Words of Wisdom: WorkMatters Lunch Recap

We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to speak about our partnership with Trista Sutter at the Marietta WorkMatters Faith & Work lunch series. The lunch included an interview and Q&A session with Glory Haus CEO Molly Holm and Trista Sutter, followed by a “Happily Ever After” book signing. For those of you who were unable to attend the lunch, we gathered a few quotes and highlights to share:

“Glory Haus is truly God’s success story - we just get the pleasure of being obedient to His call.”

- Molly Holm

“Marriage is hard work. You don’t have to have issues to want to work on your marriage.”
- Trista Sutter

“Just as having dinner together is a good way to raise your family, Glory Haus shares lunch together to build a great team.”

- Molly Holm

"When looking for folks to add to our team, I look at people's hearts. Above all else, I'm looking to find people that have hearts open to the things of God; Those that are open to go on an unbelievable, uncharted adventure and are willing to say "yes" when it does not even seem possible. I also look for hard workers - people who are not afraid to work."
- Molly Holm

“It was important when creating the Grateful Heart Collection that the line spoke to everyone - we want to continue to be inspirational. Similar to how Jesus spent His time, we aimed to find commonalities between all people.”

- Molly Holm

“Don’t count things you do, do things that count.”

- Molly Holm

“In Marietta, we’re better together than separate; everyone is supportive. Glory Haus is successful because of many people in this room and hundreds of volunteers in the community.”

- Molly Holm

We hope that you find inspiration in the Grateful Heart Collection and enrich your life through continuously having gratitude for your daily blessings. Being grateful for life experiences and the opportunities you’re given helps keep you grounded. Strive to find something each day you’re thankful for to remind you of those blessings.

“As you focus on the positive, you’re more quickly able to identify and recognize all the positive things in life,” says Trista Sutter. Pursue your passions and trust in God’s plan. It will bring so much happiness to your life and those around you.

What words or quotes have you found that inspire you? Comment below and share them with us!

Glory Haus on the Road

One of our favorite things to do at Glory Haus is build relationships with the community and share our experiences with those around us. In the next few weeks, we will be present at the Atlanta and Dallas markets showcasing our gift and home décor products. Glory Haus CEO, Molly Holm, and Trista Sutter will also be speaking at a Marietta WorkMatters lunch series to share their story about working together through faith-based principles in launching the new Grateful Heart Collection. We invite you to join us at the following upcoming events:

The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market

Dates: January 7-14, 2014

Location: AmericasMart (240 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30303)

Details: Visit the Glory Haus showroom and shop gift & home décor collections for your business.

Open to active members of the retail or wholesale industry - closed to general public. More registration details. 
Keep an eye on our Facebook page for a featured interview with Trista Sutter and WSC-TV at the market!

Marietta WorkMatters Faith & Work Lunch Series

Dates: January 10, 2014, noon to 1pm EST

Location: Roswell Street Baptist Church (774 Roswell Street, Marietta, GA 30060)

Details: Listen to Glory Haus CEO Molly Holm and former ABC Bachelorette Trista Sutter speak about their partnership in creating the Grateful Heart Collection.

Open to general public. Event fee: $8 (lunch included). Register here.

Dallas Total Home & Gift Market

Dates: January 15-21, 2014

Location: Dallas Market Center (2100 North Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207)

Details: One-stop shop for buyers to see more than 20,000 gift and home décor product lines, include Glory Haus.

Open to active members of the retail or wholesale industry - closed to general public. More registration details.
Keep an eye on our Facebook page for a featured interview with Trista Sutter and WFAA News 8 at the market!

We are excited to share our product lines with you at the markets, as well as our story behind the Grateful Heart Collection at the WorkMatter luncheon. We hope you can make it! Stay updated on our community involvement by following us on Facebook and Twitter!

Healthy Tips From Chef Charmaine Rhodes

At Glory Haus, we are dedicated to providing a community that encourages a healthy lifestyle for our staff. We have a Wellness Program for all employees where chiropractor Dr. David Jockers offers corrective care once a week, and we also provide a place for staff to come together and enjoy a healthy meal over good conversation. Glory Haus has been blessed for the past 14 months to have the talented Chef Charmaine Rhodes cook fresh and healthy lunches for employees at our Marietta headquarters.

Chef Charmaine shops for fresh, gluten-free super foods (a few of her favorites are pomegranate and goji berries) and creates recipes that specifically compliment these products. She always looks for ways to save money and believes that items on sale are those that the Lord asks us to consume; “Lord, what will we eat today?”

Our most popular recipe at Glory Haus is a Jamaican potato salad with Spanish rice and roasted peppers. Is your mouth watering yet? Chef’s favorite thing about Glory Haus is that everyone continuously learns and is in close spirit with each other and the Heavenly Father. In the upcoming week, she will be hosting a health seminar for our company and teaching everyone about everyday healthy choices. Charmaine is also a Fitness Director at LA Fitness and, fun fact, she’s raised seven kids!

Grocery Shopping Tips From Chef Charmaine:

• Eat foods with color
• Eat things close to the Earth - limit processed foods
• Eat products that are in season - Bonus: they’re more economical too!
• Try not to make your meals in advance, putting them together last minute avoids oxidation

We hope these tips help you in shopping for healthy foods and support a healthy lifestyle. What tips have you found that have helped in staying healthy? Want to learn more about the culture at Glory Haus? Visit our website.

Tips for New Year’s Resolutions

The year 2013 is quickly coming to a close as the new year approaches. New Year’s Eve brings a sense of “cleansing” - a time for people to start fresh, free from the past year’s challenges. About 40 percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions as a way to improve upon an area of discontentment. But did you know only eight percent achieve their resolutions?¹ Here are a few quick tips to help you set achievable goals this new year:

1. Simplicity - make a short list of goals instead of one big intangible goal. 
2. Be specific - having an overarching goal can be daunting. Instead, make a small list of tasks that help you achieve your goal (this could even be a list of short-term weekly tasks). For instance, “more me time” is so broad that you may not know where to start. Detailing specific ideas like “set aside 30 minutes each night to read for leisure,” is more approachable and achievable.
3. Self encouragement - it’s important that you believe in yourself and have confidence that you can achieve your goals. Pray for God’s support and let Him be your rock to guide you. Remember that “all things are possible if you believe” - Mark 9:23. 
4. Make it public - share your goals with your close family and friends - those who will give you support and keep you positive. When Trista Sutter began to record her #FavePartOfDay, she decided to tweet them each night to help her focus on the positive through the support of loved ones who were miles away.

We also gathered a few of our favorite words of encouragement for you to keep in mind as you brainstorm ideas for your New Year’s goals.

Stay accountable for your goals and keep record of your progress, whether it’s publicly or privately. Our Grateful Journal is a great place to write your thoughts and progress throughout the year; a place you can look back on through the rough patches and remind yourself how far you’ve come. As we begin the new year, let’s remind ourselves to continually be grateful for our blessings - even the challenges that taught us lessons and discovery. We are thankful to have had a busy year at Glory Haus filled with growth, support, and opportunity, and we are excited for what lies ahead in 2014!

Sources:

1.http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2013/01/01/just-8-of-people-achieve-their-new-years-resolutions-heres-how-they-did-it/2/

The Season of Giving

Christmas is our favorite holiday, not only in celebration of Jesus’ birth, but because it’s also about being grateful for your blessings and giving back to the community. The Glory Haus family is passionate about working with organizations both locally and internationally. Molly and Trey Holm, Glory Haus owners, have continually supported local GRACEPOINT Christian school that specializes in serving students with dyslexia. We were able to offer a gift of $10,000 to GRACEPOINT with proceeds from our Glory Haus Sample Sale that took place this past November. Even more recently, Molly took a trip to Haiti to work with local artisans in hand-making beautiful jewelry for the new Grateful Heart Collection. We love building relationships and connecting with others, whether it’s here in Marietta or across the globe.

We are proud to give profits from a selection of our products to organizations we have connected with.  

Blue Floral Family Frame ($32.50)

Profits given to World Gospel Mission in support of the Espy Family’s ministry.

Hometown Hero Ornament ($14.00)

All proceeds donated to the Folds of Honor Foundation, an organization dedicated to giving back to the spouses and children of soldiers killed or disabled during service of our country.

One Big Happy Family Frame ($32.50)

Profits donated to Sixty Feet, in support of the Owens family ministry seeking to bring hope and restoration to the imprisoned children of Africa in Jesus’ name.

We encourage you to give thanks for all the blessings around you this holiday, and to support families and organizations that you feel connected to. Read more about Glory Haus’ community involvement here.

Holiday Gift Guide 2013

Holidays are our favorite time of year - filled with family traditions like cookie making, tree decorating, ski trips, ice-skating, and, if you’re lucky… snowmen building! There’s something about the seasonal décor and holiday music that instantly builds excitement and happiness. One of our Glory Haus family traditions is decorating the tree in the living room with our favorite ornaments.

This holiday season, we’d like to share 12 of our favorite things at Glory Haus that are perfect for gift giving. To allow for ordering and shipping, we’ll be fitting 12 things into 6 days! Each day, from Thursday, December 12 until Tuesday, December 17, we will be sharing two videos featuring gift ideas in this blog post. Don’t worry - the items will be suited for men and women of all ages: children, adults, and grandparents. We’ve got you covered! To make sure you receive your gifts in time for the holidays, make sure you place your online orders by Tuesday, December 17!

For additional ideas, Glory Haus was also featured in a gift guide from “Ron and Lisa, The Healthy Home Dream Team” showcasing healthy home products. Ron and Lisa are healthy home experts who educate consumers on how to live healthier, more fulfilling lives. Check out their holiday gift guide here.

What holiday traditions are you looking forward to this season? Share your stories and gift ideas with us below! You can also shop our full Christmas Collection online. Happy holidays! May they be merry and bright.

Day 1 Gift Guide:

Aprons

Tea Towels

Day 2 Gift Guide:

Merry Christmas Y'all Mug

Personalized Ornaments

Day 3 Gift Guide:

Collegiate Burlee Stockings

Joy to the World Personalized Frame

Day 4 Gift Guide:

Joy of Grandparenting Canvas

I Love You to the Moon and Back Clip Canvas Frame

Day 5 Gift Guide:

Arkansas Logo Burlee

How to Really Love a Student Canvas

Day 6 Gift Guide:

Auburn Toomer's Corner Clip Canvas

Personalized Placemats

Making Memories at the Auburn, Alabama Game

A post by our Collegiate Director Bill:

Would it cast a bad light on my character if I said that a football game was the greatest night of my life?!

I came out of the womb orange and blue and spent many fall Saturdays growing up on the plains of Auburn, Alabama. No one loved Auburn more than my Dad, and I have great memories of spending time with him doing one of his favorite things…going nuts for Auburn. Now, it’s my daughters’ turns to experience what I did. I’m as fanatical as my dad was and I love taking my kids to Auburn games. Nothing compares, and probably never will, to what I experienced with my 14-year-old, Katie Marie, this past Saturday.

The two of us started early in the morning, not having any idea how dramatically our day would conclude. We spent the morning tailgating with two of my best friends from high school and their families. We watched ESPN College Gameday live - right in front of the stadium – and we took in one of the best Tiger Walks ever.  Finally, we went in the stadium early to make sure we saw the eagle fly, all the while hoping that Auburn could pull off the upset in what many people were calling, “The Biggest Iron Bowl Ever.” Katie Marie had never seen Auburn lose. Today would not be that day.

The game went back and forth and was filled with moments of celebration, along with moments that made us sick to our stomachs. At one point in the fourth quarter, after an Alabama 99 yard touchdown pass and another drive deep in our territory, I looked at Katie Marie and said “Game Over.” Funny…that’s just what my dad would’ve said.  

I was wrong. Auburn got the ball with one last chance and threw a dramatic touchdown pass with only 32 seconds left on the clock, setting up overtime. But Bama moved quickly in just a few plays to set up a chance to kick a 57 yard game winning field goal. Memories rushed in my head of the most miserable Iron Bowl ever - both for my dad and me - one known simply as “The Kick.” Van Tiffin kicked a 52 yard field goal on the last play of the game to beat Auburn. I’m not sure my dad ever got over that one. I’m not sure I did either…until that epic moment on Saturday night.

This would be a moment that this dad and daughter would never forget. As Bama set up for the field goal, my daughter tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Dad, what’s that guy doing in the end zone?”  Too nervous to explain, I simply said, “Just in case, babe.” Then the kick…it fell short. “That guy in the end zone” caught it and began to run…and run…and run! We jumped, we screamed, we hugged…going nuts for Auburn, just like my dad and me.  At that moment, another memory came rushing in my head of sitting in front of the radio in 1972, celebrating with my dad after the game known as “Punt, Bama, Punt!”  Now I was celebrating with my daughter after the game that will simply be known as “Kick, Bama, Kick!”

There’s nothing quite like making memories with the ones you love!