I.A.K. week 4

It is my prayer that during this challenge each of you have searched out ways to be intentionally kind yourselves and to use these actions as teachable moments with your children.  Like Jenae, I do not share what we are doing in an attempt to gain any recognition or glory.  I am not better than you.  I can be rude at times, unintentionally blind to the needs or hurts of others, and selfish.  Not one of us on this big green and blue planet are perfect.  But like Jenae, I want to instill in my children the importance of being conscience of others.  We live in a world where we have so much opportunity to help one another and yet we act as if it all revolves around us. 

My generation (Generation X) is often described as the "me first" generation which is scary when you think about the fact that we are raising the next.  I want to break the cycle of thinking that what I want should be most important.  This isn't what my Bible teaches me and it doesn't make for a very good society either.  It is only when we consider others that we can truly find a place of happiness.  It is my hope that by sharing some of my thoughts and actions this past month, and that in your efforts to participate, something has changed, a seed has been planted.  I know that I view thing differently and I am beginning to see that tiny little seed sprout in my own children at times.  When Princess A is offered a sucker after story hour and she asks to bring one home to each of her siblings as well I see that little seed of kindness growing.  When Little Man invites his youngest sister into his room to watch a movie he doesn't particularly like so that I can cook dinner without a little one under foot I see that seed sprouting.  When Lady H offers to take everyone out for ice cream knowing she doesn't have enough to buy her a cone too, I see that seed sprouting.

Here are the things I am focusing on this week:

food for the community cupboard.  With it being so close to the holiday season I wanted to get holiday type foods.  However I talked to a few of the workers and realized where the need really is.  Flour, sugar and canned meats.  I highly recommend talking to the people who work where you plan to donate.  These places tend to get lots of canned veggies and such, but not a lot of meat.  They can't take fresh obviously but there are canned hams, tuna, chicken etc.  My community cupboard takes the large bags of flour and sugar and repackages them in smaller portions so they can help more families.

Start making hats for the hat drive at my children's school.  Even Lady H who is a beginner crocheter can help with this one.  Make a rectangle approximately 19-21 inches by 7-8 inches.  Seam the short edge and gather one end for a very basic hat for adults.

We are cleaning out our closets and donating coats to the local union mission which passes them out to the homeless.

Hubby is a hunter and there are a lot of organizations that will accept the meat, process it and then give it to needy families.  Here in WV it is called Hunters Helping the Hungry, but most states have a similar program. 

SMILE at everyone you see.  Sounds really simple but until I actually thought about it I didn't do it.  I was walking around with a neutral expression on my face.  This came to me when hubby was getting a prescription filled at our local pharmacy and the pharmacist was not just smiling, but radiating kindness and goodwill.  When I told my sister about it she immediately knew who I was talking about and said this woman was ALWAYS in a good mood and that she always walked away feeling better.  Another friend posted about this pharmacist on Facebook and everyone who has their scripts filled at this pharmacy pretty much said the same thing, just interacting with her made them feel better.  Now I am not going to pretend that I am some bright, bubbly, always happy person cuz I tend to have my dark, grumpy, get away from me moments.  But a smile?  I can manage a smile even when I want to throttle the person that jumped in front of me in the express 10 item only line with 25 items while I have an unhappy, nap deprived toddler in my buggy and I have put back all non essentials just so I can get out of the store before said toddler has a total meltdown.  Yeah, I can smile.  For all I know that person may have a sick and grumpy husband at home who swears he needs all 25 ingredients for the get better soup his mom always made and that he just can't feel better without it while he watches that show on TV she totally hates to watch and her kids are hiding in their rooms texting their friends rather than run to the store and get the ingredients she is missing forcing her to venture out despite the fact she feels just as bad as her husband does.  She may really need that smile today.  And if not, well, at least I smiled.


Don't let the end of this challenge be the end of your intentional acts of kindness.  Who knows, your act of kindness may become the talk of Facebook and that could spark others to do something too!  Wouldn't it be great if kindness went viral?

Until next time,

I.A.K. week 3

To be honest, being intentionally kind has really changed my perspective on some things.  Not that I wasn't a kind person before this challenge, but that when you intentionally look for ways to be kind you become more aware of the people around you.  Rather than averting your eyes when you see the man dressed in dirty clothes holding a cardboard sign you check your purse to see if you have any cash to pass through the window and if not you whisper a prayer for God to watch over him and keep him safe.  Instead of taking for granted the cashier ringing up your purchase, you intentionally converse with him or her.  A lot of times it is the little things.  This week I am focusing on the little things.

So with no particular days assigned, here are the things I intend to do this week:

Return my shopping cart to the cart coral or, even better, the store.  While this won't ensure the employee doesn't have to come out and collect carts, at least they don't have to collect mine.  If more of us did this it would make a huge impact.

When shopping in the clothing department, if I notice an item that has fallen to the floor I will replace it on a hanger and hang it back up.  This helps both the employee in fellow shopper.  The employee doesn't have to rehang it and other shoppers can find it!

I will park towards the back of the parking lot when shopping.  This frees up the closer spaces for other shoppers to park and it will give me and my family some much needed exercise.

I will be aware of those in line with me.  I will be looking for people with just a few items, or those with small children who are getting fussy and allow them to check out before me.  It doesn't hurt me to wait a few extra minutes and those minutes may bless their day.

When shopping, if I have coupons that are about to expire and I will not be using them I will place them on the shelf with the item so that another shopper can enjoy the savings.

When visiting the park (weather permitting of course) we will look for trash and pick it up.  Everyone deserves a beautiful park!

I will intentionally and truly listen when people talk to me, this includes my family.  I admit there are places and times when I am guilty of the offhanded uh-huh rather than truly listening to what the other person is saying.  This week I will truly listen and contribute to the conversations whether it is the cashier telling me about her day, my husband describing his hunting excursion, my children telling me about the math problem no one could solve, or my neighbor talking about having to buy their first ever snow shovel I will listen intentionally.

I want my kids to learn that being kind isn't always about giving someone something tangible, sometimes it is about giving part of yourself to someone so that they know they are valuable.  After all, everything in life boils down to just two things, love God and love your neighbor.  I want my kids to grow up doing both! What are you doing this week?

Until next time,

IAK week 2

Intentional Acts of Kindness for this week include

Monday:  shopping for the community cupboard.  I try to pick up some things every Monday when I go shopping.

Tuesday:  Share my Letter S lesson plan for the week, as well as free printables, over at Sunflowers at School

Wednesday:  Make a preemie baby hat for God's Tiny Angels using this pattern

Thursday:  make a batch of cupcakes for my new neighbor who has been so kindly been giving be the clothes her older daughter has outgrown.

Friday:  Share a free Redbox rental code by taping it to my local kiosk DVDATWAG  (only works at Walgreen's locations but you can use it once for each credit/debit card you have!)

Saturday:  I will be taking Princess A to the Lowe's Build and Grow clinic.  While we are up that way I plan to visit the new BAM in the mall and drop off this coupon for customers to use.

Sunday:  Release a book via BookCrossing, a community that tags and then releases books into the world for others to enjoy. 

What's on your list this week?
Until next time,

I.A.K. Month

This month, November, is a month of giving thanks, and I have so much to be thankful for.  I have an awesome family, a house to live in that keeps us all warm and dry, more than enough to eat, more than enough clothes, more than enough of just about everything.  Jehovah Jirah has done more than just provide for me, He has provided abundantly.  Some days I remember that more than others.

Some days, I forget just how much I am blessed.  I have battled depression most of my life.  When depression hits it is really difficult to see just how good life really is from that dark place.  Perhaps that is why I jumped on the idea that Jenae posted over at I Can Teach My Child.  She has declared November as Intentional Acts of Kindness Month.

The basic idea is that everyday for the month of November you and your kids do something intentional to be kind and bless another.  I know that in my dark days having someone say or do something kind goes a long way towards helping me see the light at the end of the tunnel.  So this challenge not only allows me to hopefully lift someone else, but it also is an opportunity to teach my children the gift of kindness.  You see, kindness not only benefits the person who is blessed, but it also blesses the person performing the act. 

Think about it.  When you do something nice for someone else, don't you feel good too?  Acts 20:35 says it is more blessed to give than to receive. 

So here are my acts of kindness for the week
November 1: I am posting a free rental code (N4FUNV) on my local blockbuster express kiosk, I also did dishes (my daughters daily chore) and raked the yard (my son's daily chore)
November 2:  making the Crochet Yoked Baby Sweater to be donated to God's Tiny Angels.  We also went through all of the Halloween candy collected and sorted out all of the hard candy to be included in our Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes
November 3:  send a card to my local librarian.  Princess A has been attending story hour at the library and the librarian puts a lot of work into making sure it is an educational and fun hour every week
November 4:  drop off some food at the community cupboard
November 5:  FREE PRINTABLE over at Sunflowers at School that can be used this month with your child.
November 6:  Since it is Sunday, or as Princess A calls it "church day", I am making this Angel Bookmark and leaving it in a public place with a card attached to it.  (look for the free printable on Sunday!)

So what about you?  Are you doing any intentional acts of kindness?  I would love for you to share them here!
Until next time,