Shopping Carts

Date: May 16, 2013

Time: 6pm

Location: Walmart

Number: 19

I know everyone hates putting their carts away after shopping.  I mean you just pushed the thing all the way out to your car and the collection area is like 10 parking spots away.  That's just too far.  Trust me, I'm totally one of those people, but maybe I shouldn't be.  I know I hate when I try to park somewhere but there is a shopping cart in the way, so why put the burden on another person to move the cart?  

Well I knew I was going to go ahead and walk my cart back up to the collection area, so I figured I'd grab the elderly woman's cart and do the same for her.  She was parked beside me and was unpacking her cart into her car.  I waited a few seconds and asked if I could take her cart for her.  She was happy I asked and told me "thank you."  It's nice to do nice things for random people.  It makes me feel good when I do something for someone I know nothing about.  

Try it out!

Hebrews 13:16

Round to the next dollar

Date: May 14, 2013
Time: 3pm
Location: Farm Fresh
Number: 18

This was one of the easiest acts of kindness that I've done so far.  I went to Farm Fresh after my workout to get some raspberries, face wipes, and Benadryl.  When I went to check out, the cashier asked me if I wanted to round up to the next dollar and donate the change to CHKD, so I did.  While my change wasn't much, if everyone does it, it adds up.

CHKD posted this article about Farm Fresh.  Check it out!

Photo from Google Images

It is easy to spare a bit of change to help save a life.

Hebrews 13:16

Stuff Stuff Stuff

Date: May 9, 2013
Time: 5:00pm
Location: Family Thrift Center
Number: 17

I have so much stuff.  Clothes, hair accessories, purses, books, etc.  Seriously just stuff.  I know I'm not the only one because I have seen tons of articles on "organizing your stuff."  We, as Americans, kind of have a problem.  Since coming home from my experience abroad, I have noticed just how much I have.  Not only in comparison to other countries, but in comparison to other families in America as well.  Yeah, so I don't have the most expensive items out there, but I do have a lot.  Studying abroad and seeing how other countries live made me realize that I don't need everything I have and that I need to be more thankful for how much I do have.

I am certainly not saying I got rid of everything in my room, but I did have a small basket of items to give away this week.  My goal is to go through all of my stuff and give it away.  I don't need 30 teddy bears or 4 winter coats, but there may be 30 kids that need a teddy bear or 4 women that need a coat.  I kind of see it as I'm taking away from 30 kids by having these bears lined up in my closet.  Hopefully I'm not the only 20-something that still has teddy bears.  If you're reading this & you have some that you want to get rid of, let me know & I'll take them off your hands.  I am going to see if I can donate them to the Ronald McDonald House in Norfolk for the children in the hospital to have, or at least for their siblings to have while staying in the house.

Giving your stuff away is one of the easiest things you can do.  Some collection companies make it so easy they will come to your house to get the items off of your hands.  It's hard to part ways with things you've had forever, but remember that your Tigger stuffed animal could go to a child that doesn't have anything.  That extra pan you never use could help a family that can't afford to buy a brand new one.  All those blankets grandma gave you 10 Christmas in a row that are sitting in the attic - they could keep a homeless man or woman warm this winter.

I challenge you to get rid of some stuff this Summer.  It's nice to have room for new things and it feels amazing to help someone in need.  The awkward and confused looks on their faces when you do help them is priceless.  Try it!  Spread God's love!

Hebrews 13:16

Laundry Detergent

Date: May 9, 2013
Time: 1:30pm
Location: CVS
Number: 16

My church (First Baptist Church of Norfolk) is constantly serving our community and world.  This is one of the reasons I love my church so much.  I tried other churches last summer, but nothing really compares to the compassion FBCN has for Hampton Roads and for people all over.  Currently we are collecting items for The Gosnold Apartments in Norfolk.

I was at CVS and saw laundry detergent that was on sale for $1.99.  I grabbed two of them to donate, spending only about $4 on 60 loads worth of laundry detergent!  I am going to try to keep this list on hand at all times so if I see a really good deal, I'll snag it to donate.

Below is the list of what we are collecting.  Let me know if you have any you'd like to donate.  I will come to you, or better yet you could come drop it off at church on Sunday!

4 roll packs of toilet paper

Wrapped single rolls of paper towels

Dishwashing liquid

All purpose cleaner

Laundry Detergent

Fabric softener

Shampoo

Body wash

Deodorant

Hebrews 13:16

Dunkin Donuts

Date: May 9, 2013
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Dunkin Donuts
Number: 15

I was driving around after picking up my glasses (yep, officially a nerd and proud) and saw a Dunkin Donuts.  Now if you know me, you know I have a major sweet tooth.  It's seriously a problem and I'm afraid I'll end up obese in the near future if I don't slow it down.  Anyway, given my "need" for sweets, I decided to make a stop and grab a donut.  (I mean I had to celebrate being able to see, right?)  I won a $10 gift card on Deal Dash (check it out, it's awesome for Christmas time) a few months ago and hadn't used it all yet.

I got my donut and decided to leave the gift card for whoever came next.  When I told the cashier, she was very confused (seriously one of the best parts of doing this is seeing the looks on people's faces when I do something nice).  I tried to explain that I just wanted to do something kind for whoever came next and she seemed to understand.  The gift card only had a little over $5 left on it, so I don't know if it will cover the next person's "meal" (yes, I just called donuts a meal), but it will cover at least a little bit of it.

Once again, this is a very simple thing to do and it only cost me about $0.05 since I won the gift card for very cheap on Deal Dash.  I am going to attempt to win more gift cards and start handing them out.  Hopefully it works out that way!

Hebrews 13:16

Mom's Birthday Present

Date: May 8, 2013

Time: All Day

Location: My Home

Number: 14

Wednesday was my mom's birthday! She is such a special woman and I am proud of her just for being her honestly. She taught me at a very young age to be kind and to do good for others. 

Traveling Italy and Europe for 3 months drains your bank account. That being said, I had to be extra creative this year for her present. She told me just to make her a card, but I wanted to do at least a little bit more for her. 

I wanted to make her a cake to take to her work, but all we had in the house was muffin mix. I figured it's the thought that counts, so I made the muffins. I took them to work and we sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She always makes a cake for everyone else's birthday, so I wanted to make sure she got one for hers. 

Before I went to the shop, I decided that her real gift would be a clean house. It cost me nothing and it is something I know she wants and needs. I know no one likes cleaning, but I really don't like it. While that's true, I knew it would make my mom happy, so I did it anyway. (Acts of kindness aren't always things you love doing. It's important to humble yourself and do the "hard" stuff or the stuff you don't like sometimes.) When I said I cleaned house, I meant it. I got down on my hands and knees scrubbing the baseboards and even cleaned the bathroom (my least favorite thing to do). You can see the full list of what I did for my mom's birthday in the photo below. It made her happy, so I was happy. 

I know y'all may be thinking, "Well it's her birthday, you had to do something," but that's not completely true. While I knew I was going to do something, I easily could have stopped at the card and the muffins. It would have been much easier just to buy a gift than to work on cleaning the house for a few hours, but I knew this was something that needed to be done and something she probably wouldn't expect. I'm counting as an Intentional Act of Kindness because cleaning is not something I'm not a big fan of doing, but I wanted to be kind to my mom on her birthday! 

Hebrews 13:16

Band & Trash

Date: May 7, 2013

Time: 8:45pm

Location: Windsor High School

Number: 13

I (finally) got to go see my youngest brother play trumpet in his band concert tonight. All of his past concerts were either while I was away at college or in Italy. I was so excited to finally get to see him play! He did amazing. (I mean he's my brother, how could he not?) I am so proud of the young man he is becoming. 

At the end of the show I saw some trash on the ground. I know it's not much, but I picked it up and threw it away. I'm sure that wasn't the only few pieces of trash on that auditorium floor, but by picking it up I hope to make the janitor's job a little easier! They will never know it was there or that someone helped them out, but that's part of this journey. I am learning to be kind without the expectation of anything in return, including a simple "thank you."  

Think about it, when was the last time you did something good that no one would ever know about unless you told them? Something no one would notice? 

Hebrews 13:16