The Birthday Project: 42 Not So RAOK- Part 2

Forty Two Not So Random Acts of Kindness- July 17th, 2012

Welcome to Part 2. Before we go any further I have to tell you that posting this blog is in no way motivated by self promotion. I am not boasting in any way apart from what God has done in my own heart and through me for the benefit of others. If anything, let me tell you it was a humbling experience and a privilege. Part 1 of The Birthday Project : 42 Not So Random Acts of Kindness outlined my motivation for wanting to do this ministry on my birthday. Planning my birthday has never been this exciting as a adult; this project actually re-kindled some of that childhood joy that birthdays used to hold. As I mentioned previously, I cannot take credit for this idea. I actually read about it on a blog (http://www.thebdayproject.com/  ) but felt compelled for my own reasons to celebrate my birthday with acts of kindness for others. Turning 42 and planning out that many acts requires logistical tactics --that's a lot of candles, folks. That's why I have entitled it " 42 Not So Random Acts of Kindness."  It is  also because I started my project by praying that God would purposely show me people that I could bless...not randomly, but according to his purposes.
The project actually launched the Thursday before my actual birthday. So ready, set, here we go!

1. Donated Blood

Thursday July 12-NWFL Bloodmobile

I recently had an obstetrical patient that almost died from massive postpartum hemorrhage. Before you fret, both mom and baby are fine after some surgical maneuvers. But she did require 11 units of blood. I knew one of my RAOK's needed to be donating blood. When you donate blood, you may never know who benefits from it, but I assure you that you have saved a life in a very practical way. I usually get a bad bruise from blood draws; I didn't even have a scratch, let alone a bruise. Divine providence, I'm sure.

Me and Genevieve, my hairdresser

2 &3. Wrote thank you letters to my hair dresser and esthetician with gift cards for Starbucks coffee inside. I have the best hairdresser. She has mad skills making be blonder than I pretend to be and always listens to what I ask. Good hairdressers are a blessing. My facials with Tammy are a monthly retreat from reality; this woman deserves to be blessed. Here is a photo of me and Genevieve, my hairdresser.

Robin's feet 7/13/12

4. Visited and Gave Someone in the Hospital a Pedicure. After I gave blood I went to the cafeteria to get a sandwich. I ran into the husband of a patient of mine who has Acute Leukemia and is currently getting her 5th round of chemotherapy. Running into him was NO coincidence; it was a divine appointment. He told me she was upstairs. I asked God how I could bless her. I thought about a gift certificate for a pedicure or something; then God said, "No, you are going to do it." So I gathered all my supplies and the next day I took them to the Med-Surg floor at SHHEC. While sitting on the floor, I massaged her poor feet, trimmed her nails, made them super pretty with pink polish and listened to her as she needed to tell her story. At the end I specifically prayed over her for healing, strength and that she would personally know that God was with her and not alone. When you've lost all your hair and can't have any flowers in your room, having your toes look pretty is a tangible blessing. In the end it was me who receiving the healing.

5. Sent a card to a friend. Hand written notes are becoming a lost form of communication. I think they really let someone know you took the time to care.

6. Took care of an obstetrical patient whose provider was not available when I was not on call (on a Saturday). Not random, but beneficial to all involved. In the flesh, I wanted to decline. But I remembered my prayers and agreed. It was a beautiful delivery.

7. Picked up trash on the beach. I love Dune Allen beach and I am blessed to live so close to it. My husband and I walked down Sunday morning and picked up a sizable bag of trash between two beach accesses.
8. Wrote a love note to my husband.  9. Took homemade cinnamon rolls to the labor and delivery nurses.  10. Wrote a thank you note and gift card to my Mail carrier at the office.

This is where my actual birthday started... I spent the day with my best friend who helped me with the rest of the project. We had a great day! I always start my day making my husband's coffee for him and feeding the stray cats that live around our home.

Cute birthday buddy we met at the Donut Hole!

12. Left an anonymous note and gift card for a trailer home down the street.
 13. Paid for the meal of a father eating breakfast with his two children at the Donut Hole anonymously. 14. Met a server at The Donut Hole who was also celebrating her birthday today. Gave her gift certificates to see a movie and get an ice cream. Isn't she cute? (and tall)

15. Took donuts and thank you card to South Walton Fire house. 16. Took donuts to Surgical Nurses and Preop staff.

17/18.. Gave thank you cards to the volunteers who man the desks at the Family Birth Place and Surgical Waiting area with gift cards to Starbucks.

 


19/20 Placed magazines in waiting areas at the hospital in multiple locations
21. Placed coloring books and crayons in children's waiting area at FBP.

22. Placed quarters and notes on vending machines at Family birth place to bless someone with a snack/drink.

23. Put away shopping carts at Publix's, Walmart, and Home Depot along the way, multiple times. Here is my BFF, Lisa, so proud she got 3 carts at one time. Love her!

24. Asked people if we could return their carts for them. Especially helpful when it was a mom with her child.

25. Put notes with Movie Theater Popcorn on numerous Redboxes in our area.

26. Went to a coin Laundromat and put coins w/ notes on the dryers and washing machines.

27. Stopped and placed notes and coins on more vending machines on Hwy 98.

Caring and Sharing S.Walton

28. Went to Caring and Sharing in South Walton and donated canned goods/food.

29. Went through the drive through at Starbucks and paid for two cars behind me.

30. Went to Destin Commons. Fed parking meter that was expired.

The simplest things matter the most.

31. This was our favorite of the whole day! Brought popsicles to the water fountains @ the Commons and blessed an entire group of children there with  popsicles for each one on a very hot day! It probably was no coincidence that an entire group of kids from a local daycare was there playing in the fountains; God's timing is perfect. They loved it and my heart was overflowing!

 
32. Gave a custodian at Destin Commons a gift certificate for an ice cream. She works outside and it was very hot today.

33. When we had lunch at Cracker Barrel, paid for a family's lunch anonymously.

34. Went through the Toll Booth on the Mid-Bay bridge and paid for the next car behind me. The toll booth collector told me that she "just loves when people do  that!"

35/36..  Bought flowers for my BFF who spent the day with me and sent her handwritten card in the mail thanking her for her friendship, time spent, and gifts.

37. Placed flowers on 3 graves sites today, including the son of one of my friends.

38. Wrote note on the scale at the gym I go to.

39. Put encouraging note in the ladies changing room.

40. I Gave out $1.00 lottery tickets to everyone at my Zumba class. Here is a picture of myself and Jacque, a friend at Zumba who is a fierce dancer, and claimed she was holding the winning ticket! The best was that one lady told me "this is the nicest thing someone has done for me all day."; I gave her a big hug because in my opinion she needed it. It was quite fun to see peoples' expressions when you told them you were giving THEM something for your birthday. They blessed me and sang "Happy Birthday" to me in class.

41. Wrote a thank you card to my neighbor who graciously cuts our grass for us, since we don't own a lawn mower here.


42. Wrote something kind on a few friends' facebook walls. Kind words are healing; don't withhold them.

It was a great birthday!  I know that God put me here on planet Earth 42 years ago for a definite purpose. The reason isn't just about me, but rather to show others who God is and what life with him is all about. The Birthday Project completely drove that point home today; when your birthday becomes about giving to others, it is a small representation on the calendar of your life as a whole. I'm not sure I will ever look at my birthday the same ever again. 

The Birthday Project: 42 Not so RAOK -Part One

Next week I'm having another birthday. No exciting vacation or crazy celebration is planned. Circumstances don't permit. If you follow my blog then you know I mostly write about my current life circumstances and what God is  teaching me through them. The past year and a half has been challenging to say the least, but my faith and walk with the Lord has been proportionally stretched. The temptation is always present in our flesh when presented with struggles not of our choosing to hunker down and feel quite sorry for yourself. If you remember the story of Job, at one point he was so miserable sitting the ditch, picking his wounds, that he just wanted to quit living. I'll admit, at times, I have felt the temptation to just give in to those kinds of feelings. But then I remember how much God has done for me past, present, and future. I remember that Jesus didn't ever quit on me and so I press on...hoping in what the Lord will bring out of this situation. When people hurt you, the temptation is to  give up on them and even humanity as a whole. We all have met people like that;  so wounded at some point in their lives that everyone in their path will be sure to feel it. When presented with bitter or better...I choose better. Why? Because despite humanity's short comings, God still uses us to do his work...day after day. I've seen it.  And just like my entire blog inspiration...I'm determined to finish the race set before me.
The key word here...determined...means to set a course for one's mind. For me, it is not to give up hope and faith in God and to deliberately work on setting the affections of my heart on the things God would want me to want. I've come to the realization that part of the reason I'm in this particular situation is that I did not prioritize the way God wanted me to....and so he has used these circumstances, and the people involved to confine me for a while until I got it right. Although this season is a detour in life He didn't cause, he is faithful  to make sure that that something for my good comes out of it.  Nothing like spiritually being sent to time-out by God, huh? Detours in life are a test of our hope in God and willingness to obey.

That leads us finally to the birthday project. Surfing Pinterest one day I came across a pin that led me to a blog. What caught my attention first was that I recognized the author...she was a former patient of mine. The blog detailed a ministry that she has started called "The Birthday Project." For her 38th birthday, she purposed to do 38 random acts of kindness. This launched an entire ministry that encourages others to do the same.  http://www.thebdayproject.com/ This struck in a cord in me for several reasons.

1. I have too much stuff. In fact, I need to get rid of a lot of it. So I definitely don't need anything for my birthday. In fact, "stuff" has been part of the issue along. Putting the accumulation of earthly stuff for myself in front of what the Lord has wanted me to use my resources for, has hindered my spiritual race.  I read about David, who was described as being a 'man after God's own heart." When David sat back and looked at his abundance, he had it in his heart that he should build a temple for God. Although, he didn't ultimately build it, it did bless God's heart that David in his abundance did not focus on himself and acquiring more, but instead on what he could do for God.  I believe this past year has helped me turn my heart toward this same understanding:

"This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they'll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need" (2nd Corin 9:9-15)  Plainly put, God blesses us primarily so that we can bless others into understanding the kingdom of God. Believing this, I feel there really are no "random" acts of kindness, because God is working through humanity in each one to accomplish specific purposes.

2. I  am emotionally tired.   As I mentioned, I've been at this for a year and a half. I've only had 4 days off during that entire time during which I became very sick with the flu. Physically, I'm fine. Truth be told, I'm probably in the best physical shape I've been. The Lord has time and time again provided rest, manipulated labor curves, and determined the course of events to protect me over and over during this season of life. It is just hard sometimes to wait on the Lord; he knows it. However,  I know from walking with God long enough that if you want to take your mind off your own problems, even if for a short while, focus on others. Specifically, I remembered this truth:
"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. " Proverbs 11:25  NIV.  The Message translation  puts it this way, "The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. " That's really what I want for my birthday...to be refreshed, abundantly blessed, and helped. Because fundamentally I know that any gift that God gives me will far outdo anything I could earthly ask for.

With this in mind, I decided at that moment I was going to do the Birthday Project this year for my own birthday. I'm going to be turning 42 this year! That many acts takes some serious planning; so I'm calling it 42 Not So Random Acts of Kindness. Not random, because I also have been praying that God would purposely show me people that need to be blessed. I've invited my best friend to spend the day with me, because knowing her heart, I knew she would thoroughly enjoy participating in this with me.  I was right; she is as excited as I am.  I would generally admit that at a certain age, birthdays begin to lose their appeal. However, I have to say, this year I'm like a kid at Christmas waiting to open her presents. I can't wait until it's my birthday. Only 3 more days!

A Note From the Heart

If you participate in any social media like Facebook or Pinterest, you have probably noticed a trend that seems to have become hugely popular. It's called 'e-cards'. These are short sassy little thoughts encapsulated into a brief paragraph to express an idea. Most of them are either sarcastic, biting or crude. However, their popularity has exploded and the majority are posting, re-posting, and pinning them.

When something becomes very popular in mainstream culture, my brain usually tries to figure out the "why" behind the "what", particularly on a spiritual level. So I have spent some time thinking out this particular facet of social media, talked it over with my husband and now it has manifested itself into a blog.
When trying to describe these e-cards, the best word we came up with for a description of their 'humor' was...sophomoric. Look up the word and it is defined as "conceited and overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed and immature." That pretty much sums it up. Most of them are sarcastic (which infers pride) and childish.
God's word has a lot to say about our words and how they are connected to our behaviors. Psalm 1 says it this way:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked,or stand in the way that sinners take or stand in the company of mockers. (NIV). But I think the Message version really drives the point home.
How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road,
   you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.(MSG)  Hmmmm, smart mouth college? Sounds like a synonym for sophomoric, doesn't it.

The interesting thing to me is that somehow people believe that posting these e-cards disconnects them from taking complete ownership of the words. This is exactly what our enemy wants. The devil absolutely wants you to disconnect your identity from your behaviors. The truth is exactly in opposition to this. This pervasive behavior is a passive aggressive form of communication, which has become a natural extension of social media. We are creating a generation that is unable to communicate and resolve conflicts face to face, and even worse does not take ownership of what they participate in within cyberspace.
I know this is a bit of a soap box that I have climbed onto. But it strikes a cord with me because I see so many "Christians" behaving like their non-believing counterparts. Our lives should be distinctly different. Otherwise, what is the point at all. Jesus put it this way. "But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It's from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That's what pollutes." What comes out of your mouth, is an overflow of what it is in your heart. Even if it is re-posted. Don't pollute your witness.