The Brainstorming

The stockings for our boys, just after midnight
on Christmas Day.

Christmas Day we had a long drive...3 hours each way to Mike's parents' place. I thought this would be a great time for us to brainstorm ideas for the project. Here is a list of what we came up with:

• shovel snow
• rake leaves
• take treats to the nursing home
• take treats to the police station
• take treats to the fire station
• take treats to the ambulance house
• take treats to the neighbors
• pay for and pump someone's gas
• play games with nursing home residents
• ring the Salvation Army bell
• purchase a gift card and hand it to the person behind us
• pay for someone's order at the drive thru
• carry groceries to the car
• hold doors open at a business
• take flowers to the hospital
• pay for someone's meal at a restaurant
• deliver books to kids in the hospital
• help at the local Lion's Club Chicken Dinner
• hand out balloons at the park or the county fair
• hand out bottles of cold water in the summer (and it gets HOT here in Missouri!)
• send thank you cards to our troops serving our country
• send sympathy cards to grieving families in the area

Well, this is a start! The end of this week we will start scheduling them out, but first we will get some more input from the boys. Sometimes children have the best ideas.

Do you have an idea for us? We would love to hear it! Please add a comment below. Any idea is welcome - large or small.

And remember, you are definitely welcome to join us in our project, no matter when you stumble upon our journey. If you are blogging about it, too, just let me know so we can link up.

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!

The Birth of Project 52 Acts

Last week our pastor challenged us to give…but not just any kind of giving…the type of giving that you must really put an effort into. That effort could also be called sacrifice…a sacrifice of time or maybe a sacrifice of something for yourself that you choose to give to someone else.

I didn’t think much of it most of the week, being the normal busy-mom-doing-her-best-to-keep-life-flowing-smoothly-right-before-the-holidays. But then other people’s giving stories began to filter through my subconscious…collecting money for someone without heat, paying off a stranger’s layaway at a store, and even handing out cash while walking through a store.

Then I saw a friend post a blog link on Facebook that looked interesting. The family had created an advent of random acts of kindness, and the mom shared each day what kindness her family had done and what the next day’s random act of kindness would be.  (Head over to Pitter Patter Art for her posts and her shop.)

What I liked most was that not every random act involved spending a lot of money. The ideas included making treats for the local fire and police departments, handing out balloons and books at the grocery store, buying someone’s coffee, and even paying for someone’s Santa picture at the mall. You’ll have to read her posts to see all of her great ideas.

So, as these different things churned together in my mind, Project 52 Acts slowly took shape…I wanted our family to do something together…I wanted it something simple that would make an impression and teach a lesson to my boys…I wanted it to be more than just a one-time thing that is done and forgotten…I wanted to make kindness a habit or second nature for my boys…I wanted them to learn to search for ways to be kind to others.

And so, after discussing the idea with my hubby, Project 52 Acts was born.

Now, I need your help. All this week and next week, and probably throughout the year, we will be brainstorming different ideas of what our random acts of kindness could be. If you have an idea, we would love to hear it…just add a comment below.

And, if you want to join us, whether you take this idea and run with it on your own, or even just do a single random act of kindness in the midst of your day today, please feel free to do so…and then let me know about it! I will add links to everyone’s projects here on the blog.

Why even blog about this? I have two reasons:

1. With hope that it will inspire others and
2. To hold us accountable to our commitment

Please, follow us, comment on the posts, and share our experience with others.

Psalm 117:2 - For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting.