fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
How to accelerate digital selling with Dynamics 365
By: Daniel Cohen-Dumani
Tags: Digital Transformation, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Remote Work

This video provides an overview of the sales accelerator in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Insights. You will learn how to maintain business continuity with the sales accelerator, a digital-first experience that enables salespeople to work remotely.

To talk more about this topic, schedule a meeting with me here.
Проблемы и вызовы удалённой работы для руководителя
Tags: Leadership, Remote Working, Management, Teamwork, Remote Work

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Struggling with remote work? Break it down
By: Bdc Capital, Wit Thrive
Tags: Process Improvement, Streamline Workflow, Remote Work

Streamlining workflows is vital to business success in the digital-first, remote work era

By: Daniella DeGrace, CEO, ProcedureFlow

If you’ve ever played the game “broken telephone” as a child, you know how easy it is for information to get lost in translation when there are many steps along the way. What comes out the other end is often entirely different from the initial message!

It’s a similar situation with organizational workflows: the more complex they get, the higher the odds of a mistake occurring. And while misunderstandings are never productive, their negative implications are particularly pronounced during the global pandemic. Streamlining workflows is now a critical piece of any organization’s business strategy. Those that master it have largely been winners during COVID-19; those that haven’t are living on borrowed time.

The widespread shift to remote work is just one example of the importance of streamlining workflows. Distributed teams don’t have the luxury of in-person demonstrations and casual follow-up questions when learning a new workflow. Instead, they rely on precise verbal and written instructions in order to complete their tasks effectively.

When clear steps and communication are lacking, employees must interrupt their work in order to seek clarification. This is a very significant disruption to their business. According to estimates by researchers at UC Irvine, it can take workers at least 20 minutes to refocus after just one interruption! Compound that across large remote workforces and the productivity drag is staggering.

A streamlined process is one that strips out complex or unnecessary steps and therefore limits confusion and improves efficiency. Streamlining can be the difference between a business seamlessly handling a surge in demand and buckling under the weight of new orders.

ProcedureFlow has helped organizations around the world streamline their workflows in our “new normal.” Our solution removes complexity from intimidating processes and makes them intuitive for even the newest hires to understand. But perhaps most importantly, it ensures an organization’s processes are always evolving along with their business.

A perfect example is the experience of call centers, which were forced to transition to work-from-home operations. Brands such as Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Medavie Blue Cross needed to adopt entirely new workflows and hastily retrain employees in order to adjust to this shift. Both companies leaned on ProcedureFlow to break down those new processes into simple, repeatable steps and clearly communicate frequent changes. In essence, they turned what would have been a mountain of disruption into a molehill. Consistency improved, productivity rose, revenue increased, and risk fell.

Almost a year after the onset of COVID-19, far too many businesses are still struggling to boost the productivity of remote teams. Rewriting their workflows for the digital era would go a long way in helping them thrive in the unpredictable times ahead.
フルリモートで初めてのデザインスプリント
By: Motoshi Takeda
Tags: Team Building, Prototype, Design Sprint, Full Remote, Remote Work

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
How Sneek Can Save Your Team Money During a Global Pandemic!
Tags: Remote Working, Coronavirus, Remote Work, Covid 19, Remote Team

With the unfortunate rise of the Coronavirus, many companies have taken a massive hit financially and had to quickly restructure their operations with a common theme being the introduction/expansion of remote workers. While some progressive employers are thrilled with making the switch, others are skeptical that their employees may not be performing to their highest potential, resulting in a loss of net profit. Well, according to a 2019 study by Airtasker, that’s actually the opposite of the truth. Remote workers are more productive and live healthier lifestyles than commuters — but how much money can the company actually save by using remote tools like ours? Let’s crunch the numbers.

For those of you unfamiliar with Sneek, our app is basically a wall of your remote teammates faces. Each teammate sets an interval for their photo to be updated, creating a virtual office among coworkers who would otherwise never see each other. Clicking on a teammates face will start an instant video chat unless their status is set to busy, in which case they will get a notification from the person attempting to call them. To avoid being cliche, it’s an app made by remote workers for remote workers. We want every remote team to have the same connectedness as a real office, which is why we’ve tried to make our app as affordable as possible (Keep an eye out for a promo code in this blog!) because staying connected in a human way is especially important while COVID is running amuck globally.

Now this is where the math comes in. Once you’ve tried our 30 day free trial and you and your team have fallen head over heels for Sneek (duh!) it costs £6 per month per user to continue with pro or you can give up some features and stick to the free version. The fact you can see if someone is at their desk and hop on a call quickly for a chat saves a ton of time verses asking someone over chat “Hey, are you around for a chat?” — “Hit me up when you get back” or whatever your preferred message is. Let’s say ten of your distributed team members lose just three minutes a day that way, that’s 30 minutes a day, 2.5 hours a week, and 10 hours a month. If you bill your selves out at £75 an hour, that’s £750 of revenue gone in an attempt to save £50 a month. In that scenario Sneek would actually make you another £700 a month in billable revenue. Stack those figures on top of the extra productivity presented by the Airtasker survey and that’s a lot of savings!

It’s truly inspiring to see humanity come together and create innovative solutions for such complicated problems, and hopefully when the Coronavirus is a thing of the past remote working will stick around and continue to grow. We want everyone to experience the best version of working remotely so we’ve created the promo code GOREMOTE which will give you and your team 20% off for your first 6 months, so go try Sneek and see how much time and money you can save!
5 Types of Remote Work that You Have not Heard About
By: Focus Cycles
Tags: Home Office, Remote Working, Work From Home, Work Life Balance, Remote Work

5 Types of Remote Work that You Have not Heard About

We are introducing flexible office, digital nomad office, travelling company and more.

More and more companies are moving towards having their staff work at least partly from home. This shift has come because of tools like video chat and secure cloud storage, as well as the increasing amount of work being knowledge work that can be performed at any location.

This shift has massively accelerated with the Coronavirus pandemic, where many companies were forced to have their staff work from home.

In the discussion on remote work, we often see that remote work is seen as a binary choice:

● Either work 100% from the office, or

● Work 100% from home

But in fact, there is a wide spectrum of innovative options that people often do not consider when choosing an alternative to traditional office work. Here we will show all alternatives to the traditional office work and look at the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Response to Joy
By: Eva Kerins
Tags: Happiness, Relationships, Family, Joy

My sister sent me a text this afternoon. Despite the closeness I share with all my siblings, we are not often in contact outside of seeing one another face to face. She sent me a song, “Cascades” by The Fleet Foxes, and followed it with a text that I will quote verbatim: “now imagine being at a cafe perched on a cliff in italy overlooking the glimmering ocean beneath you” — -quite an imaginative task in itself. I am extremely fond of this particular message, which is a lovely example of my sister, who in turn is a lovely example of the relationships I have with the people who love me and I love in return. But the most extraordinary thing about receiving this message, to me at least, is that she thought of me. Not necessarily what she thought of me, I’m sure she finds me ridiculous and obnoxious most of the time, but the very fact of her hearing a song, imagining a story, and thinking of me.

Now, I don’t know if she happened to share this relatively specific vision with anyone else, but I don’t know if that would matter much. For a moment, and a moment repeated now that I’m writing about it, I occupied space in her head. I know that seems vague and painfully obvious, but to me it never stops being a small miracle. I exist. But more than that, I exist for others. My sister hears a song and thinks of me.

For most of my life, I have rebelled against the idea of belonging to anyone. The thought of people knowing me, actively seeing and thinking of me, was terrifying. And yet, I want nothing more than to be known. To have my friend make a joke she knows only I will understand. To have my sister create a world that I can also inhabit. How often am I blindsided by the way people love me, the tenderness of their thoughts?

Joy is so cumbersome sometimes. I am rarely joyful without also being afflicted with the melancholia that is typically associated with opium-addicted artists of the Victorian era. Joy is usually painful, illogical, and unsightly (unless I’m doing joy wrong, somehow). Fits of mad, deranged joy are native to my car, while driving at sunset, music blasting and tears streaming down my face. But the simple joy of being known, being actively thought of, is the kind that wraps a rubber band around my ribs and puts a lump in my throat. Still grotesque, in small ways, as I am no more comfortable with public displays of emotion than I am with getting my fingernails pulled out. But knowing my sister knows me — -it is painfully obvious and extraordinarily endearing.

I showed my sister this essay before I finished it, because I wanted her to at least be aware that her private texts would be read by people beside myself. She asked me to clarify. I told her that it was nice to know that she loves me, and knows me, and thinks of me when she doesn’t have to. She responded succinctly: “Well, yeah. Duh.”
“Gingerbread Cookies” is Sugar and Spice and everything nice :-)
By: Upasna Kapur
Tags: Gingerbread Cookies, Christmas Baking, Joy

“Believe” in the magic of Christmas !

Gingerbread cookies are synonymous with Christmas time baking tradition. As a kid, I remember reading Enid Blyton books that often mentioned gingerbread cookies. I remember one of my favourite series Malory Towers in which the girls had a midnight feast of gingerbread cookies :-) I used to always imagine what would these be like… now since Ive gotten around baking them — I just can eat a whole batch my self with a cup of coffee!

What makes the Gingerbread cookies special is that it is a perfect blend of heady warmth of spices from ginger , cloves and cinnamon with the sweetness from molasses and brown sugar . Coming to the cookies now … hahaha… these indeed make the house smell like christmas and joy !

Same evening I baked these I was also decking up the Xmas tree at home – and I put up an ornament that says “ Believe” ! Though it’s been a tough year for all , let’s end with some cheer and believe in the magic of Christmas !!

I followed the recipe from sallysbakingaddiction — https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-gingerbread-cookies/

I think its perfect recipe i followed to the T ! Don’t forget to put he molasses — it adds a caramel dark sweetness to the cookies .

Do make these and have your selves a merry little Xmas cause Tis the season to be jolly… Falalalala…la la la la !

I haven’t typed the recipe — please click on link above , cause its Xmas and im chilling with the carb overload!
Merry Christmas!
By: J.J. Pryor
Tags: Holidays, Joy, Christmas, Happiness, Merry Christmas

My book went viral yesterday on a social media platform — what an amazing gift just in time for the holidays!

Feeling grateful for this last year on Medium and the joy I’ve had in learning to write better, share some knowledge, and make people smile or even laugh on the odd occasion.

I hope to do it much more in the next year.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

J.J. Pryor
The Unforgettable Christmas Memory
By: Aawaz- The Literature Club
Tags: Christmas, Happiness, Festivals, Joy

Best Wishes and Regards from Proud Patricians







The festival of Christmas has always been filled with joy and festivities. But if you have had a convent education during your high school days, you will definitely be able to relate to the memories we have highlighted here. Etched strongly in our minds, the next few paragraphs fondly relive each part of the celebration.







The spirit of celebrating Christmas proceeds soon after Good Friday. Beginning with the morning assemblies with the reading of the Bible by our Principal, to Hymns & Carol singing, part of the celebration rang in a festive vibe. Once the students were notified about all the competitions, the participation from each house would start flooding in. The excitement would flourish not just within the student groups but amongst the teachers and staff members as well.







The enthusiasm outspread the account of preparations in all the students and teachers who worked dedicatedly not only to win the competition but to boost the level of enjoyment that would take place during practice sessions.







With grinding practices and the selection of students would bring in the Christmas week of joy, competitions and celebrations. Every day would bring with it new winners, outshined by hoots and cheers.







The skit competition by all the different groups portraying the birth of Jesus Christ by highlighting different chapters and verses from the bible. The melodious, ‘Joy to the world’, ‘Oh come, all ye’, ‘Ghungroo baaje’, ‘Silent Night’ chorus carol singing competition which would just end the day with wishing you an euphonious Christmas. The art competitions which included the Christmas tree decoration competition, bell decoration competition, the chart making competition, the christmas wreath making competition, the backdrop making competition, which allowed a platform for everyone to showcase their talent and provide a visionary aspect to the ingenious creative and innovative minds. Every student used to be so excited for this time of the year, the winners of all the competitions would get the opportunity to perform in the final event.







Rewards were the most awaited part of every celebration….but Christmas being ‘Christmas’, all the students would doll up in sync with the theme of red and white, standing in a queue for receiving those imported chocolates by striking through the names in attendance. With our legs dancing to the beats of music played by the DJ, gave us the chance to dedicate our favourite songs to our beloved groupmates.







Christmas was not just a celebration, it was much more than that. It was about love, it was about joy, it was about the gesture, and of course it was about spreading happiness, so here we are getting you to feel the nostalgia and wishing you the treasure of heart.







Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year folks.
Joy to the World
By: Precious Moment
Tags: Youth, Precious Moments, Joy, Family, Christ

Joy to the World

Christ for Youth International

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” [Isaiah‬ ‭9:6‬ ‭NKJV‬]

On this day, the whole world is filled with a joyous atmosphere in celebration of The One who saved the world. Jesus is the real superhero that none can be compared to. All of Heaven and creation sing His praises all year round for the great things He has done.

He paid a debt we could never have paid even if we offered our lives. He became the perfect sacrifice and freely gave us His glorious salvation. Christmas should always remind us of the beauty of Christ. It is a season in which we should always be thankful for our lives and the hope Christ has given to us.

History proclaims the goodness of Christ and His works done throughout humanity. In fact, someone puts it this way that history is “His — story”. We should never lose sight of what He has done for the world and us. Christ reigns supreme above all, and we are indebted to Him. We must be forever grateful to such a wonderful God who is full of love and compassion.

As you celebrate this day together with your family and friends, keep remembering that it is not a day to gratify the desires of your flesh but rather a day to honour and glorify Christ in all your ways. Have a merry joyous Christmas!

Sweet Jesus, Thank You for salvation. Please bring me to a place where I know Christmas is solely about You and not an opportunity to gratify the flesh. Amen!

Further Reading: 1 Timothy 3:16

Prophetic Declaration: Psalm 91
This Christmas
Tags: Poem, Christmas, Self Improvement, Joy

This Christmas

Image by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash

This Christmas

Has a special meaning

A special thought

A special feeling

For I have found what I’ve been looking for

A joy that I was seeking

To tell the world

I’m not alone

Now, my Christmas celebration too, has a meaning.

This Christmas,

I’ve have recovered lost hope

I’ve crossed over life’s hurdles

I’ve borne the pain of rebirth

And have emerged successfully into the future

A future now filled with choices, which in the past, I chose to ignore

A choice which can bring to me,

a future bright with happiness in store.

This Christmas

I make a choice

A choice to put another’s wishes ahead of mine

A choice to give some meaning

To someone who has lost hope

A choice to redeem

All that I felt I was losing

A choice to be

A better me.

-Christabelle
The Top 5 Non-Traditional Christmas Songs
By: Kevin Alexander
Tags: Holidays, Joy, Christmas, Family, Music

Boney M. is a German-based group of singers from the Caribbean. I don’t actually like this song so much as I love what it represents. Growing up, this was-and is-my mom’s favorite. She would delight in driving me crazy playing it, but deep down I kinda liked it.

Mostly, I just liked watching her sing, dance, and laugh while it played. When I hear it today, it takes me home.

It’s my annual reminder of how fast time is screaming by.

I unapologetically love this song. It took me almost 30 years to write that sentence.

The first time I heard this, I was mesmerized. Rhyming Hollis Queens with Collard Greens? Yes please. This was the first hip-hop spin on Christmas I’d ever seen, and I was all in. The main sample is from Clarence Carter’s 1968 track “Back Door Santa,” and it’s also worth a listen.

Akron Ohio based The waitresses might be known more for their catchy song “I know what boys like,” but their 1981 song about a single girl who’d rather just stay home alone on Christmas became an accidental hit.

When Patty Donahue sings “So deck those halls/trim those trees/Raise up cups of Christmas cheer/I just need to catch my breath/Christmas by myself this year” you can feel it.

Catchy and relatable; just like a Christmas song should be.

“Merry Christmas, baby

Sure did treat me nice

You bought all those good ol’ presents

I love you, baby, rest of my life”

It’s a half century old, but much like Redding himself, this track is timeless. The pure joy can’t help but come through.

Whether your storybook Christmas is a white one, or a sun-kissed trip to Hawaii, Redding’s song is the perfect soundtrack.
Oars To The Water
By: Jeffrey Field
Tags: Sorrow, New Year, Christianity, Joy, Christmas

Oars To The Water

The rowing is hard, but

you make it look easy.

My hands, blistered and raw,

your hands, soft and tender...

forgiving.

The tides rage against me,

and yet they favor you.

My arms shake with exhaustion,

your arms strong with conviction.

Feet glued to the ground

as I watch you rise

to the very mountaintop…

heart in my mouth

so you shall not fall.

Next year we’ll

exchange our masks

of grief and sorrow

for ones of joy and light

as we rejoice

the closing of the old

and the birth

of the new.
Joys of Discovering a New Hobby
By: Rishabh Choudhari
Tags: Discover, News, Hobby, Joy, Poem

Joys of Discovering a New Hobby

Intrigue,

Curiosity awakens,

An invisible smile,

a visible smile,

warmth of exhilaration.

The brain urges for more,

with a flush of dopamine.

A second day comes,

the same joy.

Maybe more,

as new discoveries are made.

A third day,

more explorations,

more discoveries,

and even more fun.

A jolly energy radiates now.

A new pass time,

a new activity,

a new hobby discovered.

The most wonderful present,

one can provide,

for their mind.
Meetings on Earth
By: Shireen Pasha
Tags: Joy, Bohemian Caverns, Jazz, Love, Heaven On Earth

I would love to walk with you in the crisp Autumn afternoons of DC. We would go to Bohemian Caverns and listen to jazz. It would be a night of music. We would hop from the cavern to a hotel where there is fire and a triple bass to another spot and finally stop at a corner where our usual musicians play. If I am sad, if I seem far — it is only for a moment. You are always with me.
Joy
By: Cortanalain Aka Xelain
Tags: Wait, Awaken, Joy, Heart, Outside

The heart awakens

Hoping for a joy that waits

Just outside the door
心流-喜樂
By: Albert Leong
Tags: Happy, Flow, Joy

Hungry for God's Word, I want to use my life do share the Word, dividing the word of truth, share what I have learn from the bible, and other book of spirtual.
Singing, Dancing and Playing Should Not End With Our Childhoods
By: Ian Riley
Tags: Playing, Singng, Joy, Dancing, Expression

As adults, we tend to grow out of being silly or playing or even singing for fun. Our lives become different from what they were when we were children and this of course is understandable but the joy of singing and playing is actually part human nature. I find it odd that as adults we become embarrassed or averse to playing as freely as we did as kids or singing along to a song for or anything that requires that freedom of joy. Yet it is that joy that allows us to live in the moment and celebrate who we are and the people that we love. The same goes for dancing; dancing freely whether it is in your bedroom or on a car park roof or in front of an entire busload of people, the joy one can gain from dancing at the moment is truly something.

The same goes for playing and singing. Wants that feeling takes hold it is something that we should express rather than suppress. Children’s lack of inhibition it’s helpful in the way that it allows them to be expressive without thinking through dance singing or playing. However, as adults, we, of course, become a lot more aware of ourselves and our position but we can still feel the same level of Joy or fun as we did when we were children but we somehow think it is too childish to feel this way and refrain from doing so. This is not only sad but it’s actually unhealthy for our minds and spirits.

Acting in the moment is something that has been taken away from us in this world because there is so much pressure in everything that we do as adults. So the next time you feel the urge to sing loudly or dance in the supermarket or play crazily with your friends don’t suppress it, be in the moment and be joyful.
It’s Time For A Christmas Angel
By: Floyd Mori
Tags: Service, Joy, Christmas, Helping Others, Love

It’s Time For A Christmas Angel

Photo by Myriam Zilles on Unsplash

Anyone can be a Christmas angel by being kind to others

Do you need a Christmas angel or can you be someone else’s Christmas angel this year? A lot of people are hurting financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic which has hit the world with full force. The year is almost over with Christmas just days away. If you know someone who needs a Christmas angel, hopefully one can be found. There are many individuals, families, and groups which are willing and anxious to help spread Christmas cheer. They are helping many people in need to have the means to celebrate a joyful Christmas.

If you don’t need a Christmas angel, you could be an angel to someone else who needs one. There are many ways to be an angel for someone in need. Take food to people that you see who are homeless. Give some money to homeless people so that they can buy food. Take Sub for Santa items to a family who needs help with gifts for children. Visit someone who is alone and take a treat. Donate to worthy causes which help people in need, Pick a card from an “angel tree” and buy a gift for the person. Buy a surprise gift for a person who may need cheering up. Phone someone who is alone to tell them that someone is thinking of them. Take blankets or warm coats to give to the homeless. Donate items to a homeless shelter or facility which serves people in need. Invite a person who is alone to join you for dinner.

Anonymously leaving something at someone’s doorstep, whether they need it or not, can brighten someone’s day.

There are a myriad of ways to make someone’s day and be their Christmas angel. There are some things that cost money and other things that just require some time and thought. Many people could use some cheer as they feel alone and depressed during the holiday season.

With the COVID pandemic still raging, precautions need to be taken when trying to serve other people. Social distancing and masks are important. There are ways to help in spite of the pandemic.

Christmas is a time for joy. Doing something for someone else will bring Christmas joy to anyone who tries to be a Christmas angel for someone else. Serving others without any thought of receiving anything in return is true service.

Love, inner peace, tenderness, and care can come with trying to make someone else’s Christmas bright. It can bring joy to someone who needs a Christmas angel.
Joy and Laughter for the Holidays
By: Thomas O'Grady
Tags: Holidays, Short Story, Joy, Parenting, Fiction

Joy and Laughter for the Holidays

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

TJ was a young father in his mid-20s living in the Pacific Northwest. An ex-D1 runner responding to the hectic pace of life.

CJ was nearing a year old. Lucky to be alive after being born prematurely. On this nice afternoon, CJ was being introduced to the running stroller. A right of passage.

Together, the two-headed around the neighborhood in tandem at a steady pace with the crisp air blowing past their faces. CJ let out squeals of joy and a warm smile crossed TJ’s face.

This was the best holiday present a young father could ask for.
The Christmas No One Wanted in 2020
By: Peter Englert
Tags: Coronavirus, Christianity, Joy, Christmas, Hope

My friend Adam and I this weekend were texting back forth about this tweet.

Tweet from Adrian Gibbs on December 16th

2020 has brought a heaviness to a regularly joyful season. In this year, we have walked through a pandemic, racial reckoning, job losses, contested elections, disrupted routines, and added doses of fear and anxiety for our children. As a pastor, I’m well aware that many who walked through divorces, painful conflicts with loved ones, and health issues outside of the Coronavirus.

I don’t walk through this Christmas season glibly. I realize that many reading this post would label 2020 “The Christmas No One Wanted.”

If you read the account of the Christmas stories in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, you encounter a strange similarity to 2020.

Let’s start here. Most likely, 300–400 years passed through the end of the Old & New Testament. Generations of people lived in the relative silence of God. They heard the stories of Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David living in a shell of that time. By this time we enter the New Testament, most of the readers lived under Roman occupation.

Jesus enters a world full of darkness, chaos, and controversy. Mary, his mother, experienced a miracle in the immaculate conception but most likely had the shame of a baby out of wedlock. Mary and Joseph also had to walk by foot from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a foreign ruler’s census.

If you asked Mary and Joseph, I wonder if they would say label their story, “The Christmas they didn’t want either.”

2020 has disturbed us individually. Each of us has had to walk through a level of disappointment, grief, and somberness this year. That truth allows us to have more compassion rather than less.

So, we find ourselves amid Christmas, the happiest time of the year. As Adrian Gibbs points out, it seems trite to throw out shallow cliches from the past year. On the other hand, our church Fathers and Mothers placed the celebration of Christmas in December because they knew we would need a light in the darkness of winter.

As I texted with Adam this weekend, one thing became apparent — we think we want happiness and comfort when in reality, we’re searching for joy and hope. Those terms are not mere semantics but rather reflect the shallowness and depth of this season. We want joy rooted in an unshakeable hope despite the bleakness of the world around us.

The Good News of Christmas invites us to such joy and hope. Jesus leaves the riches of heaven to live in a bleak world. He embraces pain and suffering to identify with us. We need the message of “Emmanuel, God with us” because Jesus knows more than we realize the 2020s of our lives.

Hope and joy invite you to grieve rather than deny reality, and it invites you to experience a Savior with you in this season.

Adam sent me this prayer that his pastor prays over the congregation every week that I think is very applicable in a 2020 Christmas. Let this prayer guide you to Jesus in the various emotions of this week:
It just hit me
By: Jonas Ellison
Tags: Faith, Life, Joy, Love, Hope

The vaccines are rolling out…

The vaccines.

Are rolling.

Out.

I’ve seen it across headlines these last few days, but I’ve been so busy with life that I haven’t stopped to let that sink in.

This is an Advent/Christmas like no other I’ve ever lived through. The hope of this season is more real than it’s ever been.

Think of it…

This coming spring/summer, we may actually get to be together.

Like, in the flesh.

With no guilt or awkwardness.

Maybe even without masks?

We may be able to hug each other.

To laugh together.

To sing together.

To cry into each other’s arms.

Oh my God.

This is real incarnational hope.

Fleshy hope.
Spread Love
By: Ryan E. Poole
Tags: Together, Joy, Christmas, Family, Love

Internationally known speaker, writer, Relationship Artist, & Thought Provocateur of observations (not opinions). Banned on Facebook for protesting the KKK
3D JOY Festival 2020
By: Marybel Salis
Tags: 3d, Joy, Online, Festivals, Virtual

3D JOY Festival 2020

The UCAN Cic second Virtual Event

So what is the 3D JOY Festival 2020 exactly? Everyone is asking…hence this article.

After our first online virtual event, the general feedback form was that everyone enjoyed what we did, only they wished it lasted longer.

We have listened. We have envisaged an ongoing festival where artists can periodically share and market their own products and services led by the community and have real time feedback from their fans.

We have adapted to the needs of our neighbours and followers from North Kensington, joined by representatives from the rest of London, Europe and the World at large.

One of our missions is to combat IT Isolation and motivate each other through peer support during the hardships we share due to COVID and lockdown.

Mental health has been one of the most discussed topics, particularly for those who miss meeting friends or live in isolation.

As the 3D JOY Festival is a seasonal event, the 2020 edition is dedicated to the winter, Christmas and the New Year.

We are an interfaith and intergenerational group with a plethora of ideas and points of view.

This is why our conversations using Social Media are engaging and exciting and attracting new members and collectors every day . This is why our community commissions are so successful and relevant to our audiences.

Thanks to the use of new technologies, we have taken the opportunity to overcome geographical boundaries and connect with friends across all borders.

You are all invited to book your free tickets ( the first 100 tickets will be free because we are running it as a pilot)on:

3D JOY Festival2020

Eventbrite — The UCAN Cic presents 3D JOY Festival2020 — Monday, 28 December 2020 — Find event and ticket information.www.eventbrite.co.uk

The opening night will be hosted on Zoom on the 28/12 from 18:30 pm
“A Trip with Santa”
By: Amit Singh
Tags: Santa Claus, New York City, Paris, Merry Christmas Greetings, Joy

Somewhere on the North Pole, the gnashing cold held its icy fervor while the white powder smeared the landscape in the linen of snow. A flock of reindeers wondered, “when will that white-bearded man dressed in a red coat take us to spread the love of joy,” clicking their feet as they squelched across the park of snowy ice, waiting!

Much to their astonishment and awaited expectations, the snow cart dazzling with the northern lights appeared and showed that man.

Surprised, they exclaimed, gruntingly, “what took you so long?”

The man smiled as he cheered, “Ho!”

He declared, “Call me Santa, and I’m here to take you all on a joy ride.”

Vamoose, eight of the reindeer tugged onto a cart, found themselves trotting over the snow as their party cantered apace. Across the celestial terrain, the sky glared shades of red over the yellow and violet mixed with the blue-green pricking the crimson pink; the stars shimmered and twinkled.

The cold and wild crosswind blew, freezing the droplets on the sniffing reindeer’s hairy nose, and their coachman found those trickles on his beard too. Inflight, he smoothed his face with his hand while touching his frosty hairy beard to feel his pride.

The carriage rode the glacial parks imparting hope and peace on that course. The moose stood smiling, and the elk’s bugles bellowed the horizon to welcome the season of joy. The torpid grizzlies and their cousins snorted, prying the affair unfold from their retreats deep in the snow hoods and on the top of the mountain pines.

Now the Santa team quickened their course to go over the Eiffel tower to convey the freshness of hope. Soon after sunset, they were over the Seine before anyone could imagine and around the city of Paris.

Their light and sight mellowed the Parisians’ heart’s to heal with “Joyeux Noël & Bonne année, bonne santé.”

With the message of joy and hope, the Santa wagon sparkled the Eiffel glitter as it spread all over the city to everyone’s sight and heart’s delight.

And the pope stood standing with his monocular from the Vatican roof and espied the joy trip too.

Next, they flew into the sanctuary of Olympia, where Zeus’ pride and immortality haloed that they took to wick up the world to heel.

And the pride of Lions from the African jungles roared,” M.E.R.R.Y. C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S,” announcing a day of reprieve.

At the red square — GUM, the Muscovites couldn’t wait, so he shopped for them there. Then, the Taj Mahal signaled LOVE where Santa had to go.

From there, they set a chart for the Big Apple. On their way, the Big Ben ding-donged as they flew over Queens Mary’s town.

In a wish, he came to Harlem and shared gifts for everyone’s spirit, which got hold of a new sight, courage, and hope. Where the Rockefellers set their tree, he put those gifts for everyone to rejoice.

And, he trumpeted, “Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas,” alongside, “Felices fiestas y Feliz Navidad.”
What Brings You Joy?
By: Ian Chan
Tags: Child, Happiness, Life, Joy

Technologies advance, human evolve, yet child has to learn their first step before they can take on the world.
Haiku – Left Only
Tags: Happiness In Life, Paris, Haiku, Joy, Mental Health

Local poet/writer. ‘There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.’ E. Hemingway. All ©️DMM
5 Days Before Christmas
By: Padraic Cyril Mc Freen
Tags: Joy, Giving, Christmas, God, Jesus

Dear Father GOD in these 5 Days Before Christmas, I thank you for showing me the important things in life are those that are intangible.

Father GOD there is so much more to life than what is tangible.

Possessions, money and amassing stuff is not what life is all about. Father GOD thank you for the resources You’ve blessed me to have. Thank you even more Father GOD for showing me the multitude of ways I can do good with Your blessings.

Father GOD I am not perfect and everyday I make mistakes.

Thank You Father GOD for you have taught me to not only forgive others but to forgive myself. There are moments when I forget the lessons learned and lose my focus on what is most important. In those moments, I thought of only myself.

Thank you for Your forgiveness Father GOD.

I pray that my giving is a humble example for others. Father GOD thank you for this day. Today I will be a blessing to others for I am a Child of the MOST HIGH.

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in GOD, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life”

1 Timothy 6:17–19

In Jesus Name,

Amen
Joyful Holiday Tips
By: Charlotte Allison
Tags: Holidays, Spirituality, Joy, Christmas, Fun

Get a small box or jar. Decorate it however you wish. Then label it ‘God Jar’ or God Box’. In this box or jar, you will put all of your wishes and everything you want to manifest for yourself. Write down on a piece of paper what you want to bring into your life. You can even draw an image of what you would like to manifest. If you want, you can write at the bottom of the page: This or something better now manifests for me, for the highest good of all concerned. Then, put it in your jar or box and let it go. You do not have to worry about how it will manifest in your life. Once you let it go, God will take care of it.
We always have hope and joy…as we believe.
By: Mary Gallagher
Tags: 2020, Hope, Joy

We always have hope and joy…as we believe.
Bundle of Joy
By: Life Coach Vinayam
Tags: Story, Joy, Thoughts, Cry, Alone

Bundle of Joy

Photo by Максим Лунгу on Unsplash

Who I am? Why I am? What I am? No… no… don’t go in deep. It’s enough to start with …

In a small town, I’m living with my endless problems and helpless situations from the years. When I was tired of getting a solution, I accepted the truth. The feeling of being alone is worse than being alone. You might take an interest in knowing how I start my day?

Another sleepless night was over.

I start my day by checking my phone. Spending more time hoping somebody would have called me and messaged me but ending in despair. I know the bitter truth that I’m alone. Nobody cares. In this world nobody is mine…

Before the day moves, I leave for church in the early morning.

To enshrine unfathomable peace in me, I follow this routine without fail.

I was walking on the silent road as if the road was still sleeping. Perhaps she might awaken all night in waiting for someone like me.

I inhaled the morning fresh fragrance to the full capacity of my lungs and moved down the lane.

This road leads to the church. I could hear the ringing bells of the church from this point and felt the calm. But I could also hear the cry. My brain started thinking fast and loaded with uncountable thoughts. I saw around, but nobody was there.

As I was moving down the lane, the sound became louder and clearer, but I could find no one. I engrossed in sound and continued to follow it…

I was perplexed, my breath shortened.

I made a thorough search in the surrounding bushes; when saw a small cartoon, I ran toward it. I felt like my heart stopped beating.

A baby was lying, but crying incessantly.

Image recreated by the author.

As the baby was crying, his face became red. I peeped into the cartoon.

Baby saw me with his tiny eyes, started moving his small hands and legs.

I wanted to take him out soon, but stopped and questioned myself first; who had left the baby in this condition? Who were they?

Why are some humans so cruel to this innocent baby???

I perturbed about what to do and what not?

Thoughts started pouring, and I was wrestling with all the coming thoughts in my mind. After churning my thoughts boldly, I grabbed the child and covered him with my shawl.

The baby stopped crying, as he sensed that he is in safe hands now.

I put him on my chest. The baby felt the treasure of my warmth and my deep emotions.

I started melting down in tears. I felt all my suppressed pain, buried deep within me from years and years…, started flowing…

Now the baby was safe, and both hands were full. I experienced deep feelings of completeness.

Twinkling stars of his innocent eyes brought light to my dark universe. I wanted to reach the church fast.

The church bells were ringing loud. It seems like they were celebrating my happiness.

I was not alone! Yes, I was not alone now. God showered his love.

God gifted me with a bundle of joy.

Bearing thousands of dreams in my eyes and holding a bundle of joy in my hands, I started moving…
The importance of sorrow and what it brings.
By: Olwethu Morake
Tags: Unlearning, Letting Go, Sorrow, Joy, Teens

For decades, sorrow has been made out to be the villain in mainstream media. From songs where the artists plead with sorrow to go away, to cliche movies that mislead us, telling us that sorrow cannot coexist with joy. It pains me to say this but such behavior should be unlearned, sure it is amazing to play a classic song that gets you all emotional but the problem lies in feeling guilty for doing so. Sorrow brings great lessons and it gives one the opportunity to better oneself. We are human and we are made to feel. Allow yourself to feel.

Now, with feeling comes another stage, letting go. As much as it is necessary to feel, it is just as important to pick yourself up and to try again. In order to let go, you first have to come to terms with your sorrow. One needs to understand and question their feelings of sorrow, then get over them. It is imperative to know why you feel the way that you feel before coming to terms with it. Ask yourself the right questions and watch as the answers just flow. Once you have the answers, learn the lesson and move forward.

The lessons learned bring about newfound joy, joy that lets you move forward. Joy is Sorrow’s second in command, it gets to clean up after sorrow and revive you again and again. It is for this reason that these two are considered interchangeable. Joy can either arrive sooner or later, the choice is yours. Do you choose to question your emotions sooner and learn to come to terms with them or do you just succumb to Sorrow’s chokehold? Do not delay Joy’s arrival, look deep within and then shall Joy arrive. Joy awaits you patiently and lovingly.

With all that being said, learn that those two go hand in hand and it is impossible to get one without the other. It is like a package where you only receive the other if you have successfully understood the other’s existence. Today’s youth has made coming to terms with your emotions a sin, it is cooler to act heartless and pretend that you are not phased by life’s challenges, avoid this. Do not let anyone tell you how to feel and how to navigate your own life, it is much better to be sorrowful than to have regrets when you no longer have the power or energy to change your life. To live is to feel so do not deprive yourself of that privilege.
How to Share the Joyful Abundance All Around You
By: Trista Ainsworth
Tags: Personal Growth, Abundance, Giving, Joy, Life Lessons

The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate but in what you give away. — Wayne Dyer

On Thursday night this week, I made two batches of highly spiced, delicious gingerbread dough. Yesterday I set out to roll, cut out and bake all of the pieces for our cookie creations. On this day, I learned a powerful lesson about abundance, appropriate for my 100-day journey.

I laid out the flour, parchment paper, rolling, paper patterns, and baking sheets. We were excited to create pyramids, cars, and my son’s space ship schematic, all out of gingerbread dough.

Once I had cut out the shapes that we desired, I noticed I had a lot of extra dough. From that, I continued to roll, cut, and bake bear shapes, circles, mini trees, and small gingerbread house parts. All afternoon I baked, watching Christmas movies, and enjoying the sweet scent of cinnamon and ginger in the air.

After I assembled our creations last night with the help of delicious royal icing, I was in awe of how much I had created out of that dough. I had enough house kits, bears, and trees to gift two families a whole afternoon full of decorating fun.

That magical dough that never seemed to end brought me so much joy. There is a unique type of happiness in your heart when your cup overflows, and you know you have a lot to give away.
Yep!
Tags: Pets And Animals, Humanity, Pets, Joy, Reiki

Yep!

You’re right Kat.

Seriously though, what a wonderful article.

I hope you realize you have an infectious writing style. And right now, that’s actually a good thing because we NEED more humor right now.

I shared your article with my friend Jamie Lee who happens to be a dog whisperer. Well, actually, she’s a animal Reiki specialist. She works with owners and pets to help them create a special bond like the one you wrote about in this article.

What you wrote about doesn’t happen naturally for everyone. You have to be committed to the process.

Yes, you passed the test! Jamie Lee loved your article.

If interested, you can find out more about her work at:

www.animal-bonds.com

Thanks for such awesome work. It was obvious you enjoyed writing it!

#Grateful
7 Days Before Christmas
By: Padraic Cyril Mc Freen
Tags: Joy, Christmas, God, Love, Jesus

Dear Father GOD in these 7 Days Before Christmas, I now know that joy, love and happiness in this Season are magnified by the giving of my time, care and commitment to others.

Father GOD showing others that you care for them, that you’re praying for them, that you’re here for them when needed is far more precious than the most expensive of material gifts.

Father GOD thank you for this day. Today I will be a blessing to others for I am a Child of the MOST HIGH.

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

2 Corinthians 9:6

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen
Sacred Exchange
By: Tanya Buchko Green
Tags: Humanity, Blue Insights, Joy, Poetry, Love

Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash

Sacred Exchange

A knock at the front door

brought me out of my morning’s search for inspiration

and into opportunity.

You were in need

and so was I.

Just at the right moment,

you were there, offering

to open my heart.

I was not looking for this magic,

but it came,

from your willingness to ask,

and my willingness to answer.

A sacred exchange,

bringing tears of joy

to us both.