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Still and quiet

I am trying to find moments when I can be still—and quiet—during this holiday season. As poet Terrance Hayes says, we need to take time to experience. It’s “not what you see, but what you perceive…not the noise, but its rhythm.” –Joy

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Make a connection

When Brittney Griner was heading back to the United States after being a prisoner in Russia for 10 months, she boarded a U.S. government plane with Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. “I want to talk,” Griner told Carstens, according to an article in the December 12, 2022, issue of the Dallas […]

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Great love

To me, the meaning of the season is peace—and love. Mother Teresa said: “Not all of us can do great things. But, we can do small things with great love.” I’m going to make an effort to do small things with great love during this holiday season. –Joy

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Peace in my world

It’s December 1—and signs of Christmas are everywhere. We already have received two Christmas presents and one Christmas card. What I want the most this holiday season is peace. And, although I can’t bring about peace in Ukraine or in Washington, I am going to try to create peace in my own world—in my house, […]

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Find peace

Sometimes, often, the holiday season is not peaceful. I am going to do what I can to find peaceful moments—to create peaceful moments. “Peace is not a passive but an active virtue,” Fulton Sheen once said. –Joy

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Thanksgiving is over

I’m stuffed with turkey and mashed potatoes and pecan pie. My son Jay and his wife Rachel are heading back to their home in Tulsa. Thanksgiving is over! It’s time to prepare for Christmas. I am going to try to prepare—intentionally—for a season of peace. May you feel the peace of Christmas during the weeks […]

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Happy Thanksgiving!

We’re wishing you a day filled with love and laughter. Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate with friends and family. To eat, drink and be merry. Be thankful! “What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?” Erma Bombeck once said. –Joy

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Grateful for everything

I’m grateful for my friends, my family, for all of my blessings. “What if today, we were just grateful for everything?” Charlie Brown once said. –Joy

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Be thankful!

Gratitude enriches me and my life. “Gratitude is the fairest blossom,” Henry Ward Beecher once said. –Joy

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Thanks and giving

Last year, a good friend sent me a Thanksgiving card with these thoughtful words. “May your heart be filled with both—thanks and giving.” –Joy

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