{"id":214,"date":"2009-12-17T12:33:03","date_gmt":"2009-12-17T17:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karencasey.wordpress.com\/?p=214"},"modified":"2009-12-17T12:33:03","modified_gmt":"2009-12-17T17:33:03","slug":"were-in-the-countdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214","title":{"rendered":"We&#039;re in the countdown. . ."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I love the holidays. \u00a0I love the lights, the parties, the multiplicity of meetings where gratitude is the topic. \u00a0I love opening cards and sending messages to loved ones. \u00a0I even love wandering the stores where Christmas music is playing. \u00a0I don&#8217;t buy a lot of gifts any more. \u00a0And I have requested none. \u00a0Giving to charities rather than giving gifts to friends and family members who really have need for little is a far better way to spread some cheer I think.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t know about your town but in Naples the need is greater this year than ever before. \u00a0More families are homeless, more food shelves are picked clean, more children are showing up at school shoeless. \u00a0Giving even a little to some one who is less fortunate goes a long way to changing life for him or her and your heart too. \u00a0The entrance to nearly every store has a bell ringer who cheerfully wishes you a happy holiday. \u00a0What a joyful sound the ringing bell makes.<\/p>\n<p>If every one of us gave \u00a0the equivalent of one gift for a loved one to a stranger instead, \u00a0or dropped that amount into the red bucket, a smile would be guaranteed some place, on some face, Christmas morning. \u00a0Have you done your part on behalf of strangers yet? \u00a0What&#8217;s stopping you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I love the holidays. \u00a0I love the lights, the parties, the multiplicity of meetings where gratitude is the topic. \u00a0I love opening cards and sending messages to loved ones. \u00a0I even love wandering the stores where Christmas music is playing. \u00a0I don&#8217;t buy a lot of gifts any more. \u00a0And I have requested none. \u00a0Giving [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[45,92,108],"class_list":["post-214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karens-musings","tag-christmas-cheer","tag-giving","tag-holidays"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>We&#039;re in the countdown. . . | Karen Casey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We&#039;re in the countdown. . . | Karen Casey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I love the holidays. \u00a0I love the lights, the parties, the multiplicity of meetings where gratitude is the topic. \u00a0I love opening cards and sending messages to loved ones. \u00a0I even love wandering the stores where Christmas music is playing. \u00a0I don&#8217;t buy a lot of gifts any more. \u00a0And I have requested none. \u00a0Giving [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Karen Casey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-12-17T17:33:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"karencasey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"karencasey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"karencasey\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be42ec49697eba07d84ddf86ace97639\"},\"headline\":\"We&#039;re in the countdown. . .\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-17T17:33:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214\"},\"wordCount\":230,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Christmas Cheer\",\"giving\",\"holidays\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Karen's Musings\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214\",\"name\":\"We&#039;re in the countdown. . . | Karen Casey\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-17T17:33:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=214#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"We&#039;re in the countdown. . .\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Karen Casey\",\"description\":\"You are not alone, anymore\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Karen Casey\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/Karen-Casey_Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/Karen-Casey_Logo.png\",\"width\":1925,\"height\":396,\"caption\":\"Karen Casey\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be42ec49697eba07d84ddf86ace97639\",\"name\":\"karencasey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"karencasey\"},\"description\":\"I am an author, a lecturer, and a workshop presenter. I have presented programs throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Ireland. As of July, 2010 I have published 23 books, with number 24 being released in spring of 2011 and a memoir underway. For a listing of my books and ordering information, go to www.womens-spirituality.com. To contact me about presenting a program in your area, call 239-398-6327 or e-mail me from my web site or at jcasey4991@aol.com\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"We&#039;re in the countdown. . . | Karen Casey","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"We&#039;re in the countdown. . . | Karen Casey","og_description":"I love the holidays. \u00a0I love the lights, the parties, the multiplicity of meetings where gratitude is the topic. \u00a0I love opening cards and sending messages to loved ones. \u00a0I even love wandering the stores where Christmas music is playing. \u00a0I don&#8217;t buy a lot of gifts any more. \u00a0And I have requested none. \u00a0Giving [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214","og_site_name":"Karen Casey","article_published_time":"2009-12-17T17:33:03+00:00","author":"karencasey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"karencasey","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214"},"author":{"name":"karencasey","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#\/schema\/person\/be42ec49697eba07d84ddf86ace97639"},"headline":"We&#039;re in the countdown. . .","datePublished":"2009-12-17T17:33:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214"},"wordCount":230,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Christmas Cheer","giving","holidays"],"articleSection":["Karen's Musings"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214","url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214","name":"We&#039;re in the countdown. . . | Karen Casey","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-12-17T17:33:03+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=214#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"We&#039;re in the countdown. . ."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/","name":"Karen Casey","description":"You are not alone, anymore","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#organization","name":"Karen Casey","url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Karen-Casey_Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Karen-Casey_Logo.png","width":1925,"height":396,"caption":"Karen Casey"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#\/schema\/person\/be42ec49697eba07d84ddf86ace97639","name":"karencasey","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g","caption":"karencasey"},"description":"I am an author, a lecturer, and a workshop presenter. I have presented programs throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Ireland. As of July, 2010 I have published 23 books, with number 24 being released in spring of 2011 and a memoir underway. For a listing of my books and ordering information, go to www.womens-spirituality.com. To contact me about presenting a program in your area, call 239-398-6327 or e-mail me from my web site or at jcasey4991@aol.com","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?author=4"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}