Article by Jennifer Snelling

There are all kinds of ways to give, and they don’t necessarily have to be monetary.  Here are seven simple and inexpensive ways to make you feel like you’ve helped someone or improved the world, without traveling to exotic places or spending a lot of money.

The Collection Jar.  “Every penny counts.”  The old adage is one-hundred-percent true!  Everywhere you look there are boxes, buckets and jars for all sorts of causes – from the corporate-sponsored shelter to the family down the street that needs extra help for medical expenses.  All they are asking for is some spare change.  They KNOW that every penny counts.  One penny each from 100 hundred people is one dollar.  There are over 300 million people living in the United States alone.  It would take far less than one percent of the population giving only one penny each to raise over $100,000.  Think about how much even one nickel, dime, quarter, or dollar could help.  There is a reason organizations hold out boots in front of the fire department, or ring the bell next to that bucket.  Almost every checkout line and fast-food restaurant has a jar of some kind to raise money for charity.  Pick one that you feel deeply about and drop a few coins in it.  If you don’t, those few pennies are just going to be hanging out in your pocket anyway.  It is a simple way to make a difference in the world and feel like you have contributed to a good cause. Read More »

Article by Chris Bennett

Even to most amiable of people, mental ruts seem to find their way to the forefront of any given personality. Signs of such an impersonal emotion are strong amounts of irritability and discontentment mixed with downright ill tempered attitudes. These traits more than likely do not represent who you are, hence the term ruts.  

For me, mental ruts are extremely frustrating because I am consistently on the go and my life moves very fast.  So I ask … how is it possible to not only find a simplistic way of relieving that unwanted crabbiness but also find a way to channel that off-putting energy to good use?  

The answer is helping others by volunteering your time. It creates a strong sense of self- worth and helps bolster your self-esteem.  Rest assured there are countless ways to get involved in any number of activities in and around your community. If you have a church, hen this is always a great place to start as most churches organize volunteer projects throughout their communities. Read More »

Article By Kevin L. DeWitt

Focusing on gratitude can change a person’s life for the better.  Just giving thanks.  It’s one of the simplest actions we can take, and yet it has the power to transform.

I have been working at being conscious of all the things I have to be grateful for … my wife, my family, health, a loving forgiving God … and also trying to recognize that while I feel the recessionary pinch to be very real, I have so much more than many who are less fortunate.  Gratitude has affected everything.  

It has made me a more positive person – although that is a work in progress!  I’m not perfect, but gratitude has made me better.

Gratitude can change your life.  No one will get the exact same results, because no one is in the exact same position in their life.  However, the simple act of gratitude on a regular basis will change anyone’s life, positively and immediately.  How many other changes can claim to be that simple and fast, and that profound? Read More »

Article By Kevin L. DeWitt

We have so much to be grateful for … and most of us are.  But what do we do when we work hard to achieve something, and yet we still feel less than satisfied? 

Part of the challenge is asking ourselves “do you have enough.”  Part of it has to do with learning to filter everything that the media bombards us with every day … trying to convince us we will never be happy unless…

But today’s basic question is “When we have enough, our needs are met, and perhaps even our goals and dreams are being achieved – and yet we still feel empty and unsatisfied – how can we find the excitement”?  In other words, how to we rekindle the magic of our dreams and find satisfaction? Read More »

Article By Kevin L. DeWitt

“… thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself …”

Leviticus 19:18

I have not been very good at living the Golden Rule for a good part of my life.  However, this is one of the areas in my life I have been thinking a lot about lately and one I want to improve upon.  That’s partly why the title reads “Practicing” as opposed to something that may imply having mastered it … it’s always a work in progress.

While putting the Golden Rule to work in our everyday lives will help to make others happy, the simple truth is that it will make me happier as well.  Apply the Golden Rule in all of your interactions with others, help your neighbors, treat your family with kindness, help your co-workers, help a stranger in need. 

These actions will help the people around you … however I believe people will treat you better too.  Just as importantly, you will find a growing satisfaction in yourself, a belief in yourself, a knowledge that you are a good person.  Not that living the Golden Rule requires a benefit or payoff … but these are not small dividends.  They are large dividends. Read More »