Three Time-Saving Hacks for Finding Happiness and Relaxation

Three things that seem to be in high demand and short supply these days are time, happiness, and relaxation.  Today I’m going to show you how to find them in some surprising places from some unexpected sources.  It’s funny how easily they could be had but how elusive they are until we get a few hints.

What Do You Tell Yourself About Preserving Pictures that Isn’t True?

Everyone has pictures!  Unfortunately, not everyone preserves them.  In the “olden days” as I like to call them, we would take a pictures on film and not see them for weeks or months until we printed them when we got the film developed.  We’re in a funny place now where we take pictures and see them immediately but don’t print or preserve them, so we often never see them again.  What happened?  Why the disconnect?  What is it about digital photos that has made us forget to preserve them?  I find that there are several myths surrounding memory-keeping that are preventing the majority of us from preserving pictures.  What do you tell yourself about preserving pictures that isn’t true?

Three Ideas for Connecting with Family Members

Giving from the Heart series

You can never have too many ways to connect with family members!  Given the likelihood of physical distance between family members these days and the tendency to feel like “connecting” means texting, it’s important to find more meaningful ways to connect.  As the last Giving from the Heart post in this #familyhistoryfriday series, today we’ll look at three creative, meaningful ways to connect with family members.  These are sweet things you could give from the heart for a birthday, holiday, or just because.

Fun New Ways to Share Recipes

Giving from the Heart series

Every family has a great recipe.  I’m a recipe collector myself, and my recipe mantra is that the best recipes are shared.  I wouldn’t have any –ANY– great recipes if I didn’t taste something, love it, and ask for the recipe.  As we continue our #familyhistoryfriday Giving From the Heart series, we’re going to look at some fun ways to share recipes.  Whether you have family recipes you’d like to share or recipes from friends, sharing well-loved recipes is a great way to remember times together or even just come together.

Reunion Keepsakes

Giving from the Heart series

Summertime is often reunion time.  From family reunions to school class reunions, lots of traveling to see old familiar faces happens during the summer.  These events are always special, and it’s nice to both make a record of the reunion to look back on and to keep in touch with those you saw there.  But how exactly do you do that?  As part of #familyhistoryfriday Giving from the Heart series, we’ll look today at some fun and special ideas for reunion keepsakes.

How to Preserve Your Summer Memories

Giving from the Heart series

Summer memories!  They’re some of the best kind.  When I was asked to be the #familyhistoryfriday contributor here at Evolve, our lovely owner Krista told me that the focus of the blog was going to be about learning, growing, telling our stories, and developing our talents.  This mission is what’s behind the tagline:  live, grow, give.  Everything about #familyhistoryfriday is focused in one way or another on those three points.  When we’re talking about stories, photos, memories, family, and connections, each of those goals –live, grow, and give– quite naturally come through.  The next several #familyhistoryfridays will be a series called “Giving from the Heart.”  As summer wraps up, there are several ways to live, grow, and give in a way that connects families and preserves wonderful memories, stories, and photos to look back on when summer is gone.

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”  -James M. Barrie

Bringing Family Stories to Life

Family history sometimes gets a bad rap.  It can be viewed as one of those hobbies people pick up when they’re old and don’t have anything else to do.  This reputation is unfortunate because the fact is that we all need our history.  We all need our stories, and we all need our family stories.  Stories connect us, give us strength, and help us realize our place not only in the world but in OUR little world of influence.  What would change if you wrote down your own story?  What would you learn if you wrote down your family’s story?

The Importance of Memories to Personal Growth

Have you ever thought about how your memories impact your personal growth?  At first glance, it might seem that memories, or looking back, wouldn’t have much to do with growth, or moving forward.  However, memories and connecting with your life’s experience actually provide tremendous personal growth.  Here’s why.

The Importance of Creativity to Personal Growth

Whether or not you think you’re creative, you are.  (If you’ve ever said, “I’m not creative,” today’s #familyhistoryfriday post is one you especially need to read.)  Creativity is not just important to personal growth– it’s important to life.  We touched on creativity last week in The Importance of Hobbies to Personal Growth, so let’s dive in a little deeper.  Why is creativity so important?  How are “non-creative” people creative?  Understanding what creativity really is and what it really looks like is the first step to using creativity for personal growth, satisfaction, and happiness.

The Importance of Hobbies to Personal Growth

In today’s culture of busy-ness, it can be easy to think of hobbies as an extravagance or an indulgence.  However, hobbies are an important part of personal growth.  Learning a new skill, developing a talent you already have, and doing something simply for the pleasure of it benefits your brain, heart, and attitude.  Hobbies are good for your overall well-being.  If you’re not sure what this has to do with #familyhistoryfriday, keep reading!