Each Day is God’s Gift

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Feb. 27, 2010

Do you know what “Joylogy” means? It is the study of caring, sharing, and listening and Sacrifice.

This was written by Mr. Jeineke in 1975

We would like to know what you think: dan@youngchronicle.com

What is a Joyologist? A joyologist then would be one who studies joy logy. Frankly our world could use a great many joyologists whose mission in life is to actively research the effects of discussing and sharing joy.

The research could branch out into how joy affects our careers, family lives, and friendships. The very act of doing the active research should spread jubilation throughout the world and bring about positive results. What a fun job!

All one needs to start with is to share the words joyism, joy logy, and joyologis with others. Use the words daily and make them a part of the world’s vocabulary.

The upcoming year is going to challenge us all. Here is something we need to think, this is from an unknown reader. It is called:  Each Day is God’s Gift

 

 

By Unknown

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.

 As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.

It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”

She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.”

And with a smile, she said, “Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.”

 

Source: Joyology

Special Handwriting on the Wall

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Feb. 15, 2010

Do you know what “Joylogy” means? It is the study of caring, sharing, and listening and Sacrifice.

This was written by Mr. Jeineke in 1975

We would like to know what you think: dan@youngchronicle.com

What is a Joyologist? A joyologist then would be one who studies joy logy. Frankly our world could use a great many joyologists whose mission in life is to actively research the effects of discussing and sharing joy.

The research could branch out into how joy affects our careers, family lives, and friendships. The very act of doing the active research should spread jubilation throughout the world and bring about positive results. What a fun job!

All one needs to start with is to share the words joyism, joy logy, and joyologis with others. Use the words daily and make them a part of the world’s vocabulary.

The upcoming year is going to challenge us all. Here is something we need to think, this is from an unknown reader. It is called:  Special Handwriting on the Wall

 

 

By Unknown

A weary mother returned from the store,
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her 8 year old son,
Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.

“While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,
T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!
It’s on the new paper you just hung in the den.
I told him you’d be mad at having to do it again.”

She let out a moan and furrowed her brow,
“Where is your little brother right now?”
She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride,
She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.

She called his full name as she entered his room.
He trembled with fear–he knew that meant doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved
About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved.

Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,
She condemned his actions and total lack of care.
The more she scolded, the madder she got,
Then stomped from his room, totally distraught!

She headed for the den to confirm her fears.
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.
It said, “I love Mommy,” surrounded by a heart.

Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it,
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
A reminder to her, and indeed to all,
Take time to read the handwriting on the wall

 

Source: Joyology

God’s Strength Available

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Feb. 6, 2010

Do you know what “Joylogy” means? It is the study of caring, sharing, and listening and Sacrifice.

This was written by Mr. Jeineke in 1975

We would like to know what you think: dan@youngchronicle.com

What is a Joyologist? A joyologist then would be one who studies joy logy. Frankly our world could use a great many joyologists whose mission in life is to actively research the effects of discussing and sharing joy.

The research could branch out into how joy affects our careers, family lives, and friendships. The very act of doing the active research should spread jubilation throughout the world and bring about positive results. What a fun job!

All one needs to start with is to share the words joyism, joy logy, and joyologis with others. Use the words daily and make them a part of the world’s vocabulary.

The upcoming year is going to challenge us all. Here is something we need to think, this is from an unknown reader. It is called: God’s Strength Available

 

 

By Unknown

A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. The lad dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With a little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. (He was a very small boy and the rock was very huge.)

When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall. Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox. The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved-but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration.

All this time the boy’s father watched from his living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy’s father. Gently but firmly he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?

Defeated, the boy sobbed back, “But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!

“No, son,” corrected the father kindly. “You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.” With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.

Do you have “rocks” in your life that need to be removed? Are you discovering that you don’t have what it takes to lift them? There is One who is always available to us and willing to give us the strength we need. Isn’t it funny how we try so hard to do things ourselves. Sadly, many adults who have been Christians for years are trying to do everything themselves and only turning to God as a last resort. God wants to be your first resort. Let Him help you with your trials, tribulations, and temperament. He loves you so much … all He wants you to do is ask Him to help.

 

 “Do you know? Have you heard? The Lord is everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
Ephesians 40:28-29

 

Source: Joyology

Sack Lunch

by Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Feb. 3, 2010

This was send to us by a couple of our readers Derick & Ellen. Who has received it from some one else. We don’t know who the author of this great story is. I believe they would want it that way….. We want to share this with you. It brought tears to my eyes as I was reading this.

We always love when we get stories and messages from you the readers.

This reminded me of the time when my fellow Vietnam Vets came home back from the war. They would have loved for this to have happaned to them. All they got was that they were called “baby killers”.

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

The Sack Lunches

 

by Unknown

In fact today on my flight a first class passenger gave up his seat to a military fellow.  On a lot of my flights people offer to buy those snacks and such, but not always.  

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. ‘I’m glad I have a  good book to read.

Perhaps I will get a short nap,’ I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.

‘Where are you headed?’ I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.   Petawawa. We’ll be there for two weeks for special training, and  then we’re being deployed to Afghanistan after flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars.

It would be several hours  before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time…

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch.    ‘No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn’t be worth five bucks.  I’ll wait till we get to base.’

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch.   I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a  fifty dollar bill.  ‘Take a lunch to all those soldiers.’

She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she  thanked me.   ‘My son was a soldier in Iraq; it’s almost like you are doing it for   him.’

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, ‘Which do you like  best – beef or chicken?’

‘Chicken,’ I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.

‘This is your thanks….’

After we   finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room.   A man stopped me. ‘I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.’ He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, ‘I want to shake your hand.’  

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain’s hand.    With a booming voice he said, ‘I was a soldier and I was a military pilot.

Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.’ I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs.    A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word.

Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars.

‘It will take you some time to reach the base… It will be about time   for a 
sandwich.

God Bless You.’

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.

As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little…

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America ‘ for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.’

May God give you the strength and courage to pass this along to everyone on your email buddy list….?

I JUST DID

 

Let us pray…

Prayer chain for our Military…. Don’t break it!

Please send this on after a short prayer… Prayer for our soldiers doesn’t break it!

Prayer:

‘Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they 
perform for us in our time of need.   Amen.’

Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.

There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm’s way, prayer is the very best one.

GOD BLESSES YOU FOR PASSING IT ON!

Hope For Haiti

By Dave Ramsey
Jan. 31, 2010

Sometimes it may seem like hope is hard to find.

Just look at the situation in Haiti. New heartbreaking stories come out every day. Current estimates on casualties range anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 people.

For a country that was already the poorest nation in the west, this earthquake must be the final blow, right?

Truth is, Haiti does have hope. Blake Thompson, Senior Producer of The Dave Ramsey Show, saw glimmers of hope all throughout Haiti during his visit to the devastated country last week.

 He saw hope in the resilient nature of the Haitian people and in the miracles he encountered while he was there.

Blake traveled to Haiti with SafeWaterNexus—a Tennessee-based nonprofit organization—to provide food to orphanages, medical supplies to tent cities, and respond to any other immediate needs they encountered.

When the group arrived in Port au Prince, the center of the earthquake’s devastation, he was overwhelmed by what he saw. “It looked like a massive bomb blew up the city,” Blake said.

“There were piles of buildings everywhere, bodies in the streets, and homeless people for miles and miles. The smell was terrible.”

 

One Incredible Story

While he was on the ground in Haiti, Blake provided updates to thousands of people through Dave Ramsey’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

One evening, he was checking messages and stumbled across a comment from an old college friend he had not seen in nearly two decades.

“He said a Haitian family in his church was just devastated because their father and mother are preachers in a community outside of Port Au Prince. The parents had more than 100 people staying in their crumbling church, all of them without food and water for nine days.

This family was begging my friend to help, but he didn’t know what to do. He said it was a long shot, but he sent me the address of the church in case we could get over there.”

That night, Blake prayed and developed a plan with the guys from SafeWaterNexus. The next morning, they hired a driver and a mini-bus.

“We drove to the airport, where a lot of crisis groups and nonprofits had set up headquarters, and asked them to donate any food or water they had left over,” he said.

They loaded the mini-bus with the supplies and drove through Port au Prince trying to find the pastor’s address in the middle of all the rubble. “Some roads had been totally blocked by collapsed buildings or bodies in the streets. So we had to back up and find another way,” Blake said.

 “Our driver had to create roads by driving on sidewalks and on any other area he could get us through. He even drove down a steep, curvy staircase with the bus at one point.”

After an hour of navigating through a devastated Port au Prince, they finally found the pastor’s address—a battered, old wooden church. On the front gate, a sign read “Need Help.”

When the group arrived, the pastor exited the building with his hands in the air, exclaiming, “God bless! God bless! God bless!”

Blake introduced himself to the pastor, who was extremely grateful. “He thanked us and told us God blessed him and his people that day,” Blake said.

The group unloaded enough food, water and medical supplies for more than 150 people. Afterward, they helped make sure more supplies would be coming soon.

 

“We Will Be Going Back.”

Not surprisingly, that story was just one of the many stories Blake

experienced while in Haiti. They did a lot in a short amount of time, but they still had so much more to do.

“We had an agenda, pages long, that we wanted to get to,” Blake said. “But we will be going back.”

Since returning home, Blake says everyone wants to know how to help. The answer is really simple. “Prayer and money,” he said. “Give money to an organization that is making a difference and helping people right now.

SafeWaterNexus is a great place to start. That organization was on the ground in Haiti and putting donated funds to use within days.”

Regardless of whom you donate your money to, make sure the organization has a plan for the supplies when they hit the ground.

“We saw rotting food at the airport because too many people would drop the food off and have no way to get it into the city,” Blake said.

“The organization needs to be physically capable of taking the food, water and supplies to the people. SafeWaterNexus, Samaritan’s Purse and World Vision were some of the organizations that were organized and doing great things down there.”

Most importantly, Blake said he saw prayer work in amazing ways. “God was there. I’m still trying to comprehend that. But we’re told all through Scripture that we don’t understand some things about God.

What I do understand is that we were in Haiti—and the other organizations helping out were in Haiti—because of God. We reflected God to those people.”

The challenge for us is to reflect God as well—even if we can’t volunteer on the ground. How, then, can we reflect God? The answer is simple: Give like no one else.

We can’t single-handedly restore hope to Haiti. Its resilient people will once again need to pick themselves up. But we can make a difference—a major difference—by giving like no one else.

Yes, it sounds so simple, but it’s the foundation of what Dave teaches, and it’s the reason Blake traveled to Haiti to help.

Give like no one else.

*Follow @safewaternexus on Twitter for ongoing Haiti information.

 

Source: Dave Ramsey

 

Editor’s Note: Photo credits: Esther Havens

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com  

Cookie Thief

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/GCC
Jan. 31, 2010

Do you know what “Joylogy” means? It is the study of caring, sharing, and listening and Sacrifice.

This was written by Mr. Jeineke in 1975

We would like to know what you think: dan@youngchronicle.com

What is a Joyologist? A joyologist then would be one who studies joy logy. Frankly our world could use a great many joyologists whose mission in life is to actively research the effects of discussing and sharing joy.

The research could branch out into how joy affects our careers, family lives, and friendships. The very act of doing the active research should spread jubilation throughout the world and bring about positive results. What a fun job!

All one needs to start with is to share the words joyism, joy logy, and joyologis with others. Use the words daily and make them a part of the world’s vocabulary.

The upcoming year is going to challenge us all. Here is something we need to think, this is from an unknown reader. It is called: Cookie Thief     

 

 

By Valerie Cox 

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.
So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

How many times in our lives have we absolutely known that something was a certain way, only to discover later that what we believed to be true … was not?

 

Source: Joyology

Child’s Target Heart Rate

By Reggie Reyes
Jan. 19. 2010

I often have parents come to me for help with their teenager who is overweight. They assure me their child exercises on a regular basis and eats relatively well.

My first line of questioning typically reveals the need for stress management, better sleep habits and improved nutrition.

Assuming the parents agree to address these issues, my fact-finding switches focus to the type and intensity of their exercise routine. In most cases, the child is not exercising long enough and at a low intensity.

Kids need at least 60 minutes a day of vigorous activity to maintain a healthy body weight. For the younger kids, I suggest using the talk test.

This test assumes kids are training at the right intensity if their heart rate is high enough to make it difficult to hold a regular conversation. For teenagers, I recommend training in their target heart rate zone.

 

Tips for finding your target heart rate zone, after the jump…

Target Heart Rate (HR) Training Zone

In order to achieve the health and fitness benefits of exercise, kids should be training at a heart rate training intensity of 70-90 percent of their predicted maximum for up to an hour a day.

In order to define your target zone, you need to first calculate your predicted maximum heart rate. There are several formulas that calculate your maximum heart rate.

I recommend using the simplest formula of 220 – AGE for men and 226 – AGE for women. As soon as the predicted maximum heart rate is established, simply calculate the percentage for the recommended training zone by multiplying it by 70 percent and then 90 percent, and dividing these values by 4. This will give you a heart rate range for 15 seconds.

 

Here’s an example using my 15-year-old daughter Marissa.

Predicted Maximum HR = 226 – (15) = 211
70 percent Zone: 211 x 70% / 4 = 36.93 beats per 15 seconds
90 percent Zone: 211 x 70% / 4 = 47.48 beats per 15 seconds

Therefore, my daughter Marissa should be accumulating 60 minutes of daily exercise intense enough to elicit a heart rate response of 36 – 47 beats every 15 seconds.

 

How to Take Your Heart Rate

To find your pulse in your wrist, hold your left hand in front of you with your thumb up and palm towards you. Place the tips of your first two fingers of your right hand on the groove of your left wrist in line with the bottom of your left thumb.

Gently feel for your pulse. When you have found a steady beat, count how many beats you feel in 15 seconds. Compare this number to the desired heart rate training zone.

If the number is too low, it’s time to increase the intensity of your exercise. Have your kids try this every 10-15 minutes during an intense activity; the heart can’t lie!

Source: Parent Dish

 

Editor’s Note: Reggie Reyes is a certified kinesiologist and personal trainer. He is the president and founder of pt4kids, a company that creates specialized training programs for kids all ages and fitness levels.

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Strength Available

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/GCC
Jan. 18, 2010

Do you know what “Joylogy” means? It is the study of caring, sharing, and listening and Sacrifice.

This was written by Mr. Jeineke in 1975

We would like to know what you think: dan@youngchronicle.com

What is a Joyologist? A joyologist then would be one who studies joy logy. Frankly our world could use a great many joyologists whose mission in life is to actively research the effects of discussing and sharing joy.

The research could branch out into how joy affects our careers, family lives, and friendships. The very act of doing the active research should spread jubilation throughout the world and bring about positive results. What a fun job!

All one needs to start with is to share the words joyism, joy logy, and joyologis with others. Use the words daily and make them a part of the world’s vocabulary.

The upcoming year is going to challenge us all. Here is something we need to think, this is from an unknown reader. It is called: Strength Available

 

By Unknown

A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.

The lad dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With a little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. (He was a very small boy and the rock was very huge.)

When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall. Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox.

The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved-but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration.

All this time the boy’s father watched from his living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy’s father.

Gently but firmly he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?

Defeated, the boy sobbed back, “But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!

“No, son,” corrected the father kindly. “You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.” With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.

Do you have “rocks” in your life that need to be removed? Are you discovering that you don’t have what it takes to lift them? There is One who is always available to us and willing to give us the strength we need.

Isn’t it funny how we try so hard to do things ourselves. Sadly, many adults who have been Christians for years are trying to do everything themselves and only turning to God as a last resort.

God wants to be your first resort. Let Him help you with your trials, tribulations, and temperament. He loves you so much … all He wants you to do is ask Him to help.

 “Do you know? Have you heard? The Lord is everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
Ephesians 40:28-29

 

Source: Joyology

Giving in Tragedy in Haiti

By Dave Ramsey
Jan. 17, 2010

 

Sixty seconds.

In the amount of time it takes to walk to your mailbox, an entire country was devastated. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12 left unimaginable damage in its wake.

Images and video from the impoverished country show bodies lining the streets and decimated cities. Hospitals, schools, prisons, and small family dwellings collapsed.

The death toll could reach as high as 100,000, according to some estimates, and the International Red Cross says three million people will need emergency aid.

For a country that was still reeling from a slew of hurricanes in 2008, an earthquake of this size must seem insurmountable.

That’s where we can step in and provide some measure of relief. All through Christmas, we talked about “giving like no one else.”

Maybe some of the articles and videos on daveramsey.com got your attention or made you want to do something special.

Well, here’s your chance. The Christmas season of giving may be over, but now we have an opportunity to give something greater than a stocking stuffer. Now, we have a real chance to give hope.

Last year, several of Dave’s team members traveled to Haiti to work in an orphanage. Having experienced the country and interacted with the people of Haiti first-hand, they have a personal perspective on what Haiti is going through right now.

“By the world’s standards, the people of Haiti are tragically poor and destitute, and yet they are some of the happiest people I have ever met,” said Chris Thomas, Director of National Sales and Sponsorships for The Dave Ramsey Show.

“Being there at the orphanage last year, I remember seeing the kids we spent time with—most of them without mothers and fathers—who were just happy to be alive. Now, all that they know has literally come crashing down.”

“While there’s never a good place for a disaster like this, I can’t think of a worse place for such a thing to happen,” said Joe Leavitt, Syndication Strategist for The Dave Ramsey Show. “The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere just got poorer.”

“If this earthquake happened in the United States, it would be a disaster, but we would be able to rally finances, hospitals and doctors to help in the long run,” added Blake Thompson, Senior Producer of The Dave Ramsey Show.

“Haiti doesn’t have this privilege, so they’re counting on us, as the richest country in the Western Hemisphere, to help.”

Within days of the September 11 attacks, many Americans could simply hop on a plane to New York City to lend a hand.

In this situation, travel isn’t so easy. As we sit in the comfort of our homes and watch this tragedy unfold on our televisions, the question is—how exactly can we help?

“As much as I want to take my girls shopping for supplies, I think Haiti needs money the most right now,” Leavitt said. “Getting the supplies there will be so difficult.

And, many times, large shipments will get hung up in customs and red tape.”

Hundreds of organizations are working in some way to help with relief efforts. If you would like to help, here are just a few organizations to consider:

The American Red Cross has released $10 million to Haiti relief. According to the Red Cross, individuals can make an unrestricted donation to the International Response Fund at http://www.redcross.org/ or by calling 800.REDCROSS. You can also send a $10 donation to the Red Cross by texting “Haiti” to 90999.

 All funds will support American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

 

Samaritan’s Purse deployed its first emergency relief team just hours after the earthquakes. Samaritan’s Purse will use donation money to help with critically needed assistance, including water, temporary shelter, blankets, hygiene kits, medical aid and other essentials.

 

SafeWaterNexus is a program arm of GO InterNational. This Tennessee-based nonprofit organization is gathering basic medical supplies and hygiene products.

They are accepting donations through their website, as well. Blake Thompson is planning a relief trip to Haiti with SafeWaterNexus next week.

“Any funds donated to safewaternexus.org will be used immediately,” Blake said. “The need is urgent.”

The opportunities are unlimited. But be careful: Frauds and scam artists always crawl out of the woodwork after disasters like this, hoping to capitalize on a tragic situation.

So make sure the organization you are dealing with is reputable.

If you can afford to give—even if you have to make some sacrifices in your budget this month (one less restaurant visit or cheaper groceries)—then please give. Every single dollar means something to Haiti and its desperate citizens.

Chris Thomas’ comments might best reflect the thoughts of many Americans right now: “I hate to admit it, but, for the first time in my life, I have wept for a tragedy that didn’t occur on American soil.”

Like Chris, so many of us feel the tragedy of Haiti in our hearts. Now, let’s take that passion, give like no one else, and see how quickly we can help get Haiti back on its feet.

Source: Dave Ramsey

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

We Need Each Other

by Mike DeVries
Jan. 11, 2010

The LORD God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will
make a helper suitable for him.” –Genesis 2:18

The book of Genesis is a book about beginnings. It tells of how our world came into being and why it is the way it is. Genesis 1-3 is a painting, an epic story, a beautifully crafted piece of poetry.

And like all good poetry, its use of words and phrases are important to the overall message.

If you read Genesis 1-2, there’s this phrase that is repeated over and over again in the creation story.

God speaks something into existence, and it appears. God surveys His work of creation, while the following phrase is repeated over and over again: “And God saw that it was good.”

This is the image that we are given of creation at the very beginning. Whatever God created, He saw as good.

Everything was good. Everything was right. Everything was as it should be. Except one thing.

Genesis 2:18 captures an astounding statement. In a world where everything God has created is “good,” one thing in the garden isn’t – “It is not good for man to be alone.”

Now what makes this statement so astounding is that it comes before Genesis 3. We have this image that everything before mankind’s fall into sin was perfect and the way that God wanted it to be, but apparently there was one thing that was not working so good. Aloneness is the only thing wrong in the garden.

Humanity was never meant to live life alone.

From the very beginning of creation, the portrait we see is that humanity is wired for relationship. People crave relationships. The account of Genesis 1-2 tells us why.

God is a relational being, and when He created humanity in His own image, He created us as relational beings as well. A human being, out of relationship with the rest of humanity, is… well… un-human.

According to Genesis 2:18, we have a need for others. Just consider how many times God has used others in your own life, through a friend or loved one, who was “there” for you at the right moment.

46 times the New Testament reminds us of what we should be doing for “one another” – loving one another, serving one another, forgiving one another, meeting one another’s needs, bearing one another’s burdens… to mention just a few.

The Scriptures from beginning to end proclaim this one fact – humanity was not meant to live life alone. We really do need each other.

 

Source: Home Word      APU

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

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