The Good News of the Day

She's a Brooklyn-based writer who, five years ago, was shocked to find herself in possession of a six-figure book advance. She wanted to give a chunk of it away, but was not sure how. So she decided she would make it someone else's problem -- nine other people's problems. She chose nine thoughtful friends, gave them each $100, and told them they would be expected to account for what they had done with it at a gathering a month later. Heart-warming high jinks have ensued ever since. [ more ]

Today's Tip: I challenge you all to take $5.00 and post here in the comments on what you did with it today. The best part about leaving you with no options on how to spend it will inspire creativity in all of us. I am up for the challenge are you?

Applaud Life by Bob Perks

I stood on a large rock at the back of the hotel, high atop a hill overlooking a golf course. From my vantage point I could see for miles. From off to my right, I heard the faint sounds of an approaching train. To my left was the greatest show on earth. No, not the circus. The sunset.

I had been in a hurry to get settled into my room for the evening. Having just traveled about five hours, I was tired and hungry. I rushed out the back door and planned on heading to the mall across the street. During my previous visit here, I remembered that they had not one, but two, Chinese restaurants. I love chicken fried rice and wonton soup.

But it all had to wait. It was calling me again.

Just as I reached for my keys, I looked up and saw the great possibilities in the patterns that were forming off in the distance. I argued with my growling stomach and my Mickey Mouse watch that this wouldn't take very long. But a good sunset from beginning to end often does.

I discovered a huge boulder that was perfectly placed at the corner of the property, right on the edge of the hill. Some landscape designer had most likely charged the hotel owners a bundle to place the boulder there - for it served as a focal point for people to gather as they toured the property and the sales manager pointed out the nearby golf course and tennis club.

Yes, others had been there before me, perhaps breathing in the fresh air and soaking up the last rays of sunshine.

But today I was happy to have this front-row seat all to myself.

About a half mile away, the approaching train passed by the remnants of a previously occupied factory and then jauled its dozen or more flat cars through the wooded backdrop of the ninth hole. While seated in my hot tub at home, I often wave at planes flying overhead as I wonder where the passengers are headed. It seemed appropriate to do the same for the trainmen. I knew they couldn't see me, but it still mattered to me.

As I watched, the sun began its final descent, painting the clouds and sending golden beams of light high into the sky, the brightness of the sunset created a silhouette of the trees and buildings before me. I turned away fro a moment, so that even I cast a long shadow across the parking lot, making me feel bigger than I am.

Then the finale.

I heard a voice inside me. It was that childish prankster from my past that taunts me with "Dare ya!" and "Bet you won't do it!"

So I did. I didn't care who might be looking. I applauded as if I had just seen the final performance of Cats on Broadway. I even yelled "All right!" and "That's a keeper!"

It was over. I slowly turned wondering if anyone saw me. But no one was there. Someone should have noticed. How sad it was. They were probably having pizza somewhere. But they lost and I gained.

They would have at least had a good laugh at the man who applauded life. Or perhaps they would have joined me. Maybe next time.

When was the last time life was so exciting that joy and happiness burst out and you just had to stand up and applaud?

Here is my challenge to you. Tomorrow when you wake up, jump out of bed and applaud. Whistle and yell, "All right!" and "This is a keeper!" And then just wait until you see how your day turns out.

I dare ya! I double dare ya!

"Be still and know that I am God." ~ Psalm 46:10

Today's Tip: Offer to carry someone's groceries to their car, pay the toll for someone behind you or give some flowers to the toll workers! Just think of the lasting smiles those little things will create!

You've Been Upgraded

My life currently requires a fair bit of travel but I was definitely surprised by my latest flight as when I walked in I realized that my ticket was in 1st class! This is seldom the case and so I thought it must have been a courtesy upgrade due to frequent travel.

I was traveling with my colleague and remembering a story I had read a few months ago, I quickly decided that I was going to offer the seat to someone else. I mentioned this to my colleague and his response was to do the same! So together, he and I made our way through the plane, Smile Cards in hand, looking for an unsuspecting person to tag. Towards the back, we found a couple unsuspecting young folks and offered an upgrade. They jumped at the chance :)

Once we sat down in our new seat, the woman on the other side of the aisle looked at me and asked 'why would you give up comfy seats to strangers so you can sit back here?' I responded, 'So I could see a couple people smile, and they're not strangers, they're family!' She liked that answer :)

Today's Tip: If you have airline miles you aren't going to use, donate them to a worthy cause or to military families who may have no funds to visit one another. You will give more than wings that day.

They Ran Through the Rain Believing

I found this beautiful heartwarming story from Bob Perks I had to share with you. I hope you really enjoy it!

I listen. That's where my stories come from.

I speak. That's how I get to meet the most incredible people.

But sometimes just listening from afar is enough to fill my heart.

I don't always need to say hello to bring a perfect stranger into my life. Conversations overheard can provide life lessons even more powerful than conversations we are actually a part of.

Not long ago I had a brief encounter that filled my day - and my heart - to capacity. If only they knew the gift they gave me.

She must have been six years old, this beautiful brown-haired, freckle-faced image of innocence. Her mom could have posed for a Norman Rockwell painting. Not that she was old-fashioned. Her brown hair was ear length with enough curl to appear natural. She had on a pair of tan shorts and a light blue knit shirt. Her sneakers were white with blue trim.

She looked like...a mom.

It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the tops of rain gutters, in such a hurry to hit the earth that it has no time to flow down the spout. Drains in the nearby parking lot were filled to capacity, leaving huge puddles to lake around the parked cars.

We all stood there under the awning, just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, other aggravated because nature had messed up their hurried day.

I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and the sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and the dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in.

"Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.

"What?" her mother asked.

"Let's run through the rain!" she repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

The young child waited another minute and then repeated her statement. "Mom... let's run through the rain."

"We'll get soaked if we do," said Mom.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning, " insisted the young girl as she tugged at her mother's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!'"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. You couldn't hear anything except the splashing of the rain. We all stood quietly, waiting to see what would happen.

The mother paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some mothers would laugh it off and scold the child for being silly. Some might even ignore what she had said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust could be nurtured so that it would bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God lets us get wet, well, maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling, and laughing as they darted past cars and, yes, through puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case.

They got soaked. But they were followed by a few believers who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars ... perhaps inspired by the little girl's faith and trust.

I want to believe that somewhere down the road in life, that mother will find herself reflecting back on these moments they spent together, captured like pictures in the scrapbook of her cherished memories. Perhaps when she watches proudly as her daughter graduates... or as her daddy walks her down the aisle on her wedding day.

She will laugh again. Her heart will beat a little faster. Her smile will tell the world they love each other. But only two people will share that precious moment when they ran through the rain believing that God would get them through.

And, yes, I did.

I ran through the rain.

I got wet.

I guess I needed washing.

"Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

Today's Tip: Relive those childhood memories, run into the rain, splash in those puddles and let God wash you clean!

The Bus Ride That Changed My Life

I was moved to tears after reading this and wanted to share it with you readers, some of whom have children or family in the military. I hope it truly makes your day.

A few years ago I was an employee of an international company that sold computer devices. I had to travel a lot as part of my work. I remember that I was at a stage of my life where I only cared about how to make more money and how to solve technical problems. I was locked in my own world living as a robot that only worked in a mechanical way.

On one of my work trips, I came to the airport to take a bus to downtown, as usual. It was the same routine: get into the city, take the bus to the hotel, check in, visit the client, work late, take the bus back to the airport and fly back out... That day, for some reason, something was different. I decided not to take the same exit in the airport and took the stairs down to a different exit and walked out. At this exit there was a beautiful landscaped space that I had never seen before. The bus came along and I let it go past because I wanted a few more minutes to enjoy the landscape. Finally the next bus came along and I got on that one.

Before that day I always took the seat behind the driver. That day I sat down somewhere in the middle. A boy was seated next to me. He was carrying a lot of suitcases and bags as if he was moving. While I was watching how he was accommodating all his stuff, (which was a lot!), I was thinking to myself, how annoyed he must be at having to manage so much stuff. Just then, he just turned to me and gave me one of the most authentic smiles I had ever seen from a stranger, he extended his hand and shook mine strongly and said "hi".

As the bus started to drive off, I was hoping to myself that he wasn't going to be the kind of 'annoying' guy who would just start talking to the strangers next to them. Before I had even finished that thought, he said:

"The perfect day in the perfect place, huh?”

I remember thinking to myself - this must be one of those typical people who is young and naive and just thinks everything is beautiful and easy. Why he was annoying me when I just wanted to enjoy the bus ride?

"Perfect day!? Did your parents pay for you to have some vacations on the beach?” I snapped at him sarcastically.

He looked at me in a strange way because of my rudeness. I immediately felt bad and apologized. Then I was the one who tried to lead the conversation. I asked him his name, where he was going and what he was doing. The story that followed changed my whole perspective on life. Everything is different for me now because of this young boy on the bus.

“You can call me John. I’m 20 years old and I’m here because I want to achieve my biggest dream ever.” He replied calmy.

“No, I’m not here for vacation, and I do not have parents," he continued softly. I was shocked and embarrassed by my earlier behaviour.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and let him continue with his story.

“I lost my dad 10 years ago then my mom got married again and my stepfather was a bad person. He treated us in an awful way and my mum turned a blind eye. One day in August, my stepfather hit me for a long time and threw me out of the house. I was just 10 years old.” I could not believe this. A few minutes earlier I was trying to avoid him and now, I just wanted to hear more about his story.

”Since then, I’ve been living all over the country for the last 10 years. I’ve lived on the street, I’ve eaten from the garbage and also I’ve known many other people who have been wonderful and kind to me. I have been lucky. And I have learned a lot from life through these years.” He said simply.

At that point I couldn’t say a word. I felt the tears rising. Fortunately he continued talking..

“My grandpa was a general of the army. He left me this,” he said proudly.

He showed me a kind of long knife with a gold handle. He said this was his his best memory of his childhood. He said that the knife was priceless to him because every time he was faced with something difficult in his life, he would touch the knife and feel better and know that no matter what, he could surpass anything.

“So what are you doing here?” I asked, very curious by now.

He smiled and told me that for 10 years, all the time, every moment of every day, he had only one thing on his mind, to join the army like his grandpa.

“I have come here to achieve the dream of my life, I'm on my way to the army school where my grandfather studied a long time ago and the only thing I know is that I will persist until I succeed. I will follow my dream and every day of my life I will be happy.”

At this point, I could not hold back the tears. The bus had reached his stop, he stood up, took all his bags, extended his hand again to shake mine and with a big smile on his face told me, “it has been a pleasure, I hope to see you again”. I shook his hands tightly, unable to say much at this point. I was choked up with emotion.

This was such an important moment in my life. I would never have imagined that that a young homeless man of 20 years could change my entire life during one short bus ride.

It was an earth shattering moment when I understood what a great person he was. To have unwavering faith all this time. And what a smile! Until today, I still don’t know if he was a kind of angel. His teachings are still with me and I always try to do everything with my best smile on my face.

Today's Tip: Wave, say Hi, and thank those service personnel that put their very lives on the line each and every day so that we can maintain the freedoms we have today!

Bobby's Dime

I should have posted this story at Christmas but I just came across it this morning. Sometimes keeping the Christmas spirit alive throughout the year is worth doing. I hope you enjoy it.

Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold.

Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. Try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought, "This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend."

Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.

What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sisters, who ran the household in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.

Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime.

Never before has anyone felt as wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment. As he held his new found treasure, warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when salesperson after salesperson told him that he could not buy anything with only a dime.

He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you."

As Bobby waited, he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.

The sound of the door closing as the last customer left jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.

Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.

"That will be ten cents young man." the shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime! Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?"

This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son."

As he returned inside, the shop keeper’s wife walked out. "Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?"

Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.

When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars.

When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses."

The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all but their heart warmer.

by Thomas Pucci

Today's Tip: Do something fantastic in the life of a child today and show them the magic that still exists in all of us! Make a child's day!

Give the Spirit of Kindness

In light of the very recent hard times that remain on our current horizon, the view hasn't changed very much for some. Let us all remember that we, ourselves, could very well find our selves in this same predicament one day. Here is another heart warming story to share with all of you.

"It has been a very hard couple of years, and I've been going through many ups and downs. [...] I am truly blessed however, to have loving people in my life to hold my hand through this life altering process.

That's where Elizabeth comes in. She lives underneath an archway near a Rite Aide. I felt so sad inside, and wondered what I could do, or say to help this poor lady. She told me that she had family, and I wondered how on earth they could allow their own flesh and blood to live on a cold sidewalk. I did what I could that day to buy her a meal, but somehow I couldn't stop thinking about her.

The next day, I was looking for her, and gave her some clothes, an umbrella, some food, all I could. Since my meeting her, it's become my mission to do what I can to make her day brighter. My point being, as hard as we think our lives are, there can be someone else's life, that is that much more tragic. Please, be selfless and care about the people we don't know -- we are all on this earth together!"

Today's Tip: Step outside of your comfort zone and let your charity and giving be shown to those that could really benefit from it. Don't judge, just give with your whole heart as if God himself were asking you to do it.