Thanks to Cheryl Harrison from BeingCheryl.com and Deborah Simon from SalvationArmyIndiana.org for highlighting the "Service to Others" lifestyle and the 48by48 journey. I've put links to their articles/interviews below. Thanks you two!

"Meet The Man Behind 48 by 48" - BeingCheryl.com

"48by48 Brings 'Service to Others' Lifestyle to Indiana" -SalvationArmyIndiana.org

Thanks to Scott Wegener from ABC9, WCPO in Cincinnati for stopping at the Ronald McDonald House to highlight the Service To Others Lifestyle. Click here to see the original article/interview.

Red, white, and blue
the colors are draped,
over headstones of soldiers
who perished of late.

Much honor is due
to those who have died,
for freedom to all
in the States abide.

What then the news
we are to herald?
Is it waste and abuse,
or worse to carol?

The ability to choose
t'ween blessing or curse,
to help out mankind
wherein love disbursed.

Now make haste to do
the cry is present,
of actions to strive
and thoughts so urgent!

They call out to you
from lands far away,
to serve as they served
and freedom to stay.

To all who have served in the armed forces...thank you for keeping us free.

Big thanks to Daryn Kagan from darynkagan.com for getting the Service To Others message out. Turns out we've both been called crazy for doing what we love to do in life...strange, huh?

You can follow her on Twitter @darynkagan or become a fan on Facebook.

I just can't get ahead of the below zero temps. After experiencing negative twenty-six in Helena, Montana, I thought the worst would be behind me. Of course, I must be suffering from a bout of long-term memory loss since I grew up in Minnesota where the temperatures would commonly dip into the negative forty range. So when I made it to Bismarck, North Dakota yesterday afternoon, I should have known that December weather can stop you dead in your tracks.

I sat at a Starbucks for a few hours answering emails and prepping for the coming week when I glanced at the forecast. Negative thirty with wind-chill. Yikes! That should have been enough to make me book a hotel for the night, but I have a huge problem with paying forty dollars to stay six hours in a place that has heat and a bed.

I enacted my back up plan: sleep in car from 5:30PM to 9:30PM, then sit at an all-night diner until 7:00AM, and then go sleep in my car for another couple of hours. I parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot and dozed off for about an hour until the cold was piercing through all fifteen of my layers. I tried to get comfortable but quickly realized it was a losing battle. So I headed for a Denny's around 8 o'clock to work away at the never ending pile of emails and updates.

Denny's was great except I couldn't get the wi-fi to work. For some reason I could log in with a weaker signal in the parking lot but with the signal strength at max, it wouldn't let me connect. Anyway, I enjoyed a surplus of coffee, a bowl of oatmeal, and an English muffin with peanut butter. I also had some really good conversations with Hank and Henry, two guys visiting their mom/grandmother in the hospital. Always love hearing the life adventures of others.

I gave up on getting any real work done for the night and decided to get serious with the weather and so I initiated plan "B". This entailed buying a healthy amount of hand warmers, toe warmers, and body core warmers. I made the purchase along with value pack of thermal socks and headed for the parking lot to beat Mother Nature.

As I arrived at my car, there was a younger guy with a newly purchased Jeep parked next to me with his hood up. I asked if he needed a jump and he responded with an enthusiastic, "that would be great"! I drove my car around the parking lot median and squared my engine up with the twice-my-size vehicle whereby I popped the hood.

Pretty standard jump except I'm never completely sure which one is the negative charge on my battery. It didn't help that it was negative seven at the time and that the time was a quarter to two in the morning. Let's just say that the first jump didn't take. Not sure if the cables were not up to par or if the charges were mixed up...either way, the jumpers were fried...literally. Plastic grips were melting and plenty of smoke/steam coming from the connectors.

After removing the deformed cables, I got took out the pair I had and made the connection. This time, we made sure the colors matched up and with that came success.

During the jump, the gentleman and I began to talk about his new Jeep and about the size of the battery and about what I was doing in the state. When he found out that I was planning to sleep in my car that night, he insisted on getting me a hotel room for the evening. I explained that I was happy to help out and would be able to survive the night. In a sense, he said, "I'll have none of this" and told me to follow him to one of the local inns.

Turns out his father does something in relationship to hotels and I was able to get me a really nice room. I so appreciate the kindness of JB and am super thankful for great night of sleep. It was a good reminder of the old idea that kindness begets kindness. Even if you don't get an instant reward from the situation, you can be sure that it will be reciprocated down the road, hopefully, when you need it most.

Thanks again JB!

Yesterday, I woke up to the thermometer reading negative 26 degrees. I haven't experienced those kinds of temperatures since I lived in Minnesota . I forgot that the cold can really sting. I forgot that the weather can change drastically in an instant. I forgot that you don't sit next to the door in restaurants.

I just forgot that Jack Frost is still a formidable enemy.

If there is one thing the cold reminds me of, it is the need to help others during this time. Whether it be donating blankets, or helping a needy family with heating costs, or simply checking in with elderly neighbors - - all are deeply needed.

When it comes to helping others during the winter, I take my cues from Rich Besel, a friend of mine who has been helping his neighbors for years. One of Rich's neighbors, a kind, elderly woman, well into her nineties, was still living on her country acreage and needed help with snow removal. Since they were in rural Southwestern Minnesota, there was plenty of snow that needed to be pushed. Rich and another neighbor John saw the need and would take turns taking clearing her driveway after a winter storm.

He never charged a dime and did it because it was the right thing to do. After Rich's neighbor passed away, he found another neighbor who needed help and is doing snow removal for her too. Once again, he's doing it because he wants to.

I've always been an admirer of Rich's service-to-others lifestyle and saw a few patterns I thought worth mentioning.

3 Observations for Rich-style serving during the winter:

Be on the lookout for basic needs.

Helping others survive should be a default setting for humans, but sometimes we take for granted that everyone has those essentials and forget that there are people in need. If we live with our eyes open, purposefully looking to meet others needs, all it takes in acting on what you see and know is right.

Be faithful in duty.

When the decision is made to act, do it with a joyful spirit. Don't do something grudgingly. Feeling guilty is not a good reason to get involved. If the act is something that needs to be done more than once, figure out a way to do the task on a regular schedule. Ask others to join in if the situation allows.

Be willing to do the right thing for free.

Not everything in life needs to be done for profit. If you can do something for free, do it. The celebration of the soul is what matters. One will quickly find out what kind of person they are when there is no monetary reward. Besides, the currency found in building strong relationships will go far beyond anything money can buy.