After suffering through many months of unemployment  (失业). my wife and I moved this week from Colorado to Ohio. where she was starting a new job. Not knowing anybody there. we were pretty concerned about how we'd get our entire home unloaded (卸下) without killing ourselves.

    We made a phone call to hire (临时雇用) a couple of college students to help with all the heavy lifting once we got there. But one neighbor after another stopped by to help us. What ? Have we moved to some other country ? Maybe we've died and gone to heaven!     

    Unloading actually became fun and joy because there were so many wonderful new friends to help when we worked. The more people helped. the easier the work became. We were afraid the job might take days for the two of us alone. but it was finished in a few hours. Many total strangers would either walk by the sidewalk or drive by to ask us if we were moving in. Many were happy that this old house that had sat empty for so long was coming to life again. We were invited to an outdoor meal yesterday by neighbors on the same street.

    All the time. my brain was resting on this new sense of hope that people can be so friendly to strangers. Among all the conversation were lots of offers to help each other in all kinds of ways. It's wonderful to live in such a kind little town. I feel so grateful to be here. and wish the rest of the world could see how an entire community can model  (做榜样) what it's like to help each other.

    Mother Teresa was born on August 26th,1910 in Skopje, Macedonia. She always wrote her birthday as 27th of August because it was the day of her baptism(洗礼), which was always more important to her than her birthday. For her work with the poor around the world, she received the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.

    In 1928, she accepted a religious order and took the name Teresa. The order immediately sent her to India. A few years later, she began teaching in Calcutta. In 1948 the Catholic(天主教的) Church agreed her request and let her enter the convent( 女修道院) and she began to work for the poor people. She became an Indian citizen in the following year. In 1950, she set up a religious organization in Calcutta. The organization provided food for the poor people and then she set up hospitals, schools, youth centers, and homes for the sick and the dying poor. It now has branches in 50 Indian cities and 30 other countries.

    Besides the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa has received other awards for her work with the poor people. On September 5th,1997, Mother Teresa passed away, but she will continue to inspire people all over the world through her lasting present of love and faith.

    Can you imagine four hours of your day getting to and from work? For the last eight years, Jo Meade rode her bike each Sunday on a 16-mile round trip to her job washing dishes. It took more than an hour each way. Other days of the week she would spend two hours on three buses from her apartment to get to the other work, for a four-hour round trip.

    That was the “before” part of her life. The “after” part of her life was started by the community Police Officer Trevor Arnold, who delivered a used car to her with the help of a car dealer and other donors.

    Arnold, who spotted Meade, red and sweaty, riding her bike in the worst heat this summer, decided he would het her a car. He intended to quietly buy her a used car out of his own pocket so he turned to his friend Kody Slaght, a car salesman to ask about a car priced $1,000. That wasn't enough for a reliable ride, Slaght said, but the dealership said they would find a good car for her at a good price. Soon others were donating. Slaght and Arnold wouldn't say how much the car cost, but the value is about $4,000.

    Arnold said he was motivated by Meade's work ethic（职业道德）to help. “I see a lot of hardworking people nut that's when they are at work. Can you imagine spending four hours of your day getting to and from work?” he said.

    Meade's boss said she was awesome and really reliable when she worked and she got along with others. “She's willing to rise the three buses to get in here on her day off if we need her too.”

    Meade said she was planning to buy a car, “but I haven't been able to afford it,” she said. “Trevor, he is a very good guy. I did not expect this.”

    On Sunday 23 April, more than 30, 000 people participated in the 2017 London Marathon, running 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) around the city centre.

    The London Marathon has taken place every year since 1981. At the first one just6,225 people completed the course, and since then it has grown into one of the biggest sporting events in the world. It is one of the “World Marathon Majors”, which is a competition made up of six global marathon events. The overall male and female winners receive $ 1 million in prize money between them. There are eleven people who have run every London Marathon since it began—they call themselves the “Ever Presents”.

    This year, the winners of the London Marathon were surprisingly both from Kenya— Daniel Wanjiru, who finished in 2 hours and 5 minutes, and Mary Keitany, whose time was 2 hours and 17 minutes.

    However, most marathon runners are not professional athletes. They are amateurs who have trained for months to raise money for charity or just as a personal challenge. For example, Tom Harrison took three days just to reach the run's halfway point, as he is crawling the course on his hands and knees dressed as a gorilla(大猩猩), trying to raise money and attention for the charity “The Gorilla Organization”.

    Matthew Rees was another runner to encourage people, as he stopped just before the finish line to help David Wyeth run the last 200m. They did not know each other before, but Matthew saw that David was exhausted and possibly close to collapsing, and wanted to help him finish.

    Every year there are lots of touching stories like this from the London Marathon, and it is a huge achievement even to run the 26.2 miles!

    No one has a temper naturally so good, that it does not need attention and cultivation, and no one has a temper so bad, but that, by proper culture, it may become pleasant. One of the best disciplined tempers ever seen, was that of a gentleman who was naturally quick, irritable, rash, and violent; but, by taking care of the sick, and especially of mentally deranged (疯狂的) people, he so completely mastered himself that he was never known to be thrown off his guard.

    There is no misery so constant, so upsetting, and so intolerable to others, as that of having a character which is your master. There are comers at every tum in life, against which we may run, and at which we may break out in impatience, if we choose.

    Look at Roger Sherman, who rose from a humble(低下的) occupation to a seat in the first Congress of the United States, and whose judgment was received with great respect by that body of distinguished men. He made himself master of his temper and cultivated it as a great business in life. There are one or two instances which show this part of his character in a light that is beautiful.

    One day, after having received his highest honors, he was sitting and reading in his sitting room. A student, in a room close by, held a mirror in such a position as to pour the reflected rays of the sun directly in Mr. Sherman's face. He moved his chair, and the thing was repeated. A third time the chair was moved, but the mirror still reflected the sun in his eyes. He laid aside his book, went to the window, and many witnesses of the rude behavior expected to see the ungentlemanly student severely punished. He raised the window gently, and then-shut the window blind(百叶窗)!

    I can not help providing another instance of the power he had acquired over himself. He was naturally possessed of strong passions, but over these he at length obtained an extraordinary control. He became habitually calm and self-possessed. Mr. Sherman was one of those men who are not ashamed to maintain the forms of religion in their families. One morning he called them all together as usual to lead them in prayer to God. The "old family Bible "was brought out and laid on the table.

    Mr. Sherman took his seat and placed beside one of his children. The rest of the family were seated around the room, several of whom were now grown ups. Besides these, some of the tutors of the college were boarders in the family and were present at the time. His aged mother occupied a corner of the room, opposite the place where the distinguished Judge sat.

    At length, he opened the Bible and began to read. The child who was seated beside him made some little disturbance, upon which Mr. Sherman paused and told him to be still. Again he continued but again he had to pause to scold the little offender, whose playful character would hardly permit it to be still. At this time he gently tapped its ear. The blow, if blow it might be called, caught the attention of his aged mother, who now with some effort rose from the seat and tottered across the room. At length, she reached the chair of Mr. Sherman, and in a moment, most unexpectedly to him, she gave him a blow on the ear with all the force she could gather. “There, "said she, "you strike your child, and I will strike mine.”

    For a moment, the blood was seen mounting to the face of Mr Sherman. But it was only for a moment and all was calm and mild as usual. He paused; he raised his glasses; he cast his eye upon his mother; again it fell upon the book from which he had been reading. Not a word escaped him; but again he calmly pursued the service, and soon sought in prayer an ability to set an example before his household which should be worthy of their imitation. Such a victory was worth more than the proudest one ever achieved on the field of battle.

    Candace Payne's life changed forever in May 2017 when she posted a video of herself laughing crazily and wearing a mask. The video spread widely and "Mask Mom "became a household name.

    During the two years since that, Candace has published several books, starred in a TLC. web series and went on tour with Mandisa. She made appearances on late night talk shows, met J. J. Abrams and was able to fulfill a dream of taking her family to Disney World. It was a busy but joyful time.

    Her latest book is Consider It Joy. "I feel like people need a tool in their hands to actually get the joy they are fighting for, "Candace says, "The book can help you keep track of how much space and time you are devoting to things that aren't worth it in comparison to the joy that I know I could have."

    Getting joy is something that has always been important to Candace. "What the opportunity offered me was not a forced open door," Candace says, "Many people are trying desperately to push things open when they have to be obedient(顺从的) to the little things."

    Trusting herself has required being confident in saying no. She uses a simple tool to evaluate whether an opportunity is right to her. Candace says, "I have a balance beam (平衡木)where I'm asked to walk every single day as a mom, a wife, a speaker and an author. There are so many things I need to balance at a time. I have to realize what belongs there and what doesn't. The most important factor is joy."

    That's the heart behind the book Consider It Joy. "I really wanted to give people more than just advice about joy, Candace says, "I wanted to give them the ability to actually own it in their everyday life."