Tag Archives: gifts
If I do nothing else
“If I do nothing else in my lifetime but leave the world a good tree, I’ve done something.” — Ray Bracken George Washington did far more than leave the world a good tree. He left an entire estate of trees, shrubs, flowers and innovative building techniques that can be seen to this day at Mount Vernon, …
What the world gives you
“Use what you have, use what the world gives you. Use the first day of fall: bright flame before winter’s deadness; harvest; orange, gold, amber; cool nights and the smell of fire. Our tree-lined streets are set ablaze, our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, …
Because we are so loved
“I believe, with every fiber of my being, that when we are struck down by adversity, God weeps with us and, then, because we are so loved, heals us in ways we can never expect or even imagine.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach I’ve shared here in previous posts that the past eleven months, although fraught with devastating …
Expect nothing
“Expect nothing. Live frugally On surprise.” — Alice Walker It may seem contradictory for a self-proclaimed optimist to quote Walker’s counsel to expect nothing, but there is very real difference between expectation and optimism. Admittedly, optimism involves some expectation, but it is mostly of a general sort. We expect that joy lies ahead if we …
A species of talent
“…happiness is a species of talent, for which some people have superior aptitudes.” — George Will Our younger son Matt was born with a rare genetic disorder that would not be diagnosed for many years, at which time there were only about six known cases in the world. At birth, what we knew immediately was that he …
Memory is a child
“Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.” — Pierce Harris Memory is nothing if not selective in what it retains. Hence five people may truthfully give five different accounts of the same event. Yet some memories …
The gift not yet opened
“The most splendid Christmas gift, the most marveled and magic, is the gift that has not yet been opened. Opaque behind wrapping or winking foil, it is a box full of possibilities…Often what precedes is better than what follows, even when, like Christmas Day, what follows is good.” — Gregg Easterbrook As with other happy …
Give freely and abundantly
“Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.” — Annie Dillard Don’t count me among the cynics who think the holiday season is primarily a commercial enterprise. I love the way people give each other gifts at this time of year. Yes, there are too many …
The true measure of our thanksgiving
“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” —W.T. Purkiser Black Friday has become almost as much an American tradition as Thanksgiving itself. Yet our shopping on this day is not always a selfish pursuit. Many of us are seeking gifts for people we love, …
Defeat Despair 