We're in the money...

While I'm not a gambler, at least with money, and I do not see the point of the lottery, I have more than once wished to come into some money without committing a crime or losing a relative. The following stories are all about the wildly good fortune of some people who are/were really down on their luck.

USAToday reports on the Covenant Life Worship Center in Michigan. The 25-member church won the $70 million second prize in the Lucky 7s raffle from the Michigan state lotto. The $10 ticket will net the entire prize money since the church is a tax-exempt group. The pastor told USAToday she will put the money toward the church building fund, setting up a missionary fund, and supporting community service projects.

In the story on CBS News, a member of the clergy is the one giving away the cash. The Rev. Guy Blair, a priest in Wisconsin, donated 14 pieces of his mother's silver to raise money for a homeless shelter. He is hoping for $50,000. His mother, who passed away in July, agreed the collection should be auctioned to raise money for charity. Some of the pieces date back to the 1790s.

Lastly, 19 year-old Bjorn Halvard received a couple pieces of luck on his way to winning the 2009 World Championships of Monopoly. The cash prize was $20,580, or the total of the money in the game's "bank," according to MSNBC. But Halvard's winnings were real. He won when his opponent landed on two of his properties consecutively and couldn't afford the rent. Halvard plans to take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon and the Vegas skyline before finishing off his first-ever trip to the US by visiting friends in Los Angeles.

Friends are the family you choose...

Recently I added some photos my Facebook account from Easter and a friend's birthday to an album with the same title. It rings particularly true for me as I am so far from my actual family. While regretting the fact the economy is keeping me from going home, I do need to remember I chose to move farther and farther from Maryland. And I've had some great things happen to me no matter which (part of the) country I've lived in. 

So I guess I'm just grateful I've managed to find good people wherever I am, ones with whom I like to spend holidays and weekends and random nights out. But I do see my actual family as much as possible and, as they say, blood is thicker than water.

All of the stories I found today highlight the ties between family members. The Daily Express in England had a story a few days ago on the reunion of two sweethearts separated by her mother and WWII. The woman's mother didn't want her daughter being widowed so soon after marriage since the life expectancy of her sweetheart's military assignment was less than a month. The two survived the war and lived their lives, but recently she found him after 64 years and now they're back together.  

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported on the story of two siblings who lost each other during the Great Depression. Two of the four children of a migrant worker raising them alone after the death of his wife recently reunited after 73 years. The youngest son, 10 months old at the time, was given up for adoption and spent much of his life unaware of his other family. A 31-year search finally led him to his sister and her family.

This last one is more about the strength of families working together amongst themselves and with other families. Father John Lasseigne is a parish priest in a Southern California suburb hit very hard by the sub-prime lending crisis. One in every nine homes in his area is in foreclosure. CNN is hailing Lasseigne as a savior to his congregation for organizing a grass-roots community effort to help these people save their homes. 

Photo credit: theord.com