Cotner June - Family celebrations: poems, toasts, and traditions for every occasion

also by june cotner Amazing Graces Animal Blessings Baby Blessings Back to Joy Bedside Prayers Bless the Beasts Bless the Day Christmas Blessings Comfort Prayers Dog Blessings Earth Blessings Forever in Love Garden Blessings Get Well Wishes Graces Gratitude Prayers Heal Your Soul, Heal the World The Home Design Handbook House Blessings Lookin g for God in All the Right Places Miracles of Motherhood Mothers and Daughters Pocket Prayers Say a Little Prayer: A Journal Serenity Prayers Soar! Follow Your Dreams Teen Sunshine Reflections Toasts: The Perfect Words for Every Occasion To Have and to Hold We Are Women Wedding Blessings Wishing You Well also by nancy tupper ling Character Coming Unfrozen Double Happiness Laughter in My Tent: A Womans
Search for Family My Sister, Alicia May The Story Ill Tell Toasts: The Perfect Words for Every Occasion The Yin-Yang Sisters and the Dragon Frightful from june cotner: For my family and my friends two of lifes greatest blessings from nancy tupper ling: For my father, Russell L. Tupper,
who showed unconditional love to all Soli Deo Gloria contents letter to readers We gather in gratitude May our present, past and future Be honored and blessed. May we, as family, Be stitched together as One heart, one home One everlasting love. annie dougherty In many ways, Annie Doughertys blessing reflects the essence of my latest anthology. Family Celebrations is a collection of poems and graces, toasts, and blessings, along with family traditions, all stitched together in love. The selections cultivate gratefulness for family life and bring a freshness and appreciation for ones own faith, while nurturing and enriching the family bond.

The carefully chosen words speak to the heart and to the soul. The idea for Family Celebrations originated three years ago when I discussed the concept with my Toasts co-author, Nancy Tupper Ling. We felt it would be important to compile a book that could be used by families for everyday graces and special occasions. We wanted the book to offer selections for family celebrations such as birthdays and graduations; weddings and christenings; and meaningful prayers for memorial services. Here youll find over 240 pieces for every family gathering. The selections are inspiring, uplifting, and fitting for most faith traditions.

My desire was to create a diverse work by blending both contemporary authors such as Amma, Barbara Crooker, Lori Eberhardy, Susan J. Erickson, Charles Ghigna, and Arlene Gay Levine with traditional favorites including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Khalil Gibran, Dag Hammarskjld, Rumi, and William Shakespeare. Each one is suitable to be read aloud. How exciting it will be to discover new family traditions that may soon become your own! With Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion I shared co-authorship with Nancy Tupper Ling. I am thrilled to be combining talents again for Family Celebrations . Nancy is an author, poet, and librarian whose childrens picture books have been published by Lee and Low Books ( The Story Ill Tell ), Chronicle Books ( Double Happiness ), and will be forthcoming with Penguin Young Readers ( The Yin-Yang Sisters and the Dragon Frightful ).

She won the 2005 Writers Digest Grand Prize for her poem White Birch. Chosen from over , selections, her entry was the first time a poem won over all other categories, including screenplays, short stories, and nonfiction. Our hope is for all of us to gather in gratitude and treasure our loved ones through Family Celebrations. May these inspiring words bless you and your family and bring more love and closeness to your family gatherings and everyday life. To families everywhere! June Cotner ( www.junecotner.com) Nancy Tupper Ling
(www.nancytupperling.com) thanks As co-authors, Nancy and I are deeply grateful to our agents, Anne Marie OFarrell and Denise Marcil at Marcil-OFarrell Literary, who helped us shape our book into content that would appeal to a wide range of families. We would also like to thank Melissa Rhodes, our editor, and all the staff at Andrews McMeel Publishing for everything they do, from designing beautiful book packages, to successfully placing our books in bookstores and retail shops around the country.

In addition to reading submissions from over 900 writers and poets who contribute on a regular basis to my anthologies, we read hundreds more potential selections from writers who found us via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and various online writing groups. This book would not exist without the hundreds of writers who submitted to Family Celebrations. We appreciate the gifts of creativity you have offered throughout this book! Your original language and fresh ideas for family traditions will be a gift to families everywhere. Nancy and I are so thankful for our family and friends who offer encouragement for our writing projects and inspire us daily by the lives they live. The impetus behind Family Celebrations was to honor and celebrate families.

all-occasion
toasts To blue skies and green lights! author unknown toast to a good life (Excerpt from The Merry Wives of Windsor ) Heaven give you many, many merry days! william shakespeare Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you diet! old scottish proverb May life protect us and surprise us and be no more harsh than our spirits may bear. Amen. congregation of abraxas Call frequently, Drink moderately, Park friendly, Pay today, trust tomorrow. author unknown Each day the first day: Each day a life. dag hammarskld toast to the now I heard someone say: Yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery today is a gift and this is why this moment is called the Present Listen, look, taste, touch, breathe. dag hammarskld toast to the now I heard someone say: Yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery today is a gift and this is why this moment is called the Present Listen, look, taste, touch, breathe.

The Present. susan j. erickson

Let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing. khalil gibran No longer forward nor behind I look in hope or fear; But, grateful, take the good I find, the best is now and here. john greenleaf whittier irish blessing May your troubles be less
and your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness
come through your door. author unknown