Get to know your local post office :)

I was chatting with my friend Amber this weekend and she was asking how I did with my 9-9-9 book challenge (scroll down the blog to find my list on the right). I told her I didn't quite make it, but I was thinking about starting my own challenge this year, maybe an "8-9-10" book challenge or something. You know, 8 books in 9 categories in the year 2010. But then she, being the clever minded person she is, said..."Why don't you challenge people to write letters, notes, thank you notes, etc..." it's a dying art as we all know.

That got me thinking...and wouldn't you know, the 2 audiobooks I had checked out before going on my trip this last weekend BOTH focused on letter and diary writing. James Patterson's book Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas...a sad but wonderful story focused on a mom who wrote to her son in a diary telling him how she and his father met, fell in love, etc... Nicholas Sparks' book The Wedding...a sweet story about a married couple (the daughter of the couple in The Notebook) and how the husband is trying to rekindle their romance, part of it includes him writing to her.
Well now you know where my mind is heading and when Amber mentions her idea, it all starts to come together.

So...I am going to start the "Expressions 2010" Challenge. Once a week, you and I will be challenged to do something in writing for our loved ones, our friends, neighbors...could even be for a child you sponsor through a wonderful organization such as Samaritan's Purse or World Vision...who knows what I'll come up with! I'll have J & T help me with ideas too :) And I would LOVE for you to give me ideas! You may have to write a letter to your congressman...while you are doing that, let me know about it and I can make that a challenge for the week!

Are you ready? Our first challenge for 2010 is to simply write a thank-you note. What is a thank-you note you might ask? It's NOT an e-mail, that's for sure. It's a short note, usually written on a small folded card (you can make it if you are crafty and have the time, or you can purchase small packages of these from most any store these days from $1 to $20 depending on where you shop and what you like). Open the card, begin with "Dear..." and thank someone for something they've given you or something they've done for you. It might be something they aren't even aware they have done. You might be simply overwhelmed that God has placed this person in your life and you want to thank them for being your friend, mom, aunt, grandfather, etc... You catch my drift. Then sign the card "Thank you", "Thank you again", "Sincerely", your choice...and sign your name.

Next...and this is the part that might be hard for some of you because we are way out of practice...go to the post office and buy a stamp for your note. These are little square/rectangle sticky things that you put on an envelope before it can be "snail mailed" as we call it these days. They are something like 42cents now, not sure myself. I buy them as a book of 20 and never remember how much I pay but I trust my postal friend is not doing me wrong.

Put the stamp on your envelope (after addressing it, of course...if you need help with that, let me know...it's much different than an e-mail address!) and put it in the mailbox to be sent off.

Good luck with this Challenge! And we are just warming up for the weeks to come so you might want to invest in a good ink pen (yes, you are allowed to use your computer for longer letters, especially if your handwriting is illegible!) Leave me a comment when you have completed this challenge. I'm already pondering some kind of prize I might can throw in every now and then if you let me know what you are doing for the Challenges :) hmmm...maybe some notecards... I'll report back each week with what I did for the challenge and then post the new one for the week.

Happy Writing!