BRING THE HOPE

Let's Resolve to Bring The Hope

It's time to make our New Year's Resolutions. I'm still working on my list, but it's sure to include old reliables like: get in better shape, spend more time with family and friends, etc. A ranking of the most common resolutions follows. I'm glad to see that "help others" made the list, but I'm hoping it cracks the top three in 2009.

Cheers to everyone who brought the hope in 2008 and all the best to you in the New Year. I appreciate you stopping by and being a part of this blog community. See you again in 2009. Here is the list of our most common resolutions.

1) Spend more time with family and friends

2) Become fit

3) Lose weight

4) Quit smoking

5) Quit alcohol

6) Get out of debt

7) Learn something new

8) Become more organized

9) Help others

10) Enjoy life more

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." ~Bill Vaugn

"A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I've played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year."
~Edgar Guest

"We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential."  ~Ellen Goodman

"May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions."  ~Joey Adams

Tiger Woods Brings The Hope

Tiger Woods turns 33 today. He inspires people around the world by being one of the most successful professional golfers of all time. He has motivated people of all ages to take up the game. But, it's his work away from the links that really makes a difference in the world.

In 1996, Tiger and his Dad started the Tiger Woods Foundation. Since that time, Tiger has put his philosophy of "caring and sharing" to work by helping more than 10 million kids and young adults explore interests, learn skills, set goals and much more.

He's put scholarship programs together, opened an innovative learning center in California, established a character development curriculum and expanded many of these initiatives on a global scale.

Through his commitment to excellence in golf, Tiger has generated the financial means to make a meaningful difference. Cheers to him for putting his money to work and bringing the hope to young people around the world. Here are a few inspiring quotes from Tiger.

"No matter how good you get you can always get better and that's the exciting part."

"One of the things that my parents have taught me is never listen to other people's expectations. You should live your own life and live up to your own expectations..."

"My dad has always taught me these words: care and share."

"If you are given a chance to be a role model, I think you should always take it because you can influence a person's life in a positive light, and that's what I want to do. That's what it's all about."

"There’s nothing wrong with having your goals really high and trying to achieve them. That’s the fun part. You may come up short. I’ve come up short on a lot on my goals, but it’s always fun to try and achieve them."

Belgian Santa Donates Millions

A cool story came out of Brussels late last week. A lottery winner, dubbed Father Christmas, will donate more than $5 million to help the poor. I think that's awesome. Check this out, as reported by Agence France-Presse.

BRUSSELS (AFP) – The Christmas spirit reigns in the Belgium village of Riemst, where a lottery winner is giving half his 7.5 million euro (10.5 million dollar) scoop to the poor, reports said Wednesday.

The Flemish commune's mysterious "Father Christmas," as one newspaper dubbed him, says he intends to share his massive win from the EuroMillions draw on December 12.

"His first gesture: cheques for 1,000 litres (264 gallons) of fuel for 100 poor families," according to Hubert Cleuren, who heads an aid agency in the village of 16,000, located near the Dutch border.

The mysterious benefactor has requested to remain anonymous, but reports say he is about 50 years old and a father of two.

Guido Coenegrachts, who sold the man his winning ticket, says this "Santa" has faced hard times himself.

Three Minutes of Caring for Orphans

If you can spare three minutes, you can make a real difference in the lives of some very needy kids. An anonymous donor has committed to contribute $1,000 to the KidsFirst Foundation if our organization can get 1,000 people to view a brief video.

Yep, it's that easy. All you need to do is watch the new video and then pass it along to everyone you know so that KidsFirst can secure the $1,000 donation. But, the 1,000-view goal must be achieved by New Years Day.

The anonymous $1,000 donation might go to help provide job and life skills training for orphaned teens. Or, it could go toward supporting a special-needs adoption. Or, it could help KidsFirst install a new playground so that orphans have a place to exercise and have some fun. Whatever the outcome, we need your help to make it happen.

CLICK HERE to get to our home page and then click on the video link. After you've watched the video, please pass it along to your family and friends. That's it. Thanks for helping us reach our goal.

Merry Christmas

Silent Night

One of the highlights of every year for me is standing with several hundred people singing Silent Night on Christmas Eve. Part of the experience is the music. But, all of the candlelight is a big part too. It's great to see all the smiles and the light reflected in everyones' faces. This time of the year really brings the hope.

Here is a solid version of Silent Night by Jewel.

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas.

 

So? So Let's Dance

Some people love the holidays. Others find this time of the year to be too stressful. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, the following video is sure to put a smile on your face. To increase your fun quotient, pick your favorite moves and practice them so you can impress your friends and family over the holiday break. My personal favorite is the kid in the back that's sleep walking.  

Christmas in Yellowstone

The winter solstice hit over the weekend and gave us our longest night of the year. Then, a wave of snow, wind and cold came along that made going outside a bit of a mess. So, just as winter was getting started, I found myself wishing that it was already over.

But, as I settled into the couch last night and started flipping the channels, I was reminded about how awesome winter can be. Specifically, I was reminded how awesome Yellowstone National Park can be.

If you get the chance, find some time over the holidays to tune into the PBS Nature series. Last night's episode, Christmas in Yellowstone, will re-air several times and it's worth checking out. My wife and I visited Yellowstone during the fall of 2000 and it was impressive. But, the footage captured during the Christmas episode makes me want to return.

Cheers to wildlife photographer Tom Murphy for sharing his images and his story. No matter the season, our national parks really bring the hope.

Jay Wetzel vs Clark Griswald

When it comes to outrageous Christmas light displays, most people would rank Clark Griswold from Christmas Vacation as the world champ. I used to think that too, but I found a new champ as I drove through the Village of Broad Ripple in Indianapolis last night.

Jay Wetzel (age 27) and his roommates have put together an impressive tribute to the holidays. They have strung lots of lights and scattered various inflatable characters across the yard. Their electric bill must be something and my kids were very impressed by it all as we slowly drove by the display.

But, the part that pushes Wetzel and his roommates ahead of Griswold is their commitment to giving back. Wetzel has stated a goal of raising $2,000-$3,000 from people who pass by the illuminated house. When we dropped our money in Wetzel's bucket last night, he told us that the money they raise will go to support Ronald McDonald House.

Cheers to Wetzel and his roommates for bringing the hope and having some fun along the way. It was impressive to see all the guys standing out in the cold last night to raise funds for needy kids who they'll likely never meet. That's what it's all about.

"We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." - Ben Sweetland

 

An Ordinary Day of Hope

When I woke up yesterday, I decided to keep track of any and all signs of hope that came my way throughout the day. By almost any measure, yesterday was a pretty ordinary day. But, that's part of what makes the following list so cool. I found hope (big and small) at every turn.

As I've mentioned before, I subscribe to Dr. Kent Millard's theory that says, "we are what we count. If we count our blessings, we end up feeling blessed. If we count our problems, we end up feeling stressed."

Anyway, here is my ordinary day of hope list from Wednesday, December 17th. I can't wait to see what today holds.

My Ordinary Day of Hope:

• Received lots of smiles and good morning greetings from people at the gym
• Saw two bus drivers waive and smile at each other as they passed on the street
• Read an email from an old friend telling me about his not-for-profit work with Giving Sum
• Heard a story on the radio about people working to help orphans find loving families
• Laughed a lot and took great pride in seeing my kids perform in a preschool Christmas Show
• Talked to several excited four-year-olds about what they asked Santa to bring them
• Spent another day working for a cool company with an interesting client list
• Received a lot of help from a postal worker while trying to do a bulk mailing for the first time
• Read a story about President-Elect Obama being named Time Magazine's Person of the Year
• Overheard two guys saying how thankful they are to have jobs with so many layoffs going on 
• Saw a sign about a food drive going on at work to help stock a local food pantry
• Called the United Christmas Service family that our family will donate gifts to this year
• Made plans to have lunch with a friend during the last week of the year
• Shared a few laughs on a phone call with a friend vacationing in Maui
• Opened Christmas cards from several friends
• Received a big box of candy from my old client/friends at Tootsie Roll Industries 
• Watched the Pacers win their second straight game
• Made plans with friends for our annual ski trip next March
• Had a great Italian dinner with my family and shared a tasty dessert
• Reflected on a great day and wrote a blog post about my ordinary day of hope