Wholehearted.

"If you are really in love with Christ
No matter how small your work,
It will be done better.
It will be wholehearted."
-Mother Teresa



What if we lived our lives never worrying about recognition, praise or congratulations?

What if the taste of our successes (no matter how small) were not bittered by a lack of payback?

What if we stopped comparing ourselves to each other?

What if we became humble- considering others better than ourselves?

What would the world be like?

Angels

As I sat on my couch last night snuggling with my poor little bunny who got into a fight with the neighbourhood cat (he's fine- after some stitches and antibiotic shots)- a story on the evening news just blew my mind.

Lori Coble, a mother of three (a boy and two girls- about 5,3 and 1 respectively), was driving along the freeway by her home in California last May when a semi-truck that was going way too fast slammed into the back of her minivan.

She doesn't remember anything about the accident, but all three children were killed instantly.


In an instant, Lori and Chris lost all three of their beautiful children.

The news broadcast showed home video clips of the children playing, shrieking and giggling. I don't even remotely know them, but I felt a sense of loss watching these tiny little angels. The community mourned the loss and made a bronze memorial at a nearby park in honour of them. It was a picture of the three of them, beaming with open-mouthed smiles, and below it read: "We Believe In Angels"




Six months later Lori is expecting.

Triplets.

Two girls and a boy, due in May.

Nothing Less Than Selfless

If you look for it- you'll find people who are truely inspiring right in your own backyard.

Meet Jeff and Lavonne: a recently engaged couple who heard of a woman's struggles and just couldn't get it off their minds and out of their hearts that they decided to do something to make her life better.



Enter Natalie and her 2 children Bienfait and Kesha. Natalie has came to Canada from the Congo (the stories that come out of that region are horrifying). She fled from her home country in an effort to save her children from these horrors. She began working whenever and wherever she could- and hoped to save enough to go to school to be a community support nurse.



Faced with obvious barriers and a lack of funds- Jeff and Lavonne took it personally. They started advocating for Natalie- they spread the word to all their friends and made it their personal goal to see Natalie off to school (and take care of the $20,000 price tag).

Just over a week ago, I recieved this message:

"Well team, I am not sure if this is the last message you will get, but its contains the best news possible.

We have raised all the funds necessary to get Natalie into school, in fact she started today. Lavonne and I went to see her tonight, she is nervous but so excited about the opportunity in front of her. Her tuition and books are payed for and now she can complete her program over the next few months and continue on to a new life, one she never thought would have been possible.

Thank-you to all the people who helped make this possible, through donations of money, time and effort to get the word out and let people know what we were trying to do. Its hard to believe that today has come and she is starting school, its exciting and in many ways humbling that the collective efforts of so many people could be change the path of this family's life.- Jeff and Lavonne"

Incredible.

You may not be able to touch everyone's lives, but this couple who could've been saving for their upcoming wedding thought it more important to change the course of three people's lives...

Regular people doing unbelievable things.

Why I love My Friends

Lately I've been feeling pretty blessed.

I have amazing friends... and I can't take that for granted.

I am surrounded by some of the craziest, funniest, and cleverest people on the face of this earth. When I get around my friends I am guaranteed to have a good laugh. No one takes themselves too seriously, and they're always looking for ways to push the boundaries.

October 31st was no exception.

If I have a crazy idea- most of my friends are in as soon as it passes from my lips.

When I was a little kid, I LOVED Halloween. I usually had my costume by the end of September and would wait with HUGE anticipation for that glorious day when you not only get to dress-up, but you're rewarded with sweets for doing so.

In my opinion, the adult Halloween options are seriously lacking. I am not suited to staying in and handing out candy because I am super greedy when it comes to sweets. I HAVE gone downtown on Halloween, but that was only to laugh and point at all the things girls try to pass off as costumes (I've never seen so many bare bums in my life!)...

Faced with this reality, my friends and I have brought back the days trick-or-treating. In everyday life we pass for highschool kids ALL the time- so why not put it to good use?

Three years later it just keeps getting better and better. The people love us- they give us "big kids" extra candy. They ask to take our picture. When they ask us what grade we're in we change the subject by commenting on how well their renovations are coming along.



At the end of the night three mid-twenties girls lug home their goods and live in candy heaven for a solid three weeks... and comment on how sore their faces are from all the smiling and laughing.