Do Something!

Just looking at the title of this post, what did you think it would be about? I'm curious what your first impressions would be?

When I looked at it after I wrote it, I thought it sounded a bit harsh. Like someone yelling at an inconsiderate driver, or should I say what appears to be an inconsiderate driver to them?

While I get ready in the morning, it's habit to take my Kindle and put on my Pandora station, Christian Contemporary and listen to whatever songs God brings my way while I get my hair and make up ready. I wasn't feeling in the most joyful mood because I wasn't happy about my attitude last night when I went to bed. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the travel my hubby has been doing and it's been H & G, Hi and Goodbye with him lately. So chores, errands, and everything else has been falling in my lap along with helping him pack and unpack between his trips.

I came across a song I hadn't heard before from Matthew West called Do Something. If you haven't heard it, I have included the video below and would encourage you to listen to it and see how or if it impacts you at all. I convicted me big time.

The words convey the simple truth the no matter what is happening in the world, we watch the news or listen to the radio and simply shake our head. Why isn't someone doing something to stop these things from happening. Homeless people continue to add to the growing population and we get our charitable moments in when we hand them some money hoping it will alleviate their burden to do something to help.

Now don't get me wrong it is something, but on a bigger scale, can't we as communities, churches, cities, states, do something much larger? Find solutions to help them get off the street and get back on their feet again. I look around and see all empty vacant buildings and wonder why we can't lease some of them out with the promise to start working around them to clean up neighborhoods and contribute to making our cities more pleasing to the eye.

I've read that if all the churches in every city took in one homeless person, there would be no more homeless people anywhere.

If all the people who could adopt a child, simply opened their homes, there would be no more adoptable children in the world. No more orphans.

If all the people in the world simply shared what God has blessed them with already, there would be no more hunger in the world anywhere.

So why don't we?

Because we are all waiting for someone else to do something.

We are all waiting for God do something.

But God has!

He created YOU!

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING.

What will you do to make an impact?

We all want to leave behind lasting legacies, imagine what would happen if we all did what we could, step outside of our attitudes and did what we could. If we ALL did what we could.

The possibilities are something!

I would encourage you to make a personal declaration like Andy Andrew's created in his book The Final Summit to "Do Something!"

"Knowing that all those who "arrive have to begin where they are. I choose to begin now. At this moment, I will do something.

For too long, I have allowed fearful thoughts to dominate my life. Now I recognize fear as a misuse of the creative imagination that has been placed inside me. In the past, I have allowed fear to shove all hope aside. No more! Fear no longer has any power to stop me from doing what I know to be right and true. I am no longer afraid. I am courageous. Right now, I will do something.

The person who faces hardships gains no strength. Though I do not look for hardships, I am grateful for its results, for I have grown mighty in soil mixed with troubles. My roots are not deep. My mind and heart have become powerful A beautiful flower cannot be created without fertilizer. A dazzling gem cannot be polished without great friction and am better because of it. Now it is time for me to do something.

I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I can do something right now. Never again will I allow what I cannot do to interfere with what I can do. Circumstances are rulers of the weak. I am not weak. Neither discouragement nor despair will stop me from doing something and doing it now. I am strong minded. I can make myself do something I would rather not do, in order to get a result that I do want. I will do something. And I will do it now.

My life, which was once a question mark, is now a statement. Stormy seas do not scare me, for I am the calm in the storm. My past is behind me and my future is bright because I now know the secret of the present. I will do something and I will do it now.

Right now. I will do something for my family. Right now. I will do something for my friends. Right now. I will do something for those who do not even know my name. For my family, my friends, and the strangers of the world are valuable in my Creator's sight. I will let them know that I recognize that fact by my actions. I now know that my smile, my words, my attitude are actions. They are all under my control. I am prepared to run my race. I am ready to hit the mark. I will now do my part in restoring humanity to the pathway toward successful civilization.

I will do something. And I will do it right now!"

But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John 3:17)

True servants are merciful. They care. They get involved. They get dirty, if necessary. They offer more than pious words. And what do they get in return? What does Christ promise? "They shall receive mercy."

Those who remain detached, distant, and disinterested in others will receive like treatment. But God promises that those who reach out and demonstrate mercy will, in turn, receive it---from other people as well as from God Himself.

49 Random Acts of Kindness

I've first learned about Acts of Random Kindness or what I like to call A.R.K. from the movie Evan Almighty. The concept is actually quite simple. You simply perform an Act of Kindness that doesn't require any form of payment. I'd like to think it's what God would like to see more of us doing.

I created a blog, A.R.K. for God, that I established attempting to encourage people to share their acts of random kindness with everyone else. It was created to help provide ideas on just how simple it can be to step outside of our own world and increase our population in our own little world one person at a time. You can visit that blog and if you want to submit ideas simply email me. You can get there by clicking on the link below:

A.R.K. for God

I had seen people sharing videos of what they were doing and something got started called the Birthday Project. Simply put it's doing however many Acts of Random Kindness as the number of years you are celebrating in one single day if you can. It seemed like a simple thing and the best part I noticed is that far too often we don't remember the presents we get but we do remember things that truly touch our hearts in profound ways. This year I wanted to give back instead of simply getting and I wanted the results to last way past the celebration of my birthday. My family was super excited to share in this and what better way to inspire them to do the same hopefully.

On March 3, 2013, I gave back in 49 unique and sometimes very simple ways. I wanted to share some of those highlights with you and hope that it might inspire you. I know it has completely changed my life, and I now I look for ways to pay it forward and do something nice for someone else when I can. Trust me, the response you get from people who are on the receiving end is worth it.

1. My daughter's boyfriend locked his keys in his car and I called AAA for him and showed up with him to wait for help.
2. My daughter's cell phone was dead and she needed a replacement but didn't get paid for another two weeks. Bought her a new phone.
3. My kitties wanted water from the sink, so I turned them on and waited for them to finish.
4. Took my youngest daughter on a spur of the moment shopping trip to make her feel special.
5. Took all my kids to lunch.
6. Left my husband a message on our glass shower door that he could see when he took his shower, telling him how blessed I was to have him in my life.
7. Filled all my bird feeders and fed all the neighborhood birds.
8. Left my hair dresser a very BIG tip!
9. Gave 33 lbs of Iams Dog Food to my neighbor who just got a new puppy.
10. Paid off my daughters medical bills that were simply stressing her out.
11. Loaned money to a friend to buy his dream drum set.

12. Donated 2 bags of clothes to the Salvation Army.
15. Drove 2 hours to pick up drum set for a friend who couldn't fit them in his car and his car literally wasn't that safe to drive that far.
16. Went all out and bought my 3 kitties premium canned cat food. They LOVED it!
17. A friend was moving out of state and needed to sell items to help her move and we bought some stuff from her.
18. Mailed my step mom a birthday card. First time in over 17 years.

19 -30. Mailed out 12 encouraging, inspiring cards to let some special people in my life know just how much I appreciate them. Most I've never personally met.(Also all those cards that were sent out, also sponsored the Compassion International Project with the money used to buy the cards, helps orphans in third world countries!)
31. Sent my niece a $10 Amazon gift card to purchase some books for her Kindle.

Your message and gift of a CUP OF JOE was delivered to a Service Member serving at Camp Marmal in Afghanistan. They wanted to say thanks and make sure you knew your gift was received. Please see below for their note to you:

Hi Kathleen, God Bless you and Happy Birthday! My wife is also deployed here in Afghanistan with me and today is her birthday. We're blessed to be working together and she's right here spending her day with me in the office (tent) haha. Thanks again, take care and God bless you and your family.

32-40. Sent 8 cups of coffee to our service men and women serving our country overseas through the Cup of Joe for a Joe program. (I got responses back from almost all of them, thanking me! The one above is just one of them.)

41. Deposited money in expired parking meters to give people an extra 15 minutes to get to their cars before they received a ticket.

 Before:

 After:

42. Left pennies by a fountain for someone to stop and make a wish.

43. Offered to take someone's picture for them as a couple.

44. Donated money to MDA or Muscular Dystrophy Association.
45. Paid for a strangers coffee and cookie at the Coffee Bean behind us.

46. Bought $20 worth of tokens at Shakey's and donated all the winning game tickets to one little boy.
47. Turned on a heating blanket for my kitty when she got cold.
48. Let a cars go in front of us at a busy intersections.
49. Gave our waiter a HUGE tip. Wish we could have stayed long enough to see his face, but it was super crowded.

These are what my family and I enjoyed doing for my birthday project on completing 49 Acts of Random Kindness. Hope you get the urge to try and do the same. Next year, I am already thinking bigger.

Philippians 2: 1-4 (NIV) "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."