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Launch the Crayola Bomb!

December 23, 2011 - Posted by Ellie

Photo credit: michant2

Originally published on December 21, 2010.

May you enjoy all the colors of Christmas!

PattiAnn and I wish you the best of Christmases! Eat, pray, love… Yeah I know I stole that line but it seems to fit the season. So I say it again… as you gather with loved ones (or ones who need your loving presence) to eat, pray, love – may your celebration of Christmas paint your world with the colors of joy and good will.

Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would Continue reading » Launch the Crayola Bomb!

It’s COLD Out There!

December 22, 2011 - Posted by Ellie

Photo credit: laszlo-photo

Originally published on December 8, 2010.

Is it too cold for you too?

Winter is hear and I’m COLD! Brrrhhh!

Oops, I’m so cold I have brain freeze – I meant “here” not “hear”.

Lately I’ve been longing for a quick jaunt to my favorite winter getaway – anywhere with beaches still warm and balmy… But “getaway” isn’t in the tea leaves for me this winter. I’m officially “home for the holidays” – so my next best and “doable” choice is a good, long soak in a HOT tub… Or a Continue reading » It’s COLD Out There!

Under the Tree – What Gifts Will You Find?

December 15, 2011 - Posted by Ellie

Photo credit: HikingArtist.com

Will there be the gift of play?

It might be easy to run away to a monastery, away from the commercialization, the hectic hustle, the demanding family responsibilities of Christmas-time. Then we would have a holy Christmas. But we would forget the lesson that we who are followers of Jesus do not run from the secular; rather we try to transform it. It is our mission to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas just as the early Christians baptized the Christmas tree. And we do this by being holy people — kind, patient, generous, loving, laughing people — no matter how maddening is the Christmas rush…

— Fr. Andrew Greeley
Woman’s Day 12-22-81

Despite my reluctance to join the ranks of those who have merchandized the spirit right out of Christmas I am raising my voice in praise of toys. Yes, TOYS! I am of the not-so-humble opinion that toys are a secular aspect of Christmas that we should run toward… and, in childlike fascination, we should revel in the creativity and imaginative play that toys engender.

Surely all God’s people like to play…

— John Muir

BTW – you Facebook-ers – have you helped assure that one more needy child will receive a very special Christmas gift because of your daily efforts? ABC7 reports 50,000 clicks to their Spark of Love Toy Drive but their goal is 70,000! Help them get there by December 23 – every day your click contributes $1 and helps buy one more playful toy for a needy child:

LIKE IT!

“Like” ABC7 on Facebook and a $1 donation goes to the Spark of Love Toy Drive, thanks to our partners! (From now to Dec. 23)

See – there are some good things you can do even if YOU are one of the harried and hurried.

Ok, back to toys and transformation… In keeping with today’s techno-savvy world, a very playful social media maven created a clever telling of the Nativity Story – click on the link and then HOLD ON TIGHT for a Digital telling of the Christmas story – brought to you via the techno-toys of today’s generation: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, GMail, Foursquare, Amazon… and by reader Xelliott123’s 11 year old, techno-savvy granddaughter! Continue reading » Under the Tree – What Gifts Will You Find?

I Almost Missed It…

November 23, 2011 - Posted by Ellie

Originally published on March 9, 2010.

Have you ever gotten so annoyed at some little thing that you missed the goodness of the moment?

May I not miss beauty.
May I not miss joy.
May I not miss wonder.
Keep me awake and aware of the world.

— Ceisiwr Serith

Today’s post is about an ordinary day about to go off track. AND about an extraordinary vista I almost missed in my haste and aggravation.

This morning I organized my “out” chores and clustered them together… I aimed to get in several errands before Continue reading » I Almost Missed It…

Deliberately Finding Joy

October 4, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: Ian Sane

The strongest have their moment of fatigue.

— Friedrich Nietzsche

Wouldn’t it be great if we could find joy in our lives every single day? More and more, research is indicating that it is our habits, of thought, of action, and of belief, that determine how we feel. In fact, our thoughts are so important that we can change our lives by changing our thoughts.

This may seem so obvious as to be redundant for me to write it in a blog, but the fact is that while we may consciously know that our thoughts affect how we feel, many of us don’t consciously listen to that little Continue reading » Deliberately Finding Joy