Sharing the most joyous moments of our lives begins with FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS FOR LIFE'S CELEBRATIONS Here you'll find: • Hundreds of heartwarming phrases for engagements, christenings, adoptions, Bar Mitzvahs, graduations, and more • Famous festive quotations • Tips for flawlessly wording an announcement or invitation for baby showers, bridal showers, retirement parties, anniversary parties, and more • Helpful hints for writing the perfect toast for any occasion • How to say "Cheers!" in twelve different languages • A special section for your holiday and honoree card mailing lists ...and much more. Now when there's cause to celebrate, you'll know all the right things to say!

Twenty case studies explaining how to gently deliver a range of life's most awkward messages while causing minimal harm. Life constantly requires us to give other people some hugely awkward messages: that we don't love them anymore; that we do love them (though we're not meant to); that they smell a bit; that they're fired; that we're furious with them (though we adore them) or that their music is too loud... Often, out of embarrassment, we just stay quiet. Occasionally we explode. And typically, we stumble about, looking for the right words - dreading that we didn't find them and thereby causing more hurt than we should. This is a book to help us locate the best possible words to get across a range of life's most difficult messages. With twenty case studies drawn from relationships, friendships, work, our families, and social situations, we are gently shown what we might - in an ideal world - find ourselves saying to make our intentions known while causing minimal harm. We are guided, among other topics, to how best to end a relationship, how to make it up with a child, and how gently to let down a friend who wants more. We laugh, we recognize our troubles - and we're introduced to a range of deeply empathetic ways to navigate some of our most acute social dilemmas.

Stork's guidebook is designed to help couples write their own ceremony or to create a meaningful, personalized ceremony from a compendium of non-traditional, life-affirming statements, pledges, prayers, rituals, and blessings.

A guide of alternatives to traditional funerals, commemorating lost loved ones in a meaningful, personal way. Today, many people are forgoing the trappings and timeworn rituals of typical funerals, and are instead opting to celebrate their loved ones’ lives. With careful planning, services like these can truly honor the person who has died—and both comfort and uplift those who attend. Celebrating a Life offers sensitive guidance on every detail—venue, food and drink, music, flowers, eulogy, program, mementoes—all with the aim of making sure the memorial service’s honoree is remembered just as he or she would have wished. Checklists and an extensive resource directory provide much-needed help to those who have very little time to make arrangements. As author Faith Moore says, this book is not about regrets, but about reimagining how we say good-bye. “In a caring, practical, and authoritative way, Faith Moore tackles a very difficult topic. Her direct and warm advice is a fabulous resource. This book is a must-read for anyone who will face the inevitability of honoring and celebrating the life of a deceased love one.” —Peggy Post, director of the Emily Post Institute and author of Emily Post’s Etiquette, 17th Edition

This groundbreaking collection of LGBTQ prayers, poems, liturgy, and rituals is both a spiritual resource and a celebratory affirmation of Jewish diversity. Giving voice to the private and public sectors of queer Jewish experience, Mishkan Ga'avah is also a commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of both the Stonewall Riots and the first pride march, reflecting the longtime advocacy of the Reform Movement for full LGBTQ inclusion.

Showing someone you care begins with Finding the Right Words Here you'll find: • More than three dozen ways to say "Happy Birthday" • Welcoming words for new family members...even pets • Thoughtful condolences for personalizing sympathy cards • Congratulatory wishes for weddings and anniversaries • Helpful hints to simplify card-sending • A monthly calendar for birthdays and anniversaries ...and more, in this book of indispensable phrases for all occasions. You'll never be at a loss for words again!

This daily devotional book has been a God-led inspiration from its very start-up; from its original Bible verse and note of encouragement to some coworkers and family members to people around the world via my email network. Our God is so awesome! I've had people return emails to me or speak to me and ask, "How did you know that I needed that today?" or "How did you know I was going through this?" That is when I thankfully remind them that God inspired each and every one of these devotionals. I am just being faithful and following His directions. Now I'm led to put them into a year of daily devotions book to reach others. Occasionally, my emailed devotionals have colored photographs that I take as God inspired message for the day. Unfortunately, I couldn't include those in this book. I did include a photo in grayscale at the beginning of each month; the cover photo is a God-blessed look at an Alaskan sunset. I am so thankful that God is working in my life. I want to encourage each of you to grasp hold of whatever gift He has blessed you with and step out in trust and faith to go forth and to share it with others. When you feel down, just start counting each of the blessings God has touched you with in your life; and you will feel His Presence and comfort to encourage you. We are never alone; He is just a prayer away; nothing is impossible for our God. He is not done with us yet. He is asking us to be obedient in our service to Him, and He will help us grow in our faith. Trust in Him, and you will be astounded at what He has in store for you.

Celebrating Failure is the definitive how-to manual for leaders seeking to embrace the power of failure as a learning tool to improve their organizations and achieve ever-greater goals. The business world (and, lately, the political arena) is convinced that the number one topic is change. Heath posits that it might well be failure, because if you do it right, failure can become a launching pad for change.Heath contends that "positive failures" are not only necessary steps on the path to success, but encourage greater freedom to take risks in pursuit of one's life goals. This counter-intuitive but powerful title includes:•Engaging stories of real-life business and personal failure experiences.•Practical steps to apply each chapter's "lessons" and change your approach to risk-taking and failure.•Positive, effective ways to eliminate the "fear of failure" that can hold you back in today's competitive, fast-changing world.Heath's insightful stories lay out his own failures and reveal his human side as a son, father, athlete, and business leader.

A well-chosen toast can make simple moments special and special moments memorable. Whether it’s celebrating a wedding, a job promotion, a birthday, or a new direction in life, toasting is a tradition that remains a part of honoring important occasions. For nearly 20 years, June Cotner has been the go-to for blessings, housewarmings, new babies, graces, and all of life's rites of passage. Here, she joins forces with award-winning poet and author Nancy Tupper Ling to provide the right words for every occasion! Toasts is the perfect resource for any moment where one needs to raise a glass. Organized by category and containing many original toasts written just for this book, this timely tome contains sayings famous and profound, suitable and sentimental. Covering births, weddings, graduations, and other events both major and minor, Toasts also provides inspirations for adding meaning to life's special moments. When it comes to making a toast, knowing what to say and how to say it is a talent that takes practice. Toasts is the perfect place to find fresh original toasts in addition to traditional favorites.

Norah, Colton, and Grace are strangers who belong to the same club, one they didn’t choose. The club shouldn’t even exist—but it does. And the pain its members suffer is unbearable. The life each once dreamed of has slipped through their fingers, leaving all three single parents grappling with the loss of their only child. Their new reality slowly begins to suffocate them, sending them, brokenhearted, into a world filled with children who are not their own. Colton tries to avoid the past altogether, Norah attempts to erase her child’s very existence, while Grace battles with demons she fears she can never overcome. Then, just when their good days finally begin to outnumber their bad ones, the letters start to arrive. Someone doesn’t want them to forget. But how could they? When a child is gone, they are always remembered, just as when a song stops playing, the melody can still be heard. But who’s turning up the volume of loss so loudly no one can move forward? Who keeps pointing out what they already know? More importantly, why? Sometimes secrets leave deep wounds; other times, they heal. Will Norah, Colton, and Grace find the answers they need before they are forced to exit life without air?