Well, I know there's a reason to change

Every day brings us closer to spring, originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.

As the year winds down to a close, here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

Smile on your brother: The tsunami victims who are still struggling to rebuild their lives, the people devastated by the South Asian earthquake, the strangers on the street. These are just a few examples of those whose stories have deeply touched me this year. You can find dozens more, if you take a minute to look around.

I'll put my "heartless bastard" reputation to rest for a moment and admit that this article about building orphanages in Indonesia, post-tsunami made me tear up:

What does $1 pay for in Aceh? someone asked.

"What does $1 buy here?" Alyan asked back.

"Candy!" the kids said in unison.

"In Takengon," Alyan said, "one dollar will pay for three meals for a child."

Her answer drew silence at first. Then one of the children said, "Let's send more."

[You can read more about the orphanage and Give Light at www.givelight.org. Someday I will share my tsunami poem here, if you think you can handle the scrolling involved.]

Please continue praying for the Attari family. And send some prayers for my uncle - my aunt's husband - who passed away recently as well.

May the year 2006 be one of beauty and blessings.