Wednesday

Today is Wednesday, the fourth day of the week (except for folks who don't count Sunday and then, today is the third day).  It is the name of the little girl Addams.  Wednesday is also a song by Tori Amos, the name of a couple of different films, a 70s pop band from Canada, and an opera.  The poem says that Wednesday's child is full of woe. 

 

It is often called "hump day" because it falls in the middle of the standard Monday through Friday work week and so once you finish Wednesday, you are "over the hump."

 

The are many significant things that can be said about this day, but I happen to think that all seven days of the week have special significance.  We can do great things every single day of our life - it really doesn't matter what day it is!  Since Wednesday though is the day upon us, let's go out and make it a wonderful one!

Never again - NEVER!

Today is International Holocaust Memorial Day, we honor and remember the six million Jewish Holocaust victims and survivors, and the millions of other victims of Nazism . We listen and learn so we may educate future generations, and we say never again to ensure atrocities of the past – including all acts of genocide – are never repeated.

"Never again," we say, and yet we let horrible hateful things happen still to this day.  I don't mean for one moment to minimize the Holocaust by talking about modern day hate crimes.  My point is that we get angry and say we are going to do something but then don't.  The best way to honor the victims of the horrible systematic, government-sponsored persecution and murder of human beings, is to remember them and to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

Were there any warning signs of what was to come before the start of mass killing in 1941? Indeed there were. The biggest warning both then and now, was the abundance of hate. The killings did not come first. It began with hate. It started with denial of basic human rights. It began with attacks on truth and on the rule of law.  What about now?  Do you see any hate in the world?  In our country?  In your community?  Now in 2024, I am saddened by the many examples of hate all around the world.

Take some time today to really remember the horror that was the Holocaust.  Think of the victims.  Light a candle.  Above all, work to stop the hate.  When we say never again, we have to make it so!

Daddy may I borrow $25

Those heartwarming stories that circulate on the internet can be quite inspiring.  From time to time I have shared some of them here, although I always wish I could give credit to the writer.  Here is another author unknown tale:

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: ‘Daddy, may I ask you a question?’
DAD: ‘Yeah sure, what it is?’ replied the man.
SON: ‘Daddy, how much do you make an hour?’
DAD: ‘That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?’ the man said angrily.
SON: ‘I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?’
DAD: ‘If you must know, I make $50 an hour.’
SON: ‘Oh,’ the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: ‘Daddy, may I please borrow $25?’

The father was furious, ‘If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish.  I don’t work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.’  The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:  Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25 and he really didn’t ask for money very often.  The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.

‘Are you asleep, son?’ He asked.

‘No daddy, I’m awake,’ replied the boy.

‘I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,’ said the man. ‘It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you.  Here’s the $25 you asked for.’

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh, thank you daddy!’ he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.  The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.  The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

‘Why do you want more money if you already have some?’ the father grumbled.

‘Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the little boy replied.  ‘Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?  Please come home early tomorrow.  I would like to have dinner with you.’

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

Let us learn from this story and one of the lessons should be the importance of our children, of all our family and our friends!

The Parable

This being Sunday, how about a parable? 

A man was taken on a tour of both heaven and hell. In hell he was shown a banquet hall filled with diners seated at a table that was covered with all kinds of delicious food. Each person’s back and left arm were tied to the chair so that bending at the waist was impossible, and the left arm could not move. The right arm was stiffened so that the elbow would not bend. The people at the table could gaze at the delicious spread and they could smell the aroma of the food, but they were starving.

In heaven, the picture was the same – backs and left arms shackled, right arms stiffened – but the diners were feasting and rejoicing, because each diner used his stiffened right arm to feed the person to his or her right. It was a picture of people working together, in other words – it was cooperation. How wonderful!

Of course, we don’t have to wait to get to heaven to have this kind of teamwork. It really is quite easy to do things for each other, right here on earth! Oh and before you ask what part of the Bible this parable comes from - it doesn’t. This isn’t a parable of Jesus, but one that we mortals came up with and which has been told and re-told. The point is a very good one though: cooperation - helping others - making a difference. It's a story that illustrates the very thing we talk about here every day.

If you like your parables to come from Scripture and have to have some backup from the Bible, let’s look at the words of Blessed Paul the Apostle, who in his letter to the Philippians wrote “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” I could not have said it any better!

what a beauty

What a great beauty this land of ours is.  What a great beauty is our life.  What a great beauty we are surrounded by each and every day of our lives.  Look at the trees and the flowers.  Breathe in the fresh air.  Listen to the birds and the crickets and the little children giggling.  Take a moment to appreciate the beauty.

 

Doesn't look beautiful to you?  Look again!

If you live in the big city you may have forgotten that beauty comes in many forms.  If you are in a great hurry ever day you just might miss some of the beauty in our world.  Slow down.  Take the time.  If you become jaded or choose to not open your eyes and your ears, you just might miss out.  There really is so much to see.

 

What a beauty we have all around us though!  Don't take my word for it though.  Open your eyes and take a look!

Give us this day our daily blog

It's almost like a prayer, as each morning I put my fingers to the keyboard and tell another story here about making a difference.  Some of my posts are about local heroes and sometimes they are about famous people.  I write with suggestions and ideas about what all of us can do to make the world better.  I don't write about me - I write about US.  We together really can do some pretty wonderful things.  We all can change things for the better and truly make a difference.  That's what I write about.

 

Day after day and year after year I write something here, and I am grateful to each of you who read this.  Tell your friends.  Post your comments.  Give us ideas.  You can really make a difference and if you take something from here and do something great with it, how wonderful!  Let us know about it.

 

I have no idea how many different people read this, but I am happy that you can here today.  You can become a regular follower and never miss a post.  I'll keep on blogging and I hope you keep on reading!

Happy birthday Toan!

I used to write a lot here about Toan Lam, so what else could I possibly write about the creator of Go Inspire Go?  Well for one thing, today is his natal anniversary so it is appropriate to send our best wishes.  Also, has a lot of inspiring content on the internet.

Now this blog is not supposed to be about me (and yes that is me with Toan in the picture), but I will hastily point out that although we have met and do keep in touch, I seldom see him - he's a pretty busy guy, and he also is exactly what we do write about here - he is someone who is making a difference!

 

Go to http://goinspirego.com/ to find out more about them, if you don't already know.  Send them some inspiring stories or videos too.  You can even donate to help sponsor their coverage of wonderful inspiring people.  This is Toan Lam's idea.  This is Toan Lam's creation.  He continues to make it happen every day.  I urge you to click on the links there and watch some of the videos.  You will indeed be inspired!

 

I mentioned knowing Toan, and want to point out that I have seen firsthand that he is an inspiring person, not just when he is telling a story for Go Inspire Go, but wherever he is and whatever he is doing.  His tweets and facebook posts make you smile and help your spirit soar.  The encouraging and uplifting presence of Toan Lam is contagious too.  Check out his website regularly and you will be moved to a new level of goodness.

 

So, thanks for all those wonderful moments of inspiration Toan, and Happy Birthday!