SENDING A NOTE OF HOPE ON SEPTEMBER 19

August 20, 2016

From:  BOB BARIL

"...the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”  (from Acts 20:35)

Hello!

Recently, a church's outdoor sign caught my eye!  It proclaimed:

"WHERE THERE IS DESPAIR, BRING HOPE!"

I hope you'll seriously consider this "different" idea which COULD become a great blessing:

My 62nd birthday is Monday, September 19, 2016.
 
Two years ago, for my 60th birthday,  I THOUGHT I had a cool idea!  Since it was a "milestone" birthday, I e-mailed out a list of 5 ministries and charities to many of my family and friends.  I asked each to choose at least 1 of those ministries and charities and send a small donation to them; and then to let me know about it.  I envisioned at least 100 people doing this!  I thought it would be SUCH a wonderful thing to do on the occasion of my 60th birthday!

About 8 people participated. 

Frankly, I appreciated those 8; but I was disappointed with the response.

SO, it's with "fear and trembling" that I send THIS out; aware that perhaps nobody will act upon it!

I'm hoping the reaction to this request will be much better!

This year, on the occasion of my birthday, I thought it would be SO great if many, many OTHER people could receive special cards and encouraging notes during the week of September 19.  Yes, I KNOW people could send e-mails or text messages, but I'm asking that you not send the messages that way!  I'm asking you to send actual HARD COPY cards or notes!

Here's why:

-  There are many veterans out there who never receive an encouraging card or note from anyone.

-  There are many senior citizens (vets and non-vets alike) who never receive an encouraging card or note from anyone.

-  There are many people of all ages who are going through difficult crises, who never receive an encouraging card or note from anyone.

---  I'd love to see scores of them receive an encouraging card or note during the week of September 19!

If you THINK about it, you can come up with SOMEBODY worthy of receiving one of these cards or notes!  Yes, this COULD require an hour or so of your time and a few dollars to pick out a card, write a couple of encouraging sentences, put a stamp on the envelope, and mail off the card or letter.

That's not much! 

It's not much at all, but what an encouragement it would be!  If you also want to include a gift card to a coffee shop or a supermarket, that would be very nice, but you certainly don't HAVE to do that.

I think it would be so wonderful if you'd "get on board" with this;
and even pass this information on to a friend or two!

AND if you're on Facebook or another form of social media, please copy and paste the link (URL address) to this post on your Facebook (or other) page and add a comment saying something like, "I'm sending a note of hope on 9/19!"

Imagine what could happen if most of my friends (and most of their friends) DID "get on board" with this!

"WHERE THERE IS DESPAIR, BRING HOPE!"

Thank you,
BOB BARIL