When author Erin MacPherson suggested her blog readers write a love note to their child and stick it in his or her lunchbox, I thought it would be the perfect thing to do for Dillon. He was about to become the big brother of not one, but two, siblings and I wanted him to know how special he is to me.

“Hey, Dillon. Did you get your note?” I asked after school, about a week before Cate was born.  ”Yes,” he said. “And I think you should write me a note every day.”

Every day? Every single day? Yes, he said. Every single day.

On day two, Dillon told me the note was too short. Apparently, he has a two sentence minimum. And each day, as I pen a new note (sometimes I add a splash of crayon) I wonder: How many different ways can I tell this child how much I love him? Will I run out of things to say? There are no limits to my love; but I feel limited in my ability to express it. When your heart overflows, are words ever sufficient?

Since Cate arrived, I’ve been overwhelmed by love. From the friends who have visited, brought flowers, gifts and meals. From those who have commented on my blog or left notes on Facebook. I can say thank you over and over again, but the words never seem to match the depth of my gratitude.

Sometimes, a simple thank you doesn’t feel like enough. Sometimes, saying “I love you” doesn’t either. Even though it probably is.

Have you ever felt love that was bigger than words?  

If you’d like to show me some love by subscribing to my blog (I couldn’t resist. It was too easy) click here.

I picked today.

Perhaps it’s because I have a doctor’s appointment today. Perhaps I’m fond of Wednesdays. But for whatever reason, today felt like the date I should select. And I’m glad I did.

I’m joining a team of others who visited MoreLoveLetters.com and chose December 14. We’re penning personal notes to a woman named Denise.

Denise’s daughter explains:

..my mom was there to hold my hand every time I got a shot, and she was the face on the sidelines cheering me on as I dribbled the soccer ball to the goal. She was my source of guidance as I was choosing colleges and the voice of reason when I wanted to break down and quit. She was always right behind me should I trip and would pick me up and push me forward. I have leveled on my own two feet due to her guidance and love…

Recently my mom divorced from her second husband and lost her job…she has lost her way to a long bout of depression. Last month she tried to commit suicide, and I was the last text she sent with a cry for help.

I want her to smile again, not the superficial smile to show people that she is trying to get along…I just want my mom to be happy, and I believe this is something that can bring some hope…something that would really show her that despite the darkness she sees there is so much love in the world…

It got me thinking about what hopeless must feel like. Like there is no way out of the sadness. Then, I discovered this quote from Maya Angelou:

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.

I shared those words in my note to Denise and found a few of my own:

And as I was writing, I thought a lot about Denise’s daughter. She’s hoping her love—mixed in with all the love from strangers who chose December 14—will be the gentle bridge that leads her mom out of the dark. I hope so, too. I don’t know. But it’s certainly worth a shot.

If you’d like to join me in writing a letter to Denise, you have one week from today to mail the note to this address:

More Love Letters, c/o Denise’s Bundle, PO Box 2061, North Haven CT, 06473

~~~

A big thank you to Pam Everitt, who also participated in the 12 Days of Love Letter Writing project. She sent me a snapshot of her note to a young woman named Erika. Pam says, “I adore the anonymity of ‘Love Letters,’ since public recognition for good deeds can sometimes diminish the satisfaction. There is intimacy and privacy in writing a personal note to a stranger…”

For more information, visit MoreLoveLetters.com.

It all began in October of 2010. That week had been a hard one for Hannah Brencher. She explains:

“I was getting completely side swept by loneliness every time I boarded the train at Fordham Road and rode into Grand Central. I had been crying a lot lately and really battling with unsureness about my place in this world. I didn’t know it at the time, but I would absolutely call it depression now. I remember being determined, convincing myself that I would not cry on the train that day.

Instead I wrote a love letter to a woman who came in through the doors and sat down across from me. I don’t know why I chose her. She just looked like there was a loneliness all perched up in her eyes that mirrored mine. She comforted me in a strange way, as if all her mannerisms convinced me I was not alone in all the loneliness, and so I wrote her a love letter. I became so engrossed in the letter that, by the time I looked up, she was gone.”

The other thing Hannah didn’t realize that day: She had started a movement. She wrote more love letters and started leaving them all over the place. She wrote about it on her blog and soon started receiving love letter requests from all over the world. Four hundred letters later and she has not stopped. But the project had taken on a life of its own, so she gave it wings and let it fly.

Enter: MoreLoveLetters.com 

Enter: YOU. (Yes, you.)

Hannah and her team of love letter writers have issued a challenge: The 12 Days of Love Letter Writing. 

All you have to do: Go to MoreLoveLetters.com and take a moment to ooh and ahh over how pretty the site is. Then sign up for a day to write a letter. On the day you select, you will get an email introducing you to the recipient of your letter. Then you have ONE WEEK to write and mail the letter to the specified P.O. Box.

That’s it! Pick a day. Write a letter. Mail it. 

Hannah and her team have chosen 12 extra special (and unsuspecting) love letter recipients. And soon, a giant bundle of love—more love notes than their hands can handle—will be delivered to their door. How awesome is that?

I’m signing up. Will you? Click here to join me.

The highest expression of love is to give without expecting. The highest expression of love is to accept without exception. I have so much to learn. I have so much to learn. ~ India Arie

I sat by the tree this morning and couldn’t help but notice the silence. The silence within myself. It wasn’t a feeling of writer’s block—I have nothing to say—instead it was a feeling of I have everything to say.

But as each thought and glimmer of inspiration made an appearance, it passed on by. Perhaps I was experiencing some form of meditative silence. I had reached a place that feels impossible in yoga class, where there’s pressure to quiet your mind and the mind wants to run its mouth.

So I continued to sit, not sure what would come of it. Next is a play-by-play of how this blog post was born:

Take a picture of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I ignored the voice. The voice moved on, but it came back. Two or three times. Take a picture of the tree. 

So I did. Shawn bought the tree from the drugstore. It plays an over modulated version of the Linus and Lucy song by the Vince Guaraldi trio, and it makes my kids dance like the Peanuts. Dillon woke up as I was on the floor, capturing the image you see above.

“Dillon, why do you like this?”

“Because it plays the Peanuts song and because it’s a poor, poor Christmas tree.”

“So, if it’s a poor, poor Christmas tree, why do you like it?”

“Because we need to take care of it.”

“Why do we have to take care of it?”

“So it will stay alive!”

I soaked it in, appreciating the simplicity of the wisdom. It’s open to interpretation, but it doesn’t really need an explanation.

Today is the last day of November. One month left in 2011. How will we spend it, friends? 

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“Oh, Mommy! The tree is so beautiful,” Dillon said yesterday afternoon. “I bet when Santa sees it he’ll say, ‘This is the bestest tree I ever saw before’.”

The tree had lights but no ornaments. And no presents. As the sun began to set, he said, “When it gets dark outside it looks even prettier.”

The tree didn’t have to be “finished” for my 5-year-old to realize this. It took me back to when I was his age, when the magic of the season seemed more accessible.

Of course Dillon wants presents. Of course he’s been making his Christmas list since July. But it filled my heart with joy to know that he gets it. I didn’t turn him towards the tree and force him to see beauty. He recognized it on his own.

My desire is to have a Spirit-filled holiday season. This is more of a behind-the-scenes effort… something I hope to incorporate into my personal life rather than talk about a great deal on this blog. Here, I write about issues of faith and spiritually in a broad sense, so that my readers may apply it to their life however they see fit.

A lot goes on in my behind-the-scenes world that I don’t reveal here. It is a blog, after all, and not a personal diary. But the stories I share with you are very much a part of my real life. On my “about” page, I explain:

I write about the big things: redefining success, the never-ending quest for balance, and finding home. I believe those big things manifest themselves in the little things, like my day-to-day life raising two young boys or in those moments that just make me laugh.

When I tend to my spiritual life and focus on the little things, darkness insists on creeping in. It fights for its turn in the limelight. But I agree with those who say we get what we focus on. So as I begin the last month of 2011, I’m consciously turning my attention to the little things—all that is good and right in my life—and giving the negative stuff permission to fade into the background.

I leave you with another one of my favorite songs. If you don’t see the player below, click here. And tell me about the little things and the joy they bring to your life.

And you may also want to check out Laura Catherine’s and Sarah’s lists of little things. If you’d like to subscribe to my blog, click here.