Blog | Julie Saffrin

Thank you for being a friend

May 2, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • 2 Comments

Is there ever reason not to say, “Thanks”? In BlessBack’s May 2014 newsletter, I tell a story from my book, BlessBack®: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life. Eleanor Roosevelt’s mother-in-law’s response is priceless to the children’s being late for dinner. Their excuse? “We ran out of time.” The matriarch’s words, if we allow them to be, can be a life lesson for you and me. The matriarch told the children, “You had all the time there was.” Life’s uncertainty is certain, yet we can lighten another’s load. Words heal. Words break down the walls and fences we build…

Book Review of Joy DeKok’s novel, Between the Lies

April 26, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • 4 Comments

Between the Lies book cover | https://juliesaffrin.com

Today’s guest is Joy DeKok, author of Between the Lies, her newest and first suspense novel. Joy is the author of nine books, including non-fiction, fiction and children’s books. April 26 and 27, the e-book of this novel will be on sale for $2.99. On her Amazon author page she tells why she loves to write, “. . . over time . . . the words meshed with an equally important component: writing FOR others – to entertain and encourage; to touch and maybe even teach. It’s the writing FOR that gets me past all the excuses, fears, and distractions. The love of…

“Go Bless” Earth Day only, give someone a BlessBack® for 99 cents

April 22, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

Sheldon Bass sent me an e-mail after he and I connected on LinkedIn. I liked his message for its simple, action-filled message. Here is what he wrote: “I think I’m translating ‘BlessBack’ correctly. I do my best to be a blessing to everyone I come across. A friend sent me an email a few years ago and he signed off with a typical, “God Bless”. Only, he accidentally left off the “d,” so it read “Go Bless”. After we talked about it, we realized it was a much better sign off to use. Simple wisdom from a typo. Go Bless.…

Be Causal

April 14, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

From BlessBack®: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life by Julie Saffrin “We can be people of “because.” We can act or write others when we see them doing something good. “Be causal,” by blessing and thanking others with a BlessBack in your neighborhoods, communities and places where you work. It won’t be long before a bond of compassion forms. To help you “be causal,” if you would like to download this free stationery in pdf form, please do and send a letter to someone who deserves your thanks for how they influenced your life. Change the world. One BlessBack at…

Amaze Yourself

April 2, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • 5 Comments

ice dancer McKenzie Trewartha | www.juliesaffrin.com

Most people, as young versions of themselves, leave their dancing dreams in front of dresser mirrors. But a handful possess a love and creative ability to tell a story through dexterity, fluidity, and movement. They sense their talent and coax out its perfection. When they perform, their creative beauty loosens our austerity. We, simply by watching the years of discipline and persistence on display, become untethered and look at life from a new direction. By the end of an artist’s performance, we are not the same. We have been changed by the encounter. From our seats, we are forced by the…

March Madness

March 26, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • 2 Comments

2014 Pantone radiant orchid sunrise | https://juliesaffrin.com

I am sick of the color of Minnesota. Much of the state looks like the pond’s rim near here. Grasses, reedy, and six-feet tall. I hate it. I know. I know. Being in an “environmental” mind gets you big marks these days. But I’m going a bit mad. Call it my March madness. Enough of the mud, the taupy browns, rested earth. Besides, the grasses and reeds are dead, anyway. I think they would look better fashioned atop a tiki-hut on a beach, protecting the sunbirds from Minnesota who are currently escaping there. I would so appreciate its being repurposed in this way, especially while sipping on a…

Gifts from the Seastore cards are now on SmugMug.com

March 25, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

plumeria and sea shells | https://juliesaffrin.com

I love to find and capture the story in a picture. June 2013 my husband Rick bought me a new camera. Since then, I’ve filled a few SD cards. The ones I think are halfway decent I will post and a handful I will post for sale on smugmug. If you go to Gifts from the Seastore once you’re at smugmug.com, you’ll find my pictures, which you may purchase and make into a greeting card of your own choosing. Your should be able to purchase a 5 by 7 card, including shipping, for around 4 bucks. Enjoy! Here’s the link: http://juliesaffrin.smugmug.com/Gifts-from-the-seastore/ We recently went…

A gratitude blessing

March 24, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

Father Watching His Infant Sleep | www.juliesaffrin.com

Today, March 23, 2014 I’m featured on Hope Church’s guest blog. Here’s the link: http://hope-pc.org/hope-blog The story? My husband’s every-night blessing he gave to our three sons. I hope it encourages other young parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers and mentors to think about doing something like this. Thanks, Rick, for your nightly practice. Excerpt: “Not only did Rick’s blessing realign our belief that God held the infinite power to bless, but also, “the blessing” felt like a cloak of protection, that everything was in God’s hands while we were away from one another.” Have a great day. Julie …

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s wisdom

January 20, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • Leave a Comment

Attempting the Keys

January 6, 2014 • Julie Saffrin • 1 Comment

Some people are willing to wreck a perfectly good piece of white. Take snow, for instance. Why can’t we leave the perfect, even-keel fluff alone? Before you know it, our boots compress, tires impinge. The absence of color goes away, replaced by the colors of humanhood. For some time now — some might call it a month, some two — I’ve stared at another form of white space — a blank screen. The white stuff is so pretty that I prefer to look at a blank page rather than destroy it with bad writing. No matter how many times I…

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