One of the greatest ways to show gratitude for our blessings is to share them. When we take time to help someone else—whether through kind words, a listening ear, or practical support—we not only lift them up, but we also find our own hearts lifted.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2
Why Helping Others Matters
It spreads hope: A simple act of kindness can turn someone’s entire day around. It strengthens community: We were never meant to walk through life alone. It grows our character: Serving others helps us step outside of ourselves and see the bigger picture.
A Simple Example
A young man once said, “I was drowning in my own problems until I started volunteering at a food pantry. The moment I began helping others, I realized how much I actually had to be thankful for.” By serving others, he not only met their needs but also found healing for his own heart.
Practical Ways to Help Today
Call someone who may be lonely. Offer to pray with a friend going through a hard time. Do one small act of kindness anonymously.
Prayer
“Lord, open my eyes to the needs around me. Use me as Your hands and feet to encourage, bless, and help others today. Remind me that when I give, I receive joy in return. Amen.”
✅ Takeaway: When we help others, we multiply hope. Start with one small act today—you never know the ripple effect it may have.
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
Story:
There’s a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 10 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.
Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, pp. 1
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For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Humor:
9/29–Two regulars are sitting at a bar when one of them casually points to a couple of drunks across from them. “That’s us in ten years,” he says. His friend takes a sip from his beer, sets it down on the bar, turns to his friend, and slurs, “That’s a mirror
If you can’t find five minutes, can you spare one or two?
–It has been observed that certain kinds of ants have a passion for the sweet, glandular substance given off by the caterpillar of a large blue butterfly.
They become so “addicted” to it that they even seek out “the supplier” and carry him to their nest with delight.
But they unwittingly bring home an enemy in disguise, for the caterpillar gorges himself exclusively on ant larva. Usually such a threat to the colony would be repelled with great vigor, but the adults enjoy the tasty secretions of their “guest” so much that they are oblivious of the fact that their young are being devoured in the process.
Does that remind us of what is happening today?
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Mark 8:22-25. And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
The amount of sleep required hy the average person is about five minutes more.
WILSON M1SNER
Story:
9/28–Somewhere along the line, most of you have probably seen one of those ingenious stone tumbling machines at work. I hope you have — they’re incredible.
Pebbles of all sizes and shapes are placed inside a simple container; next you turn on a switch and the container begins rocking back and forth in a slow circular motion, forcing the stones to be shuffled one against another over and over and over again.
There is a soft monotonous chatter going on as this happens; the stones appear to abrade and jostle each other with easy abandon.
This intimate dance of stones continues all day, all night, all week, all month, all year. That’s how long it takes for the abrading, the rubbing, the tumbling to do its magic.
If you were to stand urgently by the machine for a weekend and wait for a quick result you would be deeply disappointed: one weekend is a mere blink in the polishing process. This is a long, long trip the stones are taking; it requires your most profound patience and respect. And if you are able to endure the passage of time without wincing, if you are able to listen to the low, ceaseless murmur of dancing pebbles, if you are able to relax and let the gleaming unfold in its own slow inexorable way, in the end you find yourself the recipient of an amazing gift.
And I mean amazing. After endless months of non-stop, shoulder-to-shoulder roughhousing and cavorting, you approach the machine, turn off the motor, place a few stones in your hand.
And what have you got? Open the fingers. There they are.
Gems. With rough edges, barbs, and dullness gone forever, here is what remains: essence of Stone. Deeply burnished, glistening like fire, impossibly flawless stones are now warming the skin of your palm. You can’t bear to put them down: they are too sleek and beautiful.
And you stand there stunned, because no matter how much beauty you’ve seen before, you simply can’t get over this one single miracle. Before they were simply ordinary stones; now they are priceless.
So the next time you tumble against a cloudy day, an edgy friend, a staggering debt, a hot dry patch of insult, or a wild burst of illness, remember the stones.
Tell yourself: I will surrender to this tumbling and polishing and remember who controls the switch.
Because I am being polished. I am being shaved of self. I am being reduced to essence. I am being made a pure stone in the hand of God.
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And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
If you can’t find five minutes, can you spare one or two?
9/28–Can You Spare A Minute?
–9/28
One afternoon, a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from a lofty branch. “Just the thing to quench my thirst,” he thought. Taking a couple of steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. The fox tried again but still failed to reach them. Finally, giving up, the fox turned his nose up and said, “They’re probably sour anyway,” and walked away.
Moral of the story: It’s easy to despise what you can’t have.
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Fear has a way of whispering, “What if you fail?” But faith counters with, “What if you fly?” Every great achievement in life begins with one act of courage. Courage is not the absence of fear—it’s moving forward in spite of it.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9
Courage in the Everyday
Courage doesn’t always look like slaying giants or climbing mountains. Sometimes it’s:
Saying “yes” to a new opportunity. Speaking truth when silence feels safer. Choosing forgiveness when bitterness would be easier. Taking the first step when the path isn’t clear.
Each act of courage chips away at fear and builds confidence.
A Story to Remember
A young boy stood trembling before a piano recital. His hands shook, his heart raced, and fear told him to sit down. But he remembered his teacher’s words: “Courage is pressing the first key.” So he sat, pressed one note, then another, and soon he was playing the entire song. The audience erupted in applause—not because he was flawless, but because he was brave enough to begin.
Sometimes, courage is just pressing the first key in your own life.
Reflection
What step have you been afraid to take lately? If fear weren’t in the picture, what would you do today?
Prayer
“Lord, fill my heart with courage. Help me to step forward even when I feel weak. Remind me that You go before me and stand beside me, and that with You, I can do all things. Amen.”
✅ Takeaway: Don’t let fear write your story. Take the step, press the key, make the call. Courage opens the door to God’s best for your life.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Humor:
T h e Rev. Billy Graham tells of a time early in his career when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him.
Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If vou’ll come lo the Baptist church this evening, you can bear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.”
“I don’t think I’ll he there.” the boy said. “You don’t even know your way to the post office.”
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