Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

Did you celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week last week? It’s a great time to try something kind that you’ve never done before and see how it feels.   In my other blog , I called it starting streams of kindness because I printed some kindness cards that ask people to pass on another kind act after receiving one. I must admit my week of random acts went slowly.   I wanted to buy someone’s meal who was behind me at the Burger King one day, but there was no one there.   I noticed the surliness of a waitress but didn’t think to leave her a big tip and a kindness card until it was too late.   In fact, it really wasn’t until this week that I began to give out my kindness cards.   The next waitress we had at a Mexican restaurant on Monday got a hefty tip and a card with a smile on it from me. Then I brought a security guard a coke and a chocolate chunk cookie for a snack one night.   I did do one act of kindness during the week in question, but it was...

Happy February! Today I want to share an easy way to help others that you don’t even have to get out of your chair at home to do.   It’s called playing for a cause. That’s right.   You can play your favorite games on your computer while money is given to a charity of your choice. One of the best sites for this is gamesthatgive .   It offers 28 games to play for a variety of charities.   While you play there are advertisers, usually only one at the top of the game, who pay the charity for you, up to ten cents per minute you play. If you’re on Facebook, you can log in and play there and invite other friends to play as well.   I’ve also mentioned Freerice before. I love this game because it’s like Jeopardy for a good cause. You choose what you want to learn or review, be it geography, sciences, English, humanities, math or languages. You then answer questions on the topic and for every answer you get right, ten grains of rice go to someone who’s hungry....

Next Tuesday we celebrate Valentine’s Day.   My husband will be coming home after being deployed for over six months.   I have already gotten him a card and present and he says he is making something for me.   We can’t wait to see each other after being so long apart. His visit has occupied my and our son’s minds for weeks now. We’re planning all kinds of fun activities and things to show our love for him.   Despite my preoccupation with my husband’s return, there’s something else on my mind about next week.   February 13-19 is also Random Acts of Kindness Week . It’s the season of the heart. We are to show love to our dear ones and to others.   I think the best description of how this is supposed to work was done by Jesus.   Way back in the third book of the bible when Moses was giving out laws, one of them was to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Thousands of years later when Jesus was walking around doing his ministry, he was asked who...

Scarlet, ruby, vermillion, rose, cherry, crimson, maroon and claret. These are just a few of the types of red people will be seeing on Valentine’s Day cards, chocolates and even underwear in the next couple of weeks. Because February is the month for love due to Valentine’s Day, it’s also the American Heart Association’s month of the heart and a host of other heart-related celebrations. Today is National Wear Red Day. Since red is my favorite color, I’m all for it. It also happens to be an awareness tool to let people know that heart disease—the #1 killer of women—is largely preventable.   If you decide to wear red today, let people know why. Next week from February 7th to 14th is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness week. The Congenital Heart Information Network wants people to know that c ongenital heart disease is considered to be the most common birth defect, and is a leading cause of birth-defect related deaths worldwide. With any cause, you can always don...