I made 3 modifications to a friend’s website at no charge.

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.

Today I showed a piece of software I’m developing to my boss. I knew it was the kind of app that could help him on a daily basis and speed up his workflow. I asked what other features he could envision that might make the app even more useful, and we both simultaneously came up with same idea! So I’ll implement the changes and polish it up and get the inaugural version to him quickly.

At work today, the owner was kind enough to treat us all to lunch, and several of us ate together in the conference room. One by one, as each person was done with their meal, I came by to take their trash away for them.

I set up a Facebook “Have a Heart” <3 Valentine’s Day countdown fundraiser to try to raise $200.00 by the Day of Love. I donated $35.00 to kick things off and help entice others to follow suit. Click the image to see the fundraiser. Every little bit adds up. That’s the whole mantra of this website – “No amount of help is too small!”. Even the smallest bits add up quickly when we multiply our efforts by all doing what we can when we can. The second mantra, and just as important, is “DO NOT FEEL OBLIGATED OR PRESSURED!” If you can’t donate now, or ever, do not feel guilty, ashamed, or that you’re being judged. NO judgment here. I sincerely appreciate you just being here. If YOU need help, do not be afraid or ashamed to ask. I will do what I can to help direct you to the best resources to help get you where you need to be. We are all in this life together, and no matter what anyone else might say, that’s true – whether we act like it or not. So I’m starting with me, and trying to act like it just a little more each day. I’m going to exercise this “helping” muscle until it starts running on autopilot! That’s the goal, anyway. Join me. We can have wins and losses and ups and downs together. We’re human. So we’re not always going to be at our best. And that’s okay. As long as I’m honest with myself and others, I’ll also not always be at my lowest. And that’s okay, too. You and I both deserve self-credit for even the smallest positive things we do. I’m not saying any of this to praise myself, but I’m also tired of doing the opposite of praising myself. It’s time to allow myself to feel some self worth for being the mostly decent person I am and for my good intentions I act upon. Same goes for you and all the rest of us. You have worth. And you can grow it by sharing your better moments with the world. It’s true that sometimes a simple smile to a stranger can renew their faith in the world, even if only for now. That’s a start. And the more often you give out that energy, the more likely you’re going to be giving something to someone when they’re in need of that very thing. Your efforts are never wasted. Don’t let your self doubt tell you any different. You’re a bad mamma jamma, so keep that up!!

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!”