Treasure Box Tuesday

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Treasure Box Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Welcome to Treasure Box Tuesday from Traci Smith. This is my weekly roundup of goodness emailed every week. I often focus on links related to faith and family, but I also include bits of whatever goodness strikes my fancy for the week.

Calm Mind, Calm Body: It’s Election Day, and it’s 2020. No matter what happens, I think there is likely to be stress and anxiety. An app I’ve used in the past, Headspace, is providing FREE ELECTION TIME MEDITATIONS. I also just started using the free INSIGHT TIMER for unguided meditations. I highly recommend both.

Old Words, Heard in New Ways: On the topic of anxiety, a few years ago I came across this very old hymn called GIVE TO THE WINDS THY FEARS. The language is dated (and not gender-inclusive) but the old style is lovely and there are some profound lines in there… hope and be undismayed. A true treasure, I think.

The Simplest Advent Calendar: Whenever I write books or make products, my litmus test is very clear: Would I use this with my own family? If the answer is a resounding yes, I feel confident in making it. At the very least, I figure, I’ll have an audience of one. My experience has been that the things I make for my own family and congregation have value for others. This year, I wanted the Advent Calendar to be strikingly simple. I wanted us to be able to choose the days we wanted and to let the others pass by with no guilt. I think this is what your church families will want, too. I’ve made versions for PERSONAL USE, SMALL/MEDIUM CHURCH, and LARGE CHURCH. Use the coupon TREASURE for $5 off the church versions this week only. (Back to full price next week, so get it now if you want the discount.) I’ll be putting it in our church newsletter and using it with my own family. Over the years, I’ve gotten great feedback from families about the Advent Calendars, and this one is great for 2020. Put it in an ADVENT BOX or use it on its own.

Can Crushing Experiment: I’m always on the lookout for simple and fun art and science experiments for our family, and I found this AIR PRESSURE CAN CRUSHING one this week, and we had fun doing it. We found that the water should continue boiling for a bit (don’t do it right at first boil).

Happiness from Within: I’ve been thinking a lot about personal happiness and contentment and why we often search for it externally. Reading the stoics on this is enlightening. I think personal contentment and satisfaction in life inevitably informs what we teach our children about what makes us happy. I’ve been wondering about using Instagram as a little mini blogging platform, so if you’re interested in my thoughts on this matter (using the kitchen table as a metaphor, you can read them HERE. Complete with typos!

Enjoy the treasures,

TS