Briana a soon to be a mother will have these four words, her mother in law said, imprinted in her thoughts forever “Austin had an accident”. Brianna took the two hour journey to the hospital by car, her emotions were running high as she drove, without a single clue what was wrong with her husband. The baby she was carrying inside her was due in a few short weeks, they had excitedly anticipated the birth and new baby. Squarely between life and death in an awkward balancing act, his brain had bled, the doctors were not sure why though at first. Many tests later the doctors had eliminated drugs as the cause but they were able to give Austin’s family the reason why his brain had started to bleed like it did. In order to push himself further and work more hours, especially with a daily commute, her husband had slipped into an energy drink addiction. Austin now faced a less than certain future, with many brain surgeries ahead of him, with the possibility of seizures and strokes. Brianna wrote:

“But while everyone was focused on the almost unrecognizable face hooked up to all sorts of machines and tubes, all I could see was his parents”

Brianna’s heart couldn’t emotionally stand up to the gravity of the situation watching the grief on her in-law’s faces as they realized what was in store for him. She went on to write:

“I saw the light leave his mother’s eyes as she saw her motionless son laying in that hospital bed”

“I saw his father break down crying as he held onto his wife.”

After two weeks her due date approached and he still had not woken up, she had to give birth without him there. When her newborn baby looked up at her she wept with a bittersweet feeling, on one hand, the joy of the birth, but then the sadness of her husband too. Brianna went on even more:

“But a beautiful miracle happened as I delivered our son, Austin woke up”

Months onward, eight to be more precise and Brianna finds herself caring for her baby and her husband, her husband is now a completely different man than she married, nevertheless, she falls more in love with him every day. Brianna shared her final thoughts:

“Love is knowing you would sacrifice things that you didn’t even know you could sacrifice”

“Love is selfless.”

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We often don’t take the time to think about where all the food came from, especially when we sit down to eat it! Fresh vegetables and fruits are delicious, but we pay the price for them, the largest is to the farmer’s families! To the farmer’s families, the sacrifice is great, that of a father working long hours and sacrificing his family time, either not realized or soon forgotten as we eat our food. That is just the reason that the wife of one farmer decides to share the truth about her husband’s work on the farm after her difficult night trying to get the kids ready for bedtime. Katie Spence Pugh, the Farmer’s wife was completely drained after a long hard day working, followed by an evening of looking after the kids, again without her husband’s help! Eugene her husband was, as is always, working his usual long hours in the fields and although his wife was frustrated she had a light bulb moment. Katie went on to Facebook to let out her thoughts about the whole situation:

“I snapped this picture the other night at the end of a long day.

I was tired. I was irritated.

I had sent my husband a text telling him that I knew it wouldn’t make a difference, but I wanted him to know that I was feeling fed up with how much he works and with all that I have to do every day by myself.

The full-time job, cooking dinner, bathing kids, weekend trips without him, keeping up a home – you name it, I was resenting it. I have to have these little moments once (okay, several times) throughout planting and harvest season.

Then this happened.”

For Eugene, it really was the hardest time of year, with all the work he needs to do, but he had to keep on going for his family and the business. Eugene wasn’t at all angry with his wife’s text, but simply sat down calmly to eat, for a little quiet time after a long difficult and wearing day doing all the farm jobs.

“He came in, fixed his plate and sat down to eat all alone. He was tired. He was hot. He was exhausted.

Rather than complain, he said he was sorry I was tired and felt that way.

Charlotte joined him and talked his head off and even ate most of his dinner. He didn’t complain. He shared, and it hit me. Do I wish that we saw him more than an hour or so a day? Yes. But, the love he has for his craft is something to envy.

Farmers work in a thankless profession. It’s always non-GMO this and organic that, and let’s not even talk about the stress from Mother Nature.

This is a man who is working to uphold four generations of blood, sweat and tears and showing his children the value of hard work and discipline. So while I felt frustrated, I really should have felt thankful.” “I got to sit down to dinner and hear all the stories from the day with the kids. I got to give them a bath and hear their squeals and giggles. I got to snuggle and love on them for three hours more than he did. He is the one sacrificing, not me.

We will keep on keeping on until the next rainy day when we get a few extra hours with our hard worker. In the meantime, the next time you slip into that comfy cotton shirt or eat delicious farm fresh food, thank a farmer.

Where would we be without them?”

WIthout families like the Pughs then we wouldn’t have the fresh farm produce that we eat every day! Even if things get difficult for them, Katie and Eugene will have each other to lean on for support – there will be no more frustration in their home.

Samoan Hotshot fire crew are completely accustomed to marching through the forest, most people don’t even give it a second thought. Their absolute favorite thing that they do was caught on camera and now it’s going viral! These brave firefighters not only save people’s lives every day, putting themselves in harm’s way to save others, nut they are really talented singers too! They often project their powerful Samoan hymns as they are on the move….

A classic Samoan hymn that is popular with Samoan people is “Fa’afetai i le Atua”, which sounds a little bit like “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” it is all about saying praise to God for what he has given and its translated to something like:

“Thank God, that we grow, when he was free, to all of us”

This is the song in the video below starts by saying thanks to the son of God for coming from the heavens and to his soul for bringing success to their lives.

The forest fighters, who are incredibly brave and bold, they know how perilous their work is, saving others lives but too they also know that they have God to thank for protecting them in times of need. Of course it makes perfect sense that they sing to the heavens to praise the Lord while on their merry way to the next place, it’s not only gracious but it’s magical echoing through the forest.

To gladly run into dangerous situations every day to help others takes amazing people, who are selfless and have God to help them out in times of need. Strong individuals with strong souls and their voices really are heavenly! Four weeks of training is how long it takes before they are permitted to march through the forest together, with a more than significant bond they have developed, each depending on the other for their lives.

Have a look at them in their full mountainside sing song in the video below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De9hDyIN6JY

Getting up each morning, most of us think that the day is going to go just as planned, usually if we have a plan that is. Work, maybe for some of us, school, routine jobs, and other things. Now and again though something happens that we were not expecting and an ordinary day will become life changing. One day when A son and his mother were going through the drive through at a fast food place, they hoped to have a delicious lunch, but instead and to their amazement, they left the restaurant with a lot more! Landon and his mother Tara Routzong were in the drive through and saw something that drew their attention to the licence plate in front of them. As they patiently waited in the line at the ‘Chik-fil-A’ Tara and her son noticed something on the licence plate directly in front of them, something which drove them straight to take action! The licence plate displayed the word ‘Florida’, but what was the reason that it was so interesting, after all we pass many licence plates every day, but Tara and Landon were feeling very downtrodden when they had the realization where the guy came from!

The sad news about the Hurricane Irma on television has touched us all, such a destructive storm as it passed through the Caribbean and finally landed on Florida, tearing up homes, lives and while communities too. So when Son and mother noticed the Florida plates right in front of them, they decided almost immediately and together to do a good deed. Tara said on Facebook:

“Went to Chick Fil A for lunch today because yum. Landon saw the car in front of us was from Florida (we have been talking about Irma today) and he declared we were paying for their meal and I agreed.”

Then she said:

“But how do you pay for the car in front of you?? You run toward their window with a debit card in hand and scare the mess out of them lol”

The Florida guy felt very deeply moved by this gesture, so unexpected and beautiful was this act of kindness! The Floridian guy in the ‘Chick-fil-A’ drive-thru was actually fleeing the path of this crazy and terrifying hurricane…

“Landon and I both had tears in our eyes from how appreciative he was.”

Tara said, in her Facebook post:

“The man has left his home in Miami and was passing through to go stay with family in Birmingham. I told him we hoped he returned to his house untouched and that we’d keep him in our thoughts.”

The awesome kindness of his mother and son wasn’t expensive, but the gesture really made a difference! The tragic events of the hurricane has really brought out the best in most of us, as humans, looking after other humans. People from all over the world and many different states are joining together to donate their time, help, personal things and belongings, and hard earned cash to help rebuild the lives of those suffering because of the hurricane. Tara said:

“I often feel like I’m failing because I can’t do it all, all the time and then things like this happen and remind me that I don’t have to. My most important job is going just fine.”

Carmen Mendez and her boyfriend were on their way to get some fried chicken when they spotted a homeless woman near the entry, the woman was quite dirty but sober, she was standing quietly close to the trash asking people for their leftovers. As everyone put their trash into the bin, they looked at her but just carried on throwing their food in the trash!

Mendez said on Instagram:

“Not one person said yes, they all ignored her and threw it away, it broke my heart” … “I have been volunteering with the homeless now for many years… they don’t repulse me or make me sick to my stomach. I hold them all with so much love.”

Carmen, who felt heartbroken by what was going on decided to give the homeless woman her leftovers if she was still there when she finished, but 20 minutes later she had gone! She said:

“I looked for her as we were getting ready to leave and couldn’t find her” … “I felt sad knowing all the rejection she had that night searching for a warm meal.”

Sadly, Carmen was about to throw her food away when she heard a small voice say:

“Can I have your food?”

Without a moment of hesitation, Carmen gave her food to the woman with a big smile, but it just didn’t feel like it was enough. Mendez said:

“I felt like a horrible human being feeding her my leftover chicken strip… she deserved so much more… so I bought her a whole meal… she deserved to eat a hot meal”

Carmen boldly went to the restaurant counter to get the woman a full hot meal, and politely asked the restaurant to let her stay to eat it! The woman was clearly in tears and appreciative of what was happening here.

Mendez then said:

“That hug she gave me was like a hug I had never felt… those tears she shed were felt deep in my heart”

“I held her tight and let her let it out. I wasn’t repulsed by it. I just held her. And that is a moment I will never ever forget. So next time you judge a homeless person, think twice… not all of them are homeless because of a drug addiction or because they are lazy.”

Most of us would agree that to give a homeless person money would be foolhardy or possibly feed some addiction, but no one could fault Carmen’s show of selflessness and compassion. I hope it inspires more people to do the same in the spirit of humanity and the betterment of it!