This got me thinking about the things that I believe in and the causes that I support. Having run a non-profit organization, and having been responsible for raising the money that would fund my salary, I am fully aware of how much help non-profits need–especially during these strange times.

My first though then was about gratitude. I have so much to be grateful for as we all do. If I were to attempt to list everything here the list would take up the rest of this page and beyond. I think that even when times are tight we all need to take a look at what we do have and remember to be grateful. We can ‘tighten our belts’ and cut down on frivolous spending, but still open our hands generously to give to those people and organizations that offer help when no one else can or will. So, I’m passing along a gift that is focused on gratitude and how opening our hearts can change our lives and our world.

Next I will share a brief list of a few of the non-profits that I admire and whose work touches and saves lives:

• American Red Cross
• Capital Area Food Bank
• Food and Friends
• Kiva
• The Heifer Project
• Newborns In Need

Now it’s your turn. Give what you can and when you can’t give a financial gift, your time is even more valuable. What are some of your favorite non-profit organizations? Share them with me in a comment and I’ll post your answers later.

Thank you might be two of the most powerful words that we can speak–maybe aside from the words, I’m sorry. So, even when times seem difficult, and we can’t see how things will work out, we can say thank you for what we have already in our hands. We can say thank you for our next breath. We can say thank you to the one whose hands prepared the meal we just enjoyed, and we can say thank you to those who labor on our bahalf to defend the freedom we so casually enjoy and take for granted.

My goal this month is to find a way to outwardly express my gratitude and to give back in an effort to ‘pay forward’ some of the blessing that have been bestowed in my life. Everything moves in cycles. Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug, as they say. So, I will find a way to use my talent and my energy to do something to benefit others because I believe that loves to use people to bless other people. My desire is to be a blessing–to offer the use of my hands to do what I can where I can. This is how I will express my gratitude.

I challenge everyone reading this to find ways that they can express their gratitude. If you are reading this that means that you are alive and well thereby giving you much to be thankful for. Pass the blessings along.