If you’re visiting to read the BIG news about our growing family, click HERE.
In other not-so-big news, I turned another year older last week. THREE-EIGHT!
A couple of months ago, I was skipping around the internet looking for some ideas for Miss M’s birthday party and on a whim, knowing my birthday was coming up, I did a search for “38th birthday”. I wasn’t really expecting anything particularly interesting to come up, but I stumbled upon a link to THIS post and was intrigued enough to click on it.
Well, after reading about Robyn’s 38th birthday celebration, I was inspired to celebrate MY 38th birthday in a similar fashion, by finding ways to bless other people in honor of each year that the Lord has blessed me with life on this earth.
Over the weekend, D and the girls joined me in a birthday celebration challenge to perform 38 random acts of kindness. We had a blast surprising unsuspecting people with unexpected gestures. Other than our mailman and the neighbors we delivered cookies to, we kept everything anonymous. We prayed that the Lord would place people in our path that He wanted to bless and that the recipients of our acts would see them not as gifts from us, but as blessings from Him just coming through us.
It really is better to give than to receive, y’all. This will go down as one of my favorite birthday celebrations yet. We had SO. MUCH. FUN!
Here’s what we did:
1. Drove around a local neighborhood early in the morning and moved peoples newspapers from the curb to their doorsteps.
2. Left coupons for free Krispy Kreme doughnuts and coffee on the tables in front of Krispy Kreme.
3. Miss M made a bunch of “homeless person care packages”, each with a new pair of socks, bar of soap, tube of toothpaste, toothbrush, granola bar and package of crackers. We gave one of those packages and a box of a half-dozen hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts to a homeless man. He grinned from ear to ear!
We're going to hand out the rest of the packages later this week to the folks that sleep on the steps of Sacred Heart Church.
4. Delivered a dozen hot Krispy Kremes and a hand-written and MNB-illustrated thank you card to the police station.
5. Delivered a dozen hot Krispy Kremes to the nurses working in the Emergency Room. We discovered that EVERYONE loves hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
6. Made a beautiful “new mom” gift basket stocked with a package of newborn diapers, a box of wipes, Johnson’s baby wash and baby lotion, an embroidered burp cloth, a baby blanket, pacifiers, a package of 0-3 month onesies, satin-covered baby hangers, a “Sleep Sound in Jesus” lullaby CD, and decorated with pink and blue balloons. We asked the lady at the desk of the labor and delivery and NICU floor at the hospital to have the nurses give it to the new mom they thought needed it most.
7. Left puzzles, packaged snacks, playing cards, an UNO game, coloring books and crayons in the surgery and labor and delivery waiting rooms at the hospital.
8. Taped quarters to coke machines in visiting areas of the hospital with a little note that said “Blessings!”.
9. Returned carts for people in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
10. Miss M and Miss A gave $25 Wal-Mart gift card to little old woman in the Wal-Mart checkout line.
She left the store as we were loading up in our car. We saw her eyes searching all over the parking lot as she walked, and we knew she was looking for those two little girls and trying to figure out who they belonged to. We all ducked down and hid and giggled as she walked right past our van and got into an old brown car one aisle over!
Once the coast was clear, we sat up and Miss M exclaimed “It just makes my heart go WOW to do something nice for a stranger!” That pretty much summed up our whole day--one heart-wow after the next!
11. Drove through a random neighborhood and placed poinsettias on people’s front doorsteps. The girls delivered one to a little boy and his mother who were out on their front porch.
12. Walked into a laundromat and handed 4 quarters to each of the 3 people in there doing laundry.
13. Left a big bag of cat food on the doorstep of an eccentric old guy who has taken responsibility to make sure all stray cats in our neighborhood are fixed and fed (and named after all the girls he's loved before).
14. Gave a cold bottled water to our mailman as we passed him making his rounds.
15. Baked cookies and delivered them to 5 of our neighbors.
16. Scattered a roll of 100 pennies around the Munn Park fountain and wrote “make a wish!” in chalk.
17. Delivered hot pepperoni pizzas and a hand-written, MNB-illustrated thank you card to the firehouse.
18. Ordered (and paid for) dessert for the two ladies dining behind us at Chili’s (and asked the waitress to deliver it after we were gone).
19. On our way out of Chilis, the girls gave a $25 Chili’s gift card to two ladies and a little girl. Before she could get away, one of the ladies grabbed Miss M and gave her a big hug and asked “Why did you do this?” She answered “Because it’s my Mama’s birthday and we are doing things for others as a way to celebrate it.”
20. Miss M and Miss A gave a $25 gift card to a woman checking out at Publix. Her mouth dropped open as she looked around for the little girls' parents. “Have a great day and a Merry Christmas” our girls giggled as they ran back to our getaway van.
21. Handed out cold bottled water to hot, thirsty runners and walkers circling Lake Hollingsworth.
22. Paid the toll on the Parkway for the car behind us.
23. Taped quarters to the machines at a self-service car wash.
24. Picked up trash at the playground near MamaToo’s house. This one was Miss M’s idea—she said last time she played there she remembered “walking on trash”. haha!
25. Purchased a couple of inspirational greeting cards. Picked two names out of the property appraisers database, prayed for them and wrote them short encouraging notes (but did not sign them) and dropped them in the mail.
26. Rolled up a dollar bill and tied it to three helium balloons. Let them go.
27. Hid short notes of affirmation and encouragement in the pages of a few books at Books-A-Million. Also placed a $5 Books-A-Million gift card that said “to you (yeah YOU!) From us (and no, you don’t know us)—Be Blessed!” on a random shelf at Books-A-Million for a fellow shopper to find.
28. Stopped and offered assistance to a family whose truck was broken down on the interstate (oil light came on and the father was returning with oil).
29. They appreciated the gesture but didn’t need help at that point, so we went to the McDonalds at the next exit and purchased two $10 gift cards so they could get something to eat as they resumed their travels.
30. Passed by a car wash and stopped and handed out bottled water and packaged crackers and snacks to the folks doing the washing.
31. Purchased a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store and left them on the windshield of a woman’s car.
32. We sponsor 3 children through Compassion and one little girl through Wiphan. We LOVE our sponsored kiddos in Zambia, Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia. We keep their pictures framed in our home, pray for them daily and consider them part of our extended family. It’s a way to feel connected to places that have made an impact on our lives, and to teach our children about poverty and making a difference. We decided to start sponsoring a little girl in Haiti in honor of my birthday project.
33. Through Compassion’s Gifts of Compassion program, we purchased a goat for a family in need. Goats can be bred to provide a source of milk, meat and household income.
34. Purchased mosquito nets for a needy family through Samaritans Purse.
35. Purchased a dozen baby chicks for a needy family through Samaritans Purse.
36. Miss A and I spent 20 minutes being door holders/greeters/Merry Christmas wishers for tired, busy Christmas shoppers at the entrance to the mall. I was surprised at how appreciative and friendly most of the people were! Lots of smiles and “Thank You!”s. One lady even gave Miss A a hug and kiss on the forehead!
37. Handed out balloons to children at a downtown festival.
38. Purchased a $5 Starbucks gift card and asked the barista at the drive-thru to give it to the couple in the car behind us. WE purchased 4 peppermint mochas and 3 children’s hot chocolates and took them to D’s mom and dad’s house where we serenaded them with Christmas carols and then visited with them as we all sipped our hot drinks.
Whew—all that kindness wore us out! But it was great! At the end of the project, felt like we were more blessed by it than any of the people we did things for. And even after we completed our challenge, we found ourselves continuing to scope out the world around us for opportunities to brighten someone's day.
I would encourage everyone to celebrate their birthday this way. Do it! You won’t regret it! Visit Robyn’s website The Birthday Project to be inspired!
In other not-so-big news, I turned another year older last week. THREE-EIGHT!
A couple of months ago, I was skipping around the internet looking for some ideas for Miss M’s birthday party and on a whim, knowing my birthday was coming up, I did a search for “38th birthday”. I wasn’t really expecting anything particularly interesting to come up, but I stumbled upon a link to THIS post and was intrigued enough to click on it.
Well, after reading about Robyn’s 38th birthday celebration, I was inspired to celebrate MY 38th birthday in a similar fashion, by finding ways to bless other people in honor of each year that the Lord has blessed me with life on this earth.
Over the weekend, D and the girls joined me in a birthday celebration challenge to perform 38 random acts of kindness. We had a blast surprising unsuspecting people with unexpected gestures. Other than our mailman and the neighbors we delivered cookies to, we kept everything anonymous. We prayed that the Lord would place people in our path that He wanted to bless and that the recipients of our acts would see them not as gifts from us, but as blessings from Him just coming through us.
It really is better to give than to receive, y’all. This will go down as one of my favorite birthday celebrations yet. We had SO. MUCH. FUN!
Here’s what we did:
1. Drove around a local neighborhood early in the morning and moved peoples newspapers from the curb to their doorsteps.
2. Left coupons for free Krispy Kreme doughnuts and coffee on the tables in front of Krispy Kreme.
3. Miss M made a bunch of “homeless person care packages”, each with a new pair of socks, bar of soap, tube of toothpaste, toothbrush, granola bar and package of crackers. We gave one of those packages and a box of a half-dozen hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts to a homeless man. He grinned from ear to ear!
We're going to hand out the rest of the packages later this week to the folks that sleep on the steps of Sacred Heart Church.
4. Delivered a dozen hot Krispy Kremes and a hand-written and MNB-illustrated thank you card to the police station.
5. Delivered a dozen hot Krispy Kremes to the nurses working in the Emergency Room. We discovered that EVERYONE loves hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
6. Made a beautiful “new mom” gift basket stocked with a package of newborn diapers, a box of wipes, Johnson’s baby wash and baby lotion, an embroidered burp cloth, a baby blanket, pacifiers, a package of 0-3 month onesies, satin-covered baby hangers, a “Sleep Sound in Jesus” lullaby CD, and decorated with pink and blue balloons. We asked the lady at the desk of the labor and delivery and NICU floor at the hospital to have the nurses give it to the new mom they thought needed it most.
7. Left puzzles, packaged snacks, playing cards, an UNO game, coloring books and crayons in the surgery and labor and delivery waiting rooms at the hospital.
8. Taped quarters to coke machines in visiting areas of the hospital with a little note that said “Blessings!”.
9. Returned carts for people in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
10. Miss M and Miss A gave $25 Wal-Mart gift card to little old woman in the Wal-Mart checkout line.
She left the store as we were loading up in our car. We saw her eyes searching all over the parking lot as she walked, and we knew she was looking for those two little girls and trying to figure out who they belonged to. We all ducked down and hid and giggled as she walked right past our van and got into an old brown car one aisle over!
Once the coast was clear, we sat up and Miss M exclaimed “It just makes my heart go WOW to do something nice for a stranger!” That pretty much summed up our whole day--one heart-wow after the next!
11. Drove through a random neighborhood and placed poinsettias on people’s front doorsteps. The girls delivered one to a little boy and his mother who were out on their front porch.
12. Walked into a laundromat and handed 4 quarters to each of the 3 people in there doing laundry.
13. Left a big bag of cat food on the doorstep of an eccentric old guy who has taken responsibility to make sure all stray cats in our neighborhood are fixed and fed (and named after all the girls he's loved before).
14. Gave a cold bottled water to our mailman as we passed him making his rounds.
15. Baked cookies and delivered them to 5 of our neighbors.
16. Scattered a roll of 100 pennies around the Munn Park fountain and wrote “make a wish!” in chalk.
17. Delivered hot pepperoni pizzas and a hand-written, MNB-illustrated thank you card to the firehouse.
18. Ordered (and paid for) dessert for the two ladies dining behind us at Chili’s (and asked the waitress to deliver it after we were gone).
19. On our way out of Chilis, the girls gave a $25 Chili’s gift card to two ladies and a little girl. Before she could get away, one of the ladies grabbed Miss M and gave her a big hug and asked “Why did you do this?” She answered “Because it’s my Mama’s birthday and we are doing things for others as a way to celebrate it.”
20. Miss M and Miss A gave a $25 gift card to a woman checking out at Publix. Her mouth dropped open as she looked around for the little girls' parents. “Have a great day and a Merry Christmas” our girls giggled as they ran back to our getaway van.
21. Handed out cold bottled water to hot, thirsty runners and walkers circling Lake Hollingsworth.
22. Paid the toll on the Parkway for the car behind us.
23. Taped quarters to the machines at a self-service car wash.
24. Picked up trash at the playground near MamaToo’s house. This one was Miss M’s idea—she said last time she played there she remembered “walking on trash”. haha!
25. Purchased a couple of inspirational greeting cards. Picked two names out of the property appraisers database, prayed for them and wrote them short encouraging notes (but did not sign them) and dropped them in the mail.
26. Rolled up a dollar bill and tied it to three helium balloons. Let them go.
27. Hid short notes of affirmation and encouragement in the pages of a few books at Books-A-Million. Also placed a $5 Books-A-Million gift card that said “to you (yeah YOU!) From us (and no, you don’t know us)—Be Blessed!” on a random shelf at Books-A-Million for a fellow shopper to find.
28. Stopped and offered assistance to a family whose truck was broken down on the interstate (oil light came on and the father was returning with oil).
29. They appreciated the gesture but didn’t need help at that point, so we went to the McDonalds at the next exit and purchased two $10 gift cards so they could get something to eat as they resumed their travels.
30. Passed by a car wash and stopped and handed out bottled water and packaged crackers and snacks to the folks doing the washing.
31. Purchased a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store and left them on the windshield of a woman’s car.
32. We sponsor 3 children through Compassion and one little girl through Wiphan. We LOVE our sponsored kiddos in Zambia, Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia. We keep their pictures framed in our home, pray for them daily and consider them part of our extended family. It’s a way to feel connected to places that have made an impact on our lives, and to teach our children about poverty and making a difference. We decided to start sponsoring a little girl in Haiti in honor of my birthday project.
33. Through Compassion’s Gifts of Compassion program, we purchased a goat for a family in need. Goats can be bred to provide a source of milk, meat and household income.
34. Purchased mosquito nets for a needy family through Samaritans Purse.
35. Purchased a dozen baby chicks for a needy family through Samaritans Purse.
36. Miss A and I spent 20 minutes being door holders/greeters/Merry Christmas wishers for tired, busy Christmas shoppers at the entrance to the mall. I was surprised at how appreciative and friendly most of the people were! Lots of smiles and “Thank You!”s. One lady even gave Miss A a hug and kiss on the forehead!
37. Handed out balloons to children at a downtown festival.
38. Purchased a $5 Starbucks gift card and asked the barista at the drive-thru to give it to the couple in the car behind us. WE purchased 4 peppermint mochas and 3 children’s hot chocolates and took them to D’s mom and dad’s house where we serenaded them with Christmas carols and then visited with them as we all sipped our hot drinks.
Whew—all that kindness wore us out! But it was great! At the end of the project, felt like we were more blessed by it than any of the people we did things for. And even after we completed our challenge, we found ourselves continuing to scope out the world around us for opportunities to brighten someone's day.
I would encourage everyone to celebrate their birthday this way. Do it! You won’t regret it! Visit Robyn’s website The Birthday Project to be inspired!
8 kind thoughts.:
HOW AWESOME!!!! I LOVE this idea!!! I think it would also be a great idea for my teenage daughter and her friends to do this summer when she turns 15...thanks for the inspiration. Happy Birthday :)
what a blast! i saw this on another blog, but had no idea it originated with martha stewart. good for her. and what a wonderful birthday for you!!!!
Actually, Robyn Bomar originated it and founded The Birthday Project, Martha just featured it on her show. It is a terrific idea and was a wonderful birthday!
Oh my goodness. I loved reading this. Some of them made my teary eyed...well, many of them. :) Like #19. So so sweet. You guys are amazing.
Theresa
That is a GREAT BIRTHDAY!!!!!
fabulous idea. I got teary eyed. You have been blessed with 38 great years and it was great to return the blessings.
I love everything about this!!!What a wonderful Idea. Happy Birthday Friend and I am so excited about your new journey and praying for your new little man!
Love, love, love this!! You've inspired me! My birthday is in February...can't wait to share 37 "Acts of Love" with some strangers! :)
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