Hello friends,

Thanks for reading my post. We have just launched our holiday gift baskets on our home page. Our Tuscan baskets are the hit of the season. This week we enhance our spa baskets with the Spa Chocolate Collection from Bissinger’s. Also, within the next week each category landing page will be enhanced with pictures and descriptions. We have introduced a corporate gift section with gifts for getting well, funerals, new babies and more. The tough part is finding a great picture for that category…the lady-in-the-business suit jumping for joy just doesn’t quite cut it.

BIG NEWS..we now have an infomercial that will be broadcast nationally in early December.

We are about to launch phase II which will include a very innovative and interactive site for people to tell us about gifts that encouraged them and gave them joy and hope. It will be upbeat, fun and informative.
Stay tuned for more news and please let me know what you think.

When Steve Hoeft and I created Good Life Gifts, we did it with inspiration from God, who planted in us a desire to glorify Him by creating an online resource for remarkable inspirational gifts that celebrate Faith, Hope and Love. We truly wanted to create and offer gifts that bless the recipient, as well as the giver.

Today, while visiting the Christian social bookmarking site, FaithTag, I came across an article that summarized how we are called by God to be givers. Please read Alan Pasho’s great article entitled The Life Style of Giving.

So my wife comes to me the other day and says, “Your niece’s baby shower is coming up, and I want to give her the Good Life Gifts Blessed Baby Gift Basket.” I said “Cool. Call Amy and have her put one together.” (Amy’s our person who handles custom orders.)

Amy was excited to build this basket specially for my niece, and added a few extra touches to the already custom-decorated basket. Then I came up with this idea to put a picture of my niece into the picture frame that comes in the basket, so I asked Amy not to shrink wrap the basket too tightly so when I got it home I could take the frame out, put a picture into it, and place it back into the basket.

And that’s what she did. I took the basket home where I searched my family photo archives, found and printed a baby picture of my niece, cropped it, placed it into the frame and inserted it back into the basket. Perfect!

When my wife arrived at the baby shower with this great looking custom gift basket, my sister (my niece’s mother) recognized the photo, but didn’t tell her daughter it was in there. Then, when they were opening the presents, someone said, “Who is the baby in that picture frame?” My niece thought it was the stock photo that comes with a new frame, but her mother said, “Oh, no it isn’t. It’s you!” And they all had a good laugh and wondered how my wife could be so clever. (Remember, putting in the picture was my idea.)

Now Good Life Gifts is considering adding a custom service for any of our gift baskets that contain a picture frame. We would—for an additional fee—let the customer email us a digital photo, which we would print and insert into the frame. If we decide to do it, the process and technology would have to be worked out, and price set for the service. Don’t expect it to appear in the Good Life Gifts store immediately. But we want our customers to know that services like this are always being considered.

The Blessed Baby Gift Basket includes a white cotton onesie with “Blessed” embroidered and a jeweled cross on the front, a matching bib; white lace socks, also with “Blessed” embroidered on the bottom; a Boyd’s “Flossie” lamb blanket; and the elegant “Heaven Sent” embossed picture frame mentioned above. It’s all arranged in our signature gold fabric upholstered box.

Please check out the Good Life Gifts Podcasts & Devotionals page for our updated selection of inspirational materials. We’re extremely proud to have added Jim Moore’s Man of Standing and John Dozier’s Feast of the Heart pages, which will both include frequent blog entries and podcasts.

When we saw this product last January at the Dallas Market, we knew it would be perfect for our Christian gift baskets. Cool Tools! are hand-painted, high-quality tools that dress up any toolbox, tool drawer or workshop. One of the two current Good Life Gift basket features Cool Tools!, and I’m featuring the first of those in today’s Journal entry.

Art For A Cause, LLC, based in Birmingham, Michigan, customizes what would normally be run-of-the-mill hand tools by decorating them to make them remarkable. Kids from local schools do the sanding and priming work, artists take over with the decorating, and the kids compete the production process by packaging them up. Proceeds of the sales of Cute Tools are donated to charities chosen by Art For A Cause founder, Lisa Knoppe-Reed.

Good Life Gifts has created the Cute Tools! Ultimate Gift basket, which includes the following: and 8 ounce hammer, a 4-in-one screwdriver set, an assortment of fasteners, and a garden shovel and rake. The gift basket also includes a package of Good Life Gifts’ custom imprinted Faith, Hope, Love MMs, and is creatively arranged in a galvanized oval tin bucket.

Inspire Mom or that lady in the house with this unique and remarkable gift basket from Good Life Gifts.

Good Life Gifts announces an alliance with Precious Moments, Inc. for a comprehensive gift basket program. Precious Mements will develop content and both companies will partner on the basket design. Good Life Gifts will handle fulfillment on a private label basis. This alliance allows Precious Moments to offer its customers a broader selection of gifts for everyday special events and occasions, and it allows Good Life Gifts to focus on delivering stunning, hand-decorated baskets.

We have launched our concierge business, allowing organizations to order custom baskets for any special occasion. The process begins with Concierge Amy Loeffelman understanding your occasion, target audience, basket theme and the desired reaction of your recipent when your gift is opened. She then meets with our internal designers to develop a basket concept. A photograph is taken and sent via e-mail for your reaction and approval. We have the flexibility to include a client’s promotional material or branded merchandise, as appropriate. Amy will make sure that orders accomplish the desired goal, whether inspirational, fun, celebratory or combination.  Amy recommends our hand-decorated baskets for board meetings, major donors or clients,  milestone events, recognition and holiday gift giving.   Please contact Amy at 636-530-6000, x.305.

Dear Lord,

Open wide our horizons that we might share your name, encourage hearts and unite people in love.

Steve Hoeft

Sometimes it is difficult to see beyond the circumstances. This morning is an example. It was completely cloudy outside, and by all circumstances it appeared quite dismal. At 6:30 a.m. I went to the kitchen to make coffee and there was a break in the clouds; it was just large enough for the sun to shine through. It was brilliant, beyond words, and I could not look at it. It was like a laser beam, directed just to me. I immediately went to the bedroom to tell my wife, and by that time the sun was gone. The lesson? By all circumstances it would appear to be a dismal day, but ‘truth,’ which is Jesus, seemed to have something else to say, “look at me…I have everything you need and I am with you.” Despite the circumstances you never know the truth until you encounter truth…”I am the way, and the truth and the life…” (John 14:6)

At work, the circumstances look dismal…we have a great staff, great products, a great framework for growth, but very little business. Where is truth; is it in the circumstances (I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit’s morning teaching)? The lesson this morning teaches me that I don’t know the truth until I hear from Jesus. He seems to tell me, “I am big enough for this situation, Steve, just trust me…you will know me better as a result of what I will do.” Per Scripture, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways my ways; As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Is55:8-9. I think, Lord, why do I have to learn these lessons over and over again?

The founders have a vision for GLG that goes beyond financials. God has placed stories of Faith, Hope and Love on people’s hearts that will be an encouragement to others, but are yet to be told. Think broadly as you consider the potential in our tagline, “Gifts that Celebrate Faith, Hope & Love.” Following is an e-mail I received yesterday from a lady in Kentucky who received a GLG gift: “I have just recently received my first GLG Basket and was so trilled. It was almost too pretty to open! the magnet which stated, ‘Trust an unknown future to an all-knowing God,’ was words that I needed so badly this week as I was dealing with some issues and it was a reminder to whom I need to always lean on. The perfumed body creme is so wonderful smelling and has definitely made my day a special day. The attractive box will be holding some precious keepsakes. May God bless you as you provide a much needed source for those of us who are trusting in a loving God.” The timing of this lady’s feedback was an encouragment to everyone on staff, and I hope it is to you.

Following is additional hot news (shortened for your reading pleasure):

1. Champion Bank will allow GLG to have an indefinite display in their lobby.

2. The National City bank branch in our city will allow us to display a couple Mother’s Day baskets.

3. Our open house celebration begins tomorrow! We are open for three weeks for people to visit our office(converted to showroom), view our baskets and place an order for Mother’s Day or take it with them. You are invited!

4. We have just been selected by Today’s Family for a fall national television broadcast, just prior to the holidays!

5. GLG will allow businesses and organizations to ‘custom design’ baskets. If you want to know more, call me at 636-530-6000, x.300.

That’s it for now. Let me know what you are thinking.

“Today I rise on the wings of the dawn.” Psalm 139:9

Now go out in joy and be lead forth in peace (Is55:11).

Steve.

Yaa-hoo, we have just completed our first press release. Please click here to read: Press Release