Category: Friends

2020 Winter Is Coming Blog Hop

Posted on by Staci Mauney

This year, I’m looking forward to Christmas more than ever. It’s a bright spot in the dark of 2020. Like many of you, I have cherished memories of family gatherings. I’ve spent many hours throughout the years creating handmade gifts for others and baking sweet treats with my mom. The holidays often bring additional stress to an already stressful year. We can feel overwhelmed and stressed by the season for many reasons: financial difficulties, too many activities, family members who don’t get along…the list goes on and on. Joy seems elusive, but we can experience the joy of the season when we remember why we celebrate this season: Jesus.

This Christmas season, I’m joining The Kids Did It blog and The Mommy Island blog to participate in the Fifth Annual Winter Is Coming Giveaway Event, which runs from December 3, 2020, to December 21, 2020. The winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card. Continue reading “2020 Winter Is Coming Blog Hop” →

Restoring Lost Connections

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken…” (Ecc 4:12).

I used to believe that I would rather stay home and hide away from the world than interact with people, who can be unpredictable and judgmental.

In my early twenties, I put this belief to the test when I lived in a foreign country and did, indeed, rarely leave my home for a brief time. Because I didn’t know anyone at first, I was afraid to leave my apartment to go to the store or church alone. However, loneliness quickly set in, so I ventured out and made some very good friends that I still keep in touch with today. Continue reading “Restoring Lost Connections” →

Thanksgiving Memories

Posted on by Staci Mauney

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)

As a child, my family would load up in the car and either drive across town to my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving or drive several miles into the country to eat with my one of my dad’s siblings. No matter which side of the family we gathered with, my brother and I always had plenty of cousins to play with. Continue reading “Thanksgiving Memories” →

Practicing Gratitude

Posted on by Staci Mauney

This blog post was originally published on November 11, 2018.

“Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.” (Ps 95:2-3)

Being grateful isn’t something that comes naturally. We’re inherently selfish and focused on ourselves. We don’t always feel thankful. There are a lot of bad things happening in this world, and it’s sometimes hard to figure out how to be thankful in the midst of them.

Learning to be grateful takes practice. When faced with a trial or an unexpected bump in the road, my first thought is never how thankful I am for the difficulty or inconvenience. How I wish it were! Turning my mind from my struggles and onto the things for which I’m thankful allows me to grow closer to God and to receive physical and psychological benefits. Continue reading “Practicing Gratitude” →

A Birthday Memory

Posted on by Staci Mauney

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thess 5:11)

Some people don’t like celebrating or even acknowledging their birthdays, but I’ve never been that way. I view my birthday as an opportunity to connect with friends and family. It’s a time for introspection. It’s a time for fun. And in August 2020, during the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m reflecting on the birthday memory that stands out the most.

One of my most vivid birthday memories is from a couple of decades ago. (How did I get so old?!) My Chicken Soup for the Shopper’s Soul short story, “The Birthday Surprise,” is about my twentieth birthday, when I lived in Germany with my then-husband, who was in the US Army. I had been there about three months and hadn’t met many women yet. My husband was being sent on maneuvers for a few days, so I planned to spend the day alone, thousands of miles from family and friends, feeling sorry for myself. (I know, it wasn’t my finest moment.) Continue reading “A Birthday Memory” →