Thoughtful Teacher Gifts
What do you consider a thoughtful teacher gift? I really do not want another teacher mug, hand lotion, or note pad, but I would love to hear you say “thank you” in your own way. Some of the best teacher gifts I have received have not been costly ones, but thoughtful ones. One mom hand wrote me a poem and even though she told me she had authored it previously and reused it for her kids teachers, she took the time to hand write it on pretty paper. Another time a client brought me a bag of avocados for my birthday and they ripened more perfectly than any other avocados I have ever had. It upped my healthy eating month and made me grin just to think of how thoughtful this gift was. A very thoughtful and unexpected gift card to my local craft store came in a thank you note from a mom of a sick student that I took care of while waiting for the mom to get off work. My best friend’s husband once gave me a pencil sharpener. THE BEST ONE EVER. A student chose a book for me from the book fair because I had…
Small Business Saturday
What small businesses can you support this week? The week of Thanksgiving is all about turkey and transactions. It’s the rush of getting all the dinner supplies (or at least the few things you were assigned to bring plus a hostess gift to apologize for not wanting to go to all the trouble to host this year) and weeding through all the Black Friday ads in your inbox and phone. In the age of online shopping, Amazon has been bookmarked and bots are hired to do your searching. Too bad there is not yet a robotic maid, housekeeper, and cook to take care of Thanksgiving dinner. Actually there are plenty of ways to support small businesses in your Thanksgiving week. Instead of ordering it all online or purchasing at a big box store, try getting a few items locally from small businesses. Buy local produce. Pick up a fresh pie or flowers from a local business. Hire a friend to help cook or clean this week. This Saturday is Small Business Saturday. It follows Black Friday and comes before Cyber Monday. Sometimes the joy of shopping is lost in the rush of Black Friday. Think about how you can support…
July 4th Fireworks
How will you light up the sky on July 4th? July 4th is a day on every calendar, but is everyone celebrating life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with fireworks? America’s first birthday celebration was July 1777, during the Revolutionary War. They were fighting for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Bombs bursting in air do not usually give the same delight as fireworks yet both are a celebration of independence. Both types of fire light have lit up the sky for years as people fight for freedoms. Fireworks have been a common method of celebration across the world for centuries celebrating weddings, wealth, holidays, and patriotism. Fun fact: more than $300 million in fireworks are imported into the U.S. annually. Celebrating July 4 with fireworks and cookouts is a way of practicing happiness. It’s celebrating the finding and fighting for joy in everyday life. It’s about birthdays and dreams. The preamble to the American constitution says “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The pursuit of…
Give Thanks
What are you most thankful for this year? Giving thanks should be a daily habit, not just a once a year table talk. Let’s cultivate thanksgiving well before we sit down at the tables or prepare to serve up a meal to those less fortunate or don our scrubs for a day at work. The pandemic gave ample opportunity to renew our list of things to be thankful for. For many of us, people and relationships got elevated to the top of the list. The definition of “framily” grew out of our Covid bubbles. In a houseful of “things” we most missed our friends and family. We became especially thankful for opportunities to travel and see loved ones. This year, let’s not only make a list of things to be thankful for, but let’s give thanks with grateful hearts. Let’s spread joy and cheer to all we meet. Let’s cultivate thanksgiving and motivate others to do the same! Here’s a free Thanksgiving printable to help you remember to give thanks with a grateful heart. The pdf download is an 8×10 so you can print it on your home printers. I am so thankful for how my business and subscriber list…
Pie and Praise
When was the last time you asked guests to bring pies, with a slice missing? When you ask the hostess what to bring, rarely do you get told to bring a pie with a slice missing. (And rarely do ALL the guests comply.) “Pie and Praise” night is an opportunity to gather with friends before the start of the busy holiday season and to reflect on all you have to be thankful for in the past year. It is so easy to complain about how much work you have to do to get ready for the holidays, and in doing so, miss out on the joy of the season. That’s why I created “Pie and Praise” nights. I wanted to gather with my friends and family BEFORE Thanksgiving and Christmas and to count our blessings together. I also wanted to try out some new pie recipes! This was the winning combination! A night with friends spent catching up, eating pie, and reflecting on all you have to be thankful for. Cultivating gratitude is a great way to begin the busy holiday season. Why do you leave a piece of pie at home? To show some love and appreciation for your…
Happy 50th Birthday
Is it nifty to be fifty? 1971 was a good year! Happy 50th birthday to my handsome husband and quite a few other amazing icons that have helped shape the American culture of the last half century! Starbucks Email Amtrak FedEx Nike Swoosh Soft Contact Lenses Disney World Fruity Pebbles Floppy Discs Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (movie) NASDAQ Laffy Taffy The Oregon Trail Game Liberty University Southwest Airlines (and $20 flights!) Uno Apollo 14 Mission (golf on the moon!) Arcade Games Turning 50 is a milestone and an opportunity to celebrate! Both my husband and I chose spending time with family and friends as our celebrations this year. No need for anything fancy, just time together. With the uncertainty in the pandemic the past 2 years, time together seems like an amazing gift. Happy 50th birthday! Travel+Leisure magazine also turns 50 and shares 50 best places in the US to travel this year. Guess what? The Triangle made it on the list! Come visit us! We can grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks and catch up or play a game of Uno! Table Talk: What’s a creative way to celebrate a milestone birthday? Who else is turning…
Cultivate Gratitude
How do you cultivate gratitude for God’s blessings? Cultivating gratitude should be a regular occurrence for you, not just a November activity. Read through Psalm 103. Pay attention to all the ways David expresses his thankfulness to God. Consider writing your own Psalm of thanksgiving and gratitude. You can mirror David’s psalm if you want. This might make a good activity for your household as you recount God’s goodness to your family. God is good all the time! All the time, God is good! Both gratitude and ingratitude reveal the state of our hearts. Gratitude is not a natural tendency. We have to cultivate it. We can begin by listing the things we are thankful for. We are commanded to thank God for his blessings in all circumstances. When we grumble we are telling the world that we do not think God is good ALL the time. When we are grateful, we show that we know He is good and His will is perfect. Above all, the most important thing we have to be thankful for is our salvation that came at the cost of Christ’s life of the cross. Do you know Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do…