【推荐1】My three-year-old son, Nathan, was digging the sand to build a castle. Although I warned him it'd be _________, he insisted on building it in the _______ of every single wave that would _______ on the shore.

I sighed, figuring the only way to make him _______ was to do as he liked and let him see what would happen. I only hoped he wouldn't be too _______ when that first wave destroyed his _______ .

But when the water came and washed away his castle, he jumped up and down and clapped his hands. "That's _______! Let's do it again!" I didn't know how he could _______ seeing his fruit of labor ruined.

"Is it really fun when the waves wash away the _______?"

“Yes,” he said.

Looking at him, I thought about my __________ at home. Nothing I did there ever seemed to __________.I prepared dinners, which ten minutes after I placed them on the table were __________ consumed. I mopped floors only to see someone __________ them on their first trip in from the back yard. My life was just one never-ending to-do __________.

Just like the sand castles Nathan built, all my __________ were washed away by a giant wave called Family Life. Nothing I did lasted beyond the moment.

Because of this, I often struggled feeling __________. I wondered if the things I did __________ .And if nothing I did mattered, that meant that I didn't matter.

But as I watched my child __________ in the sand happily, I realized that I'm building something ____________, something that will last forever.

I’m __________ a family.

【推荐3】An unexpected allergic reaction on Christmas night 2009 resulted in a stop at a Long Island Hospital for then 4-year-old Emily Meyer.

The next morning, staff at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip,gave the child a bag _______with board games and dolls.“It _______ my mind off being sick and I'm sure it gave some _______to my parents. They were able to see my smile."

The unexpected_______motivated Emily to launch "Emily's Awesome Toy Drive" in 2010 with the help of her grandfather.Since then,her efforts have produced countless _______on the faces of sick children at Long Island hospitals.

Emily's operation started from _______a few dozen donated gifts and delivering them to Good Samaritan Hospital over the holidays. Now it has grown into a better-planned attempt that includes a Facebook page,an Instagram account and a(n) _______to many Long Island hospitals and charitable organizations.

_______Good Samaritan,Emily's Awesome Toy Drive is also cooperating with Cohen Children's Medical Center,Stony Brook University Hospital and so on. The school system has also _______ donation boxes at some schools.

Since age 5,Emily has helped ________thousands of donated gifts to hospitalized children. ________the donated gifts,they are given to the children on holidays, graduations, or as ________ when patients are experiencing difficult treatments.

Children who are dealing with ________ circumstances, such as a death in the family, are given donated stuffed animals so they “have something to hug and________.”

“I enjoy this,” she said. “It's important for me to bring joy to the kids who ________it the most.”

【推荐1】Diebedo Francis Kere is a young architect from Africa. There was no _________ school when Mr. Kere was growing up in Gando, one of the world’s poorest countries. Since childhood he had already had a keen sense of _________. His family sent him away to school when he was seven and he did not _________ them. He won a scholarship from the German government and went to study in Germany.

_________ still studying for his architecture degree in Berlin, Mr. Kere learned that the school building in his hometown was on the point of _________. The school had been built some years previously. _________ to share with his village the advantages that _________ had given him, Mr. Kere launched the School Bricks for Gando project and   _________ raising money needed to build a school.

Opened in 2001, the school now _________ more than 300 pupils. The school not only __________ education for the village children, but is used to pass on new skills and __________ to the entire village.

“Africa is full of very bright and __________ young people. But only through __________ to education will they be able to build themselves a better world. For me, Gando School is a __________ because the villagers no longer see it as a waste of time for their children to be in school instead of working in the __________.” Kere said.

【推荐3】Two years ago, my friend and I were at college. With his birthday quickly approaching, he came to me with an unusual _________: instead of receiving presents, he wanted to do some acts of kindness.

I was _________ for such an idea. Giving instead of taking for the birthday was really difficult. I asked him how he could come up with such a _________ idea. He told me about a TED talk he had watched on generosity, which had inspired him. So we started to _________ creative things we could do.

Our university employed some security guards to _________ its students. They have to work _________, keeping watch on every corner throughout the university. For the most part it’s a thankless job as most people grow _________ to seeing the guards all around and eventually barely notice their _________, let alone acknowledge their efforts. How could we show them our appreciation?

We decided to make a large pot of hot _________. We hired a Uber and asked the driver to take us around the campus where we knew the __________ would be and we poured them each a cup of hot chocolate. The Uber driver was __________ a bit doubtful to the entire plan but after a while he was helping us __________ the guards and our lively spirit had __________ to him as well. We were met with many __________ and appreciative words. It was amazing to see how a __________ act or even intention of generosity can lift everyone’s spirit.

【推荐1】The rose bushes were finally in full bloom (盛开) on that spring morning.

The _________ of roses always brings to mind Wanda’s childhood memories. Then the family had no _________ to buy extra things, so even a tired rose was something to _________.

Currently, to have a backyard full of different roses is pure _________. And her husband, Dale, devotedly _________ the roses. _________ that she loves the very first blooms, he picked some on this particular morning.

But as Dale returned, he came across a neighbor who had _________ for a quick visit. As the woman turned to go, Dale generously gave the _________ to her. And even though their visitor_________ she didn’t want to take them, she was __________ assured (确信) that the flowers were hers to keep.

Seeing her precious first blooms go out of the door __________ Wanda with regret, and a bit of __________. She knew it was “better to give than to receive”. __________, she wished she could have kept the roses for herself. Later that day, the couple headed to the post office, where Wanda waited outside in the car. Then, without __________, an older woman suddenly appeared at the open window, and gave her a bunch of fresh roses! “These are for you. They’re my first blooms this spring.”

Completely __________, Wanda thanked the woman and __________ for a moment to breathe in the rich fragrance. When she looked back, the mysterious visitor was gone.

That special __________ changed Wanda. It made her understand the true meaning of __________ unexpected gifts. Now, she always __________ her first blooms to others, as a(n) __________ that someone is thinking of them.

【推荐2】My mother and I started our morning by rushing into the local grocery store. I waited in line at the Starbucks counter while she ______ around to pick up a few things.

As I was ______ there I noticed an elderly woman, wearing layers（层）______ layers of old torn clothing, moving behind me in line.

She had a few toiletries（化妆品）and seemed to want the Starbucks cashier to ______ since our queue was shorter than the grocery store queues were.

At some point I became ______ of her moving closer behind me — it was ______ than I was comfortable with! I instinctively（本能地）______ a hand over my purse and drew it closer to me. My fear and imagination raced creating wild ______ about this homeless woman who might try to ______ from me.

Then it was my ______ to order. As the cashier rang up my total, I discovered I was 37 cents ______ . I called to my mother but she was hard of hearing. She asked me to ______ what I said but she still couldn't ______ me out.

At that point, a long grey arm, with ______ in its sleeves, ______ over from behind me. She laid 37 cents out on the counter, saying, "Here. We all need some ______ sometimes."

I was ______ ! Here was a woman who clearly had very little to ______ and in great need herself. I had judged her ______ and she had reached out, voluntarily, to help me!

What an amazing gift and lesson this woman gave me about ______ others. Thank you, God!