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We had the blessing of a four-day visit from Father Michael S. Murray, OSFS. His mission, called “Practical Holiness: A Salesian Perspective on the Beatitudes,” was to explain the Beatitudes from the view of St. Francis deSales. 

He said Mass last Sunday and I’m glad he did. By listening to his homily, I felt encouraged to attend his sessions on the Beatitudes the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I knew it would be tough to stick with - my three kids, brownie meetings and my writing all keep me busy. But I made the extra effort to get over to church those nights.

I tell you it helped me understand the beatitudes better. Father Murray  showed us that living the Beatitudes doesn’t have to be hard. He showed how to live them through our daily experiences. I could never do his mission justice by summarizing. Check out these links and visit the spirituality section of the website: Salesian Missions explains the “Practical Holiness”mission along with some others. The Spirituality page offers more information on the organization.

The bottom line was that we’re not only to know the Beatitudes–we need to live them.  Thank you again Father Murray for an unbelievable spiritual experience.

When some of us have been cheated, we cut our losses and attempt to move on. That’s what one “publishing” company thought Bonnie Kaye would do when it happened to her. They didn’t count on Bonnie taking a stand for herself and her fellow authors. She coordinated everyone’s cases and filed a class action lawsuit. She kept up with lawyers and investigators. She was the leader that helped others in despair.  All her efforts are paying off. While the lawsuit is still going on, the publishing company closed their business.

I chose to write about Bonnie on this blog because she did a good thing for many people who were victims of a scam.  It takes great courage to take such a strong stand and follow through–no matter what the consequences. She created a website to tell the victims’ stories called Airleaf Victims. She even created a blog where she would be in constant communication with the authors she was helping. 

If you get a chance, stop by and read about what some of these authors have been through. Check it out, even if you aren’t a victim. It will show you why you need to be careful. If you are considering contracting with a publisher you don’t know about, check them out first at Preditors and Editors.  It could save you much pain, grief, and hard-earned money.

The kids had a great Christmas this year, thanks to the generosity of many people around us. The school the kids go to sent a special family to help us. They know Jacqueline and Anthony have sever medical problems and they wanted to make this time of year spectacular for them. The hospital also did that for us. Combined, the kids were given everything they could have needed: clothes, toys, food, coats, shoes.

We also gave what we could to someone in need. Every Christmas in church there is a “Giving Tree.” The branched were decorated with tags of people’s names and their needs. We picked out one with a need of some new clothes. We couldn’t buy too much, but we were able to buy a few items for this family.

Kindess spreads like wildfire. The good feelings we bring to others when we give is the fuel to that fire. As long as there’s at least one person doing an act of kindness, the fire will burn brightly. May you spread the Fire of Kindness.

 Did you ever wonder what is in a good deed? How far can one little action go? If you see someone in need, how much would it matter if you helped them? Below is a story of what one action did for the community.

It was Jacqueline’s sixth birthday on Sunday. We ran to the food store to pick up the cake and a few other things to help celebrate. As with all our children, we wanted the birthday to be special. Even more so, since Jackie has only been to the hospital a few times since her last liver transplant.

Included in the cart was all her favorite food: Waffles for breakfast, Mac and Cheese for lunch and Ravioli for dinner. I let her pick out the cake ( turned out to be the most expensive one - but, hey it’s her birthday.) . When we went to check out, I pulled out the sixty dollars I withdrew from the Mac Machine.

Oh no. I was $8.45 short. No problem. I would just pull out my check card to pay the balance. I search my purse.  It wasn’t there. I frantically search my pockets. Nope, not their either. It turned out that in our early morning rush, I left the card in the Mac machine. This is why I avoid shopping before my morning cup of coffee.

 We were just contemplating what we could take off our order, when a complete stranger in the check out line next to us insisted on helping us out. I’m not sure how many times I thanked her, but one of the times she said that she’d had some bad things happening over the last couple months and that maybe God would help turn the tables. It sounded like she needed to know how big a help that was for us. So I told her how it was Jacqueline’s birthday and that she is a transplant patient.  She looked as if she were about to cry and hugged us.

Later that morning, we remembered her in church when it was time for our own silent petitions. I asked God to ease what ever burdens she was bearing.  After Mass, a spokesperson for an outreach program asked the congregation to help their mission and to save portions of leftever dinners to be delivered to the elderly and homebound. We signed up. It is amazing how one good deed can spread to help even more people. If the lady from the store hadn’t helped us, we wouldn’t have had the ravioli to share with the homebound. Nobody or any good deed is insignificant.

I realize this story is similar to the first post.  But at the same time it is very different. Judging by her reaction to what I told her in the store, I think  we may have helped her as much as she had helped us.  I didn’t have the money to give back to her, but I did have my prayers to help her. I will never know in my mind if those prayers were answered or how, but in my heart I know God will take care of her. Wouldn’t it be amazing to know the lady’s good deed had come full circle

 I went to the gas station to fill my van which was coasting on “empty”. I had just dropped my daughter off at her local Brownie’s meeting.  I approached the window to pre-pay for the gas when there was a sign that read:

“Please use the spring for the bills. Thank you.” Immediately, I panic. What in the world did she mean by “spring”? I looked all around the outside of the window, but saw no other way to hand over the cash.

Then a man lines up behind me, and I didn’t want to hold up a line while I attempted to figure out something that everyone else probably would know the answer to.

So I turn to the man and ask if he knows what that sign meant. I normally would never do this. I’ve always been too shy to even attempt to ask someone I didn’t know a question. But this time I bit the bullet and asked.  At first he was as confused as I was, But then recognition crossed his face and he pointed to a spring inside the the tray where we were to place our money. The “spring” was in place to hold down the dollar bills. This is the precise reason I don’t ask things from people I don’t know.  I was so embarrassed.

As he  pointed out what the spring was for, he grinned. But it was a friendly grin - not a what-an-idiot-grin. Still, as I realized that the answer to my question was staring at me the whole time, I laughed and said, “I’m such an idiot. Sorry.”

His response instead of being nasty:  “Nah, I would have thought the same thing.”

No he wouldn’t.

But it was nice of him to say so.

Another small good deed. It may seem insignificant, but the event still spread some good, some hope in humanity. He could have been mean about it or condescending. Instead, I walked away feeling better than I would have otherwise.  And when we make others feel good, that spreads to even more people.

It’ was Sunday evening. The banks were closed. The new check card is in the mail.I had nine dollars left after finally getting the kids new shoes over the weekend. I stopped at a local mini market for a hoagie dinner with my daughter and discovered I was two dollars short. I immediately deducted things from my total until I had the bare minimum of what I came in for, but still ended up short somehow. 

Without looking, I sensed the line behind me growing by the second. I was sure the lady behind me was beyond annoyed and I was  just waiting for the irritated comments to start rolling in. That’s when the lady behind me handed me two dollars and insisted I use it. 

I turned  and faced her and said I couldn’t do that, all the while, she was smiling. I was surprised. Not only was this stranger not annoyed to the max for me holding up the line and hence holding her up - but she was happy and even offered me help.

I wish she knew just how much of an impact that gesture was for us. She didn’t know that when I got home and ate my dinner I had to give my three year old son medications for his only kidney, or that after the medicines I would be setting up a feeding tube that would run throughout the night. She didn’t know that we do story time at 6:30 because I have to be available for my son’s night nurse at 9:00. All of these things I take in stride. They’re part of life. But that one tiny gesture from the kind lady in the mini market made my day go a little easier. She’ll probably never know just how big her gesture really was. But that’s why it’s so important for us all to go out and do something nice. It may seem like nothing and appears meaningless, but you never know who you’re helping.  You just might make someone’s tough day a little brighter.