It’s that time of the year… Christmas is over and New Year’s is coming and you’re so busy you’ve almost lost track of what day it is… (“Bless yer heart,” Mama sez, “jus’ look at the date on the newspaper!” “I know, Mama, it is just a figure of speech.” “I didn’t figure y’all been that fur round the bend..” “Mama!!!”)

Ok, now as I was thinking before I was so rudely interrupted…. You probably all saw the meme on Facebook… but it’s true. It’s the holidays… the kids are out of school… distant relatives are here for a visit and the days all jumble together…

It’s true if you think about it… we are over-fed, over-partied and over tired… at least I know I am. Urged to make New Year Resolutions by advertising, I just want to kick back and not think about anything of importance.

But not everyone around the world has that luxury… in most countries, there is no time to party, overeat or just plain goof off… you don’t work, you don’t eat. And in some countries, even working 12 hours a day or more is still no guarantee that you can feed yourself and your family or keep clothes on your back or a roof over your head…

But there is a group where I have been loaning to individuals for several years now that can make a huge difference in their lives. No, you aren’t assigned someone, you get to chose where you want the loan to go and to whom. Maybe it is a woman in the Philippines who makes her living on a fishing boat and her story touches your heart… BAM…you send her $25 and, with others who have chosen her also, she reaches her goal and is able to buy new nets. This is just one example of the people you can help directly. Hard-working people who labor from dawn (sometimes before) until dusk and can barely make ends meet… not for lack of trying but for lack of resources or opportunities.

Instead of making some silly resolution for New Year’s, resolve now to get one less pizza delivered to your home and give someone somewhere around the world… a HAND UP, not a handout… You can use my reflink….

Then on New Year’s Day, you can know that you have already made a difference in the world… you can’t save the whole world… but if we all do our part, we can save a huge chunk of it….

So, for now… K.I.S.S… and be good to each other….