Happy Birthday wishes to Mary Davis, Sept. 5, Saxe; Rhonda Pugh Ingram, Sept. 6, Lunenburg; Destani Richarson, Sept. 6; Kelly Foster, Sept. 7, Saxe; Edward Hicks, Sept. 9, Charlotte Court House; Matthew Ayers, Sept. 9, Drakes Branch; Harold Snead, Sept. 9, Bridgeport, Connecticut; Deacon James Gilmore, Sept. 9, Charlotte Court House; Hilda Foster, Sept. 10, Randolph; Deidre Vaughters, Sept. 10, Red Oak; Leroy Gee, Sept. 10, Kathleen, Georgia; Linda N. Guill, Sept. 10, Randolph. I wish all of you many more happy birthdays. Happy birthday!

Anniversary wishes to James and Faye Gilmore, Sept. 8, 50 years and Henry and Jerylene Reid, Sept. 9, Charlotte Court House, 67 years. I wish you many more happy years to come together with God’s blessing.

Get well wishes to all of the sick and shut-in. I hope all of you are well soon, up and about. You are in our prayers for a quick recovery.

Sympathy to all of the families who lost a loved one recently. Our heartfelt prayers and good wishes go out to all of the homes in your time of need. You have our deepest sympathy.

Thought for the week: Standing alone is better than standing with people who hurt you.

DON’T LET ANYONE STEAL YOUR JOY

People love to say things to hurt you and make you feel bad because they feel bad themselves. Misery loves company. Don’t let anyone steal your joy. If you are having a good day, keep having a good day.

From the time you wake up in the morning, start your day off to having good thoughts and say this is my day God gave me, I am going to be happy and no one is going to take that away from me.

You’ll feel so much better when you don’t talk to someone that can’t say something good to you. When you don’t hear that negativity you feel so good, it’s just like a relief has come over you.

Don’t let people dump their problems and troubles on you. If you start listening and you notice you’re starting to feel bad about life and yourself, someone has dumped their problems on you.

If you’re happy, stay happy. I have been there and walked that path, but not anymore.

No one is going to steal my joy. God wants his people to be happy and to have the best. I choose to be happy. I hope you choose that too.

News is due by noon Friday. Any news received after this time will not be included in this column. News can be submitted by calling (434) 568-0596.

Virginia Freeman is a community columnist for The Charlotte Gazette. She can be reached at vstars@ pure.net.