the season, I would also love to invite you to check out the newest limited edition shade from Affordable Mineral Makeup™ whose name, Joy, inspired this post. "Joy" offers an array of pearlescent pinks, light green with a touch of lilac and is great on eyes. A 5g jar is only $6.99 at www.affordablemineralmakeup.com/innerbeauty.html

Joy

In this season when the whole world celebrates CHRISTmas, I would love to hear one tradition that brings you happiness in your home. For me it is wrapping our "Baby Jesus" (from the hand carved wooden nativity set that was in my childhood home) in toilet paper. Sounds odd? As a 3-year-old I was worried that the Baby was cold and so I swaddled Him "just like Mary" did. It's a quiet, yearly tradition that makes me stop and think in the business of the season and continues to remind me of the amazingly humble yet powerful Gift that brings me Joy.

With Thankfulness (and free makeup drawing)

I know this year my blog has mostly been sale spotlights, product information, and not nearly as much inspirational content as I would like to be sharing. In many ways it's been a "survivial" year for me due to ongoing health struggles, weekly hospital IV treatments and endless medical tests, appointments, bills, paperwork, phone calls and more.

There are days that I'm tempted to feel "poor me," but in all honesty, I am overwhelmed with just how blessed I am. I hope you don't mind indulging me in my list of beautiful blessings. At the end, I would love it if you would post yours as well. And if you stick with me to the very end, there's a special money saving blessing posted for you as well. ;)

- I have a God who loved me so much that He paid the ultimate price, the death of His only Son, to make me His child! (If you want to know more about that, please email me and I would love to share this beautiful story with you in more detail!)

- I live in a free country where I am a able to speak or post whatever's on my heart and (at least for now) to share my faith openly without fear of criminal pursecution.

- I have a loving husband who is faithful to me and support through all the "better" and "worse," the limited "health" and the frequent "sickness." (Watching friends go through widowhood, diviroce, and entended/unplanned singless, I do not take this blessing lightly at all!)

- I have three loving, healthy, beautiful children, blessings profoundly poinient to me after infertility and losses.

- We share the joy of homeschooling and I don't have to send my sweet treasures off into someone else's care for the larger portion of each day.

- My parents have lived less than 10 minutes away from us for over 2 years now and we are so thankful to have them near!

- My parents-in-law are also delightful people we are very blessed to have involved in our lives, living only an hour away and seeing usually on a weekly basis.

- We just enjoyed Thanksgiving with Rick's brother and family and my brother will be bringing his family to Reno for 10 days at Christmas. :)

- We have a church home where we truly have an extended family in Christ and can both give and receive ministry there.

- My husband is currently employed (again, something we don't take for granted) and we are blessed with health insurance that has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of treatment for me this year.

- There has been groundbreaking research in medicine this year that may be life-changing not only for me, but for millions around the world. Thank you www.wpinstitute.org!

- I have new glasses and can see again!

This is just the tip of the iceburg in my thankfulness list, but my point is, even when things are hard, just stopping to take a moment and actively seeking the good can surprise us with beautiful realizations of all we have. I truly would love to hear what you are thankful for right now. If you are struggling and can't find anything to list, please share with me how I may be praying for you as well. {{{hug}}}

Please share this post with your friends, because if I have at least 10 commeters post and join me as blog followers before the end of November, I will draw one name in early December and contact you to request a mailing address where I can send you some free makeup! :) (Don't forget to leave me a working email address when you post. If I can't easily contact you, I'll have to pick an alterate winner should your name be drawn.)

One more thing to be thankful for:
Affordable Mineral Makeup™ has dropped prices, making our line even more affordable than ever before. All 5g jars are now priced under $7, even our exclusive lines! Order directly at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com

I will also be placing my final Gurrlie Girl order of the year on Dec. 1, so if you are looking for beautiful, inspirationa jewelry for anyone on your list, please let me know before the end of the month. http://jenni.saake.gurrliegirl.com

Win FREE Makeup & Jewelry

I am helping one of my dearest friends, Julie D., celebrate her 40th birthday. She's hosting a huge birthday bash over on her Mom2Ways blog (yes, she's one of my after-infertility-mom sisters, with her family growing through both the blessings of adoption and birth). She's giving away over 20 wonderful prizes to blog readers this month and one of those prizes is a makeup bag stuffed with Affordable Mineral Makeup™ and some Gurrlie Girl™ jewelry. To enter, head over to http://mom2ways.blogspot.com/2009/09/birthday-bash-giveaway-post.html and leave a comment for item 22 (or any other great prizes you would like to win).



Happy Birthday, Julie!

10% saving if you email your order

I'm participating in several blogging parties right now and meeting lots of great new friends as a result. What most of us have in commen is that we are women bloggers who either are attending, or in my case would like to be attending (but aren't), a conference called BlogHer this weekend. In honor of this event, I am offering my blog readers 10% off your Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order (discount applies only to products, not tax or applicable shipping) if you email your order directly to me and I receive your Paypal payment by July 29, 2009. To receive the discount, simply mention "BlogHer" in your email and I'll know how you found me. (No, you do not have to be participating in any of the NonBlogHer events to enjoy this discount. It is available to any blog reader who will follow these instructions.) :)

To view available products please visit my page at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and select "Shop" near the bottom of the page. You are welcome to place your order directly through the website there, but I will not be able to extend my personal discount to you if you choose to do it that way. If you want the savings, please email me with your name, mailing address and items you wish to purchase (including sizes and if you want makeup in sifter jars or baggies) along with your PayPal address so I can invoice you and receive your payment by July 29. :)

My email address is InnerBeauty AT AffordableMineralMakeup DOT com (changing AT to @ and DOT to . and removing spaces) or if you have any email issues you can also try jsaake AT yahoo DOT com. If you email me, be sure to check your SPAM folder for my reply as some ISPs don't like the AffordableMineralMakeup domain and a few others don't seem to like yahoo either.

If you could also help me out by visiting www.InfertilityMom.blogspot.com/ and leaving a comment on my "Top 10 Reasons I'm Excited to Be Staying Home This Weekend" thread I would really appreciate that. (Note to infertile friends, children are mentioned in that post.) I'm trying to win a $100 cash prize for most blogging comments on that thread. Thank you!

Recovering from our Relaxation!

You know that feeling of "I need a vacation to recover from my vacation?" Well, that's pretty much how I've been feeling since Sunday night! Wow, am I ever exhausted!!!

I did get a chance to use the Random.org website last night to select winners for each prize and will be emailing contest sponsors and winners later this evening to connect you with each other. I'll be posting a winner's list by tomorrow evening. Sometimes my emails don't seem to get where they are supposed to go, so if you don't get a winner's email from me, be sure to check the winner's list announcement and email me right away if you think you have missed a notification! Any prizes that remain unclaimed by Friday may be redrawn for new winners.

In addition to the 11 gifts offered through specific drawings this past Weekend, I also drew names for about ten more of you who will be receiving emails from me offering you a copy of the small book Childless: The Hurt and the Hope, by Beth Spring. This is an older title, now out of print, but a very helpful, compact resource for anyone dealing with inferitlity. If you receive this email offer from me, you are welcome to accept it for yourself or to give me the name and address of a friend you feel it might bless and I will send it to them on your behalf.

Thank you for your patience as I recover from such a whirlwind weekend! I'm still working my way back through all the wonderful comments and feedback and will be addressing some of your individual questions in future blog posts. :)

Thank You

With this post we conclude our Virtual Spa Weekend, but I hope this will not be the last time you visit me here at InnerBeautyGirlz! I will be spending the next few days going back through all your wonderful comments, taking note of questions and suggestions you have posted to gather ideas for future posts, and will continue striving to provide you discount codes, quality beauty information, devotional reflections and additional give-aways from time to time. If you haven't done so yet, please take the time to either "follow" me using the Goggle link on the right-hand side bar, or sign up for my email list in the mailing list box also to the right.

Thank you so much for joining me, for all the great participation and comments (about 300 of them!), for helping spread the word and share the joy with friends, and for making this a memorable Weekend! Thank you also to our many amazing guest bloggers and to all the Weekend sponsors who have so generously donated gifts for our give-aways. Don't forget that any comment on any non-prize thread through our whole Weekend enters you for last Wednesday's "early-bird" prize from Gurrlie Girl Christin jewelry. :)

I will accept contest entries for about three more hours then I will be selecting and contacting prize winners over the next few days. All prize winners should be posted by about Wednesday and contest sponsors will work with you directly to get your prizes to you. If you know any young women who would enjoy similar tips designed especially for them, please pass along my Girlz and Teens Inner Beauty link at Mineralz.blogspot.com where I'm currently offering a teen beauty book give-away through this week. :)

I would like to leave you with the following thoughts from 2 Corinthians 5:14-20 in The Message:

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.

- Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Lia Sophia Bracelet

In celebration of Virtual Spa Weekend, Carissa of Lia Sophia Jewelry is offering this beautiful $48 bracelet (pictured as "D" above) to one reader of InnerBeautyGirlz. You have heard the instructions all weekend - entry is as easy as leaving a comment along with a working email address or some other valid way of contacting you and you can earn extra entries for helping spread the word and coming back and telling me how you did so. Contest entries close at midnight tonight and I'll be announcing winners by Wednesday. :)

If Tomorrow Never Comes

Welcome to the final morning of our Virtual Spa Weekend. All contest remain open until midnight to night, so please help keep spreading the word today.

Last month I posted a delightful interview with Marlo Schalesky on my "InfertilityMom" blog. Marlo is the author of seven books including the wonderful resource Empty Womb, Aching Heart: Hope and Help for Those Struggling With Infertility and several fiction titles including her newest release If Tomorrow Never Comes.

For a chance to win an autographed copy of this new title, please post a comment here. You may earn additional entries by helping promote Marlo's book and linking to this blog entry from your own website or blog or telling all your friends on Twitter, Facebook, Shoutlife of other social networks to stop by as well. Each time you post about this give-away, come back here and leave another new message for an additional entry!

Win Mineral Primer

Time for a late night give away for one reader and a discount code available to all as we round out today's Virtual Spa Weekend posts. :) Leave a comment to be entered to win a sifter jar of Defense Primer from Affordable Mineral Makeup™ along with a mini baby kabuki brush for mineral makeup application. Help me spread the word by linking to this post, then come back and leave a new comment for each social network or blog you post to before midnight, May 3, and receive and additional entry for each comment. :)



There is also a 10% Affordable Mineral Makeup™ (AMM) discount available to all InnerBeautyGirlz readers, valid through Sunday, May 10, at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com. Please be sure you are ordering through my personl consultant link rather than going to the main AMM page in order for me to receive credit for your purchase. Use discount code "mothersday09" at checkout. (For my readers dealing with heartache over this coming Mother's Day, please know that you are in my prayers. {{{hugs}}} I didn't want you to miss out on the discount just because it mentioned Mother's Day, but I understand that even these little reminders can hold a sting.)



See you back bright and early tomorrow mroning for a great book give-away! :)

Hope of My Heart bracelet

Melody of Hope of My Heart Designs has created a beautiful Springtime Hope bracelet for one Virtual Spa Weekend reader. It is made from solid sterling silver, Swarovski crystal, and Czech druk beads and measures 7.5 inches long. To enter this contest simply leave me a comment with some way to contact you, such as a working email address. For extra entries, promote Melody's give-away link on your own site or through social media, then come back and post a new reply with a link to each promotional outlet you have posted. :)

Melody says, "I named it Springtime Hope because the little butterfly beads remind me of the new hope we have each spring with all the new life that is beginning and growing. It is a symbol of the hope we can still have even when going through infertility."



Melody officially started Hope of My Heart Designs when their oldest was about a year old. "It really started when we were in the adoption process – I wanted a bracelet to wear while I waited. People wanted bracelets just like it, and shortly after that, my business was born. I started with infertility bracelets – my hope was that women going through infertility would have a piece of jewelry they could wear that would offer them some hope. Later, I added miscarriage bracelets, adoption bracelets, and mother’s bracelets. Now, I sell a variety of jewelry, but the vast majority of it is still infertility and miscarriage bracelets."

Check back tomorrow morning for more from Melody and the story of how God changed her life through her infertility joureny.

Agape

Rachelle, a member of Hannah's Prayer, really wanted to participate in our Virtual Spa Weekend. But as she owns a landscaping compnay in Canada, she couldn't think of anyting related to her business to offer as a prize. So she generously decided to gift a copy of the book The Way of Agape, Understanding God's Love by Nancy Missler to one InnerBeautyGirlz reader. To be entered to win this book, please leave a comment on this thread, including a working email address or other means of getting in touch with you should you win. For additional entries, please post this link to your website, blog or through social media outlets such as Twitter or Facebook, then come back and leave me a new comment with a link to each place you have helped spread the word about Rachelle's give-away.

Of The Way of Agape Rachelle writes, "The information in this book has absolutely changed my life and i hope whoever wins it will be touched just as deeply as i have been. In it Nancy tells us what God revealed to her from the Bible about how we can be cleansed vessels, allowing God's love, which is already in every believer in Christ, to flow through us continually. How we can give our hurts and bitterness to God permanently, and be filled with his unconditional love for people. We've probably all heard somebody say, 'Just give it to God.' and still wonder how we are really supposed to do that in a practical way in our lives. This book explains it well. I can't recommend it enough. It's changed my walk with Jesus, my marriage and relationships forever. I pray that for whoever receives it, it blesses their socks off!"

Just Be Yourself

Mary with UpperCase Living is offering this adorable wall decoration to one InnerBeautyGirlz reader during Virtual Spa Weekend. The words measure 9.75” x 4.25” and come in Terra Cotta (not black as shown). Just leave a comment on this thread for your first entry (please remember to leave an email address or some means of contacting you), and spread the word by linking to this post on your own blog, Twitter, Shoutlife or other social networks to earn additional entries by leaving me a new comment for each action you have taken to help promote Mary's give-away. :)

May Flowers Naturals

The goal of May Flowers Naturals is to make quality, natural, non-toxic skin care affordable. Meridith offers an all natural skin care system including Head-to-Toe Honey Cleanser, Orange Mint Toner and Grapeseed Oil Moisturizer. I've been using this line for over a year now and especially love that moisturizer! One blessed Virtual Spa Weekend guest will receive all three products in travel size, just leave a comment on this thread! Earn additional entries by linking to this thread on Twitter, Facebook, other social media or your blog, then comming back with an additional comment for each place you have helped promote the May Flowers give away. :)

Be sure to visit Meridith at www.MayFlowersNaturals.com and thank her for her sponsorship of Virtaul Spa Weekend. :)

Dayspring Necklace

DaySping has generously donated a God’s Heart for You – Sterling Silver Necklace ($45 value) to our Virtual Spa Weekend! It is the number one seller on their website and it will be randomly awarded to one InnerBeautyGirlz reader who is leaves a comment on this blog by midnight Sunday. If you would like to earn additional entries for this prize, please share the link to DaySpring's promotion on your own blog or social network, then come back here and post additional comments for each way you have helped spread the word!

In God’s heart, you are…

created
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. PSALM 139:14 NIV

chosen
The Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession. DEUTERONOMY 14:2 NIV

celebrated
He will take great delight in you…
He will rejoice over you with singing. ZEPHANIAH 3:17 NIV

cherished
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. JEREMIAH 31:3 NIV