My buddy is building a wooden pirate ship for my theater production of Peter Pan. So I posting about how such a nice guy is helping me. After all, inspiration is inspiration!

Nurse Cindy comes running down the elementary school hallway, her face tense with urgency. One of the teachers murmurs, “That’s not like her…”

Curious, I take off after her. “Nurse Cindy!” I call, but she barely glances back.

“Not now, I’m busy,” she says, pushing forward.

“I’m coming with you,” I insist, matching her pace.

As we near the bus lot, I finally get the answer—one of the bus drivers’ blood sugar has dropped dangerously low, and he’s collapsed.

“What can I do?” I ask as we approach.

“Go to my office,” she says quickly. “There’s peanut butter in my cabinet. Grab a plastic spoon and bring it back. Hurry!”

Without hesitation, I take off running, rain pelting against me as I sprint across the campus. My shoes skid on the wet pavement, but I push on, heart pounding. Reaching her office, I fumble through the cabinet, struggling to find the peanut butter. Finally, my hands close around the jar.

I race back, breathless, and hand it to her. She takes it with a grateful nod, immediately getting to work.

I double over, hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. At that moment, the principal walks by and says, “ you really need to work on your cardio. “ 🤪

“Would you like a job?” my coworker asked me yesterday.

“Of course,” I said. “Sure, why not? I like to help.”

“Will you cut the legs off this stool so it’s two inches shorter?”

So here I am outside with power tools and a friend, making this stool shorter.

I take it to work today, and she says, “That’s wonderful. I love it. Can you do 25 more over the week end?”

✋🏻 🌱

Today, my wife and I learned that a friend’s home was destroyed in a fire. We offered her family a furnished room, but for now, everything is uncertain.

I hear myself say, “I don’t want to.” I’m selfish with my time and energy. I feel overwhelmed by everything I already have to do. But I know how daily habits work—and how helping daily can work too. You start with small things, often outside your comfort zone. It gets easier. You see the benefits, and soon you start looking for opportunities to create or help every day.

I notice that I help my family a lot. Not that it doesn’t matter—but that’s not what this is about. So, I have to start small.

Today, as I got a coffee from the refreshment bar at church, I noticed a volunteer standing there. Normally, I wouldn’t introduce myself. I’d just say, “Good morning,” and move on. But instead, I said, “Hi! I’m Joe.” She gave me her name, and I replied, “Thank you for serving.” It’s not much, but it wasn’t easy for me to even think of doing it—let alone follow through.

Every step is momentum. Awareness and daily practice are key. No gesture of kindness is too small. I may not know the difference it makes, but that doesn’t matter. If we’re all making small differences, it adds up.

I also saw the volunteer sign-up sheet for ‘Love Month,’ our church’s initiative to serve the community. I heard that same voice: “I don’t want to…” But I’m going to sign up for something in February anyway. Maybe I’ll enjoy it. Maybe it will change that voice into, “I get to do this!”

Created Folley audio track for a friend’s audition!