On Giving by Liz Flaherty

I hope you have such a wonderful Thanksgiving this coming week. There are so many things going on! I started to list them here, along with stolen pictures, but there were too many. Go to this Facebook page and pick out some things to do!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1412307918784999

Start with the Open House and keep going! There is music to be found, lessons to take, and pretty things to look at. There is food--it's the holidays; of course, there's food!--and friendship at every corner. 

Craft shows are happening every weekend and every swing choir around does wonderful shows. 

I love the holidays, however...

On the serious side of things, is this season a hard time for you? Loss, heartache, loneliness, and not feeling well are heavy burdens. Even if you are a loner, it's not a good time for that. It is a good time to be a joiner. If you're a believer, find a church--all their doors are open--and keep looking until you feel at home in a place of grace. If you're a helper, find places to volunteer. Join Extension Homemakers ((765) 472-1921) and support 4-H. If you're a giver, find where there is need. 

If you are the one in need, go to a food pantry or call 211 if you need direction to where to find help. St. Vincent de Paul's number is (765) 472-1855. Helping Hands number is (765) 472 - 1875. Area Five Agency on Aging & Community Services is at 661 E Main Street, Peru, IN. Their phone number is 765-472-0713. The number for WIC is 765-472-7714. If you have a baby and trouble meeting the financial demands, Birthright is 765-475-0706. 

As a north county resident (go, Warriors!), I have a huge soft spot for things that benefit our community. Amy Eckrote, who brilliantly and tirelessly heads up the Macy food pantry, shared this when I asked what the greatest needs were.

Frozen and canned meat is always a need. 
Soups
Sugar
Flour 

Salt 

Pepper 

Toilet paper 

Tampons 

Things we take for granted!

But I won’t turn anything down that is donated. If I can’t use it, I will find someone that can! Make checks to Macy Community Boosters with Food Pantry in the memo and mail to me: Amy Eckrote, 14439 N 100 W, Macy, IN 46951

I have no doubt her list could be replicated by any administrator of any food pantry anywhere. Please feel free to share ideas and places that either need donations or are offering help to others. Please give.

What I've said here is just the beginning, but help is there if you need it. Do I make it sound too easy because I'm not the one in need? I don't mean to. I know asking for help can be hard. 

The other side of that? I know not judging people who seem always to be on the asking side can be hard, too. Being held responsible for what appears to be the poor choices of others gets wearing. 

None of us knows what it's like to walk in anyone else's shoes, but we all know what it's like when someone helps to make that walk more comfortable. 

Have a great week, a great holiday season. Be kind, be generous, be nice to somebody. 

Like last year, we're having Window Holidays starting the day after Thanksgiving. There will be a guest post every day through New Year's Eve. I hope you come by every day and make the visitors welcome. - Liz

The Gift of Giving by Holly Jacobs

I was born in August…despite my holiday name. My mom was thrilled that she’d found a name that wouldn’t have a nickname. Which explains why I’ve spent most of my life as Hall.  Maybe it’s my name, or maybe my love of glee…but I’ve always loved the holidays.

A few years ago, I started a tradition with the kids in my life—affectionately known as The Minions online. As part of their Christmas present, I give them all the gift of giving. Yes, I think giving is a gift. Their gift is sponsoring an animal at a local rescue. Each year, they choose their animal and then send their choice a card along with my sponsorship check. This last year, three of them got to go visit the rescue. Oh, the excitement as they were introduced to “their” animals. They brought an extra gift and got to find the joy in giving something more tangible than a check.

It’s been a beautiful way to teach them about the gift of giving. I have felt such pride as I see the lesson sink in. In the summer we play Holly’s Ice Cream. They ride their bikes up to me and ask for wild ice cream concoctions. And then most of the time as they “pay” me, they say, “And I’ll pay for that guy behind me.” I know it’s just a game, but oh, my heart.

When I started writing, I gravitated toward romance. Why? It was the people. I loved figuring out how two very different people found a way to build a relationship—a life—together. I loved throwing family and friends in the midst and adding a bit of havoc to that couple’s journey. I have a big family and I understand that they impact every part of my life.

I’ve also worked to add the gift of giving into my stories. I didn’t think of it that way at the beginning of my career, but now I do. It shows up time and time again in my books. Books like Signs of the Times where a single mom gives her “spare” time to her downtown business association. My three PTA Moms each had a holiday…Once Upon a Thanksgiving, Once Upon a Christmas and Once Upon a Valentine’s. They were three moms who spent their books giving what little spare time they have at their kids’ school. In A Hometown Christmas…a woman who reopens her small town’s library and keeps it running by sheer force of will. And…well, you get the point.

Whether it’s my name, or my love of glee, I write a lot of holiday (HOLLYday?) romances. I try to live up to my name in my real life as well. Whatever holiday you celebrate, I wish you all one that’s filled with the gift of giving.

Happy HOLLYdays!

Holly…aka Hall

PS Something Perfect is my story in Surprises in All Sizes: Secret Babies. The heroine lives a life that celebrates the gift of giving in so many ways! I'm so excited to have a story in a collection with so many friends...who happen to be amazing writers! I hope you'll check it out!

Award-winning author Holly Jacobs has over three million books in print worldwide. The first novel in her Everything But. . . series, Everything But a Groom, was named one of 2008's Best Romances by Booklist, and her books have been honored with many other accolades. She lives in Erie, Pennsylvania, with her family. You can visit her at www.HollyJacobs.com.