Kindness Stories / Feel Good Stories

Candles On A Cake

By Joe Mazella on September 25, 2012 / 7,393 views

I have a birthday coming up soon, but I decided not to put any candles on my cake this year. I thought that 46 of them might ruin the icing or set off the smoke alarm. The funny thing, though, is that when I looked in the mirror this morning I didn't see a middle-aged man looking back at me. Sure there was gray in the hair and wrinkles around the mouth and eyes. The skin wasn't as smooth and the hair wasn't as...

All The Little Things

By Joe Mazzella on September 19, 2012 / 7,965 views

Over the years I have learned that the best lives are built one choice and one change at a time. They are not built on some big triumph or accomplishment but rather on all the little things we choose to do every single day. What are some of these little things that you can do to change your own life? Here are just a few of them. Say "Good Morning God!" when you wake up everyday. Watch the sunrise. Watch...

Soaking Up The Sun

By Joe Mazzella on September 18, 2012 / 7,639 views

When you go through this life with your eyes open, you soon see that everything in it is a miracle. You realize that you are a part of this miracle too from your first breath until your last sigh. You start to notice that you are connected not only with every person on this planet but also with every part of creation as well from the stones under your feet to the sun in the sky. I got a beautiful reminder...

Memories Of Mom

By Joe Mazzella on September 04, 2012 / 8,299 views

Memory is often the source of our greatest joys as well as our deepest regrets. I cherish every memory I have of my Mom, but at the same time I regret no longer being able to create new ones with her. My Mom left this world when I was only 25 years old. I was far too young and foolish then to realize what a blessing every moment with her was. I never got a chance to say, "Thank You" to her for all of them. All I...

The Secret Ingredient

By Joe Mazzella on August 29, 2012 / 8,493 views

My Italian Grandmother's spaghetti sauce was a wonder to behold. After church on Sundays our family would always gather around for a huge dinner that was more a feast than a meal. For hours before the smell of the simmering sauce would fill the house and I would breathe in deep with delight. My Nana would slowly cook Italian sausages, meatballs, potatoes, and pieces of chicken in it too. Then she would boil...

A Tiny Wave

By Joe on August 21, 2012 / 2,198 views

Life is full of miracles. They come in all sizes too. Most people only notice the big miracles, but the tiny miracles surround us everyday. They are gentle reminders of how much God loves us and how much we can love too. I got one of these miracle reminders just the other day as I was driving my...

It's Better To Give Than Receive

By Chris on August 21, 2012 / 4,579 views

I had been coming to work with hard boiled eggs in the morning for myself every day this past week. My co-worker at the desk next to me noticed and kindly asked if I could bring in one for her one day. Naturally, I agreed. A couple days go by and I forgot to bring her an egg. It was the last egg too, I had no...

One Kind Act Starts A Lifetime Of Love

By Joe on August 14, 2012 / 7,775 views

I was sitting in a chair, sipping iced tea out of a thermos, and trying to stay awake. The group of adults around me were trying to do the same. We were all there to renew our first aid cards for our jobs working with the handicapped. The room was an old converted day treatment area and wasn't meant for so many people. Even with the air conditioning it felt hot and stuffy. All of us there had taken the class many...

It's Worth It

By Matthew on August 07, 2012 / 2,266 views

The mattock cut into the ground again and again. Every time I raised it I slammed it down even harder. It felt as heavy in my arms as my broken heart did in my chest. Still, I powered through the pain and finished loosening up the dirt. I tossed the mattock aside, picked up a shovel and began to dig. Sweat and tears burned my eyes but I didn't stop. I kept going until the aching in my arms and back matched the...

Ode To Dolly, And The Jar Fly

By Harold Scott on August 06, 2012 / 8,791 views

I, by no means, am, as wealthy, or as famous as Dolly, but, I, like her, grew up in a rural part of Tennessee, as a part of a rather large family of six siblings, along with my parents. Eight people in a small house, made for some creativity on the part of my Daddy and Mom. It was also a home with a front porch, and, I even recall a few straight back chairs. (We used them as sleds in the snow, talk about getting...

You Can Change The World

By Paul on August 01, 2012 / 8,818 views

I changed the world today. It happened while I was driving home after going to the store with my son. I was just about to pull onto the side road that leads to my house when my handicapped son laughed in the back seat. I glanced in the rearview mirror to see his smiling face and then made the turn a little bit faster than normal. As soon as I did I saw a big dog walking down the road in my lane. Not having time...

The "Teresa Project" My Birthday Wish

By Harold Scott on July 29, 2012 / 2,323 views

Send a Birthday Card to the "Teresa Project" and Fulfill Brother's Wish My sister, Teresa has lived with cerebral palsy her entire life, and, was also diagnosed with lupus some years ago. She is mostly wheelchair bound these days, but continues to enjoy watching and feeding the hummingbirds, growing flowers, playing with her dog, and doing some painting. I have tried to imagine my life as hers, in that she...

God Loves You

By Joe on July 25, 2012 / 12,100 views

There are stories that find their way into your heart and stay there forever. This is one that found its way into mine. There was once an elderly woman who lived in a violent, drug-ravaged, crumbling neighborhood in an old city. Her children had died before her. Time had left its mark on her too. She was no longer pretty in the eyes of the world. She had become wrinkled, stooped, thin and hollow-eyed. Her...

One Miracle After Another

By LoriAnne on July 21, 2012 / 2,539 views

Morning filled with one Miracle after another. I just got back from a Book Authors conference in Philly and this was my experience trying to get home after massive air delays! My Flight got cancelled on Wed. night and I was just going to sleep on the floor at the Marriott. A very young African girl came strolling by with her 9 mo old baby and asked me why I was sleeping on the floor. I told her about my...

Be A Donor

By Joe on July 17, 2012 / 8,744 views

My children gave me a new wallet as a Father's Day present this year. It was the perfect gift choice considering the moldy, worn, lump of leather I had been using was well past its prime. I took the opportunity as well to toss out any cards, notes, or scraps of paper in it that were no longer needed. As I emptied out the old wallet I was amazed at how much it held. Gingerly I went through its contents piece by...

Plant Week Surprise

By Katherine on July 13, 2012 / 10,049 views

During Plant Week, my Kindergarten students learn all about the importance of plants in our lives, the different kinds of plants in our area, and (their favorite) how plants grow. Each student got their very own little terra cotta planter and were shown how to fill them with dirt, plant seeds, and water them. So we did our activity in the classroom, they filled them up with dirt, they had so much putting the...

One Page At A Time

By Joe on July 10, 2012 / 10,695 views

I have the bad habit of skipping to the last pages of a book to see how it ends while I am still in the middle of it. This habit annoyed first my Mom, then my friends, and finally even my own daughter. Often my impatience wouldn't be confined just to the books I read but also to what they were reading as well. Finally one day my daughter told me in exasperation, "Dad please just read a book one page at a time...