Subject: Gift of Life

Welcome to Celebrating the Journey!
Monday, December 25, 2000
Issue #46

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Each Day like Christmas Day
2. Give the Gift of Life
3. Quotes
4. Humor: Martha and Erma

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1. Each Day Like Christmas Day

Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, Kwaanza or
Ramadan, or no particular holiday, I wish that this day brings
you and your loved ones peace, joy and love.

I was listening to an old Johnny Mathis Christmas album
yesterday, and the lyrics to one song in particular touched me
deeply.

Learn to give, try to live
Each day like Christmas Day.

The essence of the Christmas spirit is one of love, generosity,
and peace. In these times of high tech turmoil, world wide
unrest and economic uncertainty, it’s important to remember
that, no matter what our religious or spiritual beliefs, each of
us can bring to the world and the people around us the gifts of
love, peace and gratitude.

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2. Give the Gift of Life.

There are a number of websites which allow you to live each
day like Christmas Day. Simply visit them on a daily basis to
give the gift of life – at no cost to you – to our children, our
people and our planet.

The Breast Cancer Site provides mammograms for women
who cannot afford them at
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com.

The Hunger Site helps feed starving children all over the
world at http://www.thehungersite.com.

The Rain Forest site donates acres of rain forest to prevent
their being destroyed at http://www.therainforestsite.com.

The Kids Aids Site donates free care to children infected with
HIV throughout the world at http://www.thekidsaidssite.com.

The Child Survival Site provides Vitamin A capsules to help
prevent malaria and measles in children of poverty all over
the world at http://www.thechildsurvivalsite.com.

Each of these sites gives us an easy way to share our good
fortune. Generosity gives at least as much to the giver as it
does to the receiver. Try it! You’ll like it.

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3. Quotes

Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right
moment.
Jean De La Bruyère

In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good
we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.
Flora Edwards

The gifts that one receives for giving are so immeasurable that
it is almost an injustice to accept them.
Rod McKuen

What you keep to yourself you lose, what you give away, you
keep forever.
Axel Munthe

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4. Humor: Martha and Erma

MARTHA STEWART’S CHRISTMAS LETTER TO ERMA
BOMBECK

Hi Erma,

This perfectly delightful note is being sent on paper I made
myself to tell you what I have been up to. Since it snowed last
night, I got up early and made a sled with old barn wood and a
glue gun. I hand painted it in gold leaf, got out my loom, and
made a blanket in peaches and mauves. Then to make the
sled complete, I made a white horse to pull it, from DNA that
I had just sitting around in my craft room.

By then, it was time to start making the place mats and
napkins for my 20 breakfast guests. I’m serving the old
standard Stewart twelve-course breakfast, but I’ll let you in on
a little secret: I didn’t have time to make the tables and chairs
this morning, so I used the ones I had on hand.

Before I moved the table into the dining room, I decided to
add just a touch of the holidays. So I repainted the room in
pinks and stenciled gold stars on the ceiling. Then, while the
homemade bread was rising, I took antique candle molds and
made the dishes (exactly the same shade of pink) to use for
breakfast. These were made from Hungarian clay, which you
can get at almost any Hungarian craft store.

Well, I must run. I need to finish the buttonholes on the dress
I’m wearing for breakfast. I’ll get out the sled and drive this
note to the post office as soon as the glue dries on the
envelope I’ll be making.

Hope my breakfast guests don’t stay too long, I have 40,000
cranberries to string with bay leaves before my speaking
engagement at noon. It’s a good thing.

Love, Martha Stewart

P.S. When I made the ribbon for this typewriter, I used 1/8-
inch gold gauze. I soaked the gauze in a mixture of white
grapes and blackberries which I grew, picked, and crushed last
week just for fun.

Response from Erma Bombeck:

Dear Martha,

I’m writing this on the back of an old shopping list, pay no
attention to the coffee and jelly stains. I’m 20 minutes late
getting my daughter up for school, packing a lunch with one
hand, on the phone with the dog pound, seems old Ruff
needs bailing out again. Burnt my arm on the curling iron
when I was trying to make those cute curly fries, how DO they
do that? Still can’t find the scissors to cut out some
snowflakes, tried using an old disposable razor … trashed the
tablecloth. Tried that cranberry thing, frozen cranberries
mushed up after I defrosted them in the microwave. Oh, and
don’t use Fruity Pebbles as a substitute in that Rice Krispie
snowball recipe, unless you happen to like a disgusting shade
that resembles puke! The smoke alarm is going off, talk to ya
later.

Love, Erma

Thanks to my friend Marion for sending me this piece of
holiday humor.

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Give the gifts of life, love and laughter this week.

Namaste, Margo

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My purpose in publishing Celebrating the Journey is to
provide you with resources, motivation, inspiration and
energy for YOUR journey of creating success and freedom
in all areas of your life. CTJ will use stories from my life
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humor to deliver a learning experience that can enhance
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Copyright © 2000, all rights reserved, by Margo
Chisholm

I invite you to share Celebrating the Journey with your
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—
“At every moment of our life we have an
opportunity to choose joy.”
Henri J. M. Nouwen

Margo Chisholm
Coach, Speaker, Author, Therapist
Partnering you in having success,
freedom and joy in all areas of your life
970-704-9336 fax 970-704-9346
margo@tothesummit.com

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