March 7, 2007

Excerpt from More Random Acts of Kindness

77 cents


I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and some homeless people in the downtown/University area frequent the stoplights. I used to give a lot of money to the homeless, feeling sorry for their misfortune. But as time passed, I fell victim to many of the circumstances of a homeless person. I became a single mom with no home, a huge debt, and hardly any income. As a result, I stopped giving to the people on the side of the road and became very bitter.

Things started to change for me. I became responsible enough to have a home, a backyard for my daughter, and plenty of food, and I started to pull myself out of debt. One day we saw a homeless person with the sign, "Will work for food." I passed by. My daughter commented, "Mommy, you used to always give to those people in need." I replied, "Honey, they just use that money for alcohol or other bad things." She didn't respond. But when I said that, it didn't feel right.

Three days later, I was driving to pick up my daughter from school. A man was standing on the corner, and something deep inside me said, "Just help the guy." So I rolled down my window, and he ran over with enthusiasm. He said, "God bless you, I only need 77 cents." I reached into my ashtray and oddly enough, there sat three quarters and two pennies.

My skin was prickling as I saw this. I scooped it up and gave it to him. He burst out with joy and tears in his eyes, "Wow, you just made it possible for me to see my mom for Christmas! Thank you so much; the bus that had this great sale is leaving in 20 minutes!" It was a moment I'll never forget. I think that man won't forget it either, but I was the one who got the best gift in life - GIVING. It also reminds me that nothing is a coincidence, and everything has meaning.

February 6, 2007

Attitude
by: Rev. Charles Swindoll


The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, then circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say, or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.