#Giveaway Archives - Amazing Catechists

Advent #GIVEAWAY and Interview With #aromaRosary Inventor, Chantal Howard

UPDATE: Comments were turned off by accident but are now ON. Feel free to enter! So sorry for any inconvenience!–Lisa

Guadalupe Rosary Bracelet

Beloved Readers, we have an exciting and unusual giveaway: an Our Lady of Guadalupe rosary bracelet that diffuses essential oils, as you pray!!! Talk about awesome!

TO ENTER, please tell us in the comments why you would like to win!

The popular Our Lady of Guadalupe aromaRosary Bracelet will be awarded on December 12^th, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so enter right away!

**And start praying the Novena to Our Lady, which starts today (December 4th)!**

Now, meet aromaRosary’s inventor, Chantal Howard!

Welcome, Chantal! Please give us just a few glimpses into your world so that we can get to know you a bit more personally.

I am a Byzantine Catholic by birth, giving me a great love for icons, chant, and the Divine Liturgy. I am an oblate of the Community of St. John and, therefore, identify myself as Eucharistic, Marian, Seeker of Truth, and devotee of all things truly Catholic. I have a charismatic side, a traditional Latin-loving, veil-wearing side. Above all, I want to live a life of prayer, holiness, and heroic virtue. The New Evangelization is knit into who I am.

Rosa Mystica Rosary Bracelet

Chantal HowardI have been married for nearly 15 years to the man of my Jane-Austin-like dreams. I can truthfully say Peter and I are a work in progress. But I rejoice in the Mercy of God that is helping us to put lofty ideas of love into practice with greater gratitude and tenderness. I love that I get to share life with a man of such conviction, passion, and fidelity – to me, to Our Lady, and to Our Lord.

My five children are the pure light of my life. We homeschool. I admit, though, that our homeschool has been interdependent with much family collaboration and even part-time school going opportunities to help round out our family dynamic, allowing for me to be as active in work as I am. This is the nature of the “School of the Family,” as it has developed for us. The desire to nurture them in health, in mind, in spirit, and in creativity and joy is foundational and much of that I can give to them, but I also realize that I am not fully sufficient alone. I laugh when I hear the not so popular expression, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and yet can we really deny the fact? So, we had better choose our villages carefully. In our case, our family is our village, and so we have recently relocated to Northern Idaho to be near all my siblings and my mother so that we can foster our kids in the context of family, faith, farming, good food, and adventure.

Tell us about the nature of your work.

Victory Heirloom aromaRosary

My Grandaddy began the entrepreneurial streak in our family as an inventor. My mom and dad firmed it up by building a family business. I grew up helping to answer phone calls, strategize marketing plans and work in the field. As my mom homeschooled me, this practical work in business became second nature. Since then, I have not ceased drumming up new ventures. Ministry, writing, dōTERRA, and my family have offered platforms to launch entrepreneurial dreams in more directions than I ever imagined – Catholicpreneur style. In addition, as a young person I was a highly competitive gymnast and high-level athlete, in several arenas. This promoted a lifestyle of fitness and wholesomeness that has been a steady undercurrent in my life. Together, these life experiences have brought me to where I am today as a “natural solution coach.” I help families find health and happiness through an essential oil-inspired wellness lifestyle, without New Age overtones.

Where did your passion for the rosary begin, and why do you see it as such an important mission to bring to the world?

As a young person my parents rested all their hope of us remaining a faithful family on the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Through their inspiration, we began early chanting the rosary in a Byzantine style, and I have never turned back from loving the rosary and wanting to bring it to life as—not just a prayer but—an experience that helps us traverse from our earthly dimension to the spiritual plain of contemplation. (You can check out the audio CD in the Byzantine style that we produced as a family, here.)

How did your passion for essential oils and the rosary together take shape?

The Rosary is a gift that has been given to all of humanity to heal our wounded nature. It offers us a way to ascend to the heights of our calling as children of God by tethering our fidgeting hands, our wandering minds, and our wayward souls to the life of Christ. In light of my work coaching so many people who are wounded physically and emotionally, the support of essential oils tied to the rosary struck me as a natural bridge.

A few years ago, Immaculée Ilibagiza spoke to my heart, as she shared her story of suffering and triumph through the power of the rosary with 30,000 other individuals. It just so happened that she was the keynote speaker at a large, global essential oil summit I was attending. As she shared, I marveled at her passion and unhindered dedication to sharing the rosary with the world. Here, in one moment, two of my greatest loves in life were colliding before my eyes—essential oils and the rosary! As I drove across the county, I reflected on my personal visit with Immaculee, her powerful gesture of throwing her rosary to someone in the crowd, and all I had just learned about the movement of essential oils in health care. My heart overflowed with inspiration and the desire to bring to our hurting world the solace and rich blessings of essential oils and the rosary. Thus this effort was born.

Describe an aromaRosary.

Every aromaRosary is hand-crafted to hold and diffuse essential oils, to expand the prayer experience. Using natural stones and lava rock and other ceramic, metal, or wood beads, we have designed rosaries that can withstand the intensity of therapeutic grade essential oils that have been chosen carefully to reflect the mysteries of the rosary. These blends are symbolic and calming, to help promote an atmosphere of prayer. Together with fingering the beads, chanting the prayers, and smelling the aromas of sanctity, we can more fully engage our senses and focus our prayers.

Unpack for us briefly the four essential oil bends you have chosen.

We use four unique blends. The Joyful Blend is comprised of frankincense and other oils that help create an aroma reminiscent of the Nativity. The Luminous Blend is a blend of citrus oils that reflect the light and miraculous nature of the Luminous mysteries. The Sorrowful Blend is woody and earthy, with Myrrh and other wood oils that are an aromatic encounter with the cross and the mysteries of Christ’s suffering. The Glorious Blend offers floral notes and Easteresque aromas that are gentle, soft, and Marian.

Do you have resources that would help others to learn about aromaRosary and your work as a coach and speaker?

Please visit us at aromaRosary.com. We’re having our Advent sale, right now! I would welcome your comments, your reviews, your support of our efforts, and of course I would love to work with you. I offer coaching and essential oil training. We have a dynamic Catholic team of essential oils coaches throughout the country and we want you to be a part of what we are doing to heal families and evangelize in the process.

Thank you, Chantal!

TO ENTER:

NOTE: you must have access to a mailing address in the United States, to win!

#GIVEAWAY: Enter to Win a Copy of Jean Heimann’s BEAUTIFUL Spiritual Memoir

By Lisa Mladinich

UPDATE: We have a WINNER! Congratulations to Mary Cooper, and thanks to all who entered!

I’m excited to announce that Jean M. Heimann, one of my favorite Catholic authors and bloggers, has written a magnificent spiritual memoir–and I’m giving away a SIGNED COPY! *

TO ENTER:
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I interviewed Jean at my blog, so you can see how wise and insightful she is. Here’s an excerpt:

LM: Who was your memoir written for?

JEAN: I hope to reach all who are searching for someone or something greater than themselves. Through my witness, I hope and pray that those who were once Catholic and left the Church will return. I hope that those who don’t know God, but who yearn for love, hope, and faith will come to experience all that their heart desires by entering into the faith. I pray that all those who seek to obtain a personal, deeper, closer relationship with the Lord will be inspired by my witness and enter into a more intimate union with God.

Look at what people are saying about “Learning to Love with the Saints”

Stop by my blog to read a fascinating interview with Jean, by clicking here.

*Please note that the author is unable to mail outside the United States, at this time. So, if you are entering to win and live outside the US, please be prepared to give a mailing address within the US.

Living God’s Will 2016 Mega Giveaway: Jan. 12-18 Only!

By Karee Santos

My husband and I have teamed up with Catholic personalities like parenting expert Dr. Ray Guarendi and chastity speaker Jason Evert in a mega giveaway for this week only. I just ordered my free copies of Dr. Ray’s book When Faith Causes Family Friction and Jason Evert’s St. John Paul the Great: His Five Loves. I would have paid good money for these books! What catechist can resist the appeal of high-quality free Catholic materials?

The giveaway’s organizer, Christina Weber of Catholic Women’s Guide, has collected invaluable resources in the areas of spirituality, life vision, health, wealth and abundance, business and relationships. Each expert was hand selected by Christina. According to her, “the common denominator of all those invited is that there is something special in how they are attempting to live their lives in alignment with God’s will. Their lives reflect a sincere attempt to build Christ’s kingdom in both ordinary and extraordinary ways and I hope that their witness will be an inspiration and encouragement to you.”

Christina asked us to share “the good stuff” in this giveaway – “meaty” training content, strategies, tips, templates and tools that you can put into place immediately to begin seeing results. She asked us to condense and share our secrets to creating God’s richness in our lives as a result of understanding, obeying, and living God’s will in our areas of emphasis. And we couldn’t be more excited to share…

Already know you want in?

Get access to your free gifts here:

www.livinggodswill.com

Trying to make all the puzzle pieces fit together in your life can be quite overwhelming. We can totally relate to the longing to please God, but not always being 100% confident we are on track in every area. Frustrated with seeming to excel in doing God’s will in one area, but recognizing you’re falling down in another…Worried you might not be covering all of the bases in the unique life mission God has for you…Tired of spending more time in discouragement, confusion, and being TOO busy (Satan’s acronym for B-ound, U-under, S-atan’s, Y-oke), than in living in the present moment with those you love and all God has created, basking in gratitude over the God’s great abundance in your life.

We are all in the same boat — but with help and support of mentors willing to share their genius there’s no need to recreate the wheel on how to flourish. The more good people out there who are empowered to share their unique gifts and talents with the world, in service to others to build Christ’s kingdom…the better off the entire world will be! So accept these great resources. They’re helpful and free!

Here’s a sneak peek of just a few of the gifts being offered in the Living God’s Will 2016 Resources Extravaganza:

LIFE VISION – Learn a Powerful, Right & Left Brain Tool for Tapping into God’s Word for Better Clarity in Achieving Your Unique Mission for 2016
SPIRITUALITY – Gain Insights to Help You Know and Respond to Your Specific Heavenly Call
HEALTH – Learn Better Ways to Get Out Of Your Own Way and Let the Powerful Body God Gave You Activate Its Own Healing Process
WEALTH / ABUNDANCE – Integrate These Simple Tips to Keep the Domestic Demands of Daily Life from Crushing Your Spirit
BUSINESS – Cut through Satan’s Confusion with This Simple One Page Strategic Plan Template Designed to Help You Serve More Clients, Have a Greater Impact, and Live Out God’s Will in Your Business
RELATIONSHIPS – Incorporate These Inspirations on How to Tap into God’s Everlasting Love to Make Your Marriage Better Today

The giveaway starts Tuesday, January 12, and it will last until Monday, January 18. To claim your gifts, just visit www.livinggodswill.com. Get the help and support you need for yourself and others to effectively live Christ-centered lives!

You Are Beautiful: God Says So! Enter our #GiveAway for one of 5 copies of #TrueRadiance @ServantBooks

By Lisa Mladinich

With the children and teens we teach getting badly misled by images of beauty that are degraded, as well as superficial and unattainable, it’s more important than ever to talk about beauty, body image, and some of the many ways God speaks to us through beauty. Maureen Smith has been talking about some of these critical issues, here at AmazingCatechists.com.

Deeply linked with these topics is the cultural fear of aging and the ways our fears can chain us to the past and become obstacles in our relationship with God. These issues hit many catechists hard, since we are aging in a culture that denigrates us, even as we are laboring to bring the light of God’s love to the young. We need to know our own worth in the eyes of God so we can lift each other up and be radiant witnesses to faith!

I’ll be giving away five copies of my new book, True Radiance: Finding Grace in the Second Half of Life, on my birthday, November 11th!

To be entered to win, follow the instructions, below-any time between now and the drawing, on the 11th, and sign up for our newsletter, if you’re not already subscribed (see home page sidebar form and provide your name and email address–we will never share your information with anyone).

But first, here’s what people are saying about the book you are entering to win!

What People Are Saying About “True Radiance”

Lisa Mladinich helps mature women see themselves as God sees them: His beautiful and beloved daughters, increasing in authentic feminine beauty through all the stages and ages of their lives.” – Susan Tassone, Author of Day by Day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory: 365 Reflections

Age may be “just a number” but for women living in the Youth-Idolizing-and-Madison-Avenue-Compliant West, any age above about 45 becomes a “negative number.” With this splendid gift of a book, Lisa Mladinich invites us to find the “God codes” that sacramentalize our aging into a kind of “new math” — where all of our advancing numbers are positive and the very real minor (and often major) adjustments they require become a sum-total of real grace, and real sanity. True Radiance is a wise book, written by a woman whose wisdom shines bright. – Elizabeth Scalia, Author of Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols of Everyday Life

“We think about beauty more than we realize,” says author Lisa Mladinich who underscores women’s “hard wire” to recognize beauty. Through True Radiance women are invited in out of the cold of our youth obsessed culture to “steal” back our true God-given feminine beauty and encouraged to walk in love, through grace. Expressive anecdotes, caring sentiments and the author’s insightful guidance are guaranteed to lift your spirits and even change your life! – Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, Award winning author of twenty books, including: The Kiss of Jesus

You don’t have to be sporting gray hair or walking with a cane to appreciate the beauty and poetry of Lisa Mladinich’s view of women and aging. In fact, each of us need this holy and hopeful perspective, and I plan to share this book with all of my women friends, whatever age they are. This book is a gem that I will enjoy more than once! – Sarah Reinhard, Author of Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary

Many of us approach our more “senior” years in life with dread and grief, as though aging robs us of our dignity and joy. With her new book True Radiance: Finding Grace in the Second Half of Life, author Lisa Mladinich reminds us why this time in our lives is filled with unique and precious abundance and overflowing with vast potential. Lisa equips us with the tools to shine in a world greatly in need of our gifts and the inspiration to see God’s blessings every step of the way. This book combines the wisdom of strong women with the profound truths of Church teachings to offer a primer for not just surviving–but also thriving–into our mature years and towards our ultimate destiny. – Lisa M. Hendey, Founder of CatholicMom.com and author of The Grace of Yes

Lisa Mladinich digs deep into the meaning of true feminine beauty, especially its spiritual aspects, which only shine brighter with age. A luminously personal take on the theology of the aging body.” – Karee Santos, Author of The Four Keys to Everlasting Love: How Your Catholic Marriage Can Bring You Joy for a Lifetime

Women over 45! Do you want to enter “Act II” of your lives with faith, confidence, and joy? Then read True Radiance. Author Lisa Mladinich helps us confront the things that get us down: body image craziness, regrets over past sin, empty nests, and temptations to endlessly compare ourselves with others. Her recipe for joy is a pleasing combination of the wisdom of Catholicism, the example of the saints, and the testimony of everyday Catholic women who have “been there, done that.” – Daria Sockey, Author of Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

Lisa Mladinich quickly establishes connection with the reader through the frank sharing of her personal experiences with aging. After only reading a few pages, it was clear Lisa understood women, their bodies, and the role of faith in the process. Her stories and insights communicated to this reader, that whatever Lisa had to share in the rest of True Radiance, it was trustworthy information. – Allison Gingras, host, A Seeking Heart on www.RealLifeRadio.com

GOOD LUCK!

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#Valentine #Giveaway: GOD FIRE, the “Purgatory Lady,” and Her Amazing New Book

By Lisa Mladinich

“I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls.”
St. Faustina (Diary, 20)

It is rare that an author is blessed by a pope, but Susan Tassone was twice blessed by Saint John Paul II for her work bringing to the world a new interest and understanding of the Church’s powerful devotions to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Often referred to as the “Purgatory Lady,” Susan is a popular speaker and a frequent guest on Catholic TV and radio.

I interviewed Susan about her latest, best-selling devotional, Day by Day for the Holy Souls: 365 Reflections, which has hit the top of not one but three major charts! It is the #1 Best Seller at Our Sunday Visitor, EWTN’s #1 Best Selling book for 2014, and was #1 in “spirituality” and “meditations” on Amazon.com. Over 13,000 of these books have already been sold since it’s October release.

READ this fascinating interview with Susan Tassone about the powerful intercession of the Holy Souls, at my blog!

I’ll be GIVING AWAY three copies on Valentine’s Day to three of our weekly newsletter subscribers, here at AmazingCatechists.com!

(Details at my blog!)

Another #Amazing #Giveaway! Newsletter Subscribers Entered to Win!

By Lisa Mladinich

To celebrate our new, mobile-friendly website, AmazingCatechists.com is having an AMAZING giveaway!!!

If you subscribed to our newsletter longer than a month ago or have never subscribed, we’d like to give you the opportunity to SIGN UP NOW at the sidebar on the home page to be entered to win one of MORE THAN A DOZEN beautiful crucifixes—and to receive our once-weekly posts!

I’ll be raffling off FOURTEEN stunning pieces by the Holy Mass Crucifix Apostolate, which has received the Apostolic Blessings of both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis! Once you have these extraordinarily beautiful crucifixes blessed by a priest, the Papal blessings will be imparted to them to bring the grace of God to those who use them.

The founder of the Holy Mass Crucifix Apostolate, Roger LeBlanc, frequently receives testimonials as to the power of those graces. Some say their loved ones have been brought back to the sacraments after receiving them! (Please consider supporting his holy apostolate with your Christmas shopping dollars.) He offers this collection to us in hopes of drawing many more souls back to the Holy Mass. What incredible generosity. This is the kind of selflessness that contributes powerfully to a culture of love and life.

As a result, we are GIVING AWAY TEN 5″ “First Communion: Holy Mass Standing Crucifixes,” TWO 3″ pendant crucifixes on black cord, and TWO 2″ pendant crucifixes on black cord. These are exquisite, heirloom-quality, enameled pieces that make great gifts for Christmas, First Communion, First Reconciliation, and Confirmation.

TO ENTER, visit the home page, here at AmazingCatechists.com and scroll down the right sidebar to find our easy sign-up form. Fill in your name and email address. It’s that simple!

I’ll be awarding these beautiful gifts by random drawing from our newsletter subscriber list, starting on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12th.

Our once-weekly newsletter, updating our subscribers on new posts and features at AmazingCatechists.com will begin in just a few days.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions, or catechetical tips you’d like to share, at the email address below!

And don’t forget to subscribe to our once-weekly newsletter to be entered to win!

Blessings of the Advent Season!

Lisa Mladinich
Founder, AmazingCatechists.com TM
lisa@mladinich.com
Author, “Be an Amazing Catechist: Inspire the Faith of Children” and
“Be an Amazing Catechist: Sacramental Preparation”
From Our Sunday Visitor in English and Spanish

TO ENTER, please tell us in the comments why you would like to win!

The popular Our Lady of Guadalupe aromaRosary Bracelet will be awarded on December 12th, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so enter right away!

And start praying the Novena to Our Lady, which starts today (December 4th)!

Now, meet aromaRosary’s inventor, Chantal Howard!

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment below about why you’d like to win the Guadalupe aromaRosary Bracelet! A random drawing will take place on the evening of Wednesday, December 12th.

NOTE: you must have access to a mailing address in the United States, to win!

The giveaway starts Tuesday, January 12, and it will last until Monday, January 18. To claim your gifts, just visit www.livinggodswill.com. Get the help and support you need for yourself and others to effectively live Christ-centered lives!

The popular Our Lady of Guadalupe aromaRosary Bracelet will be awarded on December 12^th, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so enter right away!

**And start praying the Novena to Our Lady, which starts today (December 4th)!**