Thank - Full

Photo by: Joshua Niven

Photo by: Joshua Niven

I think there's a reason why it's called "giving" thanks. Sometimes, being thankful costs you something. Sometimes, it’s a sacrifice. Sometimes, seeing good in a world of wrong feels like pouring out an empty bucket onto dry ground.  

It may seem like dedicating a day to giving thanks is a little too outdated in our culture today. Like maybe we're passed that kind of idealism and we should live more in the reality of where our world is, and is heading. If thanks-giving requires giving of ourselves, what do we get in return? Amidst a list that's longer than you'd care to admit, the weight of the burdens and demands you carry and stuff in your pockets  until you have just no more room for more, why should you give, thanks?

Here's the paradox: the more thanks you give, the more joy you get in return.  Giving thanks does something on the inside. It opens up your heart-eyes to see the infinite amount of gifts that are in front of you, just waiting to be counted. I'm not always talking about the winning-the-lottery kind of gifts. I mean the purple mug you still have from high school, the way the grass feels on your bare feet, the bird that happened to be singing your way into work this morning. These are gifts worth giving thanks for, and the design always acts as more than merely an end in itself--meaning--there's always more to see and to receive. More joy. More peace. More Life. 

If everything becomes a gift and receiving those gifts by giving thanks in turn flows back to you as joy--well, you're caught up a holy receiving line. A holy way of seeing everything. Even tragedy. Even heartbreak. There's hope because of who God is, and the way He designed us. Isn't that good news? 

 We wish you a Thanksgiving that requires more than you can give so that joy might fill you more than you can contain. 

 

The Wander Trees

What's the Big Deal about Shopping Small?

What began in 2010 as Small Business Saturday has quickly become a nationwide tradition greatly anticipated by shopper and business owner alike. Small Business Saturday provides an opportunity not only for small businesses to be seen above the blur of Black Friday and other conventional holiday shopping extravaganzas, nor does it stop at finding a unique gift. What's more, Small Business Saturday helps to raise awareness regarding the importance of shopping local for communities at large. One advocate for shopping small provides ten reasons why supporting local businesses is important and can even act as a cure for some of the problems we see and experience in our own communities.

The relationships amongst people that are developed through shopping small, and the sense of community that follows is a source of health and vibrancy in living often lost to society today. Shopping small places, or rather re-places, value on foundational people within our communities—people like farmers, grocers, artists, photographers, and the like. People who devote their lives to passionately perfecting one trade or craft, but simply can't compete with corporate kingdoms.

Choose this year to invest a little bit back into where you call home, knowing that even more than the exchange of product and monetary means, the value really lies in where you invest your time and your heart. So let that heart of yours be moved to see the small businesses that exist around you, to value the people that work hard to keep them running, and to support the preservation of community in its rawest form—people living with people.

 -The Wander Trees

Artist Spotlight: South of Roan

Introducing: South of Roan

A foot-tappin', laughter-evokin' breath of sweet East Tennessee air—South of Roan. This duo hails from Johnson City and are taking hearts by storm with an organic sound and a way of speaking those soul whispers in a real, raw humor and grace. The Wander Trees is more than excited to top off a night of new beginnings with a talent that overflows everything behind our reason for being—passion, joy, and life.

Featured here is a song from their new EP called “Stay.”

Itching for more? Come see them live at The Wander Trees launch party on November 7! See you then. 

The Wander Trees Launch Party

Come join us in West Asheville for a night of celebrating! This is a free event and everyone is welcome. So bring a friend or two and some business cards! There will be light appetizers, drinks, giveaways and really cool people. After mingling and sharing stories, we will close out the night with a music session by South of Roan. 

Let us know your coming by joining our Facebook event. 

Cheers! 

The Wander Trees

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