Home : Blogs : Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman HAWAII Relocations & Real Estate : ALOHA! Hawaii Real Estate and Relocations Blog

The Gift of Holiday Acceptance: A PAWS Group Holiday Contest!!!!

Kathy McGraw wrote Monday Morning Gifts: What do Seagulls and Eagles have to do with you? The light bulb went off for our annual Holiday Contest for the Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul Group.

She stated, "So many times we aren't satisfied with who we are or what we have. We want more, or better. I guess it's not all our fault, we are taught to want more, but when is it enough? Accepting who we are and what we have are the first steps to understanding. And understanding brings acceptance."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a deep sense of understanding of who I am; that is my gift to you for the Holidays. The Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul group is holding a contest that will be loaded with everything positive to uplift the spirits for those who have gotten weary. We will grasp what is important during this 2008 Holiday season and give back a positively inspirational story to everyone here on ActiveRain. We will give back to this community and tell our stories of how our gift of understanding has brought us to this space and time in our lives.

"The Joy and Gift of Acceptance"

With that theme in mind let your creative side mingle and intertwine with your thoughts to your keyboard and screen to produce your wonderful Holiday Acceptance post for 2008!

Following are the simple rules for this Holiday Acceptance Contest Post:

Start time is November 28, 2008...NOW... and will end on December 16^th, 2008 at midnight ActiveRain Stamped time.
At least 500 words or more filled with the Joy of Acceptance and the Gift of Acceptance. You have your story right in the back of your mind and it must be your OWN words. NO copied quotes, poems or any plagiarized material.
Your post must have at least one picture or video for visual appearance and it must be your own picture or video.
Your title has to include the words *Holiday Acceptance*
Your tag line has to include the words Holiday Acceptance
Join the group Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul group and follow the Guidelines for the Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul Group as well as our own ActiveRain Guidelines.
Post your entry into the Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul group
YOU MAY write many posts but ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON WILL RECEIVE extra POINTS.

**ALL eight rules must be followed to qualify to win!**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOB STEWART kindly responded to my request for points awarded to the winners and this is what he came up with:

First Place: 3000 points!
Second Place: 1500 points!
Third Place: 1000 points!
Two Honorable Mentions: 500 points!
All other entries that were not winners: 200 extra points!

Our judges are:

Kathy McGraw from Banning, CA (who gave me the inspiration for the theme)
Ann Cummings from Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Kristin Moran from San Antonio, Texas and
Tami Vroma from Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mahalo (thank you) for your participation and giving back to the ActiveRain community with your positive attitude and spirit for the upcoming holidays. Remember it's what you do have...not what you have not.

Posted by Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman HAWAII Relocations & Real Estate on 11/29/2008 01:48 AM

Comments (78)

Holiday Acceptance in the ActiveRain Channel

holiday acceptance, contest, positive attitude for the weary soul, positive for 2008, activerain community support

Post is included in group: POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul
Post is included in group: Active Rain Newbies
Post is included in group: Club Chaos
Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: The Art Of Marketing You

78 Comments on The Gift of Holiday Acceptance: A PAWS Group Holiday Contest!!!!

NOV

Sally, you always come up with great ideas for contests for the PAWS group. I'm glad Kathy sparked your imagination with this one.

Another contest! You always keep it interesting. These contests have attracted some of the best posts. Thanks for putting it together.

Gary: Kathy was a big part of inspiring this contest and always willing to help too! Hope you join in as well Gary..you always have some great ones.

Randy: Thanks ....hope you join in too. I think we need to always inject some positive stuff into this network ...especially during the holidays :)

Wow! 3,000 points! That's some spectacular prize Sally! Sounds like an awesome contest, I am excited to be a judge! thanks! KM

Kristin: And we all look forward to the judges choices for the winner! This is going to be a good one....I feel it :) :)

Hi Sally - this is a very uplifting contest and I look forward to some awesome reading material on this one.

Good luck to all who enter - I can't wait to read your posts!
Ann

You know I am in...my favorite contests on the rain...Happy Thanksgiving girl! :)

yeah, sounds great for the glass is half full gal. let me see what I come up with. cheryl

Sally

One gets to a point where they are very grateful for what they have. What a wonderful contest, and Happy Holidays to you!

sincerely

Tom Braatz

This sounds like fun and a great way to feel the real meaning of Christmas.

Hi Sally-Wait....for 3,000 points I think I'll change my mind about judging.....LOL :) Actually I am so glad you have another Contest for this year...last years was my favorite of everything here-your contest on Balance. I'm ready to see what people write on Acceptance...it's a broad enough subject that it's probable that there will be a very nice variety.

Anyway, Thank You for everything you do with your Group and for us. It is appreciated, and let the contest begin :) :)

Sally,

I think that the timing for this contest is right on. Many of us are struggling in this business and this is the type of encouragement that is a helpful thing!

April

Wow this is a wonderful topic and I'm thrilled to have read about it. Now I get to read the entries as well.

Totally cool topic (oh yea I said that already...)

Sally,

What a great contest! Thanks!

Mike in Tucson

Wow now I am bumming that I am a judge . . .next contest . . .

You all are going to have to tell me what to do. I am assuming I need to read the blogs and tell you my first, second and third place winners?

I am so excited to be a judge and I am even a newbie~~you guys are so sweet!! I feel like I belong . . .

Tami...I will let you know what you need to do....we all have ways to contribute, and we really appreciate you for agreeing to help Judge. Being a newer member many times it's hard to know all the ins and outs as well as getting recoginized. Helping to Judge the Contests is one way to do this..I'll make one Post with all the entries...after we get our first entry :)

Sally nothing wrong with striving to achive more, but we need to take time to enjoy what we have already achived. Happiness begins with peace within.

George: Oh, I could hug you...instead you have to enter the contest this time...you have some wonderful insight and words...put them into your post for this holiday contest. PULEEEZE!

Kathy: That's right....thanks.

Tami: Oh, no! You can be proud that you are a part of.

Mike: Look forward to yours... :) :)

Karen: Will you join us this time? I am writing my non entry....

April: Darn right. A wonderful time to give back in ways that others may get inspired from too. A gift to all April :)

Kathy: Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you? Uh,....yeah. So enough of that mush. :)

Kim: A great meaning of Christmas and every day :) :)

Tom: Some do...some don't ...but we can all contribute and make it all happen here. :)

Cheryl: Wonderful...fill er up!

Midori: To you too! Wonderful...will look forward to all!

Ann: Thanks so much for helping out....I can't wait to read em all too!

Sally - as you're pointing out, it's now about having what we want, it's about wanting what we have!

This sounds like a great contest, and I look forward to reading the entries.

Sharon: No kidding...satisfied from within usually is a cure for that :) :)

Margaret: Great! They ought to be a great inspiration to all!

I look forward to reading the contest posts. May have to give this one a go myslef!

Sally, Count me in, it sounds like a wonderful contest and I look forward to entering. You had a wonderful inspirational idea--thanks Kathy!

11/28/2008 09:34 PM

by Carole Provenzale Owner, Feng Shui Long Island & New York (Feng Shui Long Island & New York City)

Delete Report as Spam

CAROLE:

HAD TO REPOST YOUR COMMENT...THERE WAS A PAGE OF BLANK SPACE :) :)

SALLY

NOV

Hi, Sally, Sorry it came out that way, I was having trouble posting comments last night on AR--I hope it didn't do it to many people!

I'm in, Sally. Thank you for this great opportunity to slow down and be creative :)

WooHoo, Now this contest would require me to actually think and reach deep down inside. I'm afraid if I did that all of my past demons would come out and eat me:)

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!!!

Great post, great ideas.... Happy holidays!

Sally...

I'm bookmarking this, sounds like a great contest! KM... you need to remind me! lol

Oh Sally! I am having a really good year (gratitude - wise) and this looks like a fun and worthy challenge! Thanks!

Sounds like a good contest. I'll have to be thinking on it. Maybe a good story will show up in a dream!

I like the theme. I'll have to think about it though. And knowing my memory, I'd better bookmark so I don't forget =)

HI SALLY!

This is a great way to get folks to pondering what it is that is truly important. I think many may have gotten side tracked by the state of the union, when we have an awful lot to be grateful for. I can't wait to read them!

Yvette

Sally -- This is going to be one of the best contests yet! What a great idea for the holiday season!

Carole: No problem! It was really weird. Kept scrolling and scrolling...and scrolling hahah.

Marzena: Wonderful! Will look forward to reading your entry!

Bryant: The last of mine were slain by Gary lol!

Kacem: I hope to see you enter too!

Richard: Dive in!

Russell: Wonderful!

Lizette: No doubt it will!

Lisa: I'll send out a reminder towards the end :)

Yvette: Can't wait to read YOURS! :)

Joan: I'm hoping everyone sees the holiday drean... to get inspired and inspire others!

Sally -

Great idea! Thanks for creatively coming up with all you create!

I'll give it a try.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend in paradise!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hi Sally, This should be a daunting task; there are so many great writers on Active Rain.

Hi Celeste,

I really like this quote: "Accepting who we are and what we have are the first steps to understanding."

I think that this goes a long way to being grateful and thankful. If you can't be grateful for what you have - then what you have will never be enough. :)

Hi Sally, Great Idea for a contest, I have an ongoing issue of accepting that came up again this Thanksgiving, maybe I will give it a go. Hope you had a good holiday.

Parking to see if I have time for this, sounds SPLENDID and I have been wanting to do a "lose the tude" post in regards to this subject matter for some time!

This sounds like a great contest and look forward to reading all of the stories!

Dean: That was a tongue twister LOL. Jump right in!

Shirley: Ha...not a task when one is just typing to ones memory :)

Mark: Kathy's post was the very essence of the inspiration for the contest. Glad you enjoyed and will you be joining?

Christine: Sometimes there is a reason for posts coming before you ....so you can get some inspiration to do your journal (of sorts) and maybe at the same time....give back too. :)

Renee: That's right! That's the spirit! We all need to lose the tude. Sometimes we get those neggies hopping off others onto us and need to shake it off ;)

Sally,

That's a noble idea. I'm not sure I can come up with a fitting story but will follow what others have written, knowing that AR has some real writers as members.

Esko: Oh...I'm sure you can come up with a wonderful one! We all have taken the road less traveled or the one traveled more....and found the one that was right for us that was just right. Looking forward to all!

NOV

Sally,

What a great contest! I can hardly wait to read the inspirational entry's! What a fantastic time of year for these posts to inspire others.

I love this one Sally. I have been a bit under the weather this week and not been around in the Rain. I can't wait to get back into posting and this will be one that I will consider and post something soon. Have a great Sunday

Michelle: Will you join us as well?

Paddy: I sure hope you're feeling better!

Woo Hoo...

You may have me as a contestant this time around. I'll let you know if I cave :)

TLW...ROAR!

Oh C'mon...

There's E-I-G-H-T RULES. Count them. It's E-I-G-H-T. I ain't got no breathing room. Just E-I-G-H-T rules cramping up my style. I'm not sure I can conform :)

TLW...ROAR!

Sally, I will be working on something----great topic.

Sally - I will have to finally participate in this one!

TLW: Aww...get off it and inject some of your stuff in the Rain for this one....we need it right about now :)

Charles: Good for you!

Barbara: I was hoping so.... :)

DEC

BELIEVE--What a great way to pass it forward. We may submit some as a team.

Sally -- thanks for yet another opportunity to do some soul-searching. I will be composing my entry soon.

Allen: Great!

Rich: I love your stories...will await.

This looks like fun. :-)

CTS: Great ...join in!

DEC

Sally... Fantastic Contest. I will prepare my entry.

Brande: I surely will look forward to it!

DEC

Yay! I did it! It's been ages since I wrote for a contest......

Holiday Acceptance... And Beyond

DEC

Sally, this is a wonderful idea, thank you for taking the time to facilitate this.

Join my NEW group at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Regina P. Brown
Allison James Estates & Homes
www.ReginaBrown.AllisonJamesInc.com

Josalyn: Gotcha on the list!

Regina: Thanks.

DEC

Great positive contest idea....I will at least look forward to reading some of the entries...

Sally - WooHoo! You've inspired me. Now to get to work!!!

What a wonderful idea for this time of year. I can't wait to read the stories.

Debra: Wonderful....support is good...an entry of yours even better!

Tom: Well it's about time you showed up :) How are you?

Lubbock HOmes: YOu mean you won't enter too?

this contest pushes prompts me to write about a something I have needed to put to paper for a long time, look for my entry soon.

Looking forward to seeing it Crystal!

Sally, this is a great contest. I love the goal and the theme. It makes us dig deep for what holds true meaning in our hearts. You're the queen! Holiday hugs, Deb

DEC

What a great idea! There are so many thoughts running through my head, I only hope I can write something. ANd, getting some points is also great. Thanks,

DEC

Sally - I can't wait to read the entries! Such a wonderful idea and an opportune time. :)

HI Sally! Okay, here you go! It took me awhile but, FINALLY... ;-)

http://activerain.com/blogsview/838197/Holiday-Acceptance-365-Days-a-Year

Debe in Charlotte

DEC

Sally—Congratulations on 400,000 plus! I only have 390,990 to cath-up with you—LOL! I'm just excited to finall have passed 10K. When O when will the winners of the PAWS contest be posted. I'm such a kid at heart and can't wait to see who wins. There were so many great entries> Kudos to you and Kathy for getting this going. Thanks.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?