The Oprah Interview

I finally watched Barbara Walter's interview with Oprah which aired last week.  They are two women who I've always admired.  Maybe it's because I always wanted to be a big time reporter.  My parents   will attest to the fact that I like to ask a lot of questions.  They are both skilled at interviewing and have a genuine interest in people that shows.  Barbara asked Oprah why she is starting her OWN network. The idea sprang from a conversation she had years ago with her partner Stedman.  She was complaining about the quality of television programming and he suggested she start her own network.  They brainstormed a little and she wrote down some ideas, but it wasn't until years later that it came to fruition.  Her network will have a combination of reality shows and in-depth documentaries.  There is a show called Master Class which will have life stories and interviews with some of the world's leaders which I thought looked very interesting.

Oprah has interviewed hundreds of celebrities, but she said her favorite interviews have been with ordinary people doing extraordinary things -  people like warrior Mom Monica Jorge who I've written about in a previous post and Mattie Stepanek an inspiring and courageous young boy who died at age 14 from a terminal form of muscular dystrophy.

Oprah told Barbara she asks God to keep on using her until he uses her up.  That is her prayer every day.  If she's not a testament to how God can use each and every one of us,  I don't know what is.  Even though her talk show will be ending in 2011,  in my opinion she is just beginning to inspire and encourage us to live our best life.

Miracles

There are a lot of things in life that are unexplained.  If you look closely we are surrounded by miracles in nature, people, science and healing.  Oprah recently featured a show on a man from a small town in Brazil known as John of God.  Susan Casey traveled to Brazil for personal reasons and to report on the healing miracles this man is performing.  She discussed it on Oprah and also has an article in this months issue of O magazine.  Thousands of people flock to John of God for various reasons. Some are battling cancer or tumors and medical professionals have given up on many of the people he has healed.  He doesn't take credit for his work.  He gives God all of the credit.

Oprah's show depicted John of God performing eye scrapings, nose extractions and minor surgeries on people without any anesthesia.  The people were at peace during these procedures and experienced no pain or infection.  I'm still not quite sure what to make of this show.  Those who were skeptical and visited him still don't know how to explain his works. Not everyone is healed and for some the healing process may take months or additional meditation and prayer time on the individuals part.

I can't explain John of God, but I do believe in God, miracles, the power of faith and that there are no coincidences.  There are miracles happening every hour of every day if we just pay attention.   

Pay It Forward

Tis' the season for giving!  A friend of mine sent me an email today stating it is pay it forward day.  I wasn't aware that there was an official day named for the act of giving.  She passed on a special promotion Borders Bookstore is doing to help schools in crisis.  For any item you buy at Borders on Dec. 4 & 5 they will give you a $15 gift card to apply to www.donorschoose.org.  This site was also chosen as one of Oprah's Favorite Things.  You can donate any amount to a school in need.  If you look under projects it will list the school's location and the amount they are requesting.  They are basic needs that many school districts typically provide.  For those of you who saw Oprah's show on Waiting For Superman or read my past post, these are the schools they were referencing.  Another organization Oprah has featured on her show is Kiva at www.kiva.org .  They give loans to small business people from different countries.  They are similar to Donors Choose in that you can select the person you'd like to help.  You receive an email when loans are repaid to Kiva, and you can reinvest that money in another person.  I love the premise of this organization because it's about helping people help themselves.

Oprah featured a show awhile back with actress, Kristin Davis.  She talked about how she came across an orphaned elephant while on an African safari in Kenya.  She learned about the endangerment of elephants in Kenya and came across an organization that lets you become a foster parent for orphaned elephants. For a minimum of $50 you can become a foster parent for a year through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org.  My daughter was watching the program with me at the time and thought it would be a really cool thing to do.  We aren't planning on going on a safari anytime soon and I doubt my neighbors would appreciate me housing an elephant.  Instead,  I let her pick out an elephant as part of her Christmas present.  She is now the proud parent of Chemi Chemi and can admire him from Kansas through email updates and photos.  This was a lot less expensive than an African safari and doesn't add to my already cluttered house.

There are many ways we can give this holiday season and it doesn't have to be a monetary gift.  There is the gift of time, love and attention.  Ironically, they are things that I find myself giving less of because of all of the shopping, baking, and other things on my to do list.