TAKE TIME TO LOOK AROUND, BE KIND AND OFFER A HELPING HAND

Long day and evening! Our Red Cross Board meeting was tonight at 6 p.m., and lasted over the normal hour - lots of good discussion and ideas! Another single family fire this afternoon! Still taking military calls - just hope they don't last until after 11 p.m. tonight. I am totally exhausted! I was telling you about the book I am reading "Let's Have Lunch" and it is facinating. It is about building relationships - and how to do that is to get to know a person - not try to be friends but get to know them and let them know you until there is a trust and respect for one another. The idea to ask personal questions is something I used to admire and marvel at in a friend of ours. Jack would meet a complete stranger and before he left - he most likely knew what they did for a living, how many kids they had - and possibly how much money they made doing whatever they did. I was amazed that people would answer him -- but he knew the principal of building relationships! Still amazing - but I am trying to learn!
My sister made a recipe tonight that my boss recommended. IT is a dietary dish that he said is really delicious. He has lost tons of weight - but is a lover of great tasting food. I am anxious to hear the verdict from her family! It was:
MARGARITA FISH
(NO ALCOHOL)
Orange roughy (however many fillets needed for family)
Rinse off the fish, and pat dry. Place in a baking dish, sprayed with Pam.
Sprinkle each fillet with a little salt and lemon pepper. Pour about 1/4 inch of bottled Margarita mix in bottom of pan. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Fish will be flaky tender.
Easy enough? Don't be afraid to be seen buying the Margarita mix -- just give the nosy person the recipe!

Here is a story many of you have probably received via email - but I feel worth repeating:
THE BRICK

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door. He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost me a lot of money. Why did you do it? The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister .. please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop.." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car, "It's my brother," he said "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up!"
Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me!"
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you" the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: "Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!" God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not..
Thought for the day: "God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow; sun, without rain; but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it!"
Have blessed night - pray for those you know need our prayers, do a good deed and God's will - meet me tomorrow!