Act of Kindness – Week #3!!

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”

*The act of kindness this week…show kindness by helping animals find their forever home which could bring countless years of happiness and love to the adopted animal and to someone else!!  

Some ideas of how to show kindness by helping animals in our community:

1)      Donate to a human society/shelter

2)      Volunteer at a human society/shelter

3)      When making a purchase at a pet store such as Petco, say “yes” when you are asked if you want to round up to the next dollar and donate that money to help animals

4)      Pay the registration fee at a fundraiser event to help animals

5)      Become a foster parent or adopt an animal at the humane society/shelter and become their forever home!

*My experience with the act of kindness…”Whoever said that diamonds are a girl’s best friend apparently never owned a dog!” I realized the truth in this saying when my husband and I adopted our first puppy (a 13 week border collie named “Jack”) in May 2013 and became puppy parents (picture below on the left)! I always had a family dog at my house growing up who I loved, but I have figured out that buying a puppy, paying your own money for numerous things for the dog, training the puppy, taking care of the dog every day, being one of the two people the dog sees everyday etc. makes the bond between a man or woman and a dog so much stronger! I just love our Jacky boy! He is such a loyal dog and greets me every time I come home with whimpers of excitement and such a fast wagging tail! We have had Jack for a little over a year now but it is hard to remember life without him since he has become part of our family (picture below on the right)! Jack brings more happiness and love into our home daily! 

                My husband and I wanted to bring Jack to the annual “Bark in the Park” event in St. Louis this past weekend and help support animals who need adopting with our registration fees for the event. Unfortunately, it did not work out but that did not stop me from still intentionally doing something to help animals this weekend! I looked up a local humane society’s website and found what items they suggested when bringing in donations. My husband and I then made a trip to Petco and purchased some dog food, cat food and a “thank you” card! As we were checking out, the cashier asked if I wanted to round my purchase up to the next dollar to be donated to help animals get adopted. Of course I said yes since donating to help animals was the whole point of my visit and purchase! (Side note: When a cashier asks you a question like this, the most you will donate is 99 cents. We all have 99 cents to give so let’s make it a habit to always say yes to donating in this way! We are all individually giving only so many cents at a time so it is teamwork!)

My husband and I then drove to the humane society and gave them our donation and the card! I also could not help but smile since it was the same humane society that my parents bought our family dog at years ago! She was a two year old basset hound named Sadie! Sadie Ladie brought so much happiness and love to my parents, siblings and I over the 11 years that we had her in our home! Maybe, just maybe, she was only able to stay at the humane society because of money and other donations before we came along to adopt her! Maybe, just maybe, our small donation this past weekend is helping another dog or cat live in the humane society until their forever home family comes to adopt them soon! By a simple donation (an act of kindness), you could be helping a person, a couple or a family have years of such happiness and love that only a pet can bring into a life!!

p.s. Please comment below with your own experience with this act of kindness! I would really enjoy hearing about it!! 

Act of Kindness – Week #2!!

“An ordinary person facing extraordinary circumstances and acting with courage, honor and self-sacrifice!”

*The act of kindness this week…show kindness by personally expressing gratitude to one of our everyday heroes (military, police, fire, emergency service workers etc)!! 

                Take a minute to think about all that our everyday heroes do who serve in the military, police, fire or emergency service workers etc in our community! When I think about their courage, service, bravery and so much more, I instantly have a thankful heart! I know there is a lot of “behind the scenes” that I do not know anything about too. Have you realized that these men and women put their lives on the line daily to serve and protect us, our community and our country?!

How often do we take for granted these men and women?! In our minds and thoughts we might not forget about their service and protection, but I believe that not expressing our thanks to them outwardly could fall under “taking them for granted” too. So here we go again for the act of kindness - week #2…let’s be intentional to show kindness by personally expressing gratitude for the everyday heroes in our community this week!!

Some Ideas of how to show kindness and gratitude to the everyday heroes in our community:

1)      Send a “thank you” card in the mail to the military base/police station /fire station etc in your community!

2)      Personally bring a “thank you” card into the military base/police station/fire station etc in your community (an edible treat to be shared is also a great idea)!

3)      If you see someone out in public in uniform, thank them for their service in person!

*My experience with the act of kindness…I had the pleasure of getting together with some friends this past Saturday for a brunch! (Side note: What a lovely and encouraging group of girl friends God has blessed me with! Thank you, Lord!) I had volunteered to bring muffins to share for our brunch so on Friday evening I made Banana Nut muffins! There was several very delicious options to eat at our brunch so all the muffins did not get eaten. (Another side note: I didn’t just benefit from conversation and encouragement from my friends this weekend but also their amazing cooking skills that I pretty much lack!) As I was driving home from my friend’s, with the muffins in the passenger seat, I passed by the city’s Police station and knew what I was going to do with the left over muffins! I could have stopped and walked them in right then and there, but I wanted to make a homemade “thank you” card first that also expressed they would be in my prayers! 

            On Sunday morning, my Husband and I made it a point to get up a little earlier than normal and stopped before church at the Police station to hand out the muffins, the “thank you” note and say Happy Sunday!! 

Let’s take every day things like left over muffins and intentionally make it into an act of kindness! If we continue to think of ways to take the ordinary and use it to show love, we might just train our minds to start always thinking of others and who knows…the next time we make muffins for our home or social gathering, we might make a couple extra batches right away for the purpose of giving them away to others!!

p.s. Please comment below with your own experience with this act of kindness! I would really enjoy hearing about it!! 

Act of Kindness - Week #1!!

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.” –Mother Teresa

*The act of kindness this week…the next time you go grocery shopping, show kindness by starting and encouraging a meaningful conversation with the cashier the whole time you are there!!

How many times have we been in the checkout line at a store and had quite a few items and all we say to the cashier is basically “hi” and “thank you”? I know that has been me countless times and there is nothing wrong with that since we are being polite and saying “thank you”. On the other hand though, what if we intentionally decide to show God’s love through us to a stranger instead of staying silent?! What if we started a conversation with the cashier instead of passing up an opportunity to show kindness?!

*My experience with the act of kindness…I normally do our weekly grocery shopping on Saturday mornings/afternoons at Shop n Save! This particular Saturday though, I already had plans earlier in the day with my parents so I grocery shopped in the evening instead. It was a cloudly day and it looked like it was going to pour down rain so I told myself I needed to be quick. However, I ended up buying quite a few groceries because I like to plan out meals for dinner for at least the coming week. The other main reason I had a lot of food in my grocery cart was because it was already past dinner time and there are a lot more food items that look very appetizing when you shop hungry! 

When I finally finished my grocery shopping, I picked a checkout line and started unloading my cart and then walked up to the front of the checkout line where the cashier said “hi”. I replied back with a “hi” and a smile. Now let’s stop with my story for a minute because at this point I had to make a choice on if I was going to leave the conversation there or encourage us to talk more. At once, the excuses started pouring into my head…I needed to hurry. It was about to rain. I was hungry. My husband was hungry at home. My puppy dog was probably hungry at home too, and I was tired from my day so putting forth effort right after getting several groceries seemed exhausting. I chose then and there to not continue dwelling on my excuses to stay silent while the cashier rang up my groceries and to take this opportunity to show kindness instead of letting it slip by!  

I started our conversation out by making a statement about the weather and it just continued to lead into a more meaningful conversation! The cashier, Stephanie, eventually shared with me that the first hour of her shift that evening had been very difficult because of her computer not working right and resulting in mean and impatient customers. We continued our conversation the whole time I was standing there and when she finished her job and handed me my receipt, she had a big smile on her face and said “have a great night”. Now I might be thinking too much into this but…maybe our conversation made her realize that not all customers are unkind. Maybe our conversation made her feel better by talking some things out. Maybe our conversation made her have a better outlook on her job. Maybe our conversation showed her people do care. Maybe, just maybe…the “maybe” list is endless! Even though I will never know, I pray that my kindness helped Stephanie in some way!  

            So again, I encourage you to not just be another person in the cashier’s check out line! Be intentional! Be kind! Be friendly! Share appreciation! Show you care! Show love! 

p.s. A great fact about this act of kindness is that you can continue doing it each week and make it a habit instead of a one week act of kindness! Please comment below with your own experience with this act of kindness! I would really enjoy hearing about it!!