Cole:
We were in St. Louis for the weekend and we were out eating breakfast this morning. I made sure to take all the trash to the trashcan for my whole family. When I was walking back I saw that there was an old man about to get up and take his table's trash. I asked him if I could take it for him. He said, why sure! So I was able to help him out a little. I made sure to hold the door open for my family and any other people , wherever we went that day too.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
January 30
Mel:
The act of kindness shown on this day was from Nate....He had spent something like 40 hours working on a secret project for me. He gave it to me on this morning....Was the most heartfelt and special thing he has ever done for me...Blew me away....completely.
The act of kindness shown on this day was from Nate....He had spent something like 40 hours working on a secret project for me. He gave it to me on this morning....Was the most heartfelt and special thing he has ever done for me...Blew me away....completely.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
January 29
Mel: About my kids
We were driving out to pizza last night and we were talking to the kids and had asked Cole if he had a story for us. He was pretty sure he forgot to do something. As he talked about his day..he told us this story and was totally unaware of the kindness he had shown...
There was a girl on the bus and she told me that she knew someone who liked me. She told me to come sit by her so I went over and sat with her. I asked her, who liked me? She said she would tell me later. I thought that she was probably the one who liked me and was afraid to tell me. She handed me a note that said...I'm the one who likes you I think..maybe. There were boys sitting next to us and had seen that I had a note in my hand. They grabbed it and read it and were yelling, Cole has a girlfriend. I looked at her and she had her head down and looked embarrassed. The guys asked who the girl was and if it was the girl next to me. I told them, it wasn't her, the note was from another girl at school and I just pulled it out to read it. They were cool with the answer and just kept on with the Cole has a girlfriend song...
Nate and I looked at each other and were like.. Oh wow...Cole. We told him how blown away we were by his maturity and kindness for the girl. He completely guarded her and was so kind. We told him..mission accomplished today, son....
While we were waiting to meet friends for pizza later that night we had about an hour to blow. We thought CJ had soccer practice so we were early. Practice was cancelled so we took the kids to Burger King to hang out in the play gym for a bit. It was pretty packed in there and full with lots of kids and parents. The kids went to play and about 10 minutes in, Cole and CJ and Kendall come angry and sitting in front of us. They were really upset about something. CJ looked like she might kill someone and she kept looking back at the playground. Cole was shaking his head and Kendall just was sitting there(smiling as usual)looking at her bro and sis. Nate asked them, what was up? There were two kids there playing and they had to be about 4(girl) and 2(boy). They looked like brother and sister and they were Chinese. Their parents were white and much older and we could hear the parents talking to a friend about visiting China and their experiences there. Well, apparently there were some other kids in the playground who were being so mean to the kids. A girl about CJ's age and some other kids. Calling them Chinese kids and telling them to get away from them and saying GROSS every time they came around. This did not sit well with my older two at all. They came to the table furious and plotting about how to protect the two little kids from the bullies. Talking about how they might have to get physical if the bullies hurt those little kids AT ALL. CJ then told us that the little boy from China had a wooden leg and could barely get up the play gym. We looked at the kids...told them thanks for wanting to handle the situation, be smart and don't go looking for a fight with those bullies but handle what you have to handle and great job keeping an eye on the little kids. The older two stood up and were whispering to one another. I said, Hey what are you two up too? They turned around and smiled and CJ says... OH you know US! Nate and I laughed so hard.. we do know them. We know that they will stand up for other kids.....Fight off bullies and handle it. They aren't afraid to help someone or step in when it's the only optin. My kids stayed with the two little kids for the next half hour until we left. Going up and down the slides, playing hide and seek, helping the little boy up the gym and Nate and I were super proud of them and all I can say is my heart was swollen.
We were driving out to pizza last night and we were talking to the kids and had asked Cole if he had a story for us. He was pretty sure he forgot to do something. As he talked about his day..he told us this story and was totally unaware of the kindness he had shown...
There was a girl on the bus and she told me that she knew someone who liked me. She told me to come sit by her so I went over and sat with her. I asked her, who liked me? She said she would tell me later. I thought that she was probably the one who liked me and was afraid to tell me. She handed me a note that said...I'm the one who likes you I think..maybe. There were boys sitting next to us and had seen that I had a note in my hand. They grabbed it and read it and were yelling, Cole has a girlfriend. I looked at her and she had her head down and looked embarrassed. The guys asked who the girl was and if it was the girl next to me. I told them, it wasn't her, the note was from another girl at school and I just pulled it out to read it. They were cool with the answer and just kept on with the Cole has a girlfriend song...
Nate and I looked at each other and were like.. Oh wow...Cole. We told him how blown away we were by his maturity and kindness for the girl. He completely guarded her and was so kind. We told him..mission accomplished today, son....
While we were waiting to meet friends for pizza later that night we had about an hour to blow. We thought CJ had soccer practice so we were early. Practice was cancelled so we took the kids to Burger King to hang out in the play gym for a bit. It was pretty packed in there and full with lots of kids and parents. The kids went to play and about 10 minutes in, Cole and CJ and Kendall come angry and sitting in front of us. They were really upset about something. CJ looked like she might kill someone and she kept looking back at the playground. Cole was shaking his head and Kendall just was sitting there(smiling as usual)looking at her bro and sis. Nate asked them, what was up? There were two kids there playing and they had to be about 4(girl) and 2(boy). They looked like brother and sister and they were Chinese. Their parents were white and much older and we could hear the parents talking to a friend about visiting China and their experiences there. Well, apparently there were some other kids in the playground who were being so mean to the kids. A girl about CJ's age and some other kids. Calling them Chinese kids and telling them to get away from them and saying GROSS every time they came around. This did not sit well with my older two at all. They came to the table furious and plotting about how to protect the two little kids from the bullies. Talking about how they might have to get physical if the bullies hurt those little kids AT ALL. CJ then told us that the little boy from China had a wooden leg and could barely get up the play gym. We looked at the kids...told them thanks for wanting to handle the situation, be smart and don't go looking for a fight with those bullies but handle what you have to handle and great job keeping an eye on the little kids. The older two stood up and were whispering to one another. I said, Hey what are you two up too? They turned around and smiled and CJ says... OH you know US! Nate and I laughed so hard.. we do know them. We know that they will stand up for other kids.....Fight off bullies and handle it. They aren't afraid to help someone or step in when it's the only optin. My kids stayed with the two little kids for the next half hour until we left. Going up and down the slides, playing hide and seek, helping the little boy up the gym and Nate and I were super proud of them and all I can say is my heart was swollen.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
January 28
Mel:
There is a resident at work who is very sweet to me. She brings me things and leaves candy on my desk. She once snuck her lunch out of the dining hall and wrapped a piece of fried chicken in a plastic bag and was smuggling it to me in case I was hungry! haha I have heard her talking about milkshakes a few times before..vanilla milkshakes. I thought about her today when I was out running errands for work and stopped to pick up a vanilla milkshake. You would have thought I brought her a million dollars. She was so grateful..asking me if I could please take money out of her account to pay me for it. Which I did not do....Oh man, a plain vanilla milkshake can make some one's average day, great...I'll have to pocket this one and get her on a milkshake rotation!
There is a resident at work who is very sweet to me. She brings me things and leaves candy on my desk. She once snuck her lunch out of the dining hall and wrapped a piece of fried chicken in a plastic bag and was smuggling it to me in case I was hungry! haha I have heard her talking about milkshakes a few times before..vanilla milkshakes. I thought about her today when I was out running errands for work and stopped to pick up a vanilla milkshake. You would have thought I brought her a million dollars. She was so grateful..asking me if I could please take money out of her account to pay me for it. Which I did not do....Oh man, a plain vanilla milkshake can make some one's average day, great...I'll have to pocket this one and get her on a milkshake rotation!
January 27th
Nathan:
For those of you who don't know, I run fast food restaurants for a living. I currently work for a restaurant that has a position that we hire for called a carhop. A carhop is much like a waiter but it's a little different. They get tipped like a waiter but usually only up to a $1. Anyways, a few years back at one of my restaurants there was this customer, a lady, who drove a nice white Cadillac Escalade. She would come in and order a Rt. 44 Diet Coke with extra lime once a month. At the time the drink would only cost her $1.07 but when the carhop delivered the order she would tip them $20 (for Christmas she tipped $50). She was a legend at this particular store for my carhops at the time. Everyday, the carhops would be looking for the "Diet Coke with extra lime lady," if the drink was ordered they would rush to the window and see if she was out there and if she was they would either argue over who got to take out the drink or they would make deals to split the tip money. It made there day when she did come.
Last night, Mel and I, dropped the kids off at Awana and went to a Japanese restaurant to have sushi. When I got the bill I remembered the Rt. 44 diet coke with extra lime lady and decided to tip the waiter $30. My back was to the waiter so I didn't get to see his reaction but Mel did. She said at first he looked confused when he looked at the tip but then he looked excited. He then ran over to the waitresses and showed them the tip and they were all kind of looking at us wierd. But our waiter was all smiles and you could tell he was proud. I think we made his day. When driving back to get the kids Mel was telling me the story of how he reacted and I was all giddy inside. Now I think I know why the Rt. 44 diet coke with extra lime lady does what she does. It not only makes the day of the people she tips well but it makes her feel good too, by making someone elses day much brighter.
For those of you who don't know, I run fast food restaurants for a living. I currently work for a restaurant that has a position that we hire for called a carhop. A carhop is much like a waiter but it's a little different. They get tipped like a waiter but usually only up to a $1. Anyways, a few years back at one of my restaurants there was this customer, a lady, who drove a nice white Cadillac Escalade. She would come in and order a Rt. 44 Diet Coke with extra lime once a month. At the time the drink would only cost her $1.07 but when the carhop delivered the order she would tip them $20 (for Christmas she tipped $50). She was a legend at this particular store for my carhops at the time. Everyday, the carhops would be looking for the "Diet Coke with extra lime lady," if the drink was ordered they would rush to the window and see if she was out there and if she was they would either argue over who got to take out the drink or they would make deals to split the tip money. It made there day when she did come.
Last night, Mel and I, dropped the kids off at Awana and went to a Japanese restaurant to have sushi. When I got the bill I remembered the Rt. 44 diet coke with extra lime lady and decided to tip the waiter $30. My back was to the waiter so I didn't get to see his reaction but Mel did. She said at first he looked confused when he looked at the tip but then he looked excited. He then ran over to the waitresses and showed them the tip and they were all kind of looking at us wierd. But our waiter was all smiles and you could tell he was proud. I think we made his day. When driving back to get the kids Mel was telling me the story of how he reacted and I was all giddy inside. Now I think I know why the Rt. 44 diet coke with extra lime lady does what she does. It not only makes the day of the people she tips well but it makes her feel good too, by making someone elses day much brighter.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
January 26th
Kendall:
Today I had a substitute teacher in my class. I don't know why but I don't remember what we were doing in class. All I know is that the teacher saw a book laying on the ground. She told my class that the person who put it there needed to pick it up. Nobody moved or picked it up or said it was their book. I was thinking it could be nice to just go pick it up, even though it wasn't mine. So I did. I like what we're doing.
Today I had a substitute teacher in my class. I don't know why but I don't remember what we were doing in class. All I know is that the teacher saw a book laying on the ground. She told my class that the person who put it there needed to pick it up. Nobody moved or picked it up or said it was their book. I was thinking it could be nice to just go pick it up, even though it wasn't mine. So I did. I like what we're doing.
Monday, January 25, 2010
January 25
CJ:
There was a boy in my class who was having a hard time doing his Science work. If he didn't figure it out he would have to have homework and miss recess. I could see that he was upset and getting sad about it. I decided to go over and help him with the problems so that he could play at recess and not have homework. He was happy that I helped him and I was happy too!
There was a boy in my class who was having a hard time doing his Science work. If he didn't figure it out he would have to have homework and miss recess. I could see that he was upset and getting sad about it. I decided to go over and help him with the problems so that he could play at recess and not have homework. He was happy that I helped him and I was happy too!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
January 24
Mel:
Today, we were out running around going to home remodeling stores our(Nate and I) most favorite thing to do lately and we stopped at a new place for lunch. We were about to leave and I needed to use the restroom before we left. I heard someone talking really loud and I didn't know if there was an argument or what was up. My girls were waiting outside for me and they were looking at the register. CJ said, "he is so cute" and I looked over and there was an older man at the register who was smiling really big and talking really loud. He had some sort of Mental disability and was trying to order. He placed his order and then walked away to look around at something else. I heard a noise and turned around and he dropped a whole bunch of change all over the floor. I looked at my kids and they headed over to help pick it up for him and he was grateful to them. While they were doing that I went to the register and said I'd like to pay for his lunch, please. He said, are you sure? But of course...so I was able to sneak it in! As we were leaving I heard the guy at the register say, It's been all taken care of buddy and the older man said..by who!?! And that was the last thing I heard as I ran out the door and got into the car. You never know who you are going to meet during the day...God did and I was beyond happy to be able to buy that gentleman lunch today...
Today, we were out running around going to home remodeling stores our(Nate and I) most favorite thing to do lately and we stopped at a new place for lunch. We were about to leave and I needed to use the restroom before we left. I heard someone talking really loud and I didn't know if there was an argument or what was up. My girls were waiting outside for me and they were looking at the register. CJ said, "he is so cute" and I looked over and there was an older man at the register who was smiling really big and talking really loud. He had some sort of Mental disability and was trying to order. He placed his order and then walked away to look around at something else. I heard a noise and turned around and he dropped a whole bunch of change all over the floor. I looked at my kids and they headed over to help pick it up for him and he was grateful to them. While they were doing that I went to the register and said I'd like to pay for his lunch, please. He said, are you sure? But of course...so I was able to sneak it in! As we were leaving I heard the guy at the register say, It's been all taken care of buddy and the older man said..by who!?! And that was the last thing I heard as I ran out the door and got into the car. You never know who you are going to meet during the day...God did and I was beyond happy to be able to buy that gentleman lunch today...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
January 23th
Cole:
Today, Mom had us cleaning up and I wanted to show kindness by asking what else I could do to help. I took out the trash and cleaned my closet really good. Mom did the best job because she cleaned up downstairs even though it was our job. So it was really Mom's kindness day.
Today, Mom had us cleaning up and I wanted to show kindness by asking what else I could do to help. I took out the trash and cleaned my closet really good. Mom did the best job because she cleaned up downstairs even though it was our job. So it was really Mom's kindness day.
Engaged in the pursuit...
Mel:
"We have only to keep the end in view, and have our hearts thoroughly engaged in the pursuit of it, and means will not be very difficult.” William Carey
When we started on this mission..Jan 11th, we chose that day for a reason. Jan 11th was our 13th Wedding Anniversary. We wanted to give year 13 back to God in a way, if that's even what we're doing, I don't know. I do know that the last 13 years have been quite a journey. We've been through lots together. Places, Sickness, Death, Birth, Pain, Joy...surviving things I wouldn't think we were capable of surviving. We are two broken people who love a Whole God...that much I am sure of. Today my heart is engaged.....I know that there is much for us to discover still. Purposes that we have yet to know. The day is new each morning and if we still have breath, we will always have a chance to keep fighting..... Year 13, we'll see...I am engaged.
"We have only to keep the end in view, and have our hearts thoroughly engaged in the pursuit of it, and means will not be very difficult.” William Carey
When we started on this mission..Jan 11th, we chose that day for a reason. Jan 11th was our 13th Wedding Anniversary. We wanted to give year 13 back to God in a way, if that's even what we're doing, I don't know. I do know that the last 13 years have been quite a journey. We've been through lots together. Places, Sickness, Death, Birth, Pain, Joy...surviving things I wouldn't think we were capable of surviving. We are two broken people who love a Whole God...that much I am sure of. Today my heart is engaged.....I know that there is much for us to discover still. Purposes that we have yet to know. The day is new each morning and if we still have breath, we will always have a chance to keep fighting..... Year 13, we'll see...I am engaged.
Friday, January 22, 2010
January 22
Mel:
It was pretty sweet to come home last night to a clean closet, kitchen, laundry and have dinner being made. It was a bright spot in what feels like a long week. Today was a fun day with the residents. They are some of my most favorite people. They truly make me laugh everyday. On the way home, I was thinking about my neighbor and I thought I would buy a bag of Werther's Original candies and slide them through her doorknob. I hope she likes Werther's! I have seen a few of the residents with them and one of the residents left some for me on my desk a few weeks ago and I think they are tasty! Hope she opens her door and smiles tonight and has herself a candy.... I'd sure like to have candy on my door someday..that's for sure. Haha
It was pretty sweet to come home last night to a clean closet, kitchen, laundry and have dinner being made. It was a bright spot in what feels like a long week. Today was a fun day with the residents. They are some of my most favorite people. They truly make me laugh everyday. On the way home, I was thinking about my neighbor and I thought I would buy a bag of Werther's Original candies and slide them through her doorknob. I hope she likes Werther's! I have seen a few of the residents with them and one of the residents left some for me on my desk a few weeks ago and I think they are tasty! Hope she opens her door and smiles tonight and has herself a candy.... I'd sure like to have candy on my door someday..that's for sure. Haha
January 21st
Nathan:
For my day I mixed it up a little. I was sitting at home getting ready to leave for work when I looked at my cabinets and thought I really would like to finish sanding and staining them. It's a project I've started and am finding it hard to have time to work on them. It would have been nice to play hookie from work and continue on with my sanding project. But then I started thinking about other things around the house that Mel and I have found hard to keep up. For the last 5 years since we moved to KC, Mel has been a stay at home mom and recently she started working a full time job. Which means the kids and I need to pick up the pace on helping around the house more in order to keep it up. Sad to say we have done a very poor job of that. So it hit me that today my act of kindness needed to be to show Mel that I am committed to helping out. So that's what I did. I did the dishes, folded laundry, re organized our closet and did some detail cleaning in our bedroom. I also wanted to give the Mel the night off and went to the store picked up a movie Mel's been wanting to see and prepared some dinner for the family. When Mel got home, to her surprise everything was taken care of so she was able to take a bath, eat a very average meal, read a little out of her book, and watch a movie. Although the night turned out to be a success I learned a very important lesson and hopefully the kids and I can continue to show kindness to Mel and understand the sacrifice she is making by going to work full time and that we all need to consistently do our part in helping around the house more.
While folding the laundry and playing hookie from work (don't tell my boss) I watched a movie that I rented for the whole family to watch. Thankfully to Mel's wisdom she said it would be best to watch the film before allowing the kids to watch to make sure it was all right. I'm glad I did because though the movie had a good message it had some adult situations that might have been inappropriate for our kids to experience and the ending was completely devastating. The movie that I watched was "Pay it forward". It's a story about a kid (Trevor) who is given a homework assignment at the beginning of his 7th grade school year. The story starts out with a reporter who gets his car totalled and man walks up to him and hands him the keys to his Jaguar and says it's yours. The reporter can't believe it and then starts investigating why someone would do something like this. The homework assignment was to think of something that could change the world and then put it into action. As you later find out the teacher Mr. Simone didn't actually believe that the homework assignment would cause the students to actually change the world but what he was trying to do was allow the students to actually believe they could make a difference. But Trevor was different and he took this assignment literally. While riding his bike home from school one day he went by an area that homeless people live and he invites a homeless guy to stay at his house. You see Trevor's idea was to do 3 big things to help 3 different people and the only thing that he wanted in return for helping someone was that they "Pay it forward" and do 3 big things to help 3 different people. The idea was that it would catch on and continue to multiply. As the movie goes on Trevor only sees that his acts of kindness fail when in reality although some do fail one actually works and "Pay it forward" changes the lives of many. When the reporter finally tracks down the source of "Pay it forward" he is shocked that an eleven year old boy is the creator and Trevor had no idea that his plan had actually worked.
In reality, we will never know how far our acts of kindness (big or small) will go or whether we can change peoples lives or the world with them. But I think it's important that we understand that it can and that we continue to show kindness to others even though we may not see the benefits of our kindness. One day we will know.
For my day I mixed it up a little. I was sitting at home getting ready to leave for work when I looked at my cabinets and thought I really would like to finish sanding and staining them. It's a project I've started and am finding it hard to have time to work on them. It would have been nice to play hookie from work and continue on with my sanding project. But then I started thinking about other things around the house that Mel and I have found hard to keep up. For the last 5 years since we moved to KC, Mel has been a stay at home mom and recently she started working a full time job. Which means the kids and I need to pick up the pace on helping around the house more in order to keep it up. Sad to say we have done a very poor job of that. So it hit me that today my act of kindness needed to be to show Mel that I am committed to helping out. So that's what I did. I did the dishes, folded laundry, re organized our closet and did some detail cleaning in our bedroom. I also wanted to give the Mel the night off and went to the store picked up a movie Mel's been wanting to see and prepared some dinner for the family. When Mel got home, to her surprise everything was taken care of so she was able to take a bath, eat a very average meal, read a little out of her book, and watch a movie. Although the night turned out to be a success I learned a very important lesson and hopefully the kids and I can continue to show kindness to Mel and understand the sacrifice she is making by going to work full time and that we all need to consistently do our part in helping around the house more.
While folding the laundry and playing hookie from work (don't tell my boss) I watched a movie that I rented for the whole family to watch. Thankfully to Mel's wisdom she said it would be best to watch the film before allowing the kids to watch to make sure it was all right. I'm glad I did because though the movie had a good message it had some adult situations that might have been inappropriate for our kids to experience and the ending was completely devastating. The movie that I watched was "Pay it forward". It's a story about a kid (Trevor) who is given a homework assignment at the beginning of his 7th grade school year. The story starts out with a reporter who gets his car totalled and man walks up to him and hands him the keys to his Jaguar and says it's yours. The reporter can't believe it and then starts investigating why someone would do something like this. The homework assignment was to think of something that could change the world and then put it into action. As you later find out the teacher Mr. Simone didn't actually believe that the homework assignment would cause the students to actually change the world but what he was trying to do was allow the students to actually believe they could make a difference. But Trevor was different and he took this assignment literally. While riding his bike home from school one day he went by an area that homeless people live and he invites a homeless guy to stay at his house. You see Trevor's idea was to do 3 big things to help 3 different people and the only thing that he wanted in return for helping someone was that they "Pay it forward" and do 3 big things to help 3 different people. The idea was that it would catch on and continue to multiply. As the movie goes on Trevor only sees that his acts of kindness fail when in reality although some do fail one actually works and "Pay it forward" changes the lives of many. When the reporter finally tracks down the source of "Pay it forward" he is shocked that an eleven year old boy is the creator and Trevor had no idea that his plan had actually worked.
In reality, we will never know how far our acts of kindness (big or small) will go or whether we can change peoples lives or the world with them. But I think it's important that we understand that it can and that we continue to show kindness to others even though we may not see the benefits of our kindness. One day we will know.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
January 20th
Kendall:
When it got to the end of the day, my bus is the last bus to be called. We were all sitting in the cafeteria and when the bus was called I saw that the door kept having to be opened and closed by each person. I decided to hold the door open for everyone to go through and I got on the bus last. I am happy to help people.
When it got to the end of the day, my bus is the last bus to be called. We were all sitting in the cafeteria and when the bus was called I saw that the door kept having to be opened and closed by each person. I decided to hold the door open for everyone to go through and I got on the bus last. I am happy to help people.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
January 19th
CJ:
Today there was a new girl in my class. When she first came into the class she looked really scared. So I knew what I was going to do today. I said..Hi I'm CJ, want to be friends? She said, sure. Then I asked her to sit by me at lunch. We talked about our lives and got to know each other. I hoped by doing this she would feel better and she wouldn't have to feel scared about being new at school.
Today there was a new girl in my class. When she first came into the class she looked really scared. So I knew what I was going to do today. I said..Hi I'm CJ, want to be friends? She said, sure. Then I asked her to sit by me at lunch. We talked about our lives and got to know each other. I hoped by doing this she would feel better and she wouldn't have to feel scared about being new at school.
Haiti
Nathan:
Today, I have been reading about the damage of this earthquake. I have seen reports of 200,000 people killed and 10's of thousands of children orphaned and I am left speechless. It doesn't feel right that I'm able to sit in my comfortable home going on living my life as normal. I'm left wondering what the Apostle Paul or Peter or any any of the disciples would be doing right now in this case. This is very sad. Yes, I can donate money to the red cross and yes, I can pray but is that enough? I don't know.
This year my family and I have committed to 365 days of kindness looking for opportunities to help others and acting on those opportunities when given a chance. Yet, I feel helpless when a Big opportunity is right in front of my face everyday. Am I or will I do enough to help the people of Haiti? And how will my actions now, shape my kids in the future? I don't know but it really has me thinking today.
Today, I read a story about a 6 month old baby with meningitis being left at a hospital and the doctors don't know what will happen to the baby (where the baby will go) after he is better.
Today, I read a story that says they are planning on bringing in UN troops just to help prevent human trafficking, kidnapping and sexual abuse of the Haitian children.
Today, I read that somewhere in the number of 10,000 kids will be orphaned after this experience in a country that already has 380,000 kids in orphanages.
There are a lot of stories like these and it makes me appreciate the Heidi Baker's and Aaron Jackson's (Planting Peace) of the world much more. And it makes me wonder if I'm doing enough.
Today, I have been reading about the damage of this earthquake. I have seen reports of 200,000 people killed and 10's of thousands of children orphaned and I am left speechless. It doesn't feel right that I'm able to sit in my comfortable home going on living my life as normal. I'm left wondering what the Apostle Paul or Peter or any any of the disciples would be doing right now in this case. This is very sad. Yes, I can donate money to the red cross and yes, I can pray but is that enough? I don't know.
This year my family and I have committed to 365 days of kindness looking for opportunities to help others and acting on those opportunities when given a chance. Yet, I feel helpless when a Big opportunity is right in front of my face everyday. Am I or will I do enough to help the people of Haiti? And how will my actions now, shape my kids in the future? I don't know but it really has me thinking today.
Today, I read a story about a 6 month old baby with meningitis being left at a hospital and the doctors don't know what will happen to the baby (where the baby will go) after he is better.
Today, I read a story that says they are planning on bringing in UN troops just to help prevent human trafficking, kidnapping and sexual abuse of the Haitian children.
Today, I read that somewhere in the number of 10,000 kids will be orphaned after this experience in a country that already has 380,000 kids in orphanages.
There are a lot of stories like these and it makes me appreciate the Heidi Baker's and Aaron Jackson's (Planting Peace) of the world much more. And it makes me wonder if I'm doing enough.
Monday, January 18, 2010
January 18th
Cole:
We were at the grocery store. I found three packs of gum that I wanted to buy. My family was in the non-express line, so I asked if I could go into the express line which was 12 items or less at Price Chopper. Unlike Walmart, which is 20 items or less. I went into the line and there was an older man in front of me. He said, do you want to cut me? I said, thanks very much(luckily I carry my switchblade around..j/k). Then I checked out my items, which was gum and I used my $5.00 bill. I had leftover money so I told the cashier to please give it to the man behind me. Luckily the man behind me didn't hear me because I wanted it to be a secret deal....and spearmint gum is the best, I felt good. The End.
We were at the grocery store. I found three packs of gum that I wanted to buy. My family was in the non-express line, so I asked if I could go into the express line which was 12 items or less at Price Chopper. Unlike Walmart, which is 20 items or less. I went into the line and there was an older man in front of me. He said, do you want to cut me? I said, thanks very much(luckily I carry my switchblade around..j/k). Then I checked out my items, which was gum and I used my $5.00 bill. I had leftover money so I told the cashier to please give it to the man behind me. Luckily the man behind me didn't hear me because I wanted it to be a secret deal....and spearmint gum is the best, I felt good. The End.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
January 17th
Family:
This morning we decided as a family that we would pick up doughnuts and make a card and take them to the fire station. CJ took care of the note and Nate took the three kids on the mission. I took care of making biscuits and gravy for them when they returned. I got a call from Nate and he said, no one's answering at the fire station...then he said, wait a minute...they just opened the door. When they got home, they had a story....The kids had tried one door and there was no answer. They ran to the other door and then a fireman opened up and asked them to come in. He was so grateful for the gift, he invited them on a tour of the station and of the fire truck. The kids said, YES and went exploring. He told the kids, they could see whatever they wanted and they would be treated like royalty for bringing them sonic cards and doughnuts..haha The kids laughed and had a great time. They came home so excited and as I was getting ready later, I just kept thinking about how when you go on adventures with God, He just surprises you with things you couldn't imagine. I told my kids at lunch today that my hope(I tell them this often though)is that they all live a life full of adventure. That they let God lead them and they take chances and live out their dreams. The thought makes me so excited for them....
Mel:
After I got ready, I decided to stop by my neighbors before heading out to church. I knocked on the door and she answered! She invited me in an hugged me. She is the sweetest woman and I think we will be friends. She asked me to have some coffee and she told me about losing her husband. She was still in shock and it's been really hard for her. We had a really great conversation. I told her that we would love to look out for her and be there for anything she might need. I gave her our phone numbers and asked if it would be OK to stop by and see her and check in. She said yes and she hugged me some more. We talked about God and I told her how happy I was to have gotten her package so I could come meet her. She loves Chocolate Cake too..
My pastor said something this morning..."We serve God, not to gain His love and acceptance..We serve our God because we know we are dearly Loved." I started crying...it just makes sense. To be dearly loved by such a God and know it. What a privilege it is to serve Him.....
Saturday, January 16, 2010
January 16th~
Mel:
It's Saturday...I love to stay home and wear pajamas and have piles of blankets surrounding me. Even though it's warmer outside, there is still snow and snow makes me want to stay cozy. I had been thinking all morning about what to do today. I think weekends will create more thought and creativity. Although being kind to my family or finding a way to bless them sounds like a great idea too. Today I had been thinking about my next door neighbor all day. There are three houses on my street. We are right in the middle. The neighbor that came to mind, I have never met. We've been in this new house for about 8 months and sadly I have never met her. I use to wave at her husband who sat in a swing out in their yard the first month we moved here. One day we saw lots of cars at their place and then I never saw him in the swing again. A few months ago the kids came home from school and told me that they met the older woman who lives next door. She stopped her car to talk to them while they were waiting for the bus. She told them that she was so sorry she hasn't stopped by but her husband passed away and she just hasn't been getting out much. The kids said she was really nice to them. I felt like I should go meet her...I didn't. I stink... I couldn't think of a reason to go by and all I kept thinking was, would I be bothering her? Then, it just vanished from my mind, until today. I wanted to bring her something like cookies or a pie or something so I just didn't show up, just me, weirding her out. Well...so, when I went to our mailbox(we have a community mailbox down the road a ways)there was a package in my mailbox..addressed to her! That has never happened before. I couldn't believe it...I was taking the kids and meeting Nate at the movies, so my plan was to hand deliver it on the way home. We stopped by the grocery store for some snacks and goodies and I picked up a slice of chocolate cake for her...drove home and stopped in front of her house...ran up, totally excited at how this was all playing out..knocked on the door...waited..rang the doorbell...waited. Well.....she wasn't home! Oh man..haha. Reminded me of a saying that one of the residents told me once at the nursing home I work at, when I helped her excitedly open this tiny box that she thought was a present(it was empty)with something wonderful inside..."Well, ya know... sometimes it just goes that way." And that's the truth...I have her package and cake sitting on the kitchen counter. I will hand deliver this and hopefully meet my neighbor in the morning. Maybe she likes a little chocolate cake with her morning coffee? : ) To be continued....
It's Saturday...I love to stay home and wear pajamas and have piles of blankets surrounding me. Even though it's warmer outside, there is still snow and snow makes me want to stay cozy. I had been thinking all morning about what to do today. I think weekends will create more thought and creativity. Although being kind to my family or finding a way to bless them sounds like a great idea too. Today I had been thinking about my next door neighbor all day. There are three houses on my street. We are right in the middle. The neighbor that came to mind, I have never met. We've been in this new house for about 8 months and sadly I have never met her. I use to wave at her husband who sat in a swing out in their yard the first month we moved here. One day we saw lots of cars at their place and then I never saw him in the swing again. A few months ago the kids came home from school and told me that they met the older woman who lives next door. She stopped her car to talk to them while they were waiting for the bus. She told them that she was so sorry she hasn't stopped by but her husband passed away and she just hasn't been getting out much. The kids said she was really nice to them. I felt like I should go meet her...I didn't. I stink... I couldn't think of a reason to go by and all I kept thinking was, would I be bothering her? Then, it just vanished from my mind, until today. I wanted to bring her something like cookies or a pie or something so I just didn't show up, just me, weirding her out. Well...so, when I went to our mailbox(we have a community mailbox down the road a ways)there was a package in my mailbox..addressed to her! That has never happened before. I couldn't believe it...I was taking the kids and meeting Nate at the movies, so my plan was to hand deliver it on the way home. We stopped by the grocery store for some snacks and goodies and I picked up a slice of chocolate cake for her...drove home and stopped in front of her house...ran up, totally excited at how this was all playing out..knocked on the door...waited..rang the doorbell...waited. Well.....she wasn't home! Oh man..haha. Reminded me of a saying that one of the residents told me once at the nursing home I work at, when I helped her excitedly open this tiny box that she thought was a present(it was empty)with something wonderful inside..."Well, ya know... sometimes it just goes that way." And that's the truth...I have her package and cake sitting on the kitchen counter. I will hand deliver this and hopefully meet my neighbor in the morning. Maybe she likes a little chocolate cake with her morning coffee? : ) To be continued....
January 15th
Nathan:
On Friday, I was at home. It was about 2 pm and I was starting to panic knowing that I would be going to a hockey game that night with Cole and might not have an opportunity to show someone kindness. Then I remembered last week that our neighbors had taken our trash can from the street to where we store it by the garage. So, I decided to return the favor to them and this week I took their trash can and placed it where they store it by their house returning their kindness. At the hockey game I did have a chance... but didn't realize it until today. It's funny, but now I catch myself replaying my days through my head seeing if I missed anything and that's what happened again today. I was at the hockey game and I went to go get some food. I ordered the Chilli Cheese Nachos with Sour cream and onions. It was huge and looked magnificent!!!!! When I got back to my seat everyone was talking about how good they looked (I went with a lot of co workers and their families). While I was finishing my very beautiful Chilli cheese nachos one of my co workers kids sat next to me and said I was really hoping to get a nachos like yours but I couldn't find them and I got this. He showed me his nachos with chips and nacho cheese on the side. It was like comparing a picture that I painted to one that picasso painted. Then I told him where he could get beautiful chilli cheese nachos like mine. He didn't go though........What I should have done was to stop what I was doing and go buy the boy the picasso chilli cheese nachos. But I didn't, dang it... but I will next time.
Today (Saturday), I was driving to work and on the way there, the homeless lady I had failed to be kind too popped into my head. Knowing that I would be driving right by where I had seen her last time, I began to pray that I would have another chance to be kind to her. I was just so sure she was going to be there, but when I pulled up to the stop light where she was at last time no one was there... which is odd because someone is usually always there. Dissapointed, I went on to work. On my way back I decided to drive by the place again instead of taking my usual way home. Sure enough the exact same lady was standing there. I had $2 this time and gladly gave it to her. I have given more then $2 to churches, missionaries and to different homeless people before and I have to say that this was just the most rewarding of them all. Don't know why but it just is.
On Friday, I was at home. It was about 2 pm and I was starting to panic knowing that I would be going to a hockey game that night with Cole and might not have an opportunity to show someone kindness. Then I remembered last week that our neighbors had taken our trash can from the street to where we store it by the garage. So, I decided to return the favor to them and this week I took their trash can and placed it where they store it by their house returning their kindness. At the hockey game I did have a chance... but didn't realize it until today. It's funny, but now I catch myself replaying my days through my head seeing if I missed anything and that's what happened again today. I was at the hockey game and I went to go get some food. I ordered the Chilli Cheese Nachos with Sour cream and onions. It was huge and looked magnificent!!!!! When I got back to my seat everyone was talking about how good they looked (I went with a lot of co workers and their families). While I was finishing my very beautiful Chilli cheese nachos one of my co workers kids sat next to me and said I was really hoping to get a nachos like yours but I couldn't find them and I got this. He showed me his nachos with chips and nacho cheese on the side. It was like comparing a picture that I painted to one that picasso painted. Then I told him where he could get beautiful chilli cheese nachos like mine. He didn't go though........What I should have done was to stop what I was doing and go buy the boy the picasso chilli cheese nachos. But I didn't, dang it... but I will next time.
Today (Saturday), I was driving to work and on the way there, the homeless lady I had failed to be kind too popped into my head. Knowing that I would be driving right by where I had seen her last time, I began to pray that I would have another chance to be kind to her. I was just so sure she was going to be there, but when I pulled up to the stop light where she was at last time no one was there... which is odd because someone is usually always there. Dissapointed, I went on to work. On my way back I decided to drive by the place again instead of taking my usual way home. Sure enough the exact same lady was standing there. I had $2 this time and gladly gave it to her. I have given more then $2 to churches, missionaries and to different homeless people before and I have to say that this was just the most rewarding of them all. Don't know why but it just is.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Dreams and opportunities
Nathan:
So two nights ago I had a dream. It was one of those dreams where I was fully aware it was a dream and as the dream played out if something happened that I didn't like I would just rewind it and change how I acted (to bad we can't do that in real life). Anyways, in the dream I was pulling someone out of a burning car the car had flipped over and there was gas leaking and I had a short time to get the lady out of the car and that's what I did......WAIT REWIND. So, I'm driving down the road with my family and I see that there is an accident I tell Mel and the kids to wait in the car and that I was going to help. I rush out of the car and as I'm running up to the car I see that it is bad, gas is leaking all over the place and I know that I need to do something quickly. The car is upside down and I see one lady in the car. I rip the car door open and see the lady stuck in her seat belt and she's crying. I tell her I'm here to help her and I will get her out soon. I undo the seatbelt and pull her out of the car.......WAIT REWIND. So, I'm driving down the road with my family. We are having a great time laughing, telling jokes and singing Jesus loves me (okay so maybe I'm still adding on to the dream even now). We pull up to a wreck and it's very bad. I tell Mel and the kids I must go help and that they need to wait in the car. I rush out of the car not knowing what to expect. I see gas is leaking and there is alot of smoke. It's not pretty and I know time is short. I go to open the car door of the overturned car but the door won't open so I'm forced to kick in the car window. After kicking in the car window I see that there is one woman and 2 children in the back. I tell them that I'm here to help I would get them out as soon as I can and then I pull them out.......WAIT REWIND. Okay so everything is the same up to the point before I pull them out. So I tell them I'm here to help them and I start praying while I'm pulling them out this seems to help calm them down and in a short time I'm able to pull them out one by one and save them. I'm the hero and save the day. The End.
For the last 2 days I have been praying with the kids in the morning that God would give us opportunities to be kind to someone. Over the last 2 days I have seen many opportunities. Wednesay night I slipped and almost fell on the ice while going in to pick up the kids from awana right in front of an elderly lady. She said wow it's slippery out here and I said yes it was and then offered to walk her to her car she said yes and she put her arm in mine and I walked her to the car. It felt good to help. On the other hand earlier in that day I was driving to work and pulled up to the stop light and there was a homeless woman standing there with a sign that said "homeless please help." I was on the phone and knew that I had a dollar in my wallet but chose to ignore her. I still remember her face her eyes looked sad. When I told my girls yesterday the story of not helping the homeless woman they were very disappointed in me and I made the excuse that I see those people all the time and sometimes they are not really honest and would probably just spend the money on something not good. But as I think about it does that really matter? Should I be the judge of the people I am kind too? I'm thinking that I should just act on the opportunities given to me. I wish I could rewind and give that lady the dollar.
4 days into 365 days of kindness and I feel like my eyes have been opened. It has me constantly looking for opportunities. I'm starting to think that God gives all of us opportunities everyday we just have open our eyes to see them. No longer will I pray with the kids that God would give us opportunities but that God would open our eyes to see the opportunities. Although it would be nice to be the hero one day like my dream and save lives, the little things are important too. Like tying someones shoes when you really don't want to or being someones friend when they have no friends or spending $5 dollars of your own money to help out a friend or helping a complete stranger when they need help or giving a homeless person a dollar.
Today, is my day and I'm excited. God, I ask that you would open my eyes to the opportunities that I will have today and that I act upon them...................
So two nights ago I had a dream. It was one of those dreams where I was fully aware it was a dream and as the dream played out if something happened that I didn't like I would just rewind it and change how I acted (to bad we can't do that in real life). Anyways, in the dream I was pulling someone out of a burning car the car had flipped over and there was gas leaking and I had a short time to get the lady out of the car and that's what I did......WAIT REWIND. So, I'm driving down the road with my family and I see that there is an accident I tell Mel and the kids to wait in the car and that I was going to help. I rush out of the car and as I'm running up to the car I see that it is bad, gas is leaking all over the place and I know that I need to do something quickly. The car is upside down and I see one lady in the car. I rip the car door open and see the lady stuck in her seat belt and she's crying. I tell her I'm here to help her and I will get her out soon. I undo the seatbelt and pull her out of the car.......WAIT REWIND. So, I'm driving down the road with my family. We are having a great time laughing, telling jokes and singing Jesus loves me (okay so maybe I'm still adding on to the dream even now). We pull up to a wreck and it's very bad. I tell Mel and the kids I must go help and that they need to wait in the car. I rush out of the car not knowing what to expect. I see gas is leaking and there is alot of smoke. It's not pretty and I know time is short. I go to open the car door of the overturned car but the door won't open so I'm forced to kick in the car window. After kicking in the car window I see that there is one woman and 2 children in the back. I tell them that I'm here to help I would get them out as soon as I can and then I pull them out.......WAIT REWIND. Okay so everything is the same up to the point before I pull them out. So I tell them I'm here to help them and I start praying while I'm pulling them out this seems to help calm them down and in a short time I'm able to pull them out one by one and save them. I'm the hero and save the day. The End.
For the last 2 days I have been praying with the kids in the morning that God would give us opportunities to be kind to someone. Over the last 2 days I have seen many opportunities. Wednesay night I slipped and almost fell on the ice while going in to pick up the kids from awana right in front of an elderly lady. She said wow it's slippery out here and I said yes it was and then offered to walk her to her car she said yes and she put her arm in mine and I walked her to the car. It felt good to help. On the other hand earlier in that day I was driving to work and pulled up to the stop light and there was a homeless woman standing there with a sign that said "homeless please help." I was on the phone and knew that I had a dollar in my wallet but chose to ignore her. I still remember her face her eyes looked sad. When I told my girls yesterday the story of not helping the homeless woman they were very disappointed in me and I made the excuse that I see those people all the time and sometimes they are not really honest and would probably just spend the money on something not good. But as I think about it does that really matter? Should I be the judge of the people I am kind too? I'm thinking that I should just act on the opportunities given to me. I wish I could rewind and give that lady the dollar.
4 days into 365 days of kindness and I feel like my eyes have been opened. It has me constantly looking for opportunities. I'm starting to think that God gives all of us opportunities everyday we just have open our eyes to see them. No longer will I pray with the kids that God would give us opportunities but that God would open our eyes to see the opportunities. Although it would be nice to be the hero one day like my dream and save lives, the little things are important too. Like tying someones shoes when you really don't want to or being someones friend when they have no friends or spending $5 dollars of your own money to help out a friend or helping a complete stranger when they need help or giving a homeless person a dollar.
Today, is my day and I'm excited. God, I ask that you would open my eyes to the opportunities that I will have today and that I act upon them...................
Thursday, January 14, 2010
January 14th
Kendall:
When we were on the carpet in class today, there was a guy who needed his shoes tied. He asked me if I could tie them for him. I said no at first..then I thought, it would be nice. So then I did it.
When we were lining up to go to the bus, there were girls who were trying to get into line and then I let them cut into line in front of me.
When I went to the candy box at home. I got 7 chocolate kisses. When I was sitting on the couch, I saw CJ was sad. Then I decided to give her a kiss. Then I ate the rest.
I was scared about today but I prayed with Daddy this morning and I guess I felt better.
When we were on the carpet in class today, there was a guy who needed his shoes tied. He asked me if I could tie them for him. I said no at first..then I thought, it would be nice. So then I did it.
When we were lining up to go to the bus, there were girls who were trying to get into line and then I let them cut into line in front of me.
When I went to the candy box at home. I got 7 chocolate kisses. When I was sitting on the couch, I saw CJ was sad. Then I decided to give her a kiss. Then I ate the rest.
I was scared about today but I prayed with Daddy this morning and I guess I felt better.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
January 13th
Cole:
I was in science class and the science teacher wanted to see this guys school agenda. The kid told the teacher that he had lost it. The teacher said that he was going to have to pay $5.00 to get another agenda. When I heard that, I knew what I was going to do. I was going to buy him an agenda. On the way to lunch, I stopped by the library and bought him an agenda. At lunch I went up to him and gave it to him. At first he wouldn't accept it an then I told him that I bought it for him and that he's going to keep it. He said, thanks so much. I was nervous about today so maybe I can just buy agenda's for people until my Christmas money runs out...j/k.
CJ:
Today I know it wasn't my day but when I got to recess today I saw this boy at recess and he was all alone. I felt bad and I asked my friend who he was. She told me his name. I asked if he has any friends. She said she doesn't think so. So we walked over to him and we asked him if he wanted to be friends. He said, sure. We asked what he wanted to play. He said let's play tag. He wanted to be it. So we played all of recess together. I thought to myself. This day was a good day. When I saw him, I felt sad for him. If that was me, I would have been crying to have no friends. This day I learned it was good to make new friends.
I was in science class and the science teacher wanted to see this guys school agenda. The kid told the teacher that he had lost it. The teacher said that he was going to have to pay $5.00 to get another agenda. When I heard that, I knew what I was going to do. I was going to buy him an agenda. On the way to lunch, I stopped by the library and bought him an agenda. At lunch I went up to him and gave it to him. At first he wouldn't accept it an then I told him that I bought it for him and that he's going to keep it. He said, thanks so much. I was nervous about today so maybe I can just buy agenda's for people until my Christmas money runs out...j/k.
CJ:
Today I know it wasn't my day but when I got to recess today I saw this boy at recess and he was all alone. I felt bad and I asked my friend who he was. She told me his name. I asked if he has any friends. She said she doesn't think so. So we walked over to him and we asked him if he wanted to be friends. He said, sure. We asked what he wanted to play. He said let's play tag. He wanted to be it. So we played all of recess together. I thought to myself. This day was a good day. When I saw him, I felt sad for him. If that was me, I would have been crying to have no friends. This day I learned it was good to make new friends.
January 12th
Melanie:
I stopped by the post office to pick up some stamps...When I was at the desk messing with my purse and stamps I noticed this tiny old man next to me. He was holding up a sheet of paper to his face, trying to read it. I laughed because he was so cute. He looked up at me and said hello. I said hi, can I help you with what you are doing? He said, sure. He was filling out a form for a raffle through the mail..where you send in your money to some random scam artists, who then promise to put your name into a raffle for the grand prize winnings of 2.5 million dollars. I asked him if he really wanted to send his money to this place because it didn't seem right. He laughed and said that his brother in law keeps telling him to stop spending his money on these things. I told him that he should listen up to his brother in law! He then said...Listen honey, I am the poorest guy in town and if I have a shot at winning 2.5 million dollars somehow, then I by sure am going to take it! He smiled big and I knew he wanted to do what he wanted to do. I showed him on the form where the address was and told him that he still had the chance to be 10.00 richer. He laughed...He told me to be good, I told him to be good. He said..well if you want to be bad, give me call. I laughed so hard the whole post office looked at us...I don't know if anything was accomplished. I had a good time meeting him and trying to save him 10.00. But, when I told Nate the story he said, the guy had hope for something better and maybe that's all he has?
Having hope for something better...
Cole you're up.
I stopped by the post office to pick up some stamps...When I was at the desk messing with my purse and stamps I noticed this tiny old man next to me. He was holding up a sheet of paper to his face, trying to read it. I laughed because he was so cute. He looked up at me and said hello. I said hi, can I help you with what you are doing? He said, sure. He was filling out a form for a raffle through the mail..where you send in your money to some random scam artists, who then promise to put your name into a raffle for the grand prize winnings of 2.5 million dollars. I asked him if he really wanted to send his money to this place because it didn't seem right. He laughed and said that his brother in law keeps telling him to stop spending his money on these things. I told him that he should listen up to his brother in law! He then said...Listen honey, I am the poorest guy in town and if I have a shot at winning 2.5 million dollars somehow, then I by sure am going to take it! He smiled big and I knew he wanted to do what he wanted to do. I showed him on the form where the address was and told him that he still had the chance to be 10.00 richer. He laughed...He told me to be good, I told him to be good. He said..well if you want to be bad, give me call. I laughed so hard the whole post office looked at us...I don't know if anything was accomplished. I had a good time meeting him and trying to save him 10.00. But, when I told Nate the story he said, the guy had hope for something better and maybe that's all he has?
Having hope for something better...
Cole you're up.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Day 1, January 11th, 2009
Nathan:
So, basically I dropped the ball on day 1. It was 7 pm and I needed to stop by the grocery store to pick up something. While standing in line all of the sudden it hit me that it was my day to do something kind for someone. I started to panic "how could I tell my family that I forgot on the FIRST DAY" and yet I still honestly didn't know what to do and I was nervous about it. But I had committed too. So, on my way out of the grocery store there was an older lady in front of me. I walked up to her and said "Maam, would it be okay if I helped you with your groceries today?" I was smiling and told her I promised not to steal them. She said yes and thanked me a few times, so I pushed her cart to her car and loaded the groceries in her back seat. Her name was Sue and she was not a big talker but either am I so it was okay....so this was a start.
So, basically I dropped the ball on day 1. It was 7 pm and I needed to stop by the grocery store to pick up something. While standing in line all of the sudden it hit me that it was my day to do something kind for someone. I started to panic "how could I tell my family that I forgot on the FIRST DAY" and yet I still honestly didn't know what to do and I was nervous about it. But I had committed too. So, on my way out of the grocery store there was an older lady in front of me. I walked up to her and said "Maam, would it be okay if I helped you with your groceries today?" I was smiling and told her I promised not to steal them. She said yes and thanked me a few times, so I pushed her cart to her car and loaded the groceries in her back seat. Her name was Sue and she was not a big talker but either am I so it was okay....so this was a start.
Nathan:
First of all, I would just like to apologize to all for my poor use of grammar and spelling. So I guess now I'm officially a BLOGGER. So is this as bad as being a facebooker?
Tonight CJ came out to me while I was watching NCIS Los Angeles and asked me to pray with her before she went to bed. So I said yes and my prayer seemed pretty uneventful (didn't move any mountains) and then CJ started to pray.......and of course blew my mind. She had such passion in her words (reminding me of her mother). She prayed for us as a family, thanked God for her family and she thanked God that we were going to help people everyday. When she was done she kissed me goodnight and went to bed and I was left sitting there thinking.... how could such a screw up like myself have such an amazing family. The point of my story is ,I love to be a part of such a passionate family. Mel, Cole, CJ, and Kendall all have such a passion for God and people it's inspiring. I know I will learn a lot with the 365 days of kindness this year and I'm excited to see how this all plays out.
It has been a pattern in my life to not finish things. This year I would like to change that pattern.
So here we go...........
First of all, I would just like to apologize to all for my poor use of grammar and spelling. So I guess now I'm officially a BLOGGER. So is this as bad as being a facebooker?
Tonight CJ came out to me while I was watching NCIS Los Angeles and asked me to pray with her before she went to bed. So I said yes and my prayer seemed pretty uneventful (didn't move any mountains) and then CJ started to pray.......and of course blew my mind. She had such passion in her words (reminding me of her mother). She prayed for us as a family, thanked God for her family and she thanked God that we were going to help people everyday. When she was done she kissed me goodnight and went to bed and I was left sitting there thinking.... how could such a screw up like myself have such an amazing family. The point of my story is ,I love to be a part of such a passionate family. Mel, Cole, CJ, and Kendall all have such a passion for God and people it's inspiring. I know I will learn a lot with the 365 days of kindness this year and I'm excited to see how this all plays out.
It has been a pattern in my life to not finish things. This year I would like to change that pattern.
So here we go...........
365 Days....
Melanie:
I'm not sure what or how this will all play out. Well I guess we never know how anything in life will play out. Kind of makes sense how God made it that way. All I know is that I am excited for this year. We will have stories and memories. Mostly I hope we shape our family into people who pay attention... Daily..to the people that God pays attention too. I love how everyone matters to God. Every single person we come across. It's just so huge. I am going to love this ride....
You're up Nate.
I'm not sure what or how this will all play out. Well I guess we never know how anything in life will play out. Kind of makes sense how God made it that way. All I know is that I am excited for this year. We will have stories and memories. Mostly I hope we shape our family into people who pay attention... Daily..to the people that God pays attention too. I love how everyone matters to God. Every single person we come across. It's just so huge. I am going to love this ride....
You're up Nate.
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