Love and Kindness

Sharing Something of Value

The Chinese have a saying – “When someone shares with you something of value, you have an obligation to share it with others.” You could apply that to many things – knowledge, money, gratitude, even smiles.

Imagine considering it an obligation to smile at someone else, every time someone smiles at you. The question is whether a smile is something of value. What do you think?

I remember hearing that a smile is an instant face lift. And indeed, a smiling face is so much more attractive than one with a frown drawn on it.

Watch attractive elderly women. They know the secret of the face-lifting smile. You will rarely see them without a smile on their lips. And you can’t help thinking how lovely they are.

What else do you receive of value that should be shared?

We Americans are generous with sharing our wealth; from donations to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, to funding of Wounded Warrior to individual help provided anonymously when we hear there is a need. To those who receive much, much is expected.

We seem to have learned the Chinese lesson well, although it never hurts to be reminded.

[Show #450]

Making Time

An email arrived from a friend. It was an unusually long one. I realized immediately that my friend was getting something off her chest. So I printed out the message and curled up in an easy chair to see what was on her mind.

Seems she had just lost a close friend – suddenly, unexpectedly. He was someone she planned to spend more time with. She talked about how she intended to invite him and his family over for Thanksgiving, but time got away from her. She surely expected to see him during the Christmas holidays, but that didn’t happen. The following year had gone by so quickly and there was so much happening in her life . . . Well, you get the picture.

He was the friend she intended to keep up with but did not. And now the pain in her message was sharp. She felt she had failed him. And now there were no more chances to make up.

It’s so easy to get carried away with minutia each day. It is so tempting to have your day’s priorities include the business of living, but not the business of loving. Don’t let it happen to you.

If you make a to do list for each day, add an item reminding you to call a friend, or send an email. Reach out to them on Facebook or invite them to lunch. It will be worth it.

[Show #344]

Empty Bowl Supper

During a time when the economy is stagnant and unemployment high, charity is not at the forefront of many people’s priorities. But some organizations have fund raisers that work for them consistently.

One of them, in the Shenandoah Valley, is the Alliance for Shelter. For some 20 years, they have sponsored the annual Empty Bowl Supper, with the help and cooperation of lots of other groups.

Potters throughout the valley create hundreds of bowls. Your ticket to the event buys you a bowl of soup and a couple of cookies. It’s a reminder that this is a typical dinner for far too many folks. The catch is – you get to keep the hand-made bowl. Over the years, bowls have become real collectors’ items of intrinsic value to local residents.

High school students and scouts bake the cookies for the event. Ladies bake luscious home-made cakes that are bid on, in a live auction. Local restaurants provide dozens of gallons of soup of different kinds. Local craftsmen, stores and business people provide items for a silent auction. There is music and laughter and people don’t even mind the waits for a table.

The Alliance has created an event that is unique and appealing to city folks and country residents alike. And to think – it raises money besides.

Show #378

24th ANNUAL SOUP SUPPER AND SILENT AUCTION

Friday, Nov. 20, 2015 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM : Benefit dinner and silent auction at Central High School in Woodstock, VA

Bowls are created and donated by local craftspeople, and the bowl you choose is yours to keep!

Admission:
Adults $35.00 ($36 if purchased online)
Students (6 to 17) $20.00 ($21 is purchased online)

Tickets are available for the first time this year, online by visiting the website at www.allianceforshelter.org and clicking Empty Bowl Soup Supper.

Tickets can also be purchased at Woodstock Café in Woodstock, Sager Real Estate in Strasburg, Edinburg Mill in Edinburg, and Community Store in Basye, or reserve your tickets by calling Shenandoah Alliance for Shelter at 540-459-3212 or 540-459-8395. Tickets are limited to 300, so reserve your tickets early.

Tickets go on sale October 1, 2015.

Surviving Our Parents

Hey you kids out there, born and raised in the 40’s, 50’s or 60’s! Have you ever wondered how we managed to survive this far?

We were born to mothers who smoked or drank while they carried us. Our baby cribs were covered with bright-colored lead based paint. We had no child proof lids on medicine bottles or cabinets. We shared one soft drink among many friends and ate white bread and real butter. We spent pennies on candy and drinks that were pure sugar. But we stayed slim because we were always outside playing.

Boys got a BB gun for their 10^th birthday and nobody got their eye knocked out regardless of what your mom predicted. We rode our bikes without helmets, and hung our heads out car windows, untethered by seat belts. We even rode by the dozens in the open backs of pickup trucks whoopin’ and hollerin’ all the way to the swimming hole. And once there we swung by ropes from trees and dropped into the water wearing no water shoes.

Now, I’m not advocating this kind of fearless shenanigans. Just marveling at how we all survived them to tell about it. Things sure have changed.

But one thing is sure; kids, one day you will find that you survived your parents too!

[Show #214]

Fantasy Decorating

Some years ago, we bought an old, tumble-down farmhouse out here in the country as a week-end home. We could not afford to furnish it and my mom pitched in with extra pieces of furniture stored for years in her basement.

We bargain hunted at yard sales, estate sales and auctions and in a few months, the place was habitable. Some might call it shabby chic. Others might not be as kind. In any case, it was fun.

But perhaps the most fun was my mother’s nightly fantasy decorating for the house. She said she went to sleep many a night, mentally moving this painting to that wall . . . then this wall . . . then moving the couch in front of the window . . . trying it next to the fireplace. What pleasure she took in her decorating dreams.

I invited her to come out and help us turn it into reality. For all the years she was my mom, I think those first few years in the old farmhouse were our happiest together.

We laughed and shared and put up with the inconveniences that seemed endemic to country living. We got up early to hear the birds and stayed up late to see the stars and marvel at the quiet. We watched the deer at twilight.

Such happy times to remember doing not much of anything exciting or expensive – just joyful and memorable creating a country nest full of love.

[Show #302]

Hearing God

The man whispered, “God, speak to me: and a meadowlark sang. But, the man did not hear.

So the man yelled, “God, speak to me” and the thunder rolled across the sky. But, the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.” And a star shone brightly. But the man did not see.

And the man shouted, “God, show me a miracle.” And a baby was born. But, the man did not notice.

So, the man cried out in despair, “Touch me God, and let me know you are here.” Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But, the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

I found this to be a great reminder that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we take for granted… even in our electronic age.

So, I would like to add one more:
The man cried, “God, I need your help!” And an e-mail arrived reaching out with good news and encouragement. But, the man deleted it and continued crying.

That email that just lifted your heart with its loving sentiments – – Did it just occur out of the blue? Or was it the act of a power larger than we, a power that shows us miracles daily, if we just watch and listen and believe.

[#439]

« Previous Page