Hooray! February!

Write on! Write now! February is here! February, the month of letters! In letter writing circles February is known as the letter writing challenge month. lettermo.com and INCOWRIMO.org are two groups that challenge us to write and send one letter, note, card, postcard, etc. everyday in the month of February. Sounds like fun to me!! 🥰

Lately my energy and motivation has been sapped by the pandemic and the effect COVID-19 has had on my work as a nurse at the hospital.😞 But thanks to February, aka Letter Month 💌, my motivation is building!! I am hoping to write and send some Mrs. Murphy Mailbox mail during the letter month challenge. 

I will share my ideas and, of course, my postage stamps 🤗, here on Mrs. Murphy’s Mailbox! Won’t you join me in accepting the challenge of Letter Month!?!🥳 💌 📬 🐌 

Let’s go postal, people!!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy 

Professional Encouragement Correspondent

 

If I could have any career in the world, I would like to be a professional Encouragement Correspondent. Someone who sends unexpected, encouraging letters through the postal service to brighten someone’s day!! Unfortunately, I don’t think that job exists. At least not at the professional level. 🤔 💰 

I recently had a wonderful experience in which a Mrs. Murphy’s Mailbox letter was requested for a friend of a friend. I loved sharing hopeful thoughts and cheering sentiments with my new postal pal. 🥰 I hope my recipient was buoyed with comforting words through the post. I know my day was brightened by writing and sending the snailmail. Not only is the letter enjoyable to write, but I love picking out the perfect postage stamps and decorating the envelopes! There is true joy in simple things. 

Snailmail is extra fun when you send and receive letters through the post. But I have discovered a special joy in sending encouraging words to someone who didn’t ask for it or will probably not write back. Why don’t you try it, my fellow Encouragement Correspondents. 

Go postal, people! It truly is better to give than receive.

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy 

No Complain November

 

November is approaching quickly. It’s one of my favorite seasons with one of my favorite holidays. Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving! It has the family, food and fellowship of Christmas but none of the pressure of gifts. (I get stressed out by gifts! 😩) Also, I ALWAYS root for the underdog. Thanksgiving really is the humble underdog of the holidays. Smashed in between Halloween and Christmas, it gets very little respect. Unfortunately the spirit of the holiday, giving thanks to our Creator for our many blessings, is often overshadowed by family fights and football...very little respect, indeed.

This year seems especially bad...what with the global pandemic, political division, racial unrest, financial insecurities, quarantine and social isolation. What is there to be thankful for? 

Now is not the time to blame, withdraw, retreat or lose hope!! It’s Thanksgiving season! I recently re-read the book Pollyanna and watched the old Disney movie. (The book is better, by the way.🤓📖❤️) You may think you know the story, but I challenge you to read the book again!! When I read the book, I realized Pollyanna was not a naive nitwit who was absurdly wishful as some tend to think of her. On the contrary, she was blessed with the ability to recognize the value of being faithful to gratitude. She was a THANKFUL person. She liked to play what she called the “glad game.” In every situation, no matter how dire, she liked to find something to feel glad about. While this sounds a bit silly, it was actually a courageous reaction to the enormous tragedy she had faced. Pollyanna was not ignorant of the tragedy of her life. She knew that she was poor, that other people had parents and dolls and clothes that fit and did not have to live off the mercy of the Ladies’ Aid. The glad game gave her the courage to rise above her tragedy, and eventually it puts to shame the self-obsessed adults in the town who believe they are struggling, though the lives they perceive as horrible in fact contain more than a fair share of blessings. That sure sounds familiar, doesn’t it? 

The Thanksgiving holiday, Pollyanna and the state of the world got me thinking about gratitude. 

William Law once said, “Could you, therefore, work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit; for it heals with a word speaking and turns all that it touches into happiness!” 

Now that’s quite an endorsement. Feeling thus encouraged, I’ve decided to start a No Complain November Challenge!! Times are extremely trying and everything feels rather hopeless, but if we take William Law’s words to heart even the ability to work MIRACLES would not do as much for us as being grateful! As a Christian, my goal in life should be to obey God’s will. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18) That’s pretty clear, isn’t it?! 

 

“As Christians, we were chosen for this time in history to make a difference—to be the salt, the light, and the love of God manifested in everyday life. It will not be easy. We will need to think clearly, pray deeply, and draw near to God with the promise that He will draw near to us. Our God will give us all we need. We cannot control what has or will happen in our country, or our circumstances—but we can control how we respond!” (C. Ingram) 

Won’t you join me in the No Complain November Challenge? 😊 Practice the spiritual discipline of gratitude with me!!  Don’t be a whiner or complainer. Play the glad game like Pollyanna! Join me on this journey to joy! 

If you’re interested in connecting by post during the No Complain November Challenge, I’d love to send you some Mrs. Murphy Mail. 📬🐌 Study the Bible along with me on the subject of Thanksgiving! Let’s see what God thinks about the attitude of gratitude! Send me a private message with your snailmail address and I will add you to the No Complain November penpal list! 

Ever thankful for snailmail! 

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy 

Chain Mail...The Good Kind😁

Mr. Murphy and I are empty nesters. Since it’s just the two of us now, we’ve downsized a lot of things including our holiday decorating. Last Christmas, for example, we put up a small tree with lights. In lieu of all the old Murphy Family Ornaments however, I thought it would be special to make a paper chain of prayers. I wrote out a simple sentence prayer on a slip of paper for one of the four Murphy Kids (The Murphy Bros and their Lovely Lasses 🥰) It was a simple way to decorate the tree and Papa Murph and I loved praying for our grown up children everyday during the Christmas season. ❤️

My original plan was to give the prayer slips to them at our family Easter celebration. (There is something really special about reading the prayers other people have been praying for you!) But...you know...isolation. 😢

This has been an insane time. We’ve all had to adapt to a new way of life in these strange and uncertain days. That is why I am thankful for the small joys of everyday life...like receiving a handwritten letter in the mail. 🥰📬🐌 I decided to take apart my prayer chain prayers and send them via post to the Murphy Kids. Hopefully it will bring a smile to their faces and some peace to their hearts! 

My Christmas prayer paper chain combined with this uncertain time of waiting inspired me to make another paper chain! 🧐💡Everyday during the quarantine, I will write down a reason to be thankful, a small joy I experienced or a prayer for someone. I will add the link to my isolation blessing chain and will watch and see how it grows! 🥰 Won’t you join me? 

Stay home and write more letters, people!! 

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy 

Wishing You a Happy New Year and A Full Mailbox

As 2018 dawns I am excited to begin another year of postal projects! Sending and receiving mailbox magic has truly been a highlight of 2017! Thanks for sharing in my love of all things postal!

I've checked my mailing logs and am happy to announce I mailed 161 pieces of mail incuding letters, postcards, notes, cards and packages in 2017!! I didn't quite reach my goal, but it was my first year of recording all my outgoing post so I'm looking forward to surpassing that number in 2018! This year I think I will log the correspondence I receive, too!  It will be wonderful to look back on that information at the end of the year...a record of all the postal people who have corresponded with me across the globe!  Magic! 

As always I am hoping to think of new and creative ways to connect with friends and loved ones via the postal system and share them with you here on my little Snailmail Blog! Thanks for all of your kind comments and support thoughout the year! May your mailboxes be full in 2018! 

Go postal, everybody!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy

"More than kisses, letters mingle souls."  John Donne

100 Days of Mail

Today (April 10th) is the 100th day of the year!  I know this because I was trying to figure out how far behind I am on my postal project. I just posted numbers 80 and 81. A little behind, but I'm cool with it. This project is all about spreading love, joy and gratitude through the magic of the postal system, after all.  Only positive vibes allowed!!

So what have I learned during my 100 days of mail?  I think my letter writing skills have improved. I, hopefully, am becoming a better story teller.  I'm definitely becoming more observant. This project is forcing me to keep my eyes and ears open for great stories and happenings that I can relay in letter form to my pen friends. I also feel more bold and open with people as I write these letters. Writing letters by hand makes me slow down. It gives me time to think through things and ponder deep thoughts.  I find I am taking the time to reflect more on my recipient. Who really is this person to me?  Do they know how I feel about them?  How can I express what their friendship really means to me? There's just something magical about a hand-written note nowadays.  Its rarity seems to make it an appropriate place to express feelings that I don't always share face to face or over the phone. Profound feeling of love and gratitude abound! In other words...MAGIC!!!

This has been a great project so far.  I'm still motiviated to keep on writing!  I've been getting a lot of wonderful replies, too!  Thank you so much! Keep 'em coming! And if you are participating in a postal project of your own I encourage you to Write On!!  It's magic!

XOXO
Mrs. Murphy

The Power of Postcards

February is coming to a close and I am about 10 pieces of mail behind on my postal challenge...my goal is to send 365 pieces of mail. Whew! That' a lot! But fear not, my postal pals. I will reach my goal!! So today I am playing a little catch up with postcards...short, sweet and a magical way to send some massive mail (like 10 pieces).

 I used to think of postcards as only something I would send from my trips. I love picking out pretty, touristy postcards and sending them to my friends back home. But what about non-geographic postcards?? There are some really great postcards out there!  Funny, cute, artistic you name it!! This one would be perfect to send to either of the Murphy Brothers...

Some people have awesome postcard collections from which to send lovely mail. I, however do not. (I'm totally going to start one!) I solved this dilemma by making my own lovely cards. What's better than sending a postcard? Sending your own mailart creations. Yay! Creativity! And it's frugal, too. I used some card stock I had on hand and decorated the cards with a little washi tape, rubber stamps and some old postage stamps from my stamp collection. 

It was a fun way to make some cute and quick postcards!! Any mail that you make and send is wonderful...even if it's "just" a postcard!! Send some to your friends today! It's magic!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy

Write On!

January 2017 has come to a close and I'm "write" on track in my postal challenge! I'm happy to report I wrote my 31st letter on the 31st of the month!!

I'm hoping to carry this success into the next month and throughout the rest of 2017! Thankfully I discovered a wonderful source of inspiration and community. Did you know February is International Correspondence Writing Month or #InCoWriMo for short!?! The participants of InCoWriMo pledge to hand write and send a letter (card, note, etc) everyday during the month of February.  Check out their website to join in on the fun!! incowrimo.org

So keep up your correspondence, my fellow mail magicians!! Write on!!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy

Postal Challenge Progress

The Mail More Magic Postal Project is progressing nicely! I've written several more letters and a few cards!! Yay!! I just completed numbers 17, 18 and 19 in my snailmail challenge!!

It is sometimes hard for me to pick the next recipient of my mailbox magic. I have a pen pal return pile that, of course, is my number one go-to. Carrying on a conversation via post is such a wonderful experience.

But what if you're new to snailmail and don't have any regular pen pals, yet? Or if you, like me, like to spread the joy of snailmail to non-postal people in the hopes of encouraging them to carry on the letter writing tradition! I just love sharing the magic of mail with as many of my friends and family as possible.

One technique I'm using this year is to send mail to my holiday card senders. These are the lovely folks who took the time to send the Murphy family a Christmas or New Year's card this season. I don't get as many Christmas cards as I used to, but there are a few old fashioned souls out there who still send them every year and I appreciate it!! I grabbed my Christmas card basket and started replying to all those lovely folks. Hopefully they'll feel the magic, too!!

I recently read a story where one of the characters was called "a lady of letters".  What a wonderful description! I would love to be forever known as a lady of letters, one whose correspondence is prolific, interesting, humorous, enjoyed by her readers and most of all...magic!!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy

2017 More Magic Snail Mail Postal Challenge!

Hello, fellow snailmail enthusiasts!! Welcome to 2017! I'm excited to start a new postal challenge in 2017.  One of my postal goals is to send more mail in 2017 than I did in 2016 (and document it better...I'm admittedly horrible at that). My lofty goal is to post 365 pieces of mailbox magic!

The Murphy family took a family vacation to the amazing state of Arizona to start the new year. It was a perfect opportunity to send some lovely postcards. I posted 12 little pieces of touristy magic from the Grand Canyon State! Winning!

Join me in a postal challenge for 2017!  It's a fun and simple way to brighten someone's day and spread a little joy and love in 2017! #MoreMagicMail

Make 2017 your best postal year yet!! Send more mail, people!  It's magic!!

XOXO
Mrs. Murphy

Birds of a Feather...Write Letters Together!

I am in love with letter writing, envelopes, stamps, mailboxes and all things postal.  Sending and receiving snail mail is a simple thing but it's one of my greatest joys! I would be remiss, however, if I didn't also express my love of social media. Without the wonderful, world wide web I would never have connected with other like minded snail mail enthusiasts and pen pals! I'm excited to tell you about a fun, simple way to do just that!! Communicate with other snail mail supporters and share your awesome postal hobby via the magic of the internet with a...

 Postal Challenge! 

Postal challenges are limited only by your imagination! I've read about monthly and yearly challenges, mail art challenges, postcard challenges, love letter challenges, you name it! I'm super excited to join a recent postal challenge I read about on Barb's blog RiteWhileUCan.  #Thankfulmail is a postal challenge for the month of October. My Canadian friends celebrate Thanksgiving in October and Barb and a few of her fellow Canadians have created this challenge. (They've even included an awesome printable!) Simply send some snailmail every week in October and share how thankful you are. If you use the hash-tag #Thankfulmail you can share your outgoing post and get inspired by other letter lovers on social media!  I think I'll continue my thankful mail throughout November and American Thanksgiving! What a great idea!

Sounds magical, doesn't it? Count me in!!

Go postal, everybody! 

XOXO Mrs. Murphy