A place of quiet in the madness of the season

It is a hectic time. People are getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Relatives are coming in. There is the food list to carry to the store and check off down the aisles. Gotta get the house ready. Kids are out of school and the long break has the potential for exhaustion. Take a moment to read this brief essay. See if you can find your own place of quiet in the midst of all the season's chaos. Disappear here: The Golden Hours

What Thanksgiving is for

“Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life.” 

~ Sanaya Roman, Writer/Mystic

I am not a believer in seed faith and the popular prosperity gospel that has almost completely taken over modern Christianity in this country.  These TV and other preachers who tell you that if you give a seed gift of $1,000 you will be changed forever and God will send you a harvest of money rolling endlessly into your life is just old fashioned circus barking.  

I do, however, believe there is something to appreciating life and showing gratitude for the gifts we are given.  I think Roman's quote above is good but it needs another line.  One that says the increases in the things we appreciate and give thanks for come from our personal acts of appreciation and gratitude.  In other words, when we show that we are grateful, the things/people/circumstances we appreciate, most often respond in good and receptive ways.

In this Thanksgiving season, find ways to demonstrate your appreciation and gratitude for the people you love, for the gifts you have been given, for life itself.  Skip the easy e-card route and send an actual greeting card with a personal note to someone you appreciate.  Give a thoughtful present.  Pull out your cell and make a call.  Stop by and visit an old friend or a lonely person.  Order someone flowers.  Make an anonymous contribution to a charity.  Share a smile with a passing stranger or one of those tired sales associates at the end of the grueling lines at the mall. 

Just being glad and showing it, for what poet Mary Oliver called "a little cup of sun," is what Thanksgiving is for.

(c) 2011 Timothy Moody

Want a healthy family?

We all want healthy families. But today's families are faced with packed schedules, a thousand distracting gadgets, easy access to unhealthy foods, and a dozen other things that keep families stressed, worn out, and apart from one another. Here are some excellent tips on how to avoid all of that and make time for each other. See them here: Health.com

Why My Kids (Mostly) Don't Watch TV

There is still much to be learned about children and TV/Videos. The facts seems clear, however, from health and behavior experts that children under the age of 2 should not be sitting in front of the television endlessly watching TV or videos. Older children, though, do gain benefit from TV and videos. Here is a great article about all of this. See it here: Her.meneutics

Supermom Myth Can Make You Miserable

Moms today carry a lot of responsibilities. Stay at home moms are inundated with endless schedules and activities for their children. Working moms often have that and their ongoing tasks at work. It can sometimes be overwhelming. Here is an article that addresses ways for moms today to deal with all of their challenges without getting discouraged or depressed: Health.com

Planning Ahead Can Reduce Back-to-School Stress

Starting school or returning to school for children can sometimes be a bit overwhelming after a summer of fun and no fixed schedules. Here are some ideas to help you prepare your child for going back to school. Be sure to click on the "back-to-school" link at the end of the article for more very helpful information. See the article here: Health.com

Talking to Strangers? Rewriting the Rules of Childhood

I cannot think of anything more terrifying than having my child or grandchild lost in a crowd somewhere. Responsible parenting includes preparing our children for all kinds of circumstances. In spite of all the goodness around them our children still live in a very dangerous world. Toddlers are not given cell phones and even many younger preteens do not have one.  Do they know what to do if they get separated from you at the mall, at a busy outdoor event, or any place where there are large crowds?  Here are some useful tips to share with your children to help them find help if they are ever in such a situation: Rewriting the Rules of Childhood

Annie Lennox - Universal Child

How Disney Invaded American Childhood to Shill Worthless Crap to Our Kids

What are our daughters being told about themselves and their world in the movies, books, and merchandise from Disney? The author of a new book about Disney's powerful influence on the culture of girls in this country is provocative and disturbing. Read an interview with her here: Books | AlterNet

Secrets to a Stress-Free, Happy, Healthy Family

Happy healthy families don't just fall out of the sky. We have to create them. It takes work, commitment, humor, creativity, devotion, love, and much more. Here are some practical ideas to help you keep your family together while the kids are young and later on as well. See them here: Health.com

U.S. Children Misdiagnosed with Bipolar Disorder

Children today are coping with a whole assortment of issues. Many of them are worn out from endless school, sports, dance, and other activities. They often have no time to be a child. Video games and hours of television and online movies consume them. As a result many children develop emotional and or behavioral problems that frighten and frustrate parents. Here is an excellent article by a leading child psychiatrist who says the current fad in medicine to diagnose children with bipolar disease is nonsense. See the article here: Newsweek

Are You Willing to Do This for One Day?

Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front of you so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open - are you willing to do these things for even a day? 

—Caroline Kennedy, Author/Attorney

Bliss is not normal

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." — Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Unitarian Minister (1843-1918)

5 Tips for Staying Active With Kids and Family

If you have children at home or help take care of grandchildren, here are some great ideas to help keep all of you active, together! See the article here: Health.com

Should Kids Under 13 Be on Facebook?

For those of you with adolescents at home you may want to pay attention to the facts in this piece. Some 20 million minors are on Facebook. With sexual predators, the mentally disturbed, and manipulators with all sorts of bizarre motives sifting through Facebook each day, does it make sense for youth 13 and under to have their own Facebook pages? To help you decide see the article here: Kids on Facebook?

Secrets to a Stress-Free, Happy, Healthy Family

Many families today are running in circles, especially if you have young children still at home, involved in countless activities. Today's home structure is often so disorganized it causes enormous stress on all of the family members. Here are some tips to help you better manage family stress: Secrets to a Stress-Free, Happy, Healthy Family - Health.com

My Grandson

Austin

There are times

When special angels gather around

And gently hover over someone they love

Someone having trouble in their life

Or someone just needing to know they are safe

When you arrived

They saw the struggles that you faced

And all the fears that filled our hearts for you

And so they came to spread their wings across your bed

And guard you with their care

In the shadow of their wings

Stand others there to touch your face

And kiss your hands with tenderness

And hold you in their arms of so much love

And on beyond all of them

The angels sweet and Mom and Dad

Are others too somewhere near looking out for you

Keeping watch day and night

To never leave you by yourself

They have names you do not know

And in their lifetimes they never saw you here

But where they are they see you now

And how they huddle close to where you rest

And whisper to each other the beauty that they see in you

They are Daddy’s grandparents and Mommy’s too

And an uncle here and an aunt there

And others who cherished your family across the years

And now they cherish you and give you love

And send you healing from their hearts

Golden, full of grace, and so good

© 2011 Timothy Moody

(Written for my grandson Austin Moody, born February 18, 2011, a Down syndrome baby who struggled with respiratory issues but is doing fine now.  He is beautiful!)

8 Ways to Make Shots Easier for Kids

Flu, colds, allergies, immunizations, all create painful times for children who visit the doctor for a shot. Here are some helpful ideas about how to make that office visit not quite as scary.

See the article here: Health.com