Handmade First Birthday Present for my Grandson

The finished project!  Three toy cars (or two cars and one truck) for Matthew's first birthday!

The other day was our grandson's first birthday and the party was today!

I've been working on these wooden cars as a surprise for him.

Here he is sitting on my lap today. He's playing with them at the party after having opened them.

He knew just what to do with them, roll them back and forth!

 I made three cars:

1. His Dad's 1988 Ford Mustang (limited edition "T-top" model) (Black on top, red on bottom)
2. His Uncle Blake's 2003 Ford Mach 1 Mustang (all Red)
3. His Uncle Jon's 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser (all white) (nicknamed "Holly The FJ" (FJ is the land cruiser model)

Here are the three cars (well, I guess Uncle Jon's is more of a truck) that I copied the toys from and the original wooden cut-outs I made of them.

Matthew's Dad's 1998 Ford Mustang

Uncle Blake's 2003 Ford Mach 1 Mustang

 

Uncle Jon's 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser "Holly" #hollytheFJ

Here's when I was cutting them out. The board costed only $2.04 at Home Depot (on the clearance cart). I used a jig saw to cut out the shapes (which I drew on them with pencil using free hand from looking at photos of the cars) - I cut the wheels with a hole saw (you can see it in the photo) and just sat them on the cars for this photo. You can see the wood with the holds cut out of it. The tires on the Land Cruiser were slightly bigger and set so the "truck' was higher off the ground than the Mustangs.

  

The cars with Wheels on them (I used some wooden dowels for axles). They are ready to be painted. At first I was thinking about drawing some windows on them after painting, but later decided it wouldn't add anything to the toys. Sometimes simple is better.

Black tires painted and part of 1988 Mustang (note the masking tape on the Mustang to keep the black to just to top of the body)

Painting the other bodies

Now the red with the top of the 1988 masked off so I didn't paint onto the black

I did write messages to Matthew on the bottom of them and dated them (with a permanent marker). It was a Happy Birthday message from Grandpop with love. I also wrote "Jesus Loves You!" And, I made sure to put who's cars they were copied from along with the make, model and year!

Funny related photo: While taking the main photo for this Blog Post (the one at the top), Toby (i.e. #TobyTheWonderDog who has his own blog) started playing with them! 

Here I am with #HollyTheFJ back in March when I visited my son

I had fun with this project. It was a fun surprise for everyone (especially his dad and uncles) and Matthew liked the cars. Now, hmmm, what should my next project be?

I am a Mirror; I am a Light

The Lord revealed to me a few days ago that I'm like a Mirror.

I know that we shouldn't base our self-worth on what others think of us; we should base our self-worth on what God thinks of us. (read John 3:16, John 15:13, John 10:10) So, others shouldn't base their self-worth on what we think of them either.

Even still, what do people see as a reflection of themselves when they "see" me?  Do I give a dull reflection, or do I give them a clear view of how God views them? Do I help them to see themselves truthfully?  Do I help them to see themselves as God sees them? Do I build them up?

God says that we believers are the light of the world (see Philippians 2:15 and Matthew 5:14-16). So, when others see me, I provide God's light to them. I light up their lives with God's love, peace, and grace (his unconditional love for them). I can't do that on my own, but God does that through me. So, I pray.

What I'm working on in 2014

The first three months on 2014 passed in a blink. I started to write this in April. Now, it's May and another month has passed.

I thought I would chronicle the items I'm working on this year.

I don't want to say these are goals, but they are things I'm working on:

1. Spiritual 
1. I've given up doubting for Lent
2. I'm working on being more thankful to the Lord for all things (here's a a helpful post that a friend recently shared - It applies to children, but also applies to me)
2. Physical
1. Recording my progress on the following:
2. Stretching my legs
3. Pushups and pop-ups so I can hopefully surf
4. Exercising regularly, hopefully daily
5. Eat more fruits and vegetables - buy more organic
6. Loosing weight for health (and my sister's wedding)
3.  Emotional
1. Giving up on the past and looking to the future
2. Thanking folks for things
4. Cognitive
1. Trying not to fix everything
5. Tasks
1. Get a little bit done each day
2. And, here's a big one I'm focusing on: Throwing something away every day (or recycling it)

 

Alergies

I had an interesting visit with the allergist today. I had been tested and have a sensitivity to tree pollen and grass pollen. I had no allergies to food and weeds (he said weeks usually occur in the fall). I had a bit of allergies to dust, none to mold. I'm also allergic to cats, but he said not much. I have no allergies to dogs (hooray Toby)! 

He answered some of my questions and gave me a few insights. I thought I'd share them here (and also so I can remember them).

Note: I'm only recording here what I remember which may not be accurate. Don't use this as any medical advice. Consult with your own doctor for your own situation.

1. Tree pollen peaks in New Jersey usually in May and lasts about 4 weeks. It's a very steep and high peak. Some years it's spread over more weeks so not quite so intense all at one (usually if there is a warm April). Usually after June 1st, the tree pollens go to zero.
2. Grass pollen has a more broad peak that is not as high. It also starts in May and hits it's height toward then end of May and continues a slow decline through June. It's usually fairly low in July and August and peaks again in September for a little while. Of course, if you have grass pollen allergies and spend time in the grass, it will be aggravated.
3. Are allergies hereditary?  They believe the propensity to become sensitive to allergens is hereditary. It's the exposure to the allergens that develops it. For Example: people with a propensity to latex allergies will develop the allergy if exposed to a lot of latex. Nurses usually get it about 3 years into nursing school if they have the propensity.
4. Why does it seem that I'm more sensitive some years than others: It may have to do with the temperatures and how the pollen season is spread out or more concentrated. It may also be according to how much time you spend outside.
5. Sometimes people get injections of allergens to reduce their sensitivity. The course is usually injections once a week for 6 months, then 6 months every other week. Sometimes it gradually wears off after a few years
6. Skin has layers. The top layer protects from allergens. The second layer is like the rest of your membranes (inside nose for example). When the top layer is compromised (like in the dry Fall and winter), then the allergens can get to the 2nd layer and exacerbate the allergy reaction.
7. Eczema comes in two ways: one is from environmental allergies, the other from chemical allergies. Chemical allergies are usually due to something touching the skin and so is somewhat random: according to what touched you somewhere. Environmental Allergies (allergies to dust and pollen for example) usually occurs in the same place and lasts for days or weeks. It is more common in the hands, and inner elbows and areas where the top layer of the skin gets rubbed off.
8. Prescription cortisone creams usually should be used for a few days (3 to 5 days) and don't help if only used 1 time. Also, if they are used for a prolonged period, they will thin the skin and cause wrinkles. So, since facial skin is thin, it's probably not best to use them there.
9. Dust Allergies: They found that every house they took samples, they found the same insect materials, it's just more prevalent in some houses than others
10. Antihistamines are only one type of allergic response, so an antihistamine may not work for all situations. Usually for skin itching, a cream is best (see above) rather than an antihistamine.
11. Colds can become extended by allergies. Allergies can be exacerbated by colds.
12. I mentioned that we already have covers for our mattress and pillow cases. He said the pillow case allergy cover is most important because that's where you put your head.
13. I asked why my eczema seems to be aggravated by certain dogs when I was shown to have no dog allergies. He said it may be something else on the dog, like dust or something else which I am allergic to. Dogs go outside, so I'm thinking maybe they can collect allergens too.
14. My allergies are mild to medium, so allergy shots are not really mandatory

How to Make Social Business Contagious; How to Infect Your Team For a Viral Productivity Boost

I'm sharing a poster at the IBM Technical Leadership Exchange (TLE) in Palisades New York on Thursday April 17, 2014.

The topic I'm sharing is "Making Social Business Contagious; How to Infect Your Team For a Viral Productivity Boost"

I'm going to be pointing interested IBMers to this link for more information.

If you're reading this and you are attending the TLE, please stop by and say hello. I'm also going to be asking folks who stop by to "Ask me how to win 100 Grand"

The Main Points in my Presentation are:

1. Social Business is about tools to get work done
2. Using Social Is a Paradigm Shift
3. Change is Primarily about People
4. People will Use what helps them
5. People will Share what they like

see more information about social business below

Please spread the word right now in one of the following ways:

• Twitter:  @henrywill tweet a message mentioning me with the tag #viralSocialBiz and include the link to this post https://ibm.biz/BdR86q
• Instagram: henryw4 Post a photo and mention me henryw4 with tag #viralSocialBiz and include a link to this post https://ibm.biz/BdR86q
• Linkedin: henrywill4 send me a message with tag #viralSocialBiz and include a link to this post https://ibm.biz/BdR86q

Here's where you can find more information about Social Business and IBM:

• Go Social. Stay Safe. Be Smart.  http://www.ibm.com/securesocialsmart
• IBM Social Business http://www.ibm.com/social-business/us/en/

And, for more information on IBM Social Business and "Connections", IBM's Social Business Tool:

• IBM Social Business Blog: http://ibm.com/blogs/socialbusiness
•  IBM Connections: IDC ranked IBM number one in worldwide market share for enterprise social software for the third consecutive year. http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/conn
• Compare IBM Collaboration Software: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/collaboration/why-ibm/

And if you are an IBMer, find more information here: https://ibm.biz/BdR86Y

Help me to make this viral by using the suggestions above to spread the word right now!

You can save 15% in 15 minutes by looking twice at your Medical Bills

Well, maybe not 15%, but you can save a lot. Sometimes even more than 15%!

With our piles of paperwork we are doing lately, we have found that we shouldn't pay a medical bill right away until we thoroughly check into it. 

We've found that they will often send a bill expecting you to pay when sometimes they've already collected the money from insurance. We wonder how many people pay these bills without questioning them.

You might say "Well, if you paid and they received the payment from insurance, they would refund you the overpayment."  Ah, don't be so sure. Just in the past few days we found two bills where if we paid them, we probably wouldn't have ever received a refund.

So, check your bills folks. Think twice. Call them and question the charges. Check with your insurance company.

 ==================== ======== ===== ======== =======
Optional Details:
Note: for those who want some real life stories and more details, here are two recent cases we had:

1. We had a bill with two charges. One charge went through insurance and the other had not been sent by them to insurance. The bill expected us to pay the second charge in full. On first glance, it looked like the first charge was covered, but the second was not. Before paying, I called them. They looked at it and realized they hadn't put the second charge through insurance. If we would have paid, they would have probably just saw a zero balance and would never have submitted the second charge to insurance.

2. We had a bill where we realized that we had received an Explanation Of Benefits (EOB) from the insurance company that matched the amount on the bill.  When I called the medical billing company, they said they had no record of being paid by insurance. Probably, if we hadn't called them, they would never have realized they were already reimbursed and continued to bill us the amount.

So, you can see, in both cases, if we would not have questioned the bill, we probably would never have received a refund.

So, question those medical bills folks. Save some money!

Is it backup time again?

What if your hard drive on your computer crashed right now?

What if all the data was wiped out?

Would you be able to restore the files from your latest backup?

The first round of questioning is: how often have you done backups? When was your last backup?

The second round of questioning is: If you've done a backup, is it any good? Is it usable?

Time out for a story:

Years ago, back in the days of my developing video games on the Apple IIe computer, I had 3 backups: "Son, Father, and Grandfather" as we knew them: 3 generations of backups that we would cycle through.

My machine crashed and destroyed my work.

I went to the "son" backup, the most recent. The backup was not readable! Panic set in!

I went to the "Father" backup, the 2nd most recent backup. This one also was unreadable! Panic raised!

I only had one more backup: the "Grandfather" - with some help, we put it into a "good" machine and found out it was readable. We put the "father" in this "good" machine and found it unreadable, same story with the "son." It was then that we realized that the crashed machine was causing the backup media to be reformatted when we were trying to restore!  What a mess!

I was then able to use the "grandfather" backup on a good machine and move it over to a new copy of the work. I had lost the work of several days, but it was better than loosing everything!

The "moral of the story" is that we need to test our backups regularly (and be careful about the machine we restore them to).

Please comment with your stories and tips on backup and restore solutions. Also, please click "like" if you liked this article.

Drums for Sale! Drums for Sale!

Drums for sale!

1. If you've heard me play my wooden cajon, I know someone selling one - contact me if you are interested.

2. I'm also selling a few parts still left from my drum kit:

1. Sabian 20" Ride Cymbal (see photo above)
2. Rototoms with mounting bar (no stand) 8" and 10" Great working condition
3. Three (3) Chrome boom Cymbal stands - double braced - great quality
4. Wuhan 10" Splash cymbal
5. Wuhan 8" splash cymbal
6. Remo O's - Drum Rings
7. Cymbal silencers/mufflers (used to quiet while practicing)
8. LP Double Sambago Bell
9. Clamp for Double Sambago Bell
10. Remo 14" drum head

Make an offer! If you don't have a contact for me, use the contact email on my website henrywill4.com or comment below.

The benefits of snow

I had lots of time lately to think while moving lots of snow around. I started to think of the benefits of snow:

It looks wonderful

It reminds me of the bible passage that says our sins will be made as white as snow

It gives us good exercise

We can help our neighbors

We see more of our neighbors outside

Sometimes the children get off from school and sometimes they help their exhausted parents and neighbors with shoveling

Some people get off from work. For those who work at home, they do still need to work, but it's a good time to thank God that you have a job.

It helps us appreciate warm weather all the more.

What do you like about snow? What are it's benefits?

 See more photos on our dog Toby's post:

http://tobystails.blogspot.com/2014/02/snow-and-ice-not-too-nice.html

Bring Potato Chips

Someone shared this story with me by email just recently. Then, in the Sunday School class I teach, we read this verse which I thought goes well with is:

Matthew 5:16 (NIV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.


Bring Potato Chips

 

Take 60 seconds to read this story. It will give you time to settle your brain, gather your thoughts, calm down, and finish your week off on a positive note.

 

                        
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a big bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer, and started his journey.

 

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer, when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him some chips. The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

 

His smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

 

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever..

 

When the boy opened the door to his house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

 

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

 

He replied "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

 

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!

My Father's passing

Thank you to all of you who offered prayers for our family and sent us words of consolation on the recent passing of my father on January 9, 2014.

It was a rough road with many decisions to be made. Dad was well taken care of in the hospital and hospice. He was comfortable.

My brother said it well in the funeral service which we had in the same church where mom and dad were married. My brother's remarks drew a wonderful parallel analogy. He told me these were not from him, but that they came to him in a dream. He related how my dad was well known for helping so many people by getting things for them and fixing things for them. But, as my brother related, my dad often would get frustrated at things while working on them. He would yell at them and talk to them in frustration. So, it wasn't that he enjoyed the actual work, but he did it in order to help people and have a relationship with them. He was a people person.  The analogy that my brother related was from my dad to God. My brother related that God also didn't necessarily enjoy being crucified for us, to save us from our sins (when we wander from him), but Jesus Christ made the sacrifice because he wanted a relationship with us. He cares for you. Consider allowing him to come into your life.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Scripture Verses for the New Year

Last night, Ruth and I were part of a team that restarted a New Year's Fellowship Gathering in our church. Apparently, years ago, it was done every year.

We shared refreshments, had some  "Minute to Win It" type  games, Wii, board games (mostly travel scrabble, sequence, and Uno), and dodgeball. We also shared in a nice time of worship for 30 minutes up until midnight. We shared some songs, testimonies, prayer, and scripture.

Here are a few scriptures that are noteworthy for a new year.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22, 23 ESV)

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19 ESV)

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21 ESV)

assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:21-24 ESV)

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (Revelation 21:5, 6 ESV)

Here are a few other lists of scripture:

http://lynndove.com/2013/01/01/25-encouraging-scripture-verses-for-the-new-year/

http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/newyearbiblever.htm

http://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/new-year's-bible-verses/

Do you have any verses you like to meditate on in the new year? Please comment!

Ukulele (Uke) Music Books

Here's a Christmas Gift to you!
I'm starting a list here in this post and will keep editing it with links to Ukulele Music Books.
There are many available online.

I'll start with a few and you can return to this post later as I add more.
You might also like my Original Post on Ukulele Resources or my later post on Ukulele Worship Music

• Ukulele Book of Christmas Music - 28 pages
• Tonya's Beginners Ukulele Songbook - (a few other files she has)
• "So, You Just Got Your First Ukulele" This is a book for beginners, but doesn't really have songs in it

Songbooks that have separate pages to download for each song

• Caposastomusic - sheet music with notes and chords for Uke (also guitar and other instruments)  
• Bytown Ukulele Songbook - a whole long list of songbooks to download, each book having lots of songs
• Ukulele Boogaloo songbooks (and their Christmas Songs)
• San Jose Songbooks

I'll add more here later

Bible Verses When Teaching Children About Caring For Others

Bible Verses When Teaching Children About Caring For Others

Tomorrow, the Sunday School class that I teach is going to be packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  Other classes have decided that they are also going to join in on the fun!

I wanted to have our class read some Bible verses for the other children. Our class is made up of Third and Fourth grade students, so they are about 8 to 10 years old.  All the other classes that will be participating are younger children. So, I though it would be good to have our children set an example for the younger children and read some Bible verses to them about helping others.

I found two places on the internet (see the first and second ones) with ideas for Bible verses about helping others.  Here are the ones I chose for tomorrow.

1 John 3:17- But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Philippians 2:4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

John 15:12-13 - "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Matthew 25:35-40 - Words of Jesus Christ
'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

Matthew 5:13-16 - More words from Jesus
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Hebrews 13:16 - And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.

Acts 20:35-36 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

I thought I'd post them here so I can use them again next year and because others may want to use them. Do you have any suggestions of verses to add? 

Grandma's Swedish Pancakes for Breakfast

Weekends were usually the days we would make special breakfasts for our family. Ruth and I still do this. One favorite has been Grandma's Swedish Pancakes!

Once, Ruth's mom was making them and I asked for the recipe. She replied that it was easy: 1 egg, 1 cup of milk, and 1 cup of flour. Mix it up, put some in a pan and then roll the pan around to make it real thin. Non-stick pans work best.

Once they're done on one side (the top gets dry), flip it over to cook the other side. Because they're so thin, this goes quick.

When it's done, put it flat on a plate and put a little bit of jelly on it. Roll it up and you're done! Well, except you now need to eat them!

Depending on the size of your pan, this might make about a half-dozen pancakes. It's easy to double or triple the recipe because it's easy to remember: 1-1-1!

Let us know about your favorite recipes!

If you try this, let us know!

Airline reservation tools

Here are some helpful websites for making airline reservations

• Yapta - This website will track falling or rising prices on flights. This works well for JetBlue because if you make a reservation and then they have a sale, this will alert you and then you can call JetBlue to get a credit!
• Cheapoair - provides alternate dates for flying
• Kayak -
• Hotwire - shows you what you might save using alternate airports or alternate days

Market Comparisons/Buy or Wait

Before you buy a ticket, check out these sites to see average fares, price history, and if prices are rising or falling. Again, check these sites out before you start looking into airfares to get an idea of what you should expect to pay.

Farewatch (Shows average fares)
Kayak (after searching click on ‘show chart of fare history’ in left hand corner)
Farecast (for tickets in the next 30 days shows if prices are rising/falling)
Aggregators

The best search engines for searching for airline tickets. You don’t book through them, rather they redirect you to the airline’s homepage. (This is what makes them different from online travel agencies.)

Kayak or Sidestep (same company now)
TripAdvisor
Farecast
FareCompare

Toby Attempts to Talk Like a Pirate

Yesterday Sept 19,2013 was international talk like a pirate day (talklikeapirate.com). Toby took a try, but doesn't sound like a pirate! Better luck next year! Arrrr!
See his post here: Toby Attempts to Talk Like a Pirate

How to Save Money on Gasoline

Here's how we save a little bit of money on gasoline.

1. Driver Rewards

BP has a Driver Rewards card. It's not a credit card and free to join. Whenever you buy 20 gallons (and a minimum of two visits) you get a reward of 5 cents per gallon off your next visit (up to 20 gallons). 

Note: for our family and friends living in NJ we have had pump attendants answer "no" when the screen on the pump asks if we want the reward. You have to tell them if you want them to answer yes or no.

I believe Shell also has a Rewards Card.

2. Credit card rewards

Several of our credit cards will periodically give 5% back on gasoline purchases, so we keep track of which card has the reward. For several if these cards you have to sign-up online and the reward usually goes for a few months. Even though prices for paying with cash are less at some stations, the 5% back on the credit price is often less per gallon. Do your math!

3. Cash back credit cards

Some credit cards will give you 5% ( or other percentages) on gasoline purchases all the time. We keep track of which cards have these too!

4. Driving methods 

Of course, using cars as little as possible, combining errands, working from home when possible, and driving habits (e.g. Not always starting out like you're in a drag race) help too!

What ways do you save on gasoline?

2013 Global Leadership Summit notes

I am going to fill in this post later with my notes from the Global Leadership Summit (Aug. 8-9, 2013).

I am attending with 75,000 people from hundreds of satellite sites. Our local satellite location is in "God's Square Mile at the Jersey Shore" Ocean Grove New Jersey (OGCMA.org)

In the meantime, I've tagged a list of great places to find great notes on the Leadership Summit

Please check back here later for the remainder of my notes!

Here is the first part of my notes, I'll be posting more later:

Bill Hybels

We need to be courageous leaders to stick with the vision given us.

Joshua's prayer: be strong and courageous Joshua 1:9

There are many people with vision, but not many with the courage to carry it through

*Build a healthy culture

People join orgs, they leave managers

Staff cultures will only ever be as healthy as the org leader allows it to be

In US, only 30% workers engaged, large percentage not engaged and many actively disengaged.

* Establishment and enforcement of values

Social media: mobile growing, more cell phones in US than people in US

People under 30 yrs spend about half time on mobile

Leaders need courage to move a vision to a viable value

My Takeaways : 

1. pray for a vision, one vision, and work on it

2. When something is "just not right" then say that to the leaders

3.  can I have someone independent interview those who report to me?

Note: I missed Gen. Colin Powell because I was giving an internal presentation about Social Project Management" - 400+ people showed up 

Patrick Lencioni

In order to make people valuable, give them a way to measure their own performance.

Qualitative vs quantitative measurement. How do you measure how you're doing. Are the things we're measuring, things we have control over?

Managers sometimes don't give their people a way to measure their own value because the manager wants to maintain control.

These are 3 signs of a miserable job: irrelevance, immeasurable, anonymity

People need to make enough money, but these are drivers

How can we be a servant leader without connecting and allowing them to feel value in their job?

* Management is a ministry

Liz Wiseman

Multipliers are people who make people smarter, they are amplifiers, intelligence multipliers

Diminishers make people feel unvalued, stupid, un-needed

There is more intelligence in our workers than we can see.

Diminishers believe that others need them to figure it out.

Multipliers believed you would figure it out

It takes 18 minutes to reboot brain after a stressor

Sometimes we are "accidental diminishers" despite our best intensions. We are following popular mgmt practices.

Instead of telling them what to do, ask them what needs to be done.

More notes will be posted here later

Other great notes: Www.timschraeder.com

Geocaching

I was recently introduced to the hobby of geocaching.

If you haven't heard of it, geocaching is a game or hobby where people hide a "cache" (usually a box with a paper log book and some "swag" or "trinkets" in it) in a public area for people to find. It's sort of like a scavenger hunt. Once hidden, the cache stays there for others to find. When someone discovers it, they are supposed sign the log book and hide it back in the same place.

The info about the "cache" is provided on a website (geocaching.com) that lists the item, it's GPS coordinates, a story behind it, and some hints to find it. People use the coordinates and the hints in the story to find the cache. They sign the log and then sometimes trade a trinket in the box for a more valuable one: something like a matchbox car, a wooden nickel, or a plastic bracelet, etc.

More info here:
Geocaching guide / Geocaching 101
http://www.geocaching.com/guide/ 

There is also certain words and terms that geocachers use while writung about their finds (see the glossary http://www.geocaching.com/about/glossary.aspx). For example, they call non-geocachers "muggles." A geocacher might commonly be heard to say that while finding a cache we need to operate in "stealth" so that "muggles" don't see us. 

Countdown to a Marriage

Yesterday we celebrated the Marriage of our son, Jonathan, to Abby!

To help the bride and groom center on The Lord as the wedding and marriage approached, we sent them (and the bride's parents) these messages each day. Feel free to reuse these! You can substitute the names of people you know!

T-30 days and counting! 1 John 4:8b ...God is love. Lord, help Jon and Abby to always know you.

T-29 days and counting! 1 John 4:7a Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God... Lord, help --- & ---- always to know that their love for each other comes from you

T-27 days and counting! 1 Corinthians 13:4a Love is patient, love is kind. Lord, please bless --- & ---'s marriage with lots of patience and kindness.

T-26 days! 1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Lord, may --- & --- grow in love, be strengthened in their faith, and always have hope.

T-25 days! May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Jude 1:2 Lord, please multiply your mercy, peace, and love to the marriage of --- & --- !

T-24 days! Jude 1:21 "...keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life." Lord Jesus, please keep - & - in you love and help them to watch and wait for you.

T-23! ...and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Eph 5:2 Lord, help - and - in their marriage to walk together in your love; let them give of themselves for you and for each other

T-22 days and counting! Romans 13:8 "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." Lord, help - & - to love each other and for their marriage to reach out in love to others.

T-21 Days! 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." Lord, we ask that you perfect - and -'s love for each other, you, and others in such a way that all fear will be cast away.

T-20D! 1 John 3:1a "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." Lord, may - & - know you and your love for each of us as your children. Bless their marriage that they will live in that love.

T-19 days! Ephesians 4:2 "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love," Lord, please help - & - to have humility, gentleness, and patience in their marriage. Help them to bear with each other in love.

T-18 days and counting! Galatians 5:13 "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Lord, give - & - an attitude of freely serving one another in their marriage.

T-17 days to the wedding! 1 Peter 1:22 "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart," Lord, give - & - your pure hearts to earnestly love each other.

T-16 days and counting! Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’" Lord, help - & - to put their love for you first in their marriage.

T-15 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31 NIV) Lord, Help - & - in their marriage to love each other as they do themselves and help them to love their neighbors too!

2 weeks to the wedding! Ecclesiastes 4:12 "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. " Lord, bind - & - together with you so that they will have strength to never be broken.

T-13 days to the wedding! "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT) Lord, help - & - to have these attributes of love throughout their marriage!

T-12 Days! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) Lord, please help - & - to grow in the fruit of the spirit in their marriage.

T-11 Days! Proverbs 17:17a "A friend loves at all times" Lord, help - & - to continue being the best friends for each other in their marriage.

T-10 Days! Psalm 63:3 "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you."  Lord, help - & - to know you and your steadfast love and praise you in their marriage.

T-9 Days! Philippians 2:2  "complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."  Lord, let - & - be of the same mind, same love and same accord as part of your church, your family.

T-8 Days! 1 John 3:18 "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." Lord, Let - & - love you, one another, and others in deed and truth.


T-7 Ephesians 5:25, 26 "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word," Lord, help --- to love --- with the same love!

T-6 days! Prov 31:11"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil." Lord, cause - & - to have a relationship built on trust!

T-5 days to the wedding!  1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." Lord, help - & - to love each other earnestly and with forgiveness.

T-4 Days! John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
Lord, Let Jon and Abby continue in a great love for each other, humbling themselves for each other.

T-3 Days! Song of Solomon 2:16 "My lover is mine, and I am his." Lord, Let Jon and Abby give themselves to each other on a daily basis in their marriage.


T-2 Days!  Ephesians 4:1-3 "Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. "  Lord, let it be said of Jon and Abby that they would live a life worthy of your calling and to live these attributes for each other and for you.


One Day to the Wedding! Hebrews 13:4a Let marriage be held in honor among all..."  Lord, Let them and all who know them, hold Jon and Abby's marriage in honor: honor to you, honor to them, and honor to others.


Today! Today is the wedding! Colossians 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Lord, let this marriage be one of your virtuous love. Give Jon and Abby your love for each other. Let them be a light for you in this world!

The second day of Jon and Abby's eternity together as a married couple! (Romans 12:10) "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Lord, bless them as they start their new lives together. May they always love one another as friends and show honor to you, others, and each other.

A Sign of Hope

A Sign of Hope - pass it on

Back in January (2013), I was at the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association trustees retreat (oceangrove.org). Pastor Jonathan Miller of the Presbyterian Church in Moorestown, New Jersey spoke to us. He told us a story and gave us each these crosses. The story is a wonderful one, so i want to share it with you today for Easter.

Pastor Jonathan tells the story...
---------------------------------
[These crosses were] Given to me by John Snyder a few years ago, age 88, at the cemetery following the burial of his sister. He flew from New Mexico to Moorestown, NJ for the service.

He told me he believed everything I said about the resurrection, but for years he had never paid any attention to God or anything that looked like a church.

Ten years ago his best friend invited him to read the gospel of John. At first he said, “No,” but then said, “ because you are such a good friend, I’ll read it. Then after reading it … I don’t know what happened … I guess you could say I fell in love with Jesus. I am a retired carpenter and I wondered what could I do that could send along a `sign of hope’ for anyone who needed it. And so it became obvious …. I was a carpenter (like Jesus) …. Why not make a cross … lots of crosses. I’ve given them to hundreds of people and wanted you to have a supply for your ministry.”

John died last year and the stories of his faithfulness to bear witness to the resurrection are still being told.

The story is told to be passed along …

The cross is one way of extending a `sign of hope’ to those who need hope. Folk are welcome to pass the cross on and tell the story of John Snyder and of course they are welcome to keep it.
---------------------------------

Isn't that a great story? I was looking for a verse to go with the theme. I believe this is a good one. Do you have any suggested verses?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NIV)

Keep track of all your passwords in a safer and easy manner

Through some information I found at my employer intranet, I found this great Open Source (free) program that will save your passwords in one secure "password vault" (aka "Password manager").

You can use keepass to keep your passwords on your computer or smart phone. You can even share the list of your passwords between all these things.

So, make one list of all your passwords and share the passwords between your devices!
You can even keep your passwords on a USB drive (aka "Thumb drive") and move it between computers. What a great program!

Free! Yes, Free!

Once it's installed, you enter your passwords and save them. You'll only need to remember one password to open up the list!

I find that I have passwords for my smartphone, wifi, online shopping, combination locks, banking, etc.
Now, I can use different passwords for them all and access the list at any time with my pc or my smart phone or tablet!

Try it, you'll like it!

Digital-preening / Virtual-preening: Take a Good Look at Yourself Before you Post (Personal Branding)

Today, I listened to a Presentation about Personal Branding. I've heard several other great presentations on Personal Branding too.

One thing that I realize is that we need to be careful what we post before we post it.

It reminds me of a class I took in college about body language. The professor talked to us about the concept of preening. We see preening when someone brushes or combs their hair or straightens their clothes before meeting someone or having an interview. How many times do we see someone take the time to go look in a mirror before they meet someone face to face?

We need to do this in our virtual social (digital) meetings with people too!

So, today, I am coining the term: "Digital-preening." or maybe "Virtual-preening" is a more appropriate term.

Digital-preening / Virtual-preening: We need to take a look at ourselves in the mirror before we post

Because any and every post we do in any social network might be the very first post that someone sees from us, we need to treat all of our postings the same as though we are meeting someone for the first time.

It's been said "You only have one chance to make a first impression."

Please add your comments about Personal Branding and Digital Preening and Virtual-Preening. Which term do you think is better?

Turning Work into a Game! Making Work Fun!

The IBM Connect2013 Conference was held just a few weeks ago in Orlando Florida.

In one of the sessions, Jane McGonigal spoke on the subject of turning work into a game.

I was interested in hearing her presentation since I have several years of video game Design, Development, and Management in my background.

Her presentation starts about the 39th minute in this video: http://www.livestream.com/ibmsoftware/video?clipId=pla_1f71840d-234b-4b5b-b205-06c3e6ad205a

Her presentation challenged me to make my work, and the work of others, into a game.

It's been working for me.

I've had some very tough tasks that I didn't want to do, so I told myself that I'd get some points if I got them done. It worked! It motivated me to get the tasks done. It also helped me to focus on what mattered!

Now, I've started offering and giving out points to our team for tasks that we need to get done.

What are you doing to make your work (and the work of your team) fun?

Videogames I worked on

"Back in the day" I worked on video games

Articles that mention Henry Will working on video games:

• 2024:  https://gamehistory.org/atari-2600-tarzan/
• 2023 December: https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-making-of-barbie-1991-the-dolls-debut-on-nintendo-consoles
•  https://www.mobygames.com/person/117924/henry-c-will-iv/
• https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/pet-person/
• https://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/File:JWDA.JPG
• https://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/todd_marshall/interview_todd_marshall.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Computer_People
• https://c64online.com/c64-games/little-computer-people/
• https://dadgum.com/giantlist/ (scroll down to Will)
• https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/big-top/
• https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Henry_C._Will_IV
• https://www.mobygames.com/person/117924/henry-c-will-iv/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggomania
• https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Nintendo_SNES/manual/Formated/Home_Alone_-_1991_-_THQ,_Inc..pdf
• https://www.retrogames.cz/play_911-Atari2600.php
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie_(1991_video_game)
• https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_(game)
• http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,117924/
• http://www.atariage.com/programmer_page.html?ProgrammerID=399
• Simpsons: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5352162/ 

List of games in chronological order (work in progress):

• 1982 Word Zapper Atari 2600 (VCS) U.S. Games
• 1982: Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle  for Atari 2600 (VCS)
• 1982 Mouse Trap for Atari 2600 (VCS)
• 1982 Eggomania Atari 2600 (VCS) U.S. Games
• 1982 Commando Raid Atari 2600 (VCS) U.S. Games
• 1982 Name This Game
• 1982 Gopher
• 1982 Squeeze Box (2600) Atari 2600 (VCS) U.S. Games http://www.gamefaqs.com/atari2600/916365-atari-2600/answers?qid=128823
• 1985 Little Computer People Activision (old news) for Commodore 64 (C64) (note: although I am not listed, the company I worked for, James Wickstead Design Associates, initially worked on the game for quite some time before Activision took it over. You will see a photo of our team, including me, in the book that came with the game)
• 1985 Garry Kitchen's Game Maker for Commodore 64 (C64)
• 1991 The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants ... Acclaim Entertainment Ltd. for Super Nintendo and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons:_Bart_vs._the_Space_Mutants
• Barbie for Nintendo NES
• 1991 Barbie , Hi-Tech Expressions, Inc. For the Nintendo GameBoy ("Game Girl")
• Rocky and Bulwinkle (Gameboy)
• 1991 Home Alone , THQ Inc. For the Super Nintendo
• 1991 The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World , Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. for Super Nintendo (see also credits and here) and here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons:_Bart_vs._the_World
• 1992 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York , THQ Inc. for Super Nintendo
• Home Improvement (Super Nintendo NES)
• 1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993), Absolute Entertainment, Inc for the Nintendo Gameboy (also here)
• 1993 Toys (1993), Absolute Entertainment, Inc. for the Super Nintendo 
• 1992  Goofy's Hysterical History Tour, Absolute Entertainment, Inc.  for the Super Nintendo
• 1994 Wheel of Fortune for Sega CD (I met Vanna White in the taping of the video for this game) http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=8102
• 1994 Jeopardy for Sega CD (I met Alex Trebek while taping the video for this game in LA) http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=8072&tab=overview

Fourth Sunday in Advent: Love

Fourth Sunday in Advent: Love

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

Third Sunday in Advent: Joy

Third Sunday in Advent: Joy


And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10, 11 ESV)

Second week of Advent: Peace

Today is the second week of advent. Today we lit the candle of Peace (last week was Hope).

Advent is a season of looking forward to Christ's birth and his coming. It's also reminds us of anticipating his second coming. It is celebrated the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, the day we celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th!

Here are some verses about the peace that God gives. I believe the one from John 14:27 is most significant for us to consider; God's peace is better and different than the peace the world gives.


You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3 ESV)

"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12 ESV)

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:14 ESV)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27 ESV)

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 ESV)

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." (John 20:21 ESV)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1 ESV)

Please feel free to share your verses and thoughts on Advent here in the comments!

Rescue Accidentally deleted files

Someone I know on facebook posted a request for help because they deleted files and then deleted their "trash"  - someone suggested this tool and it helped. I'm posting this here so I will remember it in case I need it and maybe someone else might benefit too.

 Recuva from Piriform

I can't speak to it, but I'm certainly going to keep it in mind!

Packing Shoe Boxes for Operation Christmas Child

Today our Sunday School Class (5th and 6th Grade) and the 1st and 2nd grade class packed Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes for needy children.

We packed 34 boxes!

One of the students helped us drive them to a nearby drop-off center. Here's a photo of Ruth and I with the boxes in the trunk.

We've done this for many years with the Sunday School.  The children really enjoy doing it. They own it and it's their own service project. I started putting notes together from the lessons we learned and realized I would post them in case someone else can benefit from them.

Preparation

• Order Boxes and other materials (labels and more) in advance on the website 
• View the drop-off centers and the due date well in advance and set a date to pack the boxes (you may also need to decide who will take the boxes to the drop-off center - perhaps some of the "packers" may like to go and see the excitement there as well)
• Communicate with church/parents in advance so they know what's going on and when the day will be. Send them a list of what to bring, what can be put into the boxes, that you will already have boxes, and that they can donate online and print a label to find out where the box goes.
• Show video in advance and invite the whole church to contribute or take part (although it's special when the Sunday School or youth group can own it themselves). Videos are available on the website, or you can make your own slideshow from photos from the prior year if you did it the year before
• Show videos (from the website) to the Sunday School classes the week before the event and remind them what to shop for
• Send another reminder email to church/parents about what to shop for and to donate and bring the barcode
• Tell people they can fill their own boxes with what they brought, or that you will have a place to put donations and then children can pull from that pile to pack boxes

The Day before the event

• Make a donation in advance and bring labels
• Get some suplies together: 
• Bring clear packing tape to apply labels - maybe tape them on in advance?
• Bring rubber bands for all the boxes so stuff doesnt spill
• Bring a camera (maybe appoint a photographer)
• Bring a permanent marker - helpful for marking boxes 
• Print a page in advance that has a small note with the address of the church with a note that you'd like to hear from them if possible (maybe also mention that you are including a photo). You may even want to create a form with this information and allow the "packers" who are helping pack the boxes sign the form and maybe add a note.

Setup for the event:

• Set up tables (in a large room or Gym)
• Make one place to put boxes together (The children in about 4th grade and up like to do this)
• Make one place (table) for those who want to pack their own boxes with their own things they bought
• Make another place (table) for the bunch of donated items 
• Make yet another place (table) for "packed" boxes

The event:

 Designate adult helpers:

• Someone to help children with folding boxes
• Someone to collect any donations 
• Someone to take photos - try to get individual photos of each "packer" packing a box
• Someone to help checking contents of boxes for age category  and either marking the age range and boy/girl or putting a label on each box
• Someone to check that a note (and photo) gets in each box and then a rubber band is placed around it
• Someone to count boxes completed

Announce the following items:

• Tell the "packers" that they can fill their own boxes with what they brought (at the one place/table), or fill boxes from the items donated (from the "donation" place/table - the "packers" can pull from that pile to pack boxes).
• Put out the note printed ahead of time (see above) and tell all the "packers" sign it 
• Take a photo of everyone and send it to the local photo printing place (Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc). Many have apps for smartphones that make this easy to do. Print enough photos for the estimated number of boxes.

Once started - during and after the packing:

• Be available to help "packers"
• Make more photocopies of the note so one can go in every box - save a copy or take a photo of it to make a video the next year
• After the boxes are all packed, have all the "packers" pray for the receivers. Take a photo of everyone with hands on the boxes praying for the children who will receive them.

After the Event - getting the boxes to the drop-off center

• Someone can pull around the car
• Children/ "Packers" can carry the boxes
• Get photos of everyone helping carry the boxes
• In some cases, some of the "packers" may like to go along to the drop-off center (for children,  get advance permission)
• Pick up the copies of the photo of the group (use a one-hour photo) and put a copy in each box along with the notes
• Remember to give the donations to the drop-off center

 I'd like to hear any notes you have for ideas for this great service project!