Atlanta — Christmas came five months early for Tonee “Valentine” Carter, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s piano man.

Though his piano playing is a background diversion for most travelers, one traveler heard him play in July and “FELT SOMETHING.”

“It is just radiating off of him and on to me.

I feel lighter,” said Carlos Whittaker, a motivational speaker who asked his 170,000 Instagram followers to donate to a virtual tip jar created for Valentine.

“You don’t know, but you got a lot of money coming your way, bro.”

Within minutes, $60,000 had been donated from around the world.

Tonee requires 9 hours of kidney dialysis each day to stay alive.

He says this stranger gave him a retirement fund. (CBS News)

In this new year, will you FEEL SOMETHING when you see someone in need?

If not today, when?

We have invented new words for our daily vocabulary because the old ones were a little too honest.

As an example: Dictatorships are replacing what used to be Democracies.

But, we don’t call them dictatorships.

No, they’re now called AUTOCRACIES which is an attempt to put out a nicer sounding word that most people don’t understand.

The same is true when people lie about something.

We don’t call it a lie anymore.

No, we’ve come up with a nicer sounding word that most people don’t understand: MISINFORMATION!

These commonly used words are intended to deceive people from understanding what’s really going on.

And the deception is created for personal gain.

We’re going down the wrong path folks.

Let’s bring back HONESTY in 2022!

What a nice New Year’s resolution!

If not today, when?

As I  look back on my life, I can see both my mistakes and successes.

They blend into a mosaic of what I’ve become.

My mistakes were my own doing.

And I’m not too sure about the authorship of my blessings (successes.)

I know many of the good things that came my way were through the efforts of other people.

My wife has been known to say, “God is not done with us yet!”

Which means that we should always strive to be better people who show a good example to those coming up after us.

I believe the best way to become better is with the daily practice of COMPASSION!

If not today, when?

 

 

IMLIDOL, India — The pipes are laid, the taps installed and the village tank is under construction — all promising signs that, come spring, Girja Ahriwar will get water at her doorstep and finally shed a lifelong burden.

“I go out and put the jerrycans in the queue at around 5 a.m. and wait there with the children,” Ms. Ahriwar, a mother of three who lives in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, said about her routine of fetching from the village hand pump. “Sometimes it could take five or six hours. I have to stay there because if I leave, someone else moves ahead.”

India, one of the world’s most water-stressed countries, is halfway through an ambitious drive to provide clean tap water by 2024 to all the roughly 192 million households across its 600,000 villages. About 18,000 government engineers are overseeing the $50 billion undertaking, which includes hundreds of thousands of contractors and laborers who are laying more than 2.5 million miles of pipe. (New York Times)

Let us pray for Ms. Ahriwar and all those waiting with hope for fresh, clean water at their doorstep!

If not today, when?

Your Age?

Your Sex?

Your Ethnicity?

Your Nationality?

Your Religion?

Your Marital Status?

Your Political Affiliation?

Your height?

Your Weight?

None of the above characteristics should define you!

You should be defined by the values or lack of values that you have chosen to live by.

And you put your value system on display by everything you SAY and DO!

So, you are defined by two very basic criteria: Your words and your actions.

Remember, people are listening and watching.

If not today, when?

The latest version of the Spider Man series has already rung up a billion dollars at the box office. And it’s just getting started.

Of course, many of the early customers are already Spider Man fans.

Some have gone to see the latest version more than once.

I understand it is very well designed and produced.

I think there is another benefit for movie goers.

It is a DISTRACTION FROM REAL LIFE!

Today’s REAL LIFE daily headlines are not comforting.

No, they’re just the opposite. Scary!

So, a retreat from scary into the world of FUN is not such a bad idea from time-to-time.

HAVE FUN!

If not today, when?

The Caption above is actually the title of a book.

I haven’t read it yet, but I love the title.

I don’t think “Happily Ever After” is quite accurate.

I guess messy could be translated into “Ups and Downs.”

So, what do we do and how should we cope with MESSY?

I suggest two ideas:

HOLD ON TO YOUR VALUES.

TRY TO RELIEVE THE PAIN OF THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING.

I think the “HAPPILY EVER AFTER” folks are those who make it to heaven.

In the interim, make the best of MESSY.

If not today, when?

O Holy Night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

FALL ON YOUR KNEES!
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine
Oh night divine

We should all FALL ON OUR KNEES in thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings!

If not today, when?

Most of us look forward to Christmas celebrations and good food.

In some instances, however, the annual Christmas break brings anxiety about enough food.

When in school, students can get a complimentary breakfast and lunch.

During the two week Christmas break, some families cannot make up for the loss of those two daily meals.

So, the kids have certain anxieties as the break approaches.

Keep in mind that I’m not talking about some foreign country.

No, right here in the richest country in the world, kids go hungry.

If you are a HAVE, will you consider helping the HAVE NOTS?

If not today, when?

A friend of ours has a 92 year old mother still living independently.

Because of Covid 19, he is hesitant to visit her.

So, he brings a ladder with him and visits with her through her bedroom window.

In her declining years, he wants her to know, with regular visits, that she is LOVED!

Love takes many forms.

This example of love is unique.

At the age of 92, his mom probably doesn’t have many or any friends still living.

But, she does see him often and knows she is LOVED!

What lengths would you go to in order to express your love?

If not today, when?