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The Family First Newsletter
Promoting family unity one issue at a time
Vol. 9 Issue 41 - Week of November 6, 2006
ISSN: 1527-6201
©2006 - Joyce Pierce --All Rights Reserved

In this issue:

Walking with Gratitude
Thanksgiving - What Were the Pilgrims Thankful For
Thoughtful Christmas Gifts - 10 Cheap, Quick, Easy Ideas
Suggestions for a Cheaper, Greener, more Eco Friendly Christmas and New Year

Good morning!

One of the things I'm grateful for today is that the elections are over! Whether or not you're happy with the outcome, you've gotta be glad you don't have to hear about it anymore. Early on, I decided I wasn't going to vote for anyone who was bashing someone else, but that became a difficult task.

This time of year has always been my favorite. I love the transition in the weather and in nature. I wish I had more golden leaves falling around me here in Houston, but at least I have memories of them from growing up in the midwest.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is really right around the corner, and Christmas is following fast!   Time to start making your lists if you haven't already done so!   The more you can do to prepare ahead of time, the more time you'll have to spend with your family instead of slaving in the kitchen!

Please forward this issue to someone who may benefit from it!

Joyce Pierce

Walking With Gratitude
Walking with Gratitude
Joyce Moseley Pierce
During this season of gratitude and thanksgiving, I wanted to write about something we do every day with very little thought. Something we’ve been doing since we were very small. Most of us did it before we even talked. I’m talking about walking.

The way I see it, there are basically four reasons we walk.

1.Travel – To get from one place to another. We don’t even think about getting up each morning and walking from our bed to the bathroom, but I watched my elderly grandmother as an invalid for many years and gained an appreciation for my ability to get up and go wherever I wanted without help from anyone else.

2.Pleasure – I remember taking walks with my grandfather and my dad as a child, and that tradition has continued with my own grandkids. When the grandkids come to visit, they love to walk down to the lake in our neighborhood to feed the ducks. Part of the enjoyment, I believe, is just being away from everyone else. We walk, we talk, and we just enjoy one another’s company. When I was in Las Vegas for the birth of a new granddaughter, I walked the other two kids to school one day. My granddaughter, Olivia, who was 5 at the time, stopped other kids along the way to say, “My grandma is walking me to school.” She was so proud, and I am so thankful to have the health to be able to walk with her.

3.Exercise – Walking is one of the best ways to exercise. You can walk at the pace you need to reach the desired heart rate. All you need is a pair of good walking shoes. No clubs to join. No classes to attend. You can walk during the day or at night. Inside or out. In the mall or on a treadmill. If you need more of a challenge, you can carry a backpack with additional weight, or you can swing your arms to raise your heart rate. You will find that your legs have to move as fast as your arms. Even if you’re uncoordinated, it is impossible for your legs not to follow your arms. Try it.

4.Peace of mind – You’ve heard of the “fight or flight” response? When I am upset or when I have things to work out in my mind, I go for a walk. I may start out stomping as I try to release anger, but by the time I get back home, I have worked through it and my mind has been cleared so that I can think rationally. Instead of sitting in a chair stewing about a problem, or getting into a fight with someone, walking can be great therapy, and you may be able to find a rational way to resolve the problem.

I suppose walking is one of those things I’m especially grateful for because when I was a year old my mother realized I wasn’t walking properly. It looked like one leg was longer than the other, but the actual problem was that the leg hadn’t joined the hip properly. After tearfully pleading with other family members who wanted to deny there was anything wrong with their little girl, she made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon and I was put in a body cast that went from under my arms to my knees. I spent the next year in that cast. I probably weighed as much as my mother did with that plaster cast. As an adult, my aunts and uncles told me about how horrified they had been when they saw "the horrible cast" and feared it would keep me from doing things other one year-olds did. They told of their joy when they saw that I not only learned to walk, but run and climb in spite of the challenges I had.

Probably the most valuable lesson from that experience was that I learned that with encouragement, I could not only walk, but I was given the confidence to believe that I could do anything.

On Thanksgiving when you stuff yourself with turkey, instead of curling up on the couch and taking a nap, think about taking a walk instead. It will help revive you and give you the time you need to think about the things you’re grateful for.

Copyright 2002 Joyce Moseley Pierce

Joyce is a freelance writer and owner of Emerson Publications. Her latest release is “24 Days of Christmas,” to help families center on the birth of Christ during the holiday season. She is also the creator of “All They’ll Need to Know,” a book that will be invaluable to your loved ones when you can’t be there to guide them.   Visit www.emersonpublications.com for lots of good family-friendly information.



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Thoughtful Christmas Gifts - 10 Cheap, Quick, Easy Ideas
by Linda Kling
Do you want to give some unique Christmas gifts this year, but don't want to spend a lot of money? You can find gifts that are both cheap and thoughtful. Here are ten easy ideas for inexpensive holiday gifts that are sure to please.
1. Fun, trendy watch. You can buy watches in all shapes and colors from around $8 to $20 at discount department stores and flea markets. Include a note in the box that says something like, "I always enjoy our time together". If giving this to a teacher, you could thank them for all the "time" they've spent teaching your child.
2. Mini recipe book of your favorite recipes. Buy a small, inexpensive photo album that holds one 4 x 6 photo per page (usually just a dollar or two at craft stores). Print, type or write your recipes onto 4 x 6 recipe cards and insert in the sleeves meant for photos. After you've made the first set, make multiple photocopies of all the recipe cards. That way you can easily make more personal recipe books for other people this year or anytime.
3. Gourmet chocolate pretzels. These sell in specialty stores for $20 for around a dozen large pretzel rods. But you can make your own homemade version for a fraction of the cost. All you need is the pretzels, chocolate melts (most craft stores have these for under $2 a bag), and optional things like chopped nuts, mini chips or sprinkles. Simply melt the chocolate, dip the pretzels rods until about half of the pretzel is covered, then roll in the toppings and let them set upside down in a cup.
4. Handmade framed name print. Research the meaning of the person's name from a baby naming website. Use your computer graphics or word processing program to type his or her name in large letters in a nice font. Put the meaning of their name in smaller letters under the name. Print it on pretty background paper, such as 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbook paper from a craft store. Trim to fit a small frame purchased from a discount department store or dollar store.
5. Night at the movies. You can make this inexpensive by just picking up a $5 gift card for a movie rental and a box of microwave popcorn. Or you can make it a bigger gift by adding a large bowl for the popcorn, a gift card for multiple rentals, and perhaps some DVDs.
6. Flashlight that doesn't need batteries. This is a very practical gift that almost anyone can use. Depending on the model, you either shake the flashlight or wind it up. They really work and you never have to worry about dead batteries. The price range is between $10 and $20.
7. Photo ornament. You can find these in all kinds of stores, some are quite inexpensive and look like little holiday photo frames. Just insert a photo of your friend, their pet or children and you've got a very personalized gift.
8. Custom gift card from you. If you're short on cash, but not on sentiment, you can print a gift card that promises babysitting, a car wash, running errands, lessons, etc. If you love to bake, but don't have time around the holidays, give a gift card redeemable for your specialty in January.
9. Personalized giant candy bar. This one is so easy. Buy a big Hershey bar and replace the outer wrapper with your custom wrapper. You can print one of the many free Christmas chocolate bar wrappers found on the internet. Some of them even have places for you to put a photo and your own words. Or make it yourself by tracing the original wrapper and cutting it out from nice holiday paper. Then just tape or glue in place.
10. Personalized magnet, button, key ring or pocket mirror. For just a couple of dollars, this one of a kind little gift can't be beat. There are companies on the internet that will put any funny or inspiration quote or your own message on one of their products. Whatever the person's hobby, interest, or job, there is a saying or quotation out there that would be perfect for them.
A thoughtful Christmas gift doesn't have to cost a lot of money or require hours of searching through crowded malls. All that is needed is your big heart and imagination.
Linda Kling is the owner of Photo Party Favors, which offers original personalized photo favors, unique photo Christmas cards, and personalized magnets, buttons, keyrings, & mirrors that can be imprinted with any quote or your message. Check out her website for 5000+ quotes, free printable candy bar wrappers, holiday gift tags, party recipes, tips and more. Linda Kling may be contacted at http://members.aol.com/PhotoPartyFavors

24 Days of Christmas is BACK! The weather is starting to cool and your mind is starting to race with ideas for Christmas gifts.    Print the ebook and put it in a binder to share with your own family or give to your friends.   Take time to share the stories of Christmas with those you love. To read more about it, or to order, go to: http://www.emersonpublications.com/24days.htm

Thanksgiving - What Were the Pilgrims Thankful For
by Rev Michael Bresciani
When I was ten years old I had occasion to travel to Plymouth, Massachusetts every day for one whole summer with my father. He had a three hour lay over in Plymouth and it was my chance to roam the beaches and visit Plymouth Rock. It is housed under a monumental canopy and sits deep below the iron gates that protect it from tourists and collectors who would want to relieve it of a historical chip or two. I would spend countless hours that summer viewing the rock and trying to imagine just how the Pilgrims actually alighted from their boats to the rock and then to the land.
In boyhood I was satisfied to use my imagination to envision just how the Pilgrims set their feet on the Old Plymouth Rock. It began to take on an aura of the mystical and heroic to me, but I was far from the first person to be caught into these feelings. As far back as 1835, Mr. Alexis DeJocqueville spoke of the rocks ethereal qualities with far more eloquence than I. "This Rock has become an object of veneration in the United States. I have seen bits of it carefully preserved in several towns in the Union. Does this sufficiently show that all human power and greatness is in the soul of man? Here is a stone which the feet of a few outcasts pressed for an instant; and the stone becomes famous; it is treasured by a great nation; its very dust is shared as a relic."
As an adult I was more inclined to use my curiosity to discover why the pilgrims came to land on this rock in the first place. The answer would lead me to discover a people driven, not just to a new land, but to a land that was free of all the tyranny and oppression they had know in their own European countries. The Rock became less mystical to me as an adult while the purpose of the pilgrims became a more venerable matter in my thinking.
It is impossible to ponder those brave Pilgrims, our forefathers, risking life and limb and enduring the perils of the sea, the unknown, starvation and deprivation of every sort without wondering about the very strong reasons they were so willing to face these perils and hardships. Discovering their reasons also provided answers to how the first Thanksgiving came about. The Pilgrims gave thanks because they saw the promise of their quest near at hand and in some small way at the harvest time of that first year it looked like their dream had gotten itself underway.
No one knows the exact words that were spoken in that prayer just before the first thanksgiving meal was eaten. But if the collective thoughts of all who sat for that meal could be known, we can be sure they were about things greater than the personal or family gains and safety that many prayers are reduced to today.
Their thankfulness was for the possibilities of religious freedom, taxation with representation, fair hearings before magistrates when charged with crimes, relief from oppressive monarchs and freedom to speak their minds without fear of reprisal. Many of the things taken for granted and rarely mentioned in the thanksgiving prayers of today are what they were thankful for.
It is said that about ninety Indians were present at the feast which lasted about three days. The very sight of these natives with completely unknown and diverse dress and culture eating with our tattered but dignified forefathers in harmony and full acceptance is a picture of America’s original dream, the dream of a place where everyone is welcome and able to work together in a common society. I am sure that they were thankful for that small microcosmic example of the larger dream they all shared for the country’s future.
The pilgrims were thankful for the beginning of their dream. We should be thankful for the fullness of that dream. The pilgrims were people who knew all to well that nobility was not inherent to those born in palaces but it was a state of the soul and a dignity of purpose found in people of higher thought. They were thankful on that first thanksgiving for the visible result of that higher thought. Happy Thanksgiving America.
Rev Bresciani is the author of An American Prophet and His Message, Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ, Xulon Press His articles are read in every country in the world. Please enjoy a visit to http://www.americanprophet.org
Rev Bresciani is the author of two highly regarded Christian books. He has articles both online and in print. To see the article archive go to http://www.americanprophet.orgRev Michael Bresciani may be contacted at http://www.americanprophet.org

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Suggestions for a Cheaper, Greener, More Eco-Friendly Christmas and New Year
by: Wez Wells
Christmas tree
• Rather than buying a real tree that's been cut down, transported and then thrown away, purchase a large potted plant or small tree that can be used each year as your evergreen Christmas tree.
• You could always purchase an artificial tree that can be reused for many years, these range from 10 pounds to over 100 pounds. Ours actually looks real!
• If you buy a real tree, pay the Woodland Trust or a different organization to plant one in its place!
Christmas Decorations
• If you have evergreen shrubs and trees - to make sure you have an annual supply of eco-friendly Christmas decorations why not do some of your pruning just before Christmas and use the choice bits for inside? If you have not got any evergreens but have a garden ask for some of these plants as Christmas presents. They may take a few years to grow but then all you will need to do is harvest in December and be as creative as you like.
• Make a homemade wreath using branches trimmed from your garden or somebody elses.
• Purchase handmade decor made from recycled or eco-friendly materials. If possible by Fair trade as well, as they are a great way to support the disadvantaged. While some of these crafts may not be from recycled materials they provide much needed income to needy individuals.
• Ivy is good to drape around pictures, windows and the base of Christmas trees, it will hide the wires of the tree lights. There is as far as I know no substitute for electric fairy lights but as they last for years and use very little power, their impact is relatively low and they do look great.
• One of the advantages of using natural decorations is that after Christmas they do not need to go in the bin they can enter your normal garden waste on the compost heap.
Christmas tree ornaments
• Make homemade ornaments from (painted) pinecones, painted eggshells, crushed (colored) aluminum foil, paper chains, paper snowflakes, old CDs and more!
• Decorate a doll as an angel.
• Do an online search for recycled or homemade tree ornaments for numerous ideas or purchase these recycled or eco-friendly tree ornaments if you cant be bothered to make them.
Gifts • Buy a subscription to an organisation working to make the world a better place such as the RSPB, RSPCA or Oxfam.
• If you are buying a present that uses batteries make sure the person you are buying it for has a battery charger and buy rechargeable batteries.
• Buy a homemade present, bird table, compost bin. Chocolate cakes often go down very well! Gift wrap
• Collect extra photocopies or no longer needed papers from work for your children to draw on the back.
• Use colored pictures from your children's colouring books.
• Use leftover pieces of fabric or wallpaper.
• Use recycled paper.
• Put the gift inside another gift such as a decorative tin, nice wooden box etc.
• Use gift wrap, gift bags and gift boxes, ribbon and bows from last Christmas or previous celebrations. Leave the tags blank on the gifts you are giving so that they can be reused.
Greeting cards & gift tags
• Send an e-card.
• Make a greeting card or tag from scrap paper, fabric or wallpaper.
• Make cards or tags from pieces of food box.
Packing material
• Use saved packing material such as foam or bubble wrap.
• Crush up newspaper into loose balls. This is cheap, quick and lightweight! This is our preferred method for box filler.
After the New Year
• Find out where you can recycle your real Christmas tree or Christmas cards, local councils and supermarkets are a good place to start. They will turn your trees into mulch for use in parks and public gardens.
• Use any wrapping paper that is no longer reusable for shelf liners or craft projects.
• Save boxes, gift bags, wrapping, filler, ribbons and bows for future gift wrapping or craft projects. Give them away to friends, neighbours etc if you have too many to keep.
The author writes for the Green and Ethical directory GuideMeGreen.com .This growing green resource lists 100s of Organic, Fairtrade, Eco and Ethical companies, Jobs and ArticlesWez Wells may be contacted at http://www.guidemegreen.com

24 Days of Christmas is BACK! The weather is starting to cool and your mind is starting to race with ideas for Christmas gifts.    Print the ebook and put it in a binder to share with your own family or give to your friends.   Take time to share the stories of Christmas with those you love. To read more about it, or to order, go to: http://www.emersonpublications.com/24days.htm

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