From Thoughts to Actions

 

Doris lives in Mentor, Ohio.  Every day she walks to the end of her driveway and blows kisses to the kids as bus No. 4 drives by.  The kids affectionately call Doris “Grandma.”  Rain, snow, or shine, Doris has not missed a day in over five years.  Recently, neighbor Kathy let the bus driver know that Doris’ 88^th birthday was the next week.  On her special day, the bus stopped in front of her house, a boy brought out a birthday card to give to Doris, and all the children sang, “Happy Birthday.”  As the bus pulled away, the little boy in the last seat yelled out, “I love you!” and blew Grandma Doris a kiss.

Henry Proctor owns Mane Street Barber Company, with shops in Antrim and Hillsboro, New Hampshire.  Recently, five kids walked into his shop.  After giving four haircuts, Proctor signaled to the fifth child.  The boy explained, “I can’t afford it.  We never have money.”  That response tugged at Henry’s heart.  Since then, Proctor and Lizzy Nute have advertised and given free haircuts to 30 kids who needed one and will continue to do so until the end of August so that kids can go back to school with a fresh haircut.  Nate responded, “No need to be embarrassed.  We’re glad to help.”

 

Edison Juel, 5 years old, lives in Seattle.  He and his family visited the Big Island of Hawaii the week before the fires broke out on Maui.  They had been to Lahaina in January.  After seeing pictures of the fires, Edison decided he wanted to help.  On a family walk he told his mom, “Maybe we can do one of those stands.  I could sell food and popsicles.”  Edison’s parents promised to match whatever sales he made 3:1.  They were hoping their son would make about $100, if all the items sold, since each was listed at $1.  People were most generous.  With the Juel’s matching donations, they sent $16,500 to the Maui Community Fund!

 

Mr. Y noticed that the kids in his neighborhood did not have a way to get out of the sun or a place to sit while waiting for the bus.  He bought and had some shade trees planted and then had a bench and trash can installed.

 

May we, too, put our thoughts for helping, encouraging, and blessing others into action.

 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Doing What's Right

Connor Halsa, is from Minnesota.  To celebrate the last few days of summer, before starting his freshman year of high school and hockey season, the 14-year-old went fishing with some of his family.  As they came to a favorite spot in the lake, the boat was turned off, and they began to fish.  Within a few minutes, Connor had a big tug on his line.  He jerked hard and kept reeling in his catch.  When the fish was close to the surface of the water, his cousin, Brandon, leaned over the side of the boat with a net.  Instead of a walleye, Connor caught a wallet.  They took the contents out of the billfold and spread them out to dry.  Along with $2,000 cash, they found a business card and a few other items.  In all the excitement Connor replied, “My dad said we should give it to the person, so I told him we should, too.”  Upon contacting Denney, he couldn’t believe his wallet had been found in the lake that is 70 miles long, 70 feet wide, and 20-feet deep and that it was going to be returned.  While fishing the previous summer, the wallet had fallen out of his back pocket and into the lake.  Even though he was offered a reward, Connor refused to keep any of the money.  Denney drove from Iowa to Minnesota to retrieve his wallet.  He gave Connor a fancy customized cooler and took his family to dinner.  Connor expressed, “I learned some great lessons about myself and doing what’s right.  Yeah, to be nice to everyone and like give back to people.  We didn’t work hard for the money, he did, so it was his money.”  

Three teenagers were walking down the sidewalk when they noticed an elderly man trying to cross the busy street with his walker and a bag of groceries.  Just as the man was about to reach the curb, the bag slipped out of his hand and the contents rolled and scattered on the street.  The boys quickly grabbed the items, put them back into the bag, and helped the man up the curb and onto the sidewalk.  They made sure he was stable, and on his way home, before they began riding their skateboards again.

 

Stacy Stanton was looking down at her rather lengthy list of items at the grocery store when she heard, “Ma’am, do you need help?”  Looking up, she noticed a young man approaching an elderly lady.  Stacy realized she had walked past the woman, without even noticing her.  Patiently, the young man listened and located the items needed.  He offered help, without even being asked.  Stacy commented, “There is so much beauty, if only we would look.”

 

Whether it’s through words or actions, may we, too, be caught doing what’s right. 

 

Start children off on the way they should go,

     and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

 

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

James 2:8

 

Meeting Needs

 

Feeling like hygiene services for the homeless could use some help, Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi, both 20 years of age, formed Orange Sky Laundry.  The young men had three goals for their project: “to raise health standards, restore respect, and reduce strain on resources.”  With the help of donations, they had an old van outfitted with a portable generator, two washers and two dryers.  The machines can process 44 pounds of laundry in an hour.  Five days a week, the van is driven to different locations around Brisbane, in order to give the homeless an opportunity to clean their clothes and other items.  The young men are also trying to team up with food donation groups that will provide meals for the people to eat while they are waiting on their laundry.  The project is in a trial period.  If deemed helpful and successful, services will be offered throughout Australia with a fleet of larger vans.    

Hugh Howell, Jr. recently responded to a lady inquiring about how to help a friend whose husband died.  Even though she had offered to help, if anything was needed, she wasn’t sure her friend would call.  Howell wrote about his grief experience when his father died.  People called or came by to help, but it was so hard to know what to ask for or even think of what was needed.  It was like his brain shut down and he couldn’t make decisions.  That evening he saw a text on his phone that asked if he would be home at 8:30 that night.  He was puzzled because he knew the friend lived 12 hours away.  He responded, “Yes” and in a few minutes she texted back, “Instacart will be there at 8:30.  Open the door for them.”  Howell responded back, “What?” to which came the reply, “Grief Groceries.”  The Instacart delivery had two large bags of groceries filled with canned soups, frozen lasagna, a gallon of milk, frozen pizzas, ice cream, a box of Oreo cookies, along with other items.  Later on, he realized that his friend did not ask if he needed food, she just sent items he and his family could eat either then or at a later time.  Another out-of-town friend asked a family member the name of a restaurant close to their house where they liked to eat.  Within an hour, a gift card, which would cover several meals, was delivered to their house.  A person noticed the grass needed to be cut and showed up to mow it.  Howell concluded, “In the first few days, especially, it helps to remove as many decisions from their plate as possible.  Eventually they will surface and ways to be helpful will make themselves known.”

 

Whether it is a spontaneous gesture or a thought-out plan, may we find ways to meet the needs of others.

 

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.

Titus 3:14