I have a friend, Gail Helgeson, who is a marvelous note-writer. She writes a note to someone every day. She slips little sayings, usually from Mary Engelbreit, into her notes and usually has a sticker or two affixed to the envelope. Her letters are filled with encouragement, swirls, and her signature. Sometimes the notes are small in size, sometimes, they’re cut-and-pasted sayings on construction paper. All keeper words. All soul-touching. Yesterday, Rick and I were on our way up to our cabin in northern Minnesota, and we took the new way we discovered this summer to get there. There’s a…
Read MoreBlessBack® Finds a Home in Covet Crate, a Subscription Box for Women
Several weeks ago, a young woman contacted me via the contact page of my website, https://juliesaffrin.com. She owns a subscription box service, Covet Crate, geared toward professional women, and she wondered if I would be interested in having my book, BlessBack®: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life, be a part of its November box. I couldn’t have been more surprised, or grateful. All sorts of online subscription box services exist, geared to a person’s preference. Some boxes are beauty and make-up related, others are food or sewing related – there’s even one for DIYers. I subscribe to Stitch Fix, a…
Read MoreA BRIDE GIVES A BLESSBACK® TO HER PARENTS
To all of you who bought my book, thank you so much! I’m deeply touched. My heart, like the picture above, is full. Like Celia Thaxter’s saying, I’m having an eternal summer, thanks to your kindness. Just a small heads-up for others thinking about buying the book. Today, June 4th is the last morning BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life is on sale for $1.99. At 10 a.m. CST, the book will be full price at $3.99. As my blog post earlier this week explained (read about it here and here), there are many ways to express thanks back to…
Read MoreEXPRESSED GRATITUDE: A BLESSBACK®
A BlessBack®* is an expression of thanks given to those in your past who have had a positive influence in your life. It is an exchange of blessing between two parties: the giver and the receiver. As you live the BlessBack life, you will discover that at various times you may be a giver and at other times a receiver; sometimes you may experience both giving and receiving at the same time. BlessBacks are different from random acts of kindness. Most often, a random act of kindness is being kind to someone in a spontaneous way. A BlessBack, on the…
Read MoreBlessBack® paperback on sale!
Join us to celebrate BlessBack’s third birthday! February 17th marks the third birthday of the popular book on gratitude, BlessBack®: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life As a way to express my thanks to all of you for supporting my book on gratitude, BlessBack®: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life is on sale for the entire month of February 2015. Now’s your chance to get a paperback version for just $11.99. Hurry, offer ends February 28th at 11:59 p.m. Click the red button to be taken to Amazon to get your discounted book. Here’s what others are saying about how…
Read MoreFree Mother’s Day Card and Coupon Book
In celebration of Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 11, 2014, enjoy a FREE Mother’s Day Card and Coupon Book. Just click the button and you’ll be taken to a link to receive it.
Read MoreThank you for being a friend
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…
Read More“Go Bless” Earth Day only, give someone a BlessBack® for 99 cents
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.…
Read MoreBe Causal
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…
Read MoreA gratitude blessing
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 …
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