Tag Archive for celebration

Do You Have Good News? Share It!

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Sometimes we hesitate to share good news with others. Maybe we fear making the other person feel bad or sounding like we’re boasting. However, a study published in Emotion tells a different story. This study involved 300 participants between 25 and 85 years of age. The research team prompted participants 6 times a day for 10 days to report on their level of gratitude as well as any social interactions and whether they had shared good news with someone else. The study revealed several important findings:

  • People who shared positive events with others felt more grateful in the moment.
  • People who shared good news with others felt closer to the person with whom they shared the good news.
  • People who received enthusiastic responses were the most grateful in this group.

Sharing good news with others draws our attention to the positive events and good things in life. It also gives us the opportunity to “re-experience” those events and perhaps even grow more appreciative as we do. In other words, we grow in gratitude for the good in our lives.

An enthusiastic response makes us feel validated and cared for by the one listening. When a person enthusiastically responds to our good news, we are no longer simply telling them about the event, but we are sharing it with them as we re-experience it together. We have offered a point of connection and, in accepting it, they share a joy with us that leads to a deeper relationship. This sharing also leads to greater gratitude—gratitude for the positive event as well as gratitude for connection to the one with whom we are sharing the positive event.

Wouldn’t it be great to share this kind of connection with family?

  • When our children come home ecstatic about some positive event they experienced at school, we can enthusiastically share in that event rather than minimize or disparage it. When we listen to and share their joy over the positive event, gratitude and interpersonal intimacy will increase.
  • When our spouse shares exciting news and we respond with a joy that matches their joy, gratitude grows and intimacy increases. Our enthusiastic response communicates how much we love and value them. It communicates how important they and their experiences are to us.
  • When we share a positive event from our day with our family, we share a piece of ourselves. We share a positive moment from our lives with them and, as a result, we experience greater intimacy. When they respond with like enthusiasm, we feel loved and validated. Our gratitude increases. Our intimacy grows deeper.

So, if you have good news, share it…especially with your family. When you do, you and your family will enjoy the increased gratitude and intimacy that results.

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Easter While “Sheltered at Home”?

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Many families have very active Easter weekend full of social gatherings and celebrations: Good Friday services, preparation for family gatherings, Sunrise services, Easter services, and large extended gatherings with family and friends. For Christians, this is am especially meaningful time of the year, a true “holy-day.” This year, however, is going to feel different. But don’t let those differences ruin your Easter. Don’t let Easter slip away without recalling what makes Easter such a special day for us. Be creative and make this Easter special, even as you “shelter-at-home.” Here are some tips to help us all remember the celebration of Easter.

  • Celebrate the Holy Week with creative calendars marking the events of each day during the Holy Week. Here’s one idea for doing a creative calendar.
  • Make resurrection cookies on Saturday night. It is a wonderful way to teach our children about the crucifixion & resurrection while having fun. And, you can enjoy the cookies on Easter Sunday.
  • Sit down with your family and watch the live streaming of your congregation’s Good Friday service and Easter morning service. If your congregation does not have a live stream, watch the live stream of another congregation’s service.
  • Read the story of Aslan’s resurrection in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Or, watch the movie (link).  Although we have a little bit of Peter, Susan, and Lucy in all of us, talk about how we are all like Edmund as well. Enjoy the realization of what Aslan’s sacrifice meant for Edmund…and what Jesus’ sacrifice means for us.
  • Watch The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson. Use caution in watching this movie as a family though. It is very graphic. Consider if your children are ready for such a graphic depiction of the events surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
  • Have a family Easter egg hunt. Easter is still a celebration of new life and the finding of peace and joy in the work of God in Christ.
  • Enjoy a family Easter meal. Easter allows us to become part of the family of God. Celebrate family with a meal. Make it a feast of celebration.
  • As you enjoy your day together, play some classic Easter music in the background. Handel’s Messiah and hymns such as Christ the Lord is Risen Today come to mind. To help out, here is one playlist of Easter songs from YouTube you might like. Easter Songs and Hymns Playlist (Resurrection Theme)
  • I almost forgot….How could I? My daughters would kill me. Watch this video of “It’s Friday But Sunday’s Coming.”

Don’t let the differences of this year take away your Easter joy. Celebrate. Enjoy your Easter.

What are some of the creative ways you are celebrating Easter this year?

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A New Beginning

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I had the privilege of witnessing the marriage of a young lady I have watched grow from her childhood years. She has had struggles, no doubt. Those struggles, however, have contributed to her growth as a woman of great integrity, perseverance, compassion, and love. I pray I shared in those years of struggle in a way that helped her grow into the strong, lovely woman she is today.  I am grateful to have walked with her and witnessed her growth.  And, I am grateful to have witnessed her wedding day, a day that marks a new beginning in her life with the one she loves. She has joined her life with a wonderful young man who brings her happiness and joy. I remember meeting him in the “Strip District.” She introduced her then boyfriend to my wife, my daughter, and I with obvious adoration in her eyes. He showed the same adoration for her in his actions toward. It was a short and pleasant introduction, but it felt like a little more. I walked away feeling as though I had witnessed a moment of celebration between them. Their wedding was an even greater moment of celebration, not just for them but for their families and friends as well. We witnessed their like-mindedness in the music we heard. We witnessed their united compassion as they gathered socks for the homeless while celebrating the “bridal sock hop dance.”  We witnessed the beauty of mutual adoration and love that surrounded their every movement and glance.  Each person present witnessed the joy of their love, their warmth and companionship. Truly, this day marked a new beginning in their lives…and I’m am so excited for them. Later, as I contemplated the joy of their wedding celebration and the beauty of their love, a Native American Wedding Prayer came to mind. I offer this prayer for their lives together:

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be a shelter to the other.

 

Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.

 

Now there will be  no loneliness, for each of you will be a companion to the other.

 

Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.

 

Go now to your dwelling place, to enter the days of your togetherness.

 

May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years,

 

And may you days be long and good upon the earth.

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