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Weekend Word

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While many countries, religions, etc. have holidays that they recognize, this weekend we celebrate one that is pretty much universal. Although it’s not an official holiday, April Fools’ Day is celebrated in just about every country across the globe.

April Fools’ Day is a day to play a prank or practical joke on a friend, family member, coworker, or even a stranger if you’re brave enough. Once the deed is done, you proclaim “April Fools” and the joke and the person it’s played on become an April Fool.

In the spirit of this fun tradition, we are going to examine fool in this week’s Weekend Word.

fool
fo͞ol/

nounz
1. a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person.

verb
1. trick or deceive (someone); dupe.

adjective
1. foolish or silly.

the-fool

Oftentimes when we think of fools, we think of them as unwise, silly, and quite possibly inferior. Many stories, songs, paintings, sculptures, etc. have referred to the character of the fool. Whether it be the guy who let the girl get away, the jokester who never took anything seriously, the person who got duped by the people around them, the fool has been the subject of many famous and well-known works of art.

While at one point these people all may have done something foolish, or been fooled by someone – does that inherently make them a fool for life? Or can you escape the fate of being branded a fool by simply changing your actions?

In its noun form, this definition seems too absolute. As if someone who acts unwise or imprudently is, and will always be, a fool. Don’t be fooled by this logic. If you find yourself in the position of playing this character, know that you are the author of your own fate and you can change it!

There’s a popular quote circulating on the internet… Some say it’s a proverb, others attribute it to Warren Buffet.

“What a fool does in the end, a wise man does in the beginning.” 

If this is true, then both the fool and the wise man are capable of achieving the same results with the right mindset, tools simply by taking action to change their fate. While you may be the April fool in someone’s joke on April 1, don’t play the fool in life. Go out and achieve your dreams. Something we remind our students all the time –  It’s not too late.

With Love,
Cristen

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Easter is upon us and there’s a lot of talk going around about resurrection. Let’s take a look at the word resurrect in this week’s Weekend Word.

res·ur·rect
ˌrezəˈrekt/
verb

  1. restore (a dead person) to life.
  2. revive the practice, use, or memory of (something); bring new vigor to.

When we think about the word resurrect, several thoughts surface as we may think about Jesus’ rising, or a doctor restoring someone to life. However, there’s a deeper, more personal and spiritual meaning to it as well. To revive the practice, use, or memory of something; bring new vigor to.

We at Hope for Hearts believe that every child we touch is in the midst of a personal resurrection. No longer do they have to beg on the streets, wondering where their next meal will come from. If they’ll have a warm place to sleep at night free from the elements. The safety, security and stability that our schools offer, bring a new vigor to the student’s lives so that they are free to grow and continue in their personal resurrection until they are able to independently provide for themselves.

H4H-Easter-FB

Now is a good time for everyone to start thinking about places in their lives where a personal resurrection is in order. It may be as simple as your house is a mess and needs de-cluttering? Would you like to be more on top of your health? Or perhaps it goes deeper like a new career path. Either way, it’s time to bring new vigor to and resurrect some of those goals you maybe missed out on in the past.

The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.
-Robert Flatt

Happy Easter
With Love,
Cristen

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St. Patrick’s Day is a unique holiday in that it’s one of the only country-specific holidays celebrated worldwide. Every year on and around March 17 people in Ireland, and of Irish descent and affinity around the world celebrate the Irish culture and the partnerships formed with this country. Uganda is no exception.

#UgandaFastFact
Twenty-two years ago the Irish Embassy was established in Kampala. Every year around March 17 people of Uganda come together for the biggest single event of the year for the embassy – a St. Patrick’s Day celebration to commemorate the positive relationship between Ireland and Uganda.

irish-luck

This gets me thinking… with the Irish Embassy in Kampala, is it possible they’ve brought a little bit of luck of the Irish with them? Let’s find out in this week’s weekend word – luck.

luck
lək/
noun
1. success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions.

verb
1. chance to find or acquire. 

Either way you look at it, luck requires success or acquisition by chance. An opportunity that by chance came along resulting in a success or failure. Remember when we dissected the word opportunity we discussed Roman philosopher’s belief that “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” It’s interesting to note the contrast between his definition and the dictionary definition. Seneca believed that one’s actions had an effect of luck. One must be prepared to embrace opportunity in order for luck to occur. However, according to the definition, luck happens outside one’s actions. Can these two ideals exist and still yet both be true?

I think so. I’d argue while one can be more prepared to take advantage of an opportunity, there are also times when opportunity comes knocking and doesn’t require action for luck to occur.

So, were the people of Uganda lucky when the Irish opened their embassy in Kampala in 1994?  We’re sure the opening of the embassy was not done by chance. Ireland seeks to create partnerships with countries around the world as part of both a humanitarian effort and an opportunity to create mutually beneficial partnerships between countries. However, Uganda is very fortunate to have Ireland as a community partner. 

Since their official partnership began in 1994, Irish Aid, which strives to provide humanitarian support to end poverty and hunger across the world, has increased their budget from $1 million to more than $16 million. You can read more about the impact Irish Aid has had on Uganda at the Department of Foreign Affairs website here: https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/uganda/our-role/development-programme/stories-of-progress.

Wishing You Many Blessings,
Cristen

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As winter makes way for spring, change is literally in the air.  The temperature is starting to warm, plants are beginning to bloom, and life is starting anew. Many people fear change, but it is a fact of life, and should be welcomed. For, like plants, it’s change that allows us to grow.

Because all life is change, I’d argue it’s one of the most important words in the dictionary and should be explored in this week’s weekend word.

change
CHānj/

noun

  1. make or become different.
  2. take or use another instead of.

verb

  1. the act or instance of making or becoming different.
  2. coins as opposed to paper currency.

To change means to make or become different. This process can be voluntary (goal setting), or involuntary (biological).

If you notice, there’s another, completely different, meaning for change as well. It’s the type of change that refers to the monetary coins sitting in your wallet, piggy bank, car console, etc. I’m fascinated by homonyms and how they came about. But in this case I can’t seem to find why, or at what point, society started referring to coins as change.

However, I would like to offer my own theory. The purpose of a coin is to exchange it for something else such as a good or service. Therefore, coins are literally change. If I make a purchase from a store, I’m changing my coins into a product. Perhaps this is how we evolved coins into the verbal slang form – “change.”

change

According to a Coinstar survey, the average person estimates they have about $26 in spare change, but the average value of coins cashed is $56. Meaning you may have more change around the house than you think. Here’s the question – Do you really miss it? Its $56 that you didn’t know existed, it’s out of your budget. It may be “pocket” change to you, but could have a significant impact for a charitable cause.

At Hope for Hearts, $56 could help provide a month’s worth of meals for four children at our schools/orphanages in Uganda.  That’s another month four children won’t have to worry about going hungry while they work hard to earn an education that will lift them from poverty to prosperity.

You can literally create change with change, and in the process you’ll change yourself and the life of a stranger halfway around the world.

So my question to you is… can you spare some change?

With Love,
Cristen

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This week one of the most legendary superheroes of all time – Batman, returned to the big screen.

Batman might be one of my favorite superheroes. Technically he blurs the line between hero and superhero, since being a superhero requires having an amazing, abnormal “superhuman” ability.  Bruce Wayne, in the strictest sense of the word is not a superhero. He is just one man with a lot of determination, training, and money who does extraordinary good deeds for the betterment of his city. Yet much of the general population still places him on the superhero pedestal in their minds and in their hearts.

Bruce Wayne is the type of hero that proves you don’t need to be bitten by a radioactive spider, go through some failed government testing or have a random genetic mutation in order to win the hearts and minds of a population. If it doesn’t require having some superhuman ability to be a hero then what does it take? Let’s discuss a hero in this week’s weekend word.

he·ro
ˈhirō/
adjective

1. A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

Schoolchildren are often asked at some point in their lives to name or define their heroes. The answers vary from people in the armed forces, policemen, firefighters, doctors and nurses who save lives every day, a parent, teacher or sibling who had a major impact on their life. If you look at the definition, being a hero simply requires being admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

There are many heroes among us, all around the world. The orphaned children living and learning in our schools have many heroes. They find outstanding qualities and achievements in the nuns who are working tirelessly to help provide them with food, clothing, shelter and knowledge.  They also have heroes in each and every one of our donors. When you make a donation to support our children, you become their hero with your noble act of selfless giving to lift a child from poverty to prosperity.

hero

To quote Mariah Carey’s 1993 hit Hero, “There’s a hero, if you look inside your heart.” Every one of us has the potential to be a hero. It doesn’t take a superhuman ability, but simply the ability to complete selfless and noble acts that make an impact on another person.

“A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but the size of his heart.” – Hercules

If one man can save Gotham City time and time again with a little money and determination, think of what we could do if we pool our resources together as a society? I’ll leave you with this last thought from Maya Angelou.

“I think a hero is a person really intent on making this place a better place for all people.” – Maya Angelou

Thankful for my Heroes,
Cristen