The #10GoodThings Awareness October Project

10 Good Things October Awareness Project

October storms cause power outages, downed trees ...

q13fox.com Posted 8:05 AM, October 14, 2016, by Q13 News Staff

Cliff Mass Weather Blog: Warning: Major Storms Threaten the Pacific ...

cliffmass.blogspot.com.

Heavy rain, strong winds: 4-day stretch of storms on its way | The ...

www.seattletimes.com October 11, 2016 at 7:28  ...

October storms could bring hail, tornadoes to central US 

News9.com ...

Pow! Crack! Rumble! The sound of a powerful electrical storm overhead often signals dread. And yet we love to watch it from a safe distance.  But there comes a time when you want and need it to stop. It's October. The 10th month of the year. The atmospheric and political climate is turbulent. Lord knows we could all use some really good news. But how do you fight off a storm?

Imagine a storm that with every crack and rumble electrifies everything and everyone it touches for good. Healing, uniting, comforting and providing sustenance, covering and shelter for billions. Inspired by the old adage "There is more happiness in giving than in receiving," and the 10th month of October infographic published in our previous article October Awareness Observances and Factoids, a new 10GoodThings October Awareness Project movement has evolved that can electrify a world of people to do good for all. A 10th-month movement worthy of going totally and completely viral.

Create A Storm Of Awareness By Doing 10 Good Things

We want to create a powerful counter storm of good and considerate acts that crosses lines of race, gender, creed, ethnicity and all national boundaries with acts that counter the storm of division, dissension, depression and desperation that has marked this month unlike any other time in our history. How can you create this storm of good? By doing 10 good things for 10 good people.

#10GoodThings Awareness Hashtag Campaign

During the month of October add hashtag #10GoodThings to a new or already viral video of someone performing one of 10 good things, acts of personal consideration that impacts the lives of the receiver for good and turns things around for victims of disaster, prejudice, and crime.  Acts that help them see they are not forgotten, and help the world to see just how good people from all walks of life aspire to be.

Need some inspiration for writing out your list of 10 Good Things? Take a look at the October Awareness Month infographic at October Awareness Observances and Factoids,
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Fimark's 12 Best Life Ever Part and Event Planners

World Healing - One Family At A Time

"No two people - no mere father and mother, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born."
Pearl S. Buck

If the world could focus on providing the emotional security all sentient life thrives on there would be much less suffering, healing, true love and more happiness. The only place to start is with the family. Learn to prioritize family principles, support and nurture your mate and children. Learn how to inspire, engage and assure. From this core springs happiness and all best that life has to offer.

When we decide, no matter how we came into this world, or how our children did, to show them how valued they are to us and help them learn not only to survive but thrive as a person deeply loved, valued and supported, then we begin to heal a big part of this world, present and future.  That's the beauty of family reunions. It get the ball rolling - World Healing - one family at a time.

"Keep families united and you heal a significant part of the world."

                                                              - Mark Angelo Askew

Join the movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=artttVA-Jxg

Here's Some Sunday Love

Wishing our family reunion planning family
some sweet Sunday love.
Keep putting some love in it. Enjoy!

Mark and Brenda

The Family Reunion Planners Blog - Inspiring Reunion Planning Ideas

#sweetlove #happysunday #sundaylove #greetings #familyreunionplanning

Happy Sunday Evening

Happy Sunday evening to you. I hope each of you are having a cozy relaxing night with your loved ones. It's a coconut cake and warm coconut milk night for us. What ever you do, just keep putting some love in it. http://familyreunionplanners.blogspot.com/2013/11/put-some-love-in-it.html

Put Some Love In It.

A long time ago I learned that in order for anything to be meaningful and valuable, be it an act or gift, you have to put some love into it. Since then I try to put some love in everything I do. Including writing this blog. 

People who stay together as a family don't stay together simply by putting family first. They stay together because they've learned to put love in what they do with the family, for family and everyone that touches the lives of each person in that family. So when doing something as simple as making a phone call or planning a meal or something big like planning a social event with friends or family, or something even bigger like raising a child, these are the times to take deliberately action and show just how committed to the task of loving that person you are.

Planning Dinner Time
Brenda and I share dinner time together everyday. We don't just eat together. We put some love in it. We plan our meals together. We consider what we both like eating, the taste and most of all make sure that it's wholesome. While she does most of the cooking I thank her for the meal with a kiss and wash the dishes.  

Making Phone Calls
We don't just call when something is up. We put some love in it. We call each other everyday. During these calls we exchange an expression of endearment before ending the conversation. She calls me Booh. I call her Baah. In addition we don't let anything get in the way of our Friday evening date night. Because we are both frugal we will plan something simple like a picnic and stroll around the reservoir or listen to oldies but goodies in the car with the top open. Or watch a movie or two at home sharing a bowl of popcorn or chips. 

Planning A Gathering
My wife, Brenda, is the kind of person who likes to get up and go. She is ultra social. Most of what I like to do is here at home. I like to paint, do crafts, bake, write and entertain. In this way we are very different, but by putting some love in it we've learned to empower ourselves with these differences. How? 

One day outgoing Brenda asked me to help her plan activities for a social event. She focused on decorating the facility, preparing the menu and organizing banquet style service. I focused on entertaining the guests. I always like to interject a creative wholesome message about family and marriage in what I do without it being too obvious at the beginning. One of the games I created for this gathering is called "Getting to Know You" for engaged or newly wed couples. It's a bunch of questions on cards designed to open a dialog about what each person in the relationship strongly believes in. On first glance the questions are a bit funny or peculiar, but on second glance they have deeper meaning. In most cases the answers inspire a deeper love and regard for the other person in the relationship because it reveals favorable principles, experiences and standards the person is guided by. A good place to start when building a strong house.

Raising Our Children
Regarding raising children. We knew early on that it would be hard work. When Brenda became pregnant it was then that we put some love in it. How. To start, our children were the result of our commitment and love for each other, not the other way around. The training we gave them was carefully thought out, both by consulting the ultimate guidebook on child rearing the bible. The book contains helpful advice that would have otherwise taken me years to figure out if I figured it out at all. Things like: 

1. "Treat others as you want to be treated"
2. "There is more happiness in giving than in receiving."
3. "Don't think more of yourself than it is necessary to think."
4. Regarding being loyal to ones wife: "Drink water out of your own cistern. Don't give away your dignity to another woman. Be happy with the wife you married when young." 
5. "Children are like arrows" - They need to be guided in the right direction.
6. "Love hopes all things. Love endures all things. Love does not keep account of the injury." 

If I were asked, what was the secret to staying married to your wife for so long? I would say. "We did not just stay together. We learned early on to put some love in it."

Planning a family reunion? To get  more information about Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social web app click on the link on this blog page or access the profiles page.

A Few of Our Favorite Things

Inside:
1. Union vs Reunion
2. What We've Learned
3. Do More Than Compromise
4. Schedule a Date Night 
5. "A Few of Our Favorite Things"
6. New Keepsake Book Soon To Be Released

Union vs Reunion
When marital union and family union is strong Family reunion is all the more sweeter. As ordained ministers Brenda and I have the special privilege of assisting in organizing and officiating wedding ceremonies while  providing family counseling for the newly wed couple. This season we are assisting several couples in one way or another to keep putting their hearts into their union. That's our calling.

What We've Learned
Too often couples get so caught up in their jobs, careers and past-times, like all engrossing sports, bands and clubs of the day that they begin to see their spouse as someone who is getting in the way of their fun and begin spending less meaningful moments with the love of their life. This can happen to anyone. At first it's just a casual oversight. But over time hearts break, silence becomes the loudest spoken word and the two drift apart emotionally and spiritually.

Do More Than Compromise
This past Sunday we talked to a very special couple married for over five years. He's contending with a new job and new congregation responsibilities that sometimes leaves them both a bit overwhelmed. That said, we reminded them both to prioritize each other and asked them both to consider this... When they come together for fun, do more than just compromise! Spend time doing things that they both enjoy doing together instead.

Schedule a Date Night 
Ask any truly happy couple what kept them together and they'll tell you that they're still dating. They eat together. Listen to music together, joke and tell stories together. Dance together. But the key to making date night work is not just doing something together as some activities can actually drive a couple apart. So what's the key to an enjoyable date night?

"A Few of Our Favorite Things."
Sometimes we are too tired to think about what we have in common and we settle for what ever comes to mind for a date night activity. We all love the musical called "The Sound of Music." Particularly the part we fondly call "My Favorite Things." It was that moment in time that the family bonded. So it is with a young couple.  Everyone likes to eat. Everyone likes music. Most like movies. On date night, share a favorite dessert you both enjoy. Watch a movie you both will like. Select music that has meaning to both of you. If you're at a loss as to what to do this would be a good time to consult the "favorite things list."

Soon To Be Released
In our newly written book "Fimark's My Keepsake Wedding Planner" Brenda and I have dedicated three pages to a keepsake list called "A Few of Our Favorite Things." It's a keepsake checklist of the things the couple has in common. Things the couple both enjoy doing together in the area of music, books, movies, sports, food, etc.  This "favorite things list" is something we feel a couple cannot do without. Our book "Fimark's My Keepsake Wedding Planner" is now available at Amazon.com. http://goo.gl/fvLl2

Whether you've been married for a few months, 6 years or 31 years, whether your a single parent or a house of siblings, we all can do better than compromise. Discover things the whole family has in common  and turn it into a traditional activity. When you're really having a good time together you're happier and enjoy better health. Loyalties solidify and love deepens. A happy, healthy family union is a happier family reunion for everyone involved.

Happy family reunion planning!

Mark and Brenda