Merry Merry Happy Happy!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Is there a better time to spread around a little hope and joy? Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, maybe really THE favorite. I love making cookies (and eating them), decorating the house, singing carols, and spending time with my family. However, it can also be a little stressful! Shopping for the perfect gifts, getting the Christmas cards done in time, running from one event to the next... that's probably why some people don't really like Christmas very much at all. I think that Create Hope Challenge cards would be an awesome way to spread some Christmas cheer and remind each other about the hope and promise that came with Christ's birth.

I'm thrilled that more and more people continue to accept our challenge and send out notes of hope and encouragement. We're up to almost 1100! WOW, is all I have to say about that. Thank you for being such encouragers!

Keep it up! And Merry Christmas to YOU!

Yee Haw!

We're over the half way point! Way to go YOU.

It is pretty awesome thinking that collectively you've sent over 1000 notes! That's over 1000 smiles as people reached into their mailboxes and pulled out something that wasn't a bill. Over 1000 positive messages. Over 1000 little lights going out into the world and making a difference in someone's day.

I know we'll be able to get through the next 1000 too! As I mentioned before, all God's timing. Here's part of an email I received about just that:

I am going to accept the challenge and send four notes of encouragement. I'm not sure what took me so long to do this...I had planned to when it first started. However, as you say, everything in God's time! I was looking at the map of receivers. I actually have a friend in Montana to send a card of hope too, as well as a friend in Poland (who really needs hope right now!) - Susan from Texas

Thanks, Susan, for taking the challenge and spreading more Hope out to the world. And, thanks to everyone for all of those awesome notes you've written! Keep it up!

half way to half way

So, last month at this time we were 14 senders away from 1/2 way to our goal, and now we're only 7 senders away! So, we're half way to half way to our goal. Woo hoo!

I'm again questioning my sanity at setting the goal of 2000 notes, but you know what? We didn't set a time limit. So, it's all God's timing, right? It's a huge relief to realize that. I know that if we just keep on doing what we're doing and keep on spreading the word, God will get us there. I really love to believe that I'm the one in control, and that what I want and plan for is the best thing. Funny how when I give up, and finally shout out for God's help everything seems to fall into place (usually in a totally different place than I thought it should).

So, one step at a time. 7 more senders and we're half way there. Then I can't even begin to think about how we're going to find 250 more! I do believe that it will happen... eventually. And, that when those 250 people send out their notes, it's going to be the PERFECT timing for the receivers.

With that said, tell everyone you know about the Create Hope Challenge! Or at least everyone you know that you think might like to send out notes to their friends and family.

a l m o s t . . . s o c l o s e . . .

It is only fitting that at the beginning of our 6th month of the Create Hope Challenge we're almost half way there. Only 14 more hope note senders until you have sent 1000 messages of encouragement!

I have to admit that I'm the one who decided 2000 was a good number, and I'm starting to question what on earth I was thinking! However, 2000 receivers is "only" 500 senders, and just think, if each person who has participated in our little project so far just encouraged one other person to pick up a pen and write 4 notes to 4 people we'd be there! Trust me, I know the thought of writing 4 notes when email and texting is so much easier (and faster too) is a bit unappealing, but think about the last time you pulled a hand written note from your mailbox. How fun was that?!

Here are some suggested uses for the 4 FREE cards we'll send to you or your friend who is up for the task:

- Birthday Cards: "It's not a birthday card" you say? It will be after you write "Happy Birthday" in it. Go for it, I promise, the birthday boy/girl will be glad you did.
- Thank You Notes: Um... 4 free thank you notes? Your mom would be proud! You'll get your thank you's out and save $$ at the same time!
- Speaking of Mom... when was the last time you sent your mom a note? Don't even try to tell me she wouldn't LOVE it! (or Dad for that matter).

That's all I've got for now. I'll work on some more totally awesome uses for Create Hope Challenge cards and will definitely keep you posted. In the meantime, get signed up to take part in the Create Hope Challenge. If you've already done it, I bet you know someone else who could, so pass it on!

inch by inch...

We're up to 900 receivers! I feel like that's a pretty huge milestone. Not only that, but we're only 25 senders away from being half way to our goal. That seems really doable to me. If we just keep on going, inch by inch, one day at a time, I know we'll get there. Sometimes I have a really hard time looking at what we've accomplished today because I'm so worried about how we're going to get to our goal, but seriously, 900 is amazing! So, keep up the good work and please spread the word so we can keep on truckin'. Thanks for all of the wonderful notes you've written

Another fancy map...

I've recently returned from the International Christian Retail Show which just happened to be in Denver, CO this year. This was awesome for so many reasons, probably the biggest one being that I got to spend some QT with my sister and my sweet niece. One of the cool things about ICRS moving around each year is that you get to meet a whole new crowd of fabulous Christian stores and wonderful store owners and other vendors too. Of course we also saw some familiar faces and got to catch up on the latest and greatest from the past year.

Before we headed to ICRS I was feeling like maybe we had set this goal a little too over our heads, because 2000 is a lot of cards for a small company like ours. Being in Denver and sharing the challenge with a whole new group of people gave some new energy to our project. The enthusiasm from all of you new participants gave me HOPE that we could reach our goal, so thank you for that. The other thing that I realized as I was making the list of new hope creators, is that they were from all over the map (and globe)... so I got all nerdy again and made another map for you to check out. This time of senders.

Inch by inch we're getting closer to 2000. We couldn't do it without your willingness to write the notes, so thank you!!!

does anyone have a friend in Idaho?

... or Rhode Island? Seriously though, we're only 4 states away, count them 1-2-3-4, yep, FOUR. If my math is correct, you've sent hope to 46 states. Woo hoo! You are a seriously connected group of people and I LOVE how far you've been spreading your hope notes. Way to go YOU!

With that said, our note writing is at a bit of a standstill. We're doing great, but we've still got over 1000 more notes to write. So, use those connections and help us get the word out about our little challenge. We would really appreciate it and I know that the 1272 people who have yet to receive a little hope in their mail box will to!

sooooo close....

... to all 50 states! Yay for you all and your serious commitment to reaching out to our ENTIRE country. Not to mention the 9 other countries you've added to our growing list. So, we're at 44 states. That's only 6 more to go! I got to add 2 more and a new country to our map this evening thanks to our friend Mike in Arizona. Go Mike!

I know you all have friends all over the world, so come on! You must know someone in Hawaii... New Hampshire? Rhode Island? Check out our map, be inspired to send a little smile across the country or the ocean for that matter.

Thanks for doing what you're doing. It's pretty awesome to watch our map turn green with HOPE!

Is it really already the end of May?!

Wow! I guess time flies when you're having fun, right? So... Emily and I are at a trade show in St. Charles, IL right now and we've had 21 people sign up to take the challenge at the show. I even printed out our groovy map so that our new friends could help us reach our goal of all 50 states. So far, Rose (from the booth next door) has added Wyoming and Minnesota to our growing list. Thanks, Rose!

Also, I got an awesome email from a hope note writer in GA... I couldn't say it better myself: "Thank you for encouraging me to encourage others. By giving, I received." (also... she added 2 states to our list! woo hoo!)

Hearing from you all is definitely encouraging, so keep up the good work! You all have sent hope to 43 states and almost 700 people!! We're getting closer, but we've still got a long way to go... tell your friends, family, the guy next door... spread the word! And thanks for being the light in our dark world.

another fabulous friday!

Hello my hopeful friends! Here's the scoop... 147 of you have committed to create some hope by sending FREE gratefulimages cards.

That means that 588 people out there are going to get a happy surprise in their mailbox. In between bills and junk mail they'll get a fantastic note from one of you. How cool is that!

Together, we've reached 38 states, one US territory and 8 foreign countries. Woo HOO!

Here's the thing... we really really want to reach 2000 people. That would just be AMAZING. So, we need your help. Spread the word about the create hope challenge! Tell your friends and family... tell the person in front of you in the grocery store line, tell whoever you want! Please help us get the word out.

So, I got really nerdy today...

After sorting my fancy create hope spreadsheets and counting up the states (and countries!), I realized that you all had sent hope to 34 states, one US territory and 2 foreign countries! Being the visual people that we are... I just had to make a map of all the hope out there. I mean, how could I not?! So, pat yourselves on the back and keep spreading the word. How cool would it be to get all 50 states by the time we're through?! If you want to see the totally awesome PDF of the map, click here.

over 25% of the way there!!!

You have sent over 500 messages of hope and encouragement out there! How cool is that?

It has been so awesome getting the emails back from everyone with the names of the receivers. The comments from you all about what an amazing experience this has been are incredibly encouraging to me. Thank you for sharing! Here are just a few:


"How cool is this?!?! I'd love to create hope with you!" - Sara in Michigan

"Just wanted to let you know that I've sent my cards. They were all sent to friends who are dealing with difficult situations with their children. My note mentioned that our family is praying for theirs. Thanks for including me in the challenge!" - Jennifer in Texas

"Thank you for the opportunity to send notes - I LOVE sending notes/cards to people! :) This was a great idea - blessings to your family for the beauty that you have given this world." - Tera in Texas

And, now the updates. Click here to check out the list of our awesome Hope Note senders. And, click here to see the receivers.

WOO HOO!!!

110!!! That's the number of people who have committed to send 4 hope notes! Do you know that's 440 notes?! What's really cool about this is that we don't even know all of you and I'm so excited that we've extended our gratefulimages family beyond what we could even imagine.

I need to get a receivers list out there, but I know that one of the cards is going to Australia!!!

Here's what's happening out there as you guys are spreading hope around the world:
"What a nice note! Thanks for such a nice surprise - brought a smile to my face, and the feeling is mutual!"

So, if you haven't committed to send your 4 hope notes, sign up! Bring a smile to someone's face.

As always, click here to check out the latest sender's list.

happy friday everyone!

As of today, we have 12 new hope note senders, that's 48 more notes going out. Yay! The current grand total is 59 senders. And, that equals over 200 hope notes!!!

You have all sent so many positive messages our way, I can only imagine what sort of notes you're sending out to the rest of the world. Thanks for your enthusiasm and keep it up! I'm still not watching the news, and let me tell you... counting the hope notes is far better for my psyche.

Enjoy your weekend and please pass on the word to your friends, family and really anyone else you might know.

As always, click here to see our updated senders list.

update for today

Whew! You all are enthusiastic, which is so exciting for us. We thought it was a good idea, but you never know how it will go over with anyone outside of our little studio here in Houston.

So... we're up to 47 total senders and 9 different states. That's 188 hope notes! Yay for you guys!

Click here to see the latest senders list.

today's challenge results...

We're off to an excellent start! Especially if you consider the fact that it was sort of an accidental start. The gratefulimages girls are all quite excited about how this is going and I must say, the energy around here is positive, so we know it's working here on our little corner of the planet.

For our first day of the challenge we've got 18 peeps signed up to send out 4 hope notes each, so according to my calculations that's 72 notes!

I'm dropping them by the good old USPS on my way home, so check your mail, folks.

Click here to check out our hope note senders list. We're already reaching 6 states! How cool is that?!

Don't forget to let us know the first names and states of the people you're encouraging. I'll have a receiver's list soon!

and we're off!

So, after accidentally starting last night, we've already got 13 people who've accepted the challenge! That's 52 hope notes already. Woo hoo! We'll get the cards in the mail to you right away.

Just some thoughts as we were talking about what we're up to and why we're doing this in the first place...

Have you watched the news lately? My family totally makes fun of me because I really don't. And, I don't read the paper either, unless someone I know is in there and points it out to me. Reason being, it's just darn depressing!! I totally get sucked in to the hype about how our world is coming to an end. It's easy to do.

So, with the Create Hope Challenge, we're trying to get a hold of the bad stuff and turn it around with some good news. If we can get this going think of the positive energy wave we could create! How cool and powerful would that be. Let's get people moving in the other direction. Away from freak-out gloom and doom and towards some positive thinking.

Ok.. that's enough from me right now. Get excited!

If you're up for the challenge, send us an email at hope@gratefulimages.com

Check out our website for updates: www.gratefulimages.com

the challenge begins...

The challenge begins…

Calling all friends and fans and new friends of gratefulimages!

Are you tired of bad news and all of this talk of the tanking economy? Well... we are too! We're ready to create some hope in this world and spread GOOD NEWS. Our goal is to send hope to 2000 people, but we can’t do it alone, so we’re going to need your help.

Here's where you come in:
1 - Accept our challenge to spread hope and commit to sending 4 notes of encouragement
2 – Send an email to hope@gratefulimages.com with your name and mailing address.
3 – you’ll receive 4 FREE gratefulimages cards in the mail (really, we promise, you don’t have to buy anything)
4 – write and mail encouragement notes to 4 of your friends, family or acquaintances
5 – send hope@gratefulimages.com another email with the first name and state of each person that you’ve encouraged. (we’re hoping for all 50 states and beyond)

When is the last time you received a hand written note in the mail? … yes, snail mail. The old fashioned way. A just because note. We are so excited to share some hope and encouragement as well as the inspirational images of gratefulimages with your meaningful messages. We've got the cards! Do you have the time?

Check back often to see how we’re doing with our challenge. And, don’t feel like you have to stop with just 4… Pass it on!