Father's Day

Fathers come in many shapes, sizes and in relationships. We have the physical father, the Heavenly Father, step-father, foster father and the person in your life who you feel that bond with just because of who they are.

This Father's Day is no different for me. I take a moment and think of my father who passed when I was 12, and then the other men in my life who have had a profound impact on the man I have become. This is my wish as well. Not so much to have a child of my own, the world is too complicated a place right now for that, but to provide guidance, hope and encouragement to others as they go through this life.

It is the small things that can touch us on a day like today, and nothing so much as an unexpected thank-you and warm wish. Our Heavenly Father always has a way of those messages coming through at just the right moment. Today was one of those for us. We got a message from a young man we met only once, and for a brief time while in Haiti. He has no reason to try to keep in touch with us, but just did out of the blue to say hello and how much our offer of friendship meant to him and continues to mean to him.

So take a moment today not only to remember our fathers, but those others who have had a impact on our lives. Happy Father's Day.

Liberty and Justice for All

Enough said. This is from the Newseum in DC

Bing, what is in a name.

I was very saddened to see the retirement of Search and Give from Microsoft this month. It was a useful way to raise money for your charity and reached across all age groups. A group of us had been able to raise money for Hearts with Haiti by just doing simple web searches. It can all add up. I spoke with my Microsoft rep and plans are in the wings for a similar program, but not target date as of yet. I did find another way to raise money through the web and it is through Club Bing. Bing is Microsoft's new name for the Live Search engine. Big plans, commercials, etc. and it is going to change the way we all do online searches. We have all heard that before and then go back to Google. If you want to see it, go to www.bing.com and you can move your mouse over the image, and see popups, etc. Nice, but not a replacement for Search and Give.

Club Bing is a little bit different. It is Live Club re-branded. Club Bing is an extention of Bing in so much as it is a game portal versus just a search engine. All you need is a free Live ID and sign up for free to Club Bing. Then you can play free games from their list. Sounds pretty good so far huh, free and play games. The beauty lies in what you do with the tickets you earn. You can choose to donate them to a charity or public school. I was very excited and immediately went to sending tickets to Hearts with Haiti. I was disappointed to not find Hearts with Haiti in the list powered by GuideStar. So I went to GuideStars' website, typed in Hearts with Haiti and they showed up. Went back to Bing, still no luck. The long and short of this is Microsoft is working out the kinks as they go live and launch commercials, etc. I would still sign up as it is free and playing a game of Chicktionary helps lighten up the day. When you are done, donate the tickets to your charity or school. I will continue to look for Hearts with Haiti and also have my Microsoft rep on the case and when they appear in the list I will let everyone know.