Hello, brave hearts and bright minds ~

I am so grateful and happy to be sending a new story your way! Before we step into today’s story, I want to begin with a moment of honesty and gratitude.

It has been over a month since the previous Brave & Bright story was released. Shortly after the end of October, I became quite ill and lost the full range and capacity of my voice for several weeks — an unexpected pause that required real rest, patience, and surrender. As someone whose work is rooted in voice, story, and presence, that season was humbling. And also, in its own quiet way, instructive.

Because, you see, the light never really goes out… sometimes it simply asks us to wait, to cultivate, to have faith.

The last episode you received was part of our Seeds of Faith theme, and there is still one more story from that series waiting in the wings. I’ll be releasing it after the new year, when the soil feels ready again. For now, we are gently stepping into our current three-story arc:

Growing Light in the Dark.

This theme was chosen with winter in mind: the long nights, the slowing down, the times when warmth and hope must be tended deliberately. These are stories for seasons when clarity can be dim, energy can be low, or life can ask more of us than we feel ready to give. They remind us that light rarely arrives all at once. More often, it grows because someone keeps showing up.

Today’s story, The Gratitude Tree, lives right at the heart of this theme.

It is a quiet, luminous tale about a tree whose light has faded, and, a child who chooses to return to it again and again, offering thanks even when nothing seems to change. There is no rush in this story. No grand miracle. Just presence, faithfulness, and the slow remembering that gratitude itself can become a source of light.

In many ways, this story mirrors the season I’ve just walked through — learning to trust that even when our voice goes quiet, even when the rhythm is interrupted, something good is still growing beneath the surface.

The Gratitude Tree offers a gentle but powerful truth: light is cultivated, not commanded. In seasons of stress, scarcity, or fatigue—especially during winter—it’s easy for families to slip into complaint or urgency without realizing it, just like the villagers who forgot their gratitude as their lives ‘got too busy’. Sound familiar, anyone? This story reminds us that gratitude isn’t about denying hardship, but about anchoring ourselves in what is still good and still alive.

You might ask your child:

* “Why do you think Elina kept coming back to the tree, even when nothing happened at first?”

* “What helped the light grow again?”

* “What are some things our family might be thankful for right now?”

And here’s the thing: children don’t learn gratitude through correction or expectation; they learn it through witnessing. Elina doesn’t lecture the village. She simply practices gratitude faithfully, quietly, and over time, the light returns.

This week, you might try a simple practice together: light a candle at dinner or before bed and invite each person to name one small gratitude from the day. Or, offer your gratitude and prayers out loud, from your heart, in front of your children. Unprompted, unscripted, authentic — cultivating your living practice, and wayshowing for your children.

Because in times when emotions run high or patience runs low, gratitude can become a regulating force that softens our nervous systems and helps us respond rather than react. Especially for parents, this quiet practice can be a powerful companion through the darker, heavier parts of the season, and, of our lives.

That’s our story for today, but, the light does not end here (thank goodness).

Carry The Gratitude Tree with you into the long evenings and quiet mornings of this season. Maybe your child will begin noticing small blessings on their own… or maybe they’ll remind you to pause and give thanks when the day feels heavy.

If your child has something they’d like to share about today’s story—or about Brave & Bright Stories—we would love to hear from them. You can send us a voice message, and they will be gratefully and joyfully featured in a future episode.

And friends, I want to express my true gratitude for your presence here, and for listening to these stories. It is such a gift in my life to create these stories, and your words and messages of support have been little lights in my life through a challenging season. I am so grateful for each and every one of you.

If you would like to support in spreading the light of this podcast, you can become a paid subscriber, share this episode with a friend, or leave us a positive review. Each is a little leaf of light unfurling out into the darkness.

Until next time,stay brave,stay bright,and keep growing together…one story at a time.

With warmth and wonder,Hannah

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