“So, will everyone be home for the holidays?” For many of us whose loved ones have passed away, this is a question we dread. When you’ve lost a family member, never again will everyone be home for the holidays. You will always be missing your loved one’s presence at your family’s celebrations…. Come read the rest of my guest blog post on Teri Johnson’s Keeping It Personal blog.
Read MoreShelley Hitz and I both write about gratitude. I’m delighted to feature her today on the release of her new book, 21 Stories of Gratitude: The Power of Living Life with a Grateful Heart. Today she features her fifth way to celebrate gratitude by feeding families Thanksgiving meals. Welcome, Shelley! 21 Ways to Celebrate Gratitude Idea #5: Feed Families Thanksgiving Meals by Shelley Hitz Thanksgiving season is soon approaching and this year, I encourage you to take the opportunity to celebrate gratitude. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, take a moment (or two) to…
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Gretchen Havlicek (pictured above in the striped shirt) works at Faith Point Lutheran in New Prague, Minnesota. She contacted me late in October 2012 to tell me about an out-of-the-blue BlessBack she received. She’s agreed to share it on the BlessBack blog. I hope you enjoy reading her story as much as I did. Julie A BlessBack From the Past by Gretchen Havlicek I noticed that I had a voice message left for me on my phone at the church where I am employed. The timer said it had come in at 10:30 pm on Friday night. “How odd for…
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Were you or your children bullied by peers? Today I’m guest-posting at Keeping it Personal with 10 Ways To Thrive When Being Bullied where I share some ideas that helped me cope as I was going through the teenage years. Each month I am a guest on Teri Johnson’s Keeping it Personal blog. I met Teri in the summer of 2012 through a friend of mine, Barbara Marshak. Teri is the founder and owner of The Refine Conference, a 2-day conference aimed to allow women to “come as you are, take your next steps with purpose.” Teri also leads MasterMind classes,…
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Today I am privileged to feature a guest blog post by radio personality Gloria Plaisted. She is the founder of Faith@Work Break, a 60-second radio broadcast based out of Duluth, Minnesota. Feel free to stop by and “like” her Facebook Fan page at Faith@Work Break with Gloria Plaisted. Gloria’s story is featured in BlessBack®: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life and is a favorite among readers. Gloria’s story begins at chapter five. If you haven’t read the story, I urge you to download a copy of BlessBack at Amazon for $2.99 to your Kindle or download it to your Kindle Reader to…
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Whenever I hear of a wonderful BlessBack story, I will feature it on this blog. Today’s guest blog is written by author Kathy Brunner, who I met on LinkedIn. She has written a touching tribute to a woman who cared for her children. Kathy is offering readers who comment on this post a chance to win a free paperback version of her new release, Finding Your Fire: Get Fired Up, Not Burned Out!, a book that helps you to take your dream, idea, inspiration and make it into a reality. Leave a comment at the bottom of this post of someone who reminds…
Read MoreThey stand mostly abandoned now, these one-room country schools. But as the following story by Florence Smallfield reveals, they were places held in high esteem, where community happened and children of all ages received instruction in education and a way to go in life. Florence’s story of her family’s farm in Flandreau, South Dakota came to me through my mother. Both women attend church together. You can read her moving account of her family’s BlessBack in BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life by purchasing a copy of the paperback version here. Or, if you prefer, the e-book version of BlessBack is FREE for…
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Kathy Brunner, author of Finding Your Fire, and I are a bit like Helene Hanff and Frank Doel in the book, 84, Charing Cross Road, a story I tell in BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life. (The movie version of this book is charming and worth your time as it features Sir Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.) You can read about Helene and Frank by purchasing BlessBack, the book’s paperback edition here or get the e-book for Kindle readers edition FREE from Wednesday August 8 to Friday August 10 here. Kathy and I have never met in person and I don’t know that we will.…
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$4.99 for your Kindle! Order HERE. I’m still celebrating the eBook release of BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life. Today I’m featured on author Karen Baney’s blog. Get to know the story behind BlessBack and a little about my journey. Here’s the link. I know Karen would love your taking the time to leave her a comment if you liked the blog post. As always, thank you for taking the time to stop and read my posts. I appreciate all of you who have written me. Julie Saffrin Follow BlessBack’s Facebook Fan Page here. Follow BlessBack (@blessback) on Twitter here.…
Read MoreToday was a surreal day. I went to Harry Driste’s funeral in Paynesville, Minn. at Paynesville Lutheran Church. I went to honor and pay my respects to Harry, 101, a favorite janitor from my elementary years at River Ridge elementary in Bloomington who later became connected to our family. Just before the funeral service began, I met many wonderful people who loved Harry, including his wife, Viola. They married when Harry was 85. “Harry asked the Lord to give us five good years. He gave us 16.” His previous first wife to whom he was married for 56 years, Mabel, preceded him in death, as…
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