25 Acts of Kindness

I was so depressed about this year's birthday for multiple reasons. However as I was wallowing in self-pity of this next year, I realized that instead of being so full of self and complaining that I should take the focus off me and serve others in this time. What better way to get over yourself by serving others? So throughout the month of May I have decided to partake in acts of kindness in honor of my birthday. So here I wanted to highlight a few of the things I did during my birthday month to share the love, take the view off of myself, and be a blessing to others: 

1. United Way Ben & Jerry's donation

While partaking of a sweet treat, the United Way was running a campaign so I was able to donate to a great cause while enjoying a guilty pleasure


2. Bought lunch for a needy college couple
also known as my brother and his girlfriend. They both just started working in Charlotte together and have little to no money. While I was in town for a work conference, I stopped by and treated them to lunch!

3. Donate books to Boys & Girls Club
I have tons of books that I've already read and needed to clean space on my bookshelf, so I packed them up and brought them to the Boys & Girls Club in my town

4. Leave a water/Gatorade for Mailman

5. Pick up trash on a walk

6. Encouraging cards for someone who needs it

7. Create a homeless bag for Church Under the Bridge
At my church we all came together and helped stuff bags for homeless people in our community. There is a great organization called Church Under the Bridge which serves homeless people in the area with basic necessities and the Word of God. Check it out here 

8. Give a book to someone
As I was cleaning out my bookcases, I felt like God wanted me to give this particular book to a girl I've met at church a few times. So I put a little note and a cute bookmark in it and gave it to her the next week at church. I hope it bless's her like it has blessed me.

9. A gift to a friend just because
I met one of my best friends for drinks and appetizers one night and just packaged a little gift bag for her, just because. Sometimes its nice to get a gift simply because!

10. Letter to a sick kid
I found a website where you can write letters to children in hospitals to brighten up their day!

11. Buy flowers for someone just because

12. Donated Rice for foreign countries

This is a super cool website that donates rice (one of the main sources of food in many improverished countries) to villages just because you answer questions! It's like the ultimate trivia game: you answer questions and people get food to eat. Pretty cool. Freerice.com   

13. Donate old glasses to people who would otherwise not be able to have glasses 

14. Donate old cell phones to veterans through local store

15. Baby Gifts for a Mom in Need
I became aware of an old friend who was in a tight spot and expecting a baby...with nothing to bring the baby home. Along with a few other friends, we chipped in and stocked up mommy and bay for a good few months. Babies are a blessing afterall!

16. Buy someone's coffee behind you.
Ran through Starbucks today and covered the car behind me and left a note! Pass along the smiles.

17. Donated toothpaste to Mary's House 

Mary's House is a local home for women who are recovering from substance abuse with small children. They had a need for toothpaste while I was at the grocery store, so I grabbed an extra tube! 

18. Donate clothes to needy (Goodwill or another shop)

19. Compassion International Ministry 

About a year ago I started to sponsor a little girl in Tanzania named "Sara". She is six-years-old and lives with her grandmother and mother in a village that is largely agricultural. This month I decided to send her a few extra sweet things including an extra gift and some pictures and a letter from me to her! Want to learn more about sponsoring a child, go here: Compassion

20. Post in notes in a bathroom. Posted some encouraging notes on a bathroom in a local store like "You are beautiful" "You are valued" "You look fabulous!"

21. "Take what you need" 
Printed off a sheet and posted it in local Starbucks. Take what you need: patience, love, joy with Bible verses attached to each slip of paper!

22. Leave some love behind
I thought I'd leave a little love for a sweet coworker on Friday night (after he left) so he can have a smile first thing on Monday morning (: I covered his computers in sticky notes with encouraging notes

Day 08 of 30: Satisfaction in the Stillness

Day 08 of 30: A moment you felt the most satisfied with your life.

Satisfaction: \ˌsa-təs-ˈfak-shən\
: a happy or pleased feeling because of something that you did or something that happened to you
: the act of providing what is needed or desired : the act of satisfying a need or desire

: a result that deals with a problem or complaint in an acceptable way 

Satisfaction. Fulfillment. Contentment. Happiness. Approval. 

As humans we strive for these feelings. A lot of the times we find satisfaction in our job, the quality of our clothes, the league of schools we attend, who we are dating, how much money we have, how much we weigh and so on and so forth. When in reality satisfaction can't come from these things. The world can only provide temporary satisfaction. God is the ONLY one that can provide true satisfaction in life.

It's hard not to find fulfillment in our jobs and our degrees. It's really difficult to not seek approval from our spouse, our friends and our boss. It's definitely a struggle not to find happiness in our style, our weight, our relationship status on Facebook. I'm human and fall into this trap of lies just as much as the next person but what I've found is that sometimes in the rat race of life of consuming more, gaining more and earning more, God calls me to be still.

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God" 

God calls me to be still and it's one of the hardest things to do. When is the last time you were still and actually listened? 

The moments that I really feel satisfied with life is when I get to step away from my busy work day, go find a coffee shop, and get to spend time doing the things I adore- writing, journaling, doing a devotional or just listening to some super calming chill music. In those moments I get to be still and quiet my soul and let the Lord speak to me in His quiet way. It's in these moments of life that I feel satisfied.