Today's Blog for Hope

(Please note that every Saturday my blog tends to focus on my local GOLO community blog to help others in our community, found at the Raleigh-area GOLO site as a regular feature called "Blog for Hope")

For my generation, the hardship we are living today is the sad incarnation of all the stories we heard our parents and grandparents tell when they shared stories of their youth. We never thought we would experience anything similar, and probably rolled our eyes in desperation when they told us about their sacrifices over and over again. Life couldn’t be that hard, we surely thought, they are just blowing it up for shock effect. Today we are getting a taste of extreme financial hardship within our own realities, and suddenly we know our parents weren’t joking after all.

Communities have felt the need to reach out internally and create a web of neighborly support, while many businesses have silently closed their doors after years of service. Home owners are desperate to sell their houses, but can’t afford the cost of giving their home a little facelift which will make it stand out in the overly saturated market.

Jeff Harless Painting has been able, so far, to hold its own, although it could use a little boost of business. Located in Spring Hope NC, this venture is family owned and operated, and hung its first shingle in 1999. They offer interior and exterior painting for both residential and commercial. They also provide small home repairs, lying of vinyl flooring, cabinet refinishing, staining, deck repair and construction, pressure washing, installation of gutters, replacement of damaged siding on homes and a variety of other services.

Why, you will ask, do I find this company particularly attractive?

Quoting the words of the owner: “We are at this time reducing our prices due to the economy. I feel sure that if a prospective customer has a bid for painting or repair from a reputable company we can beat their prices as to where the customer will save a noticeable amount. However, these times call for us to, in some cases, be willing to negotiate a price based on the need and financial situation of the customer. We match the paint type based on the need of the customer. Customer satisfaction is the best advertisement we have. We thrive for all customers to be completely satisfied upon completion of the job. We always clean our job sites to be at or near the condition before beginning the job. We have a lengthy list of references. 100% of our jobs for the past five years have been because our customers have referred us to others.”

Jeff Harless Painting is a Christian-owned activity, and it is greatly praised by customers for their high business ethics, integrity and honesty.

If anyone is interested in their services, they can be reached at 252-478-4779.

It is time for our community to take care of its own. Why not start by taking care of the repairs we need at a price we can afford?

Quality vs. Greed: Are We Endangering Our Children's Lives?

In the wake of four babies dying, and 6,200 having fallen ill after consuming milk powder tainted with melamine – a chemical used in combination with formaldehyde to produce a resin employed in the manufacturing of countertops and fire-retardant materials – people have glimpsed in horror at how far mankind can go in the name of greed.
Last year, many pets in the United States became ill and died as a result of the same chemical, found in pet food produced in China.
How low are we going to sink – and how many people need to die – before we realize that we are sacrificing lives to the god of money?
Small domestic businesses have almost disappeared because of large corporations that opt for cheap labor at the expense of safety and the economic interest of the American people.
Politicians talk a big game about “saving” the country, yet few of them – if any – have ever truly established a program to help small American businesses stand on their feet.
Having a country which relies on its own strength and the labor of its own people is what the forefathers probably envisioned. If George Washington or Lincoln could see how shallow we have become, they would turn in their graves.
Buying at large corporate chains surely has its advantages- everybody, after all, is always looking for a bargain. But what kind of chips are we bargaining with?
Just last October, 69,000 toys produced in China were recalled in the US because of lead paint. In February, Valentine lollipops were taken off the market because bits of metal were found inside the wrapping. How many other threats are lurking on our stores’ shelves?
Greed is a dangerous beast. On a smaller scale, everybody indulges in it somehow. We have witnessed greed in the dishonest gouging of gas prices, and in the way that a lot of our own citizens will not think twice before they scam others to make a buck. We see that in the way we relate to each other on a daily basis. Everybody is out to take care of number one.
When someone returned my son’s wallet – after he lost it in the parking lot of the mall on his way to buy a game system – everybody was surprised when I told them that none of the money was taken.
We shouldn’t live in a world where we are surprised by people taking care of one another; rather, we should be appalled by dishonesty, and should start being less greedy ourselves.
Maybe, by overcoming our egoistic urges to take advantage of what we didn’t earn, and learning how to live with a few less TVs in our houses, we can truly do our part to make this world a better place.