Come here when you are feeling lonely, need a smile, or want to feel a spark of hope…a hope for love and kindness in this world that we share together. There are so many wonderful and positive people and events that are happening all around us that show the kindness and love that we share with each other and give us hope for the future.

If you have come to this blog from a kindness card given to you, take some time to look around and read a few stories of hope, kindness, and love. I hope that the kindness act you received brightened your day, and that it will inspire you to pass it on.

We all share and live in this crazy, wonderful world together. We must learn to treasure each stranger we meet on the street, as we are all facing our own battles. Accept and appreciate our differences and learn from one another’s experiences. Share love and kindness with your neighbor, and have hope for one another and our future.

It would be a great honor if you followed this blog by clicking on "follow" at the bottom of this page. Please take some time to look around, leave a comment, and be inspired. Thank you and God bless!



Friday, April 5, 2013

The right idea...

With my DVR and all this new technology, I rarely catch commercials these days.  However, got thinking about this one that I remember seeing awhile back.  Paying it forward.  Start the chain reaction.

The Little Things...


It's the little things...one little act of kindness that can mean the WORLD to someone.  There is so much good in this world.  Contact me at hopeforloveandkindness@gmail.com to get your Kindness Card to start paying it forward and do your part in changing the world one kind act at a time.  
From the Huffington Post:
On Sunday, Samantha Ford, the girlfriend of a soldier deployed in Afghanistan, shared a photo on Facebook of two $20 bills and a letter from an anonymous veteran.
"I just thought I would share with you all what happened to me today! Came out of Dunkin Donuts and found this under my windshield wiper," the accompanying post reads.

take your hero to dinner
Ford, who lives just outside of Boston, according to TODAY, said the sticker on her car reads "Half my heart is in Afghanistan."
She continued: "There are no words to describe how I'm feeling right now. Tears in my eyes. I just wish I could thank whoever did this! God bless our troops and all of those who stand behind them."

Finding friendship and love in a time of tragedy...

How do we recover from a tragedy so severe that it shook us to the deepest core of our being? How do we regain our faith and security when it feels like it has been ripped from our souls?...........We gain it through the love shown by strangers - we gain it through the support shown by others - we gain it through the prayers that are provided - and most of all, we gain it through the comfort knowing that God's love rises above it all

God Sent a Guardian Angel to a Newtown Family That Lost a Child:



Saturday, June 30, 2012

Love ---------- and Dedication

   So, I got engaged......about a year ago.  I've been busy with wedding planning, work, working on the house, ...and life.  I haven't posted in a long time, but to be honest, there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about this blog.  Not a day went by that I didn't think about my goals and dreams that I believe this blog (with the help of you!) could create.  But yet I "didn't have time", there were always so many "have-to-do's" that filled up my day.  Until the other day when I finally decided to really think about what was the most important in my life.  Friends, family, and loved ones...and this blog.  I hope that you will decide to follow this blog so that you will see the updates and be inspired to make a change in your life and the lives of others.  Thanks for being patient with me.  Love you all.

I will leave you with an amazing proposal that I saw on tv the other day.  Isaac Lamb (with the help of friends and family) set up this lip-syncing proposal that is one of the greatest things I've ever seen.  Enjoy!

God Bless,
Heather Marie

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Something to Make You Smile Today!

NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Thanks to my friend Teresa for posting this story on her Facebook!!  I've searched and searched our local news to find positive and inspirational stories to post on this blog.  Unfortunately, there are so many negative and disapointing stories that are posted everyday, that I was beginning to get frustrated.  Thank you so much to Teresa, who found this AMAZING story from the Omaha World Herald! Charlie is such an inspiration to me, and I hope that you will be inspired as well. 

If YOU come across any more positive/inspirational news stories, please submit them by emailing the link to hopeforloveandkindness@gmail.com.  Thank you and God bless, Heather
http://m.omaha.com/om/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=Z1OCFqRh&full=true#display



Weekdays in June, Charlie Peters puts on his green and yellow uniform and catches a ride to the little diamond on Grover Street.
He's 13. Shy with blond hair. Still waiting on that growth spurt. He plays left field or second base. Sometimes he pitches.

Tuesday, Charlie skipped Little League.
Something came up. Old friends in town. You know how it is.
He put on his garnet and gray and caught a ride to the massive diamond on Cuming Street. He reported for duty.
Eight years ago, on one of those June days when little boys run through sprinklers, Charlie was lying in a Children's Hospital bed, hooked to tubes.
Out of the blue, about a dozen college kids stopped by his room to say hi. They stayed more than a half hour. They played make-believe baseball in the lobby - they didn't have a ball. Charlie took his home run cut, then rounded the bases.
The college kids were from South Carolina. They were baseball players. In town for the College World Series. Trying to capture an athlete's dream: a national championship.
Charlie had bigger challenges.
In April 2003, he started having tummy trouble. Doctors didn't know what it was, but his tummy kept growing and growing until it looked like a bowling ball. Finally, the diagnosis:
Burkitt's lymphoma.
The tumor was doubling in size every 24 hours. Cancer had spread to his abdomen, his liver, his blood. If he makes it through the next 48 hours, the doctor told Charlie's parents, he has a chance.
Charlie fought it off.
When South Carolina players came to his hospital room, he was a few hours from discharge. Coach Ray Tanner asked if he'd like to come to Rosenblatt Stadium the next day and be the Gamecocks' honorary bat boy.
Charlie made a poster for the South Carolina dugout and wrote a message on it: "Never give up."
The game was long, and bald Charlie was weak.
"He could barely stand the heat," said Charlie's mom, Jenny. "He kept wanting to sneak back up and sit on my lap for a little bit and then go back down."
Soon Charlie was back in the hospital. The doctor said his chances weren't good.
It went on like that most of the year. Finally, in November 2003, Charlie was free of cancer.
The Gamecocks went back to Columbia and hung Charlie's poster in the training room - "Never give up." They returned to Omaha in 2004, and Charlie gave them the beanie baby he clung to in the hospital. His good-luck charm.
A few years passed. Charlie went from elementary to middle school. In 2010, South Carolina qualified again for the College World Series. Charlie missed the first game. And the Gamecocks lost.
Coach Tanner called and said, "Where's my Charlie!"
Next game, Charlie showed up with another poster. It showed a picture of him as a sick 5-year-old. And a picture of him as a healthy 12-year-old. His handwritten message: "I never gave up."
South Carolina won six straight games and took home the national title.
Coach credited Charlie as an inspiration. He was on the field during the championship celebration. The T-shirt he wore each of the six wins? He framed it.
South Carolina baseball was a force again this spring, top five in the country. Two weeks ago, the Gamecocks clinched the super regional. Charlie ran up and down his street, shouting.
Coach Tanner provided CWS tickets for Charlie's family.
They sat behind the dugout Sunday night. After the win, Charlie sent Mrs. Tanner a text message asking about Tuesday's game. Could he go into the South Carolina dugout before the next game?
Karen Tanner did one better. Tuesday morning, Charlie got an invitation to be bat boy.
He entered his bedroom - a "South Carolina emporium," according to his mom - and put on his Gamecock colors. He showed up at TD Ameritrade Park and waited through a rain delay.
At the conclusion of a South Carolina at-bat, Charlie sprinted from the dugout to home plate, careful not to run into the umpire.
He grabbed the bat, jogged it back to the rack, then returned to his post and waited with the Gamecocks' regular bat boy - they alternated batters.
South Carolina continued its hot streak, beating Virginia 7-1. That was good baseball, Charlie said. As for the bat boy?
"I don't think I messed up."
Suddenly the Gamecocks look like they'll be in Omaha for a while. They don't play until Friday. Today they'll practice. They'll rest. Maybe catch a CWS game on TV. But first, they'll take a trip to Children's Hospital.
And Charlie Peters is going with them.


Contact the writer:
402-649-1461, dirk.chatelain@owh.com
twitter.com/dirkchatelain