You Are Priceless!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, ' Who would like this $20 bill? ' Hands started going up.

He said, ' I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, ' Who still wants it? ' Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, ' What if I do this? ' And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. ' Now, who still wants it? ' Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOM WE ARE.

You are special - Don't EVER forget it!

Count your blessings, not your problems.

And remember: amateurs built the ark ... professionals built the Titanic.

If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it.

Your Bank Account

A 92 year old, petite, well-poised and proud
man, who is fully dressed each morning by
eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably
combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is
legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away,
making the move necessary. After many hours of
waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing
home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I
provided a visual description of his tiny
room, including the eyelet sheets that had
been hung on his window.

'I love it!' he stated with the enthusiasm of
an eight year old having just been presented
with a new puppy.

'Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'

'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied...

'Happiness is something you decide on ahead
of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't
depend on how the furniture it arranged...
it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided
to love it. It's a decision I make every
morning when I wake up. I have a choice: I can
spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty
I have with the parts of my body that no
longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful
for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes
open, I'll focus on the new day and all the
happy memories I've stored away. Just for this
time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw
from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot
of happiness in the bank account of memories.'



Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
I am still depositing.


Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Kevin, You Rock!

New England Patriot’s Community MVP Award Nomination 2009

For: Kevin Bickford

Date: March 13, 2009

Name of Non Profit served by Nominee: Sweetser

Description of Non-profit:

Sweetser provides quality treatment, support and hope to children, adults and families through a network of mental health, behavioral health and educational services.

As Maine’s most comprehensive mental health network, Sweetser promises to do whatever it takes to connect adults and children to the mental health treatment and related support that they need and deserve. Nationally recognized and accredited, Sweetser has nearly 200 years of experience caring for adults and children who are living with mental illness, behavioral disorders, or substance abuse problems.

Sweetser is a nonprofit organization serving approximately 16,000 adults and children annually throughout Maine. For more information about Sweetser, visit www.sweetser.org. For access to mental health services call the Sweetser Promise Line at 800.434.3000.

Nominated by: Linda Danielson, Volunteer Manager, Sweetser

How long have you known the nominee? 8.5 years

In what capacity do you know the nominee? Kevin has served as a mentor and volunteer at Sweetser, in several locations.

Description of Nominee’s Volunteer Work:

Capacity and length of service.

Kevin has been volunteering at Sweetser since 2001, using his passion for helping young people succeed and overcome difficult challenges. He gives without concern for himself.

The key to Kevin’s mentoring skill is his listening – he relates to kids on their level about music, friends and teen lifestyles. Whether it’s instigating a rowdy game of basketball, taking young people to lunch or a movie, reading poetry, making CDs of favorite music, or attending a church service, Kevin establishes a solid, healthy role model presence in the lives of young people that cross his path.

He has mentored more than 35 children enrolled in Sweetser programs, often helping four or five of them at the same time. His commitment, enthusiasm and compassion are exemplary.

Kevin has improved the lives of others by his unselfish gift of his time and rapt attention during his volunteer work. He makes himself available as a stable, supportive adult in the life of his mentees.

“It’s great to be able to collaborate with some of the outstanding residential staff at Sweetser,” says Kevin. “They fight to help kids get the guidance they need, and as a mentor, I am able to connect with teens on levels that work for them.”

His mentoring services have been badly needed because Sweetser’s residential adolescents in group living have experienced a severe emotional disturbance. Sweetser’s educational services meet the needs of teens who are unable to function safely in a public school setting. Having a steady, fun and dependable adult to help them understand the complex world around them has been immeasurably beneficial to them.

The impact on these students who received Kevin’s mentoring, sometimes, is not seen for years after the teens have left Sweetser services. Three recent letters from former mentees of Kevin’s makes the point beautifully. Two young adults wrote to Kevin saying that they were doing great and were employed. They wanted him to know what it meant to them to have his support. A third asked for his help, many years after mentoring ended.

Said Kevin:

“You never know what impact you might have when mentoring. There are times when you wonder, 'Am I making a difference?'

But every now and then, I get a reminder of why I do what I do. Sometimes it comes from a smile or a letter, thanking me for being there. One time, a parent of one of the students came up to me years later and hugged me. Tears of gratitude were rolling down, but not a word was spoken. That's why I do what I do.”

Being a male has accelerated the impact on these youngsters, many of whom grew up with no healthy male role models.

Another major impact of his volunteer work is the founding of a non-profit called “Give Kids a Chance,” which Kevin created on the belief that kids who are given an opportunity, can and will succeed.

In what ways has the nominee demonstrated a strong commitment to community service?

Mentoring at Sweetser is an extension of Kevin’s other work in his community. He worked as a prison ministry director for the Salvation Army in Portland, and still spends much time teaching young people who are incarcerated, or who are awaiting trial at Long Creek Youth Development Center. Some individuals there eventually transition to Sweetser services, or go from Sweetser to Long Creek, so this has been a natural fit for Kevin to mentor teens in both places.

When the program that he managed at the Salvation Army closed for lack of funding, Kevin took the financial risk and founded his own agency. He deeply believes in kids and wants to do what he can to help youngsters create promising futures. He still enjoys the twice-a-week visits to Long Creek, where he lays the groundwork, by listening and guiding troubled youth.

“Many of the teenagers I mentor at Sweetser are kids I have known for years,” says Kevin. “That can help me make connections with the ones who are the toughest to reach.”

Having mentored more than 35 youths since 2004, Kevin has watched them make great strides. Sure, some end up in legal trouble of one kind or another, but others have gone on to college or raised families of their own. They like to keep in touch with Kevin and call him often.

“It’s great when they stay in touch,” Kevin says. “Whether I’m working with them now, or have mentored them in years past. It helps them stay on the right track and out of jail.”

One young mentee is a girl from an abusive family, who was incarcerated as a youth and came to Sweetser with low self respect.

“The staff at Sweetser really worked as a team to help her,” says Kevin. “Within a few months, she was reading and writing poetry, which she never would have done in the beginning of her stay.”

As her mentor, Kevin forged a close connection to help her through times of crisis. Over the years, since then, she has stayed in touch with him. She has since married and is raising a child.

Another young man puts his relationship with Kevin this way, “Having Kevin as a mentor is awesome! He takes the time to take us out into the community. It’s fun and it makes me feel good to have someone around who cares a lot.”

What sets Kevin Bickford apart and makes him so deserving of recognition is that he is so willing to juggle his busy schedule in such a way that each child he works with knows true support and caring that only Kevin can give. He is one man who knows that he gets as much out of the relationships he creates as the young mentees.

“Any program involved in working for kids would be lucky to have him,” said Linda Danielson, Sweetser Volunteer Services Director. “We are privileged to count him among our volunteers and all the Sweetser kids he has worked with love Kevin. His efforts have truly made a difference in their lives and he is an irreplaceable, valuable member of our team. The respect that the kids have for him shows as soon as Kevin walks in the door.”

Kevin has faced many challenges in his volunteer work.

“The hours can be long,” he explained, “and not everyone understands why I mentor. The world of young people is different from ours. They don't run on a 9 to 5 schedule. Their needs are in the now. As a result, I decided to set up a new cell phone so that I could be reached at all hours. My wife encouraged me to answer the calls.

One night, a young woman had become stranded and abandoned around 2 a.m., and called for help. With my help, we located her and brought her to a safe place.

Another time, one youth that I mentor, had gone home for a weekend visit and called me at 6 a.m. All I heard on the phone were her sobs and a mother (who was high on drugs) screaming obscenities at her. I was able to get her safely back to the Sweetser program.”

Stethoscope

Spread The Stupidity

Ever wonder....

Why do drugstores make sick people walk all the way to the back to get their prescriptions and healthy people can walk right to the front and buy their cigarettes?

Why do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and diet coke?

Why do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counter?

Why do people leave cars worth thousands of dollars parked in their driveways and put useless junk in their garages?

Why do hot dogs come in packages of 10 and buns come in packages of 8?

Why do drive up ATM machines have Braille lettering?

Why does the sun lighten our hair but darken our skin?

Why can't women put on mascara with their mouths closed?

Why don't we ever see this headline: "Psychic Wins Lottery!"?

Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavoring while dish washing liquid and dusting polish is made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests your money called a 'broker'?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called the rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse flavored cat food?

Why didn't Noah just swat those mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know the indestructible black box they use on airplanes? Why don't they just make the whole plane out of that stuff?

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

About Death, "From God's Perspective" By Max Lucado

From God’s Perspective
by Max Lucado

“We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope” (Thessalonians 4:13 JB).

The Thessalonian church had buried her share of loved ones. And the apostle wanted the members who remained to be at peace regarding the ones who had gone ahead. Many of you have buried loved ones as well. And just as God spoke to them, he speaks to you.

If you’ll celebrate a marriage anniversary alone this year, he speaks to you.

If your child made it to heaven before making it to kindergarten, he speaks to you.

If you lost a loved one in violence, if you learned more than you want to know about disease, if your dreams were buried as they lowered the casket, God speaks to you.

He speaks to all of us who have stood or will stand in the soft dirt near an open grave. And to us he gives this confident word: “I want you to know what happens to a Christian when he dies so that when it happens, you will not be full of sorrow, as those who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and then came back to life again, we can also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him all the Christians who have died” (1 Thess. 4:13–14 TLB).

God transforms our hopeless grief into hope-filled grief. How? By telling us that we will see our loved ones again.

Isn’t that what we want to believe? We long to know that our loved ones are safe in death. We long for the reassurance that the soul goes immediately to be with God. But dare we believe it? Can we believe it? According to the Bible we can.

Scripture is surprisingly quiet about this phase of our lives. When speaking about the period between the death of the body and the resurrection of the body, the Bible doesn’t shout; it just whispers. But at the confluence of these whispers, a firm voice is heard. This authoritative voice assures us that at death the Christian immediately enters into the presence of God and enjoys conscious fellowship with the Father and with those who have gone before.

Where do I get such ideas? Listen to some of the whispers:

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.
(Phil. 1:21–23 NIV)

We don’t like to say good-bye to those we love. But if what the Bible says about heaven is true, and I believe it is, then the ultimate prayer, the ultimate answered prayer, is heaven.

It is right for us to weep, but there is no need for us to despair. They had pain here. They have no pain there. They struggled here. They have no struggles there. You and I might wonder why God took them home. But they don’t. They understand. They are, at this very moment, at peace in the presence of God.

Pray For Obama