Thought Filled Efforts

 

When he was band director, Mr. Emmett directed and participated in homecoming parades for 34 years. Being retired, he continues to attend the parade each year. Since he lives four blocks off Main Street, in southern Iowa, Emmett, 92, and his black lab, Sousa, walk to the high school on Thursdays and he spends time freeing up stuck valves. This year he told the band students he would listen for them from his front porch. With Sousa being 15, he needed help getting up off the floor and didn’t need to be left home for a long time by himself. That’s when the tuba section came up with an idea. They approached Mr. Kendra, the band director, and asked if they could step off the parade route, and play at Mr. Emmett’s house. On Saturday, the parade started at 10:00. As the band approached Mr. Emmett’s street, the director gave the signal to turn left. Listening from his front porch, with his cup of coffee and dog, the retired director noticed the band sounded louder instead of fainter as it proceeded down the parade route. He soon saw the band marching down his street and stopping in his front yard to play for him. They played a song that Mr. Emmett had written for the band years before any of the band members were born. He directed the last bars of the music with his coffee spoon. The band then returned to the parade route, where the people had waited twenty minutes for their return.

 

Two hundred students, at Syracuse University in New York, gathered in the Skybarn to join members of the community and the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace for a bed-building event. At the end of the day, 88 beds had been completed. With children in Syracuse living under the poverty level, beds are a luxury. Some students also volunteered to deliver the beds and saw first hand how an ordinary item can make an extraordinary difference for a child and their family.

 

Army Private First Class Givens lost his life in the Iraq war. Actor Gary Sinise tells how Givens left a letter for his wife that if anything happened to him she would take the kids to Disneyland. In 2006, as a part of Snowball Express, Givins’ family and the families of other fallen soldiers were treated to a trip to Disneyland. Sinise joined Snowball Express in 2007. His foundation took over providing the trips in 2017. Starting in 2018, the families were treated  to a trip to Disney World in December. 

 

He answered, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Luke 10:27

 

Gifts of Service

Dalton Medley and Collin Carrell, teenagers from Satsuma, Alabama, were enjoying the afternoon riding their bikes. As they rode down 7th Street, police officers stopped them and asked that they be on the lookout for 77-year-old Kathryn Whitney, who was missing. Since she was dealing with dementia, her family was very worried about her. Dalton and Collin purposefully set out to find Mrs. Whitney. It wasn’t long before the young men noticed an older lady sitting in a rocking chair on a back patio. They stopped and went to speak with her. Realizing it was the missing lady, the boys notified the police then stayed until the officers arrived. The house camera revealed that Mrs. Whitney had been sitting there for an hour and a half. Because two teenagers were entrusted and encouraged to help, Mrs. Whitney was found and reunited with her family. 

Sadie Hutson, 12, is on the lookout for stuffed animals, even if they are worn. Living in Dobson, North Carolina, Sadie and her mom frequent thrift stores and garage sales to purchase stuffed animals. That’s when the second chance begins. The toys are washed, repaired, and restuffed. The local Red Cross is known for giving stuffed animals to children who are dealing with the tragedy of losing their home to a fire. The Red Cross office was running low so Jon McCollum, a former firefighter, asked the community for help. After hearing the request, Sadie quickly packed up 114 stuffed animals and donated them for the children. She continues to purchase, rescue, repair, and give away stuffed animals to children who need something soft to hold during a time of crisis.

 

Jacob McPeake, from Gloucester, England, is 11. He recently had three grandparents who fought through cancer treatments. During that time, Jacob made the decision to grow out his blonde hair so wigs could be made for children who lost their hair during cancer treatments. Jacob was often bullied because of the length of his hair. Several times he was tempted to have his hair cut, in order to stop the teasing, but he remembered his purpose. The day finally arrived when Jacob could have his hair cut the 18 inches needed to make wigs for children who were losing their hair. He also raised 1230 pounds, $1,625, to help with the project.

 

May we, too, find joy in using the gifts God has given us to bless and serve others.

 

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

1 Peter 4:10

 

Wise Choices

 

"Small steps every day

lead to big changes.”

~ Jasmine

 

 

“Sometimes it ends up

different

and it’s better that way.”

~ Sue May-Dumele

 

 

“Tell me and I forget.

Teach me and I remember.

Involve me and I learn.”

~ Benjamin Franklin

 

 

“Do what you can,

with what you’ve got,

where you are.”

~ Theodore Roosevelt

 

 

“The will of God

will not take us

where the grace of God

cannot sustain us.”

~ Billy Graham

 

 

“For anything to be good, truly good,

there must be love in it. Whether the art is

sculpture, farming, teaching, lawmaking, medicine,

music, or raising a child – nothing is what it’s

supposed to be if love is not at the core.”

~ Allen Levi

 

 

“There’s something beautiful

about looking around at your

very ordinary life and thinking,

God, You’ve been so good to me.”

~ Maryanne

 

 “God grant me the serenity

to accept the things

  I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.”

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

 

 

“There is always a reason to

complain and always a reason to

be grateful. They live side by side,

every single day. The one you

feed is the one that grows.”

~ Onome Festus

 

 

                                         “Inclusion isn’t just inviting

someone to sit at your table.

It’s believing they belong there.”

~ Mia Carella

 

 

 

May God give us wisdom to make choices to help us become more like him.

 

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

James 1:5