A definition of faith: The area was very dry, so all the villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of prayer all the people gathered, but only one little boy came with an umbrella. That's faith!

Today, I want to look back a few years and expand on some thoughts I shared with you then.

Sometimes we have a tendency to look for some negatives in most everything. Maybe we could take a cue from our animal friends, as this item from Our Daily Bread points out, "You have to work hard to offend Christians. By nature, Christians are the most forgiving, understanding, and thoughtful group of people you will ever find. They never assume the worst, they appreciate the importance of having different perspectives, they are slow to anger, quick to forgive, and almost never make rash judgments....No, wait, I'm thinking of golden retrievers!"

I laughed when I read this, but there is some truth to it. It might be a good idea if we just tried to live by the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Now that would work, even in the world of politics. We need to appreciate others, and let them know it. My beautiful daughter, Jessica, along with her husband, Bob, will be visiting with me this coming weekend, along with My Emma's sisters, Gladys and Terry, and Gladys' husband, Daniel, and they will know they are appreciated. Maybe there is someone you appreciate but you haven't expressed that appreciation to them.

That happened to a young man who wrote to his mother, recalling his childhood days. His note read: "When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator door, and I wanted to paint another. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat and I knew it was good to be kind to animals. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you bake my favorite cake just for me, and I knew that little things mean a lot.

“When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer and I knew there was a God I could always talk to. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything I could be. When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked, and I just want to say ‘Thank you' for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking."

Thank God from whom all blessings flow!

Now, to close on a humorous note: An old man, a schoolboy, a lawyer, a doctor, and a community service worker are all on a plane with only 4 parachutes when the pilot of the plane has a stroke and passes away. As the plane plummets its passengers to earth, the five members of the aircraft argue over who deserves to have the 4 bags containing the parachutes.

Social worker: "I deserve to live because I protect and support families in need of assistance." The social worker then grabs the nearest bag and plummets out of the aircraft.

Lawyer: "I deserve to live because I advocate for my clients with my sharp wit and knowledge." The lawyer grabs the second bag and plummets out of the plane.

Doctor: "I deserve to live because I help diagnose ill people with my specialized training." The doctor grabs the third bag and exits the aircraft. This leaves only the schoolboy and the old man in the plane as it descends toward earth.

Old man: "Go ahead, son. Take the last parachute. You have many years ahead of you while I don't have many years left."

Schoolboy: "Don't worry, we can both take a parachute because there are still two left." The old man stares in shock and asks, "How can that be since there was only a total of four chutes?"

Little Boy: "Remember the lawyer with the sharp wit and the massive knowledge? He took my school backpack!"

Have a great day!