Fun Greeting Cards -
Friendship and Thinking of You
A greeting card says it all. It says the important things in life.
Singing
Birthday Cards
My Favorite Quotes
about Friendship
The greatest reward for serving others is the satisfaction found in
your own heart.
A small drop of courtesy will save a lot
of friction.
Kind actions begin with kind thoughts.
If you share a friend's burden, both of
you will walk a little straighter.
Friendship- two clocks keeping time.
Those of us who used to be called grumpy,
now just have an attitude.
Be patient with the faults of others and
remember they're doing the same with yours.
When it comes to body language, some
people have better vocabularies than others.
When a friend makes a mistake -- don't rub
it in -- rub it out.
The right train of thought can take you to
a better station in life.
If smiles were gold, how rich would you
be?
Friendship is the golden thread that ties
all hearts together
8 Gifts of Parenting
by Lawrence Vijay Girard
No one who has hugged their child can doubt the gift of a child’s presence in
their life. The love that is expressed in that simple act is one of the most
profound ways that we experience love in this world. In order to nurture the
special relationship of parent and child, and fulfill our roles as parents,
there are number of things that we are signing up to do. Here is a list of
eight essential ways to fulfill our parental responsibilities.
These are gifts that we should freely give to our children without thought of
what we will receive in return for our efforts.
The Gift of Life. It is easy to forget that in the act of receiving a child
into our lives we are sharing the gift of life itself. Remembering the
precious nature of life can help us to keep the ups and downs of daily life in
a proper perspective.
The Gift of Love. The most essential ingredient for a happy life is love.
There is no feeling more satisfying to the soul, both in giving and receiving,
then love. When we include a conscious awareness of this truth and nurture it
as the most basic value of our relationship with our children, we will find
that many mistakes – on both sides – can be weathered.
The Gift of Time. Time is the proof of our caring. When you spend time with
your child you are saying with your actions: I love you and I would rather be
with you than doing anything else. This is one of the best ways that you can
objectify your love. It is also one of the greatest blessings.
The Gift of Good Manners. Children from a young age can be taught to behave.
This isn’t an imposition on their free will. It is a gift that will enhance
their lives. The process of developing good manners will help them to begin
learning to see how others are affected by their actions. Through the
establishment of basic good manners we are giving our children a skill that
will benefit them in every other part of life.
The Gift of Self-Control. Through the establishment of good manners from the
very beginning we are planting the seeds of a character trait that can serve
as a strong support for success in any endeavor: Self-Control. Practice
cultivating self-control in your own self first. Then attune yourself to ways
that you can instill these same values in your children.
The Gift of Positive Mental Culture. By bringing the principles of positive
thinking into all areas of life we develop in our children the experience that
all good things are possible. Positive mental culture includes ten overarching
areas of development: Non-Violence, Non-Lying, Non-Greed, Non-Sensuality,
Non-Covetousness, Cleanliness, Contentment, Self-Control, Self-Study, and
Devotion to God.
The Gift of Education. An academic education isn’t essential for living
successfully in this world. There have been numbers of great people throughout
history who couldn’t read or write. But next to those great souls who can
shine in spite of this lack of formal training, there are millions who could
advance their lives immensely if they could but read and write. It isn’t
enough that we simply send our children to school. This is a gift that opens
up a world of information and possibilities for our children. Don’t leave this
area to chance.
The Gift of Reverence for All Life. Along with these most basic gifts we need
to add a reverence for the sanctity of all life. While we can’t make our
children believe in God or appreciate the beauty and value of the incredible
variety of life forms that inhabit our planet, we can communicate our own
belief. Not to share your view on these issues is to - by default - preach
that they have no value. The communication and application of the highest
aspects of life should always be at the forefront of family life.
Given the mixture of things that we want to share with our children we will
need to mix and match according to how the soup is cooking. This is one of the
beauties of life – its variety and spontaneity. It will, no doubt, turn out
different than what we had anticipated in the beginning. If we give our
children these eight gifts we will be well on our way to fulfilling our duties
as parents and sharing with them the tools that will allow them to experience
the best that life has to offer.
About the Author
Lawrence Vijay Girard is the author of Way of the Positive Flow and Positive
Flow Parenting. As well as, his popular children's book, The Adventures of
Harry Fruitgarden. You can find his books at:
http://FruitgardenPublishing.Com
THE FIVE BEST GIFTS
TO GIVE YOUR FAMILY
By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
When we think of giving gifts, we usually think of things to buy for people.
Yet if you think back on gifts you’ve been given, it might not be the material
gifts you received that are foremost in your mind – it might be the kind of
gifts that deeply touched your heart and soul. It might be various ways, other
than material things, that people expressed their love to you.
There are five gifts of love that we can give to our families that can make a
huge difference in their lives.
THE GIFT OF CARING AND COMPASSION
We all yearn to feel cared for, yet many of us withhold caring and compassion
for others. A profound gift we can give to our loved ones is to listen with
our heart, to understand and accept rather than to judge, and to stay open to
learning rather than to protect against being hurt.
Think about the last time someone actually listened to you and gave you
understanding and acceptance. The feeling of being understood and accepted
with caring and compassion is one of the best feelings in the world. Instead
of focusing on getting this from others, why not focus on giving it to others?
You might be surprised at how wonderful you feel in giving this gift to your
family.
THE GIFT OF COURAGE
One of the best gifts we can give our loved ones is our own courage. This
means being having the courage to stand in our truth, to be honest about what
we want and don’t want, what we will do and won’t do, what is and what is not
acceptable to us. It means having the courage to take good care of ourselves,
even if others don’t like it. It means not succumbing to our controlling
behaviors that come from fear: anger, withdrawal, compliance, resistance, but
instead being honest and above-board about ourselves. It means being willing
to face conflict rather than give ourselves up to avoid it.
When we have the courage to face conflict and tell the truth, we not only
provide our family with a role model for courage, but we provide opportunities
for our loved ones to step up to the plate in the face of our truth and learn
to be courageous too.
THE GIFT OF SERVICE
We are on this planet to learn to love ourselves and each other, and to help
each other. One of the best gifts we can give our family is to role model this
by doing service. Helping others fills the heart and soul in ways that nothing
else can. If children do not see their parents doing service and helping
others, they may never learn the great joy and fulfillment that comes from
giving. One of the best gifts we can give to our family is to provide ways of
doing service.
THE GIFT OF CREATIVITY
All of us are born with various ways of expressing our creativity. Expressing
creativity is a profound way of connecting with Spirit, since expressed
creativity is a direct expression of Spirit. Providing your family with many
ways of expressing their creativity is a great gift. Creativity can be
expressed in so many ways – cooking, crafts, building things, music, art,
movement, telling stories, writing, humor, photography and video – the
possibilities are endless! Creative family projects are especially wonderful
in creating family closeness.
THE GIFT OF LIGHTNESS OF BEING
Lightness of being – fun, joy, laughter, playfulness – is a great gift to give
to others. Lightness of being is infectious – our laughter and playfulness can
help others take life less seriously and “lighten up.”
Lightness of being is one the results of all the other gifts – of caring,
courage, service and creativity. When we give these gifts, we feel a wonderful
lightness within, the lightness that is the result of fully giving from the
heart. Our own lightness of being can bring lightness into our whole family.
Children love it when their parents are playful, funloving and joyful.
Laughing together as a family is one of the most precious experiences in life.
We need to focus of giving these gifts each day, not just during a holiday
season or special occasions. These gifts are far more important than any
material thing we can buy for someone. In fact, we might not be so focused on
material gifts if we frequently give the gift of love – of caring, compassion,
courage, service, creativity, and lightness of being.
About the Author
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books,
including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?", "Do I Have To Give Up
Me To Be Loved By My Kids?", "Healing Your Aloneness","Inner Bonding", and "Do
I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By God?" Visit her web site for a FREE Inner
Bonding course:
http://www.innerbonding.com or
mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com
Title: The Five Best Gifts to Give Your Family
Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
E-mail:
mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com
Copyright: © 2003 by Margaret Paul
Web Address: http://www.innerbonding.com
Word Count: 744
Category: Parenting, Relationships
Mother's Day - A
Royal Event
by Arleen M. Kaptur
Mother's Day is truly a Holiday for that very special person in your life that
has catered to, taken care of, and brought you to where you are today! She has
served countless meals, washed thousands of
dishes, kissed hundreds of "owies" and has been there to hold your hand for
those monumental catastrophes as well as little "molehill" disappointments
.
While you may not have agreed with everything she did or
say, you could always count on her love and care.
Serve her royally, give her only the very best, and watch the delight in her
eyes. Enjoy!
MONTH OF MAY OMELET
2 cups of her favorite springtime fruit, such as strawberries, bananas, pears,
early peaches, blue-berries, etc.
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 tbs. honey
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbs. butter
2 eggs, well beaten
2 ozs. mild cheddar cheese, grated
Edible flowers for garnish
In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and honey. Gently add the cinnamon.
Set the mixture aside.
Melt 1 tbs. butter in a pan over medium heat. Pour in the well beaten eggs..
As the ends of the omelet begin to dry, lift it gently so that the remainder
of the egg mixture can cook. Remove the
omelet to a warm plate. Sprinkle the mild cheddar onto the cooked omelet.
Place under broiler for 1 min. until cheese is melted and the eggs are done.
Spread 1-1/2 cups of the fruit mixture onto the omelet. Top with a dollop of
the yogurt mixture. Fold the omelet over the fruit. Spoon the remaining fruit
over the folded omelet. Garnish with a spoonful of the yogurt and the edible
flowers.
Not only great tasting, and very special, but beautiful to behold as well.
With this omelet, serve a fresh, hot cup of coffee or tea (with lemon slice).
Also using frozen hash-brown potatoes, add 1/2 cup of finely diced white
onion, for that very unique touch.
Meat: 2 slices of hickory bacon or maple flavored pork sausage links, or honey
ham.
A nicely toasted English muffin, with a pat of butter placed on a small plate
with a lacy paper doilie beneath the muffin.
Place fresh flowers in a bud vase, add a linen napkin tied with yarn, in your
mother's favorite color. A hand-made card signed by everyone adds that lovely
personal touch.
You have just made Mom - Queen for a Day!
Special Note: If mom is far away and you cannot travel
on Mother's Day, try telephoning, and let all the kids
say HI.
When you send a card, enclose a few special treats -
such as pretty flowery postage stamps, a roll of elegant
address labels, or a unique checkbook covered that
you made by applying contact paper to a pre-existing
cover, but personalizing it as only you could.
If mom is in a care facility, make it a top priority to-do
item to visit. Bring along gifts that she will enjoy and
treasure: hairpins or combs that you have hot-glued
birthstones of each of her children or grandchildren;
picture frames using this same technique and include
a collage of small photos
.
Teddy bears (small), stuffed animals, small boxes to
hold "special" things, lap quilts, or personal items in a
carrying case you made just for her.
Sure, store bought items are beautiful, but hand-made
are exceptionally enduring and comforting to hold and
admire time after time
.
Thank you.
©Arleen M. Kaptur 2002
About the Author
Numerous magazine and newspaper articles
Websites:
http://www.rusticliving.info
http://www.webspawner.com/users/rusticliving/index.html
http://www.topica.com/lists/simpleliving
Member: NAWWAuthor's Den
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