Check out my Philanthropy Friday Blog
Microfinance Hero
Most of you know that the inspiration for my book Because There Was Margoth, is an
incredible and hardworking woman in Honduras. Yes, there is a “real” Margoth!
Margoth was CareLink’s very first Microfinance business, and she is a true success story.
Something to think about
Did you know that some consider Benjamin Franklin to be the father of modern Microfinance? In his book, Poor Richard’s Generosity, https://www.amazon.com/Benjamin-Franklins-Last-Bet-Prosperity/dp/132856889X, Michael Meyer chronicles how Franklin, who has a well-documented record of philanthropy, bequeathed in his will a sum of money to the cities of Philadelphia and Boston to be invested as “small loans for skilled tradesmen, repayable over 10 years at 5% interest.” Sounds like Microfinance to me! The value of those investments today would be many millions of dollars.
You should talk to your kids about this
Consider this for your child’s next birthday party; When sending out the invitation, ask all attendees to bring a $10. cash gift to support the charity of your child’s choice. Send parents a link to the charity’s website and let them know your child will be investing these proceeds to that particularly charity. Pool the money collected at the party and send it to the charity, and do a social media post celebrating your child’s philanthropic action. Naturally, the objective is to engage your kids in a discussion about philanthropy, and instilling in them a life’s lesson that they will carry forward into adulthood. Parents are welcome to “match” their child’s gift, if they wish. Children are natural “givers”, and coaching them on the value of giving and what “love your neighbor” really means, is a critical and very rewarding responsibility.
Ponder this
Giving and helping others nearly always springs from an attitude of gratitude. Those who feel blessed, and are sincerely grateful for what they have (both spiritual and material blessings) typically give more. Developing a spirit of gratitude is a habit, but it is a habit that does not come naturally to most of us. Want to develop a “habit” of gratitude? I feed my gratitude mindset in the early morning hours through prayer, meditation, and reading. I have refined this habit with the help of James Clear. In Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, he reminds us that even small positive habits can have an incredible cumulative impact on our lives. One of Clear’s tips for developing a good habit; make a "habit contract" with yourself. Example: promise yourself you will spend 15 minutes every morning considering all that you are grateful for. Tell a friend you are doing this, (accountability) and reward yourself with something you really enjoy for successfully doing this for say, one week. (Did someone say ice cream?) Then go from there. Check out Clear’s other tips, and read his book. https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
Can we learn important life lessons from a mole? Yes.
“What do you think success is?” Asked the boy. “To love.” Said the mole
- From the book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy.
Keep it light
Last week, my youngest granddaughter, Rebecca, seven years old, asked me what I was going to be for Halloween. I told her I din’t know. She said I should be Professor Dumbledore, (The elderly wizard professor from the Harry Potter series - for those of you that have been living on Mars for the last several years). I asked Rebecca why she thought I would be a good Dumbledore, and she said it was because I am kind and wise. (Boy did I love hearing that from her!). I told her I wondered if she thought I would make a good Dumbledore because I am old. To that, Rebecca replied; “I wasn’t going to go there, PaPa.’
A verse I am meditating on this week
“…let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1John 3:18). I like this verse because it is a reminder that all the good intentions and “words” can fall short. Real love requires action. Faith is a verb.
One More Thing
I am headed off to Honduras next week to follow-up with our Microfinance business owners and to meet with several potential new business owners. Please pray that this trip will be a big success, and follow this journey on our Facebook page!
