Inspiration 365 Days!

Give thanks. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Invite someone for dinner who would otherwise be spending the holiday alone. For each family member, press a dried leaf and write a word of thanks with a permanent marker. Donate your extra groceries to a food bank that serves needy families. Interview your neighbhors about what they’re thankful for, create a scroll from their responses and hand out a copy to everyone. Dedicate the day to truly give thanks and embrace each encounter as an opportunity to express kindness.

— Random Kindness Idea

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• Donate your professional clothes to an organization that helps people get back into the workforce.
• Give gently worn home furnishings or household appliances to a person or family who might need them or donate them to an organization.
• Take warm clothes, blankets or food to a homeless person that you often cross paths with.
• Donate toys and books to a homeless organization. Toys and books are just as important to kids as food and shelter.
• When shopping, buy a couple extra non-perishable food items and take them to a food drive or pantry.

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One day a father and his rich family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family.

When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“Very good Dad!”

“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked.

“Yeah!”

“And what did you learn?”

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Marketers on a Mission: 40+ Internet Marketers
Coming Together to Help Autistic Children. Proceeds to Benefit the Pioneer Learning Center.

Dear Friend,

The latest statistics show that 1 out of 144 children have autism (up from 1 out of 10,000 just two decades ago).

In my house, 1 out of 2 children has autism. My 8 year old Ryan.

Three years ago, Ryan was diagnosed with Asperger’s disorder, part of the Autism Spectrum. He often experiences sensory overload, where certain sounds and images of TV and radio causes his brain to malfunction. We would often find him huddled in our closet, screaming uncontrollably, and frightened beyond belief. Normal everyday sounds are “fingernails being scratched on a chalkboard” to an autistic child.

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The Room to Grow girls’ education program provides much more than an education for girls in need. It provides the opportunity for a future - for each girl, her family, and her community.

Suka Laxmi is eight years old. She loves to dance, sing, and read storybooks. She is a shy and well-disciplined girl both at home and in school. In the future, she hopes to be a teacher and impact other children’s lives for the better.

Before you go to sleep make a list of 10 wonderful things about the day that just passed. Don’t look for only big-ticket items, such as promotions at work, long awaited achievements or financial windfalls. While these are exciting and noteworthy, this is a time to reflect on what truly have been moments of wonder. These are your “alive” moments, moments that sparkle. The majestic blue sky you noticed as you were leaving the office. they way your son’s freckles seemed to dance across his nose and down his cheeks when he laughed at the story you told. The scent of honeysuckle as you walked to the postbox.

Not so long ago, teen Ashley Qualls lived in a one-bedroom apartment with her mom and sister. But with her computer and savvy business sense she made a better life for all of them.

Ashley Qualls doesn’t sound like a typical high school student. Maybe that’s because the 17-year-old is the CEO of a million-dollar business.

Ashley is the head of whateverlife.com, a website she started when she was just 14 — with eight dollars borrowed from her mother. Now, just three years later, the website grosses more than $1 million a year, providing Ashley and her working class family a sense of security they had never really known.

Do a little more than you’re paid to. Give a little more than you have to. Try a little harder than you want to. Aim a little higher than you think possible, and give a lot of thanks to God for health, family, and friends.
—Art Linkletter

Bella, a 3-year-old golden retriever/collie mix who was once rescued as an abused puppy, returned the favor to her owners by alerting them to a house fire. With help from Maddie, a 6-month-old golden retriever, Bella helped get Sue Feuling and her 9-year-old daughter, Mckenzie, out of the house last week. The dogs didn’t make it.”Those dogs were without a doubt the heroes,” said Winona Assistant Fire Chief Jim Multhaup.

Read the rest of Dogs Give Up Their Lives to Save Family