Happy 2013!

The other day I was reading a magazine and came across a description of a book called, “One Good Deed: 365 Days of Trying to Be Just a Little Bit Better.” That got me to thinking, “What if we all took on the mission this year of trying to be just a little bit better?”  Not suggesting that being better will get us any closer to heaven or anything like that, but with the mindset of sharing Christ’s love to those around us.  There is always room for improvement in our contact and relationships with other people.  

The psychiatrist Karl Menninger once said that he thought the central purpose of each individual’s life should be “to dilute the misery in the world.”   Jesus Christ said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

So here is my challenge to all of us this year.  Let’s have 365 days of the “good deed” life.  Every single day look for an opportunity to do a good deed for someone around you.

A good deed is any situation where you can change someone’s life for the better, even if only for a moment—make something a little easier, lighten a load. The simplest thing is to just give.  A shoulder to lean on, time, sound advice, a helping hand, some pocket change—it doesn’t matter what, it just has to be from your heart. 

And then, let’s report back here some of the ways we have accomplished our good deed for the day.  What you do may give someone else an idea.  Who knows, by the end of the year we may write our own book!