Do Something Nice Today...

I hear on the radio every morning that in order to get into the holiday spirit, you should do something for someone else. At the end of last week's "Raising Hope," the funny little calling card said, "Do something nice today." My hero Ellen Degeneres always ends her show with, "Be kind to one another." There's even a wonderful foundation called "Pay it Forward" that states its purpose is "any person can...do a favor for another person-- without any expectation of being paid back. Indeed one would request that the recipient of that favor do the same for someone else: ideally for three other people."

With all this support and encouragement to do good, why is our world not a better place yet? My late sister Gayla gave of her time and earnings to Habitat for Humanity and The American Heart Association. When sister was taken from us, our family asked for donations in lieu of flowers to either of these organizations. My brother and I secretly dreamed that there would be a home built with donations in honor of our sister. Yesterday, I took up my older sister's goodwill and began my tenure volunteering with a homeless shelter for children. It somehow eased my broken heart a tiny bit to do for others as Gayla would have done. In the spirit of the season and because I just want us to all live in a better world, I am throwing down a challenge today! DO SOMETHING NICE!

I am listing a few ideas but would love to hear all about what you come up with. Let's all go out and change the world today. Make sure you're a fan of my page and post a comment telling us all about your world-changing endeavor. On Friday morning (in Texas), I'll pick one comment at random and send you a pressie!

1. Donate to City House, Plano's emergency youth shelter at http://www.cityhouse.org/donate.shtml.
2. Buy a Walmart Gift Card and give it to someone in need this season.
3. Pay for the car behind you in the drive through.
4. Donate your good-condition-but-never-used, clean coats and blankets to your local homeless shelter.
5. Rake your neighbor's yard and bag up the debris.
6. Smile at everyone you come into contact with today and pay them a sincere complement.
7. Call your mother and father and have a genuine, heart-felt visit; go see them if you can!
8. Go to your local nursing home and visit with the residents.
9. Donate to your local Girl/Boy Scouts.
10. Sign up for the national organ and tissue donor registry.

I am excited to see how you change the world today!