Friday, October 15, 2010

Challenge: Week 1

Make sure that you read the previous post, "what's this all about" to see why this blog was started and why I've asked you to stop by.

Week 1:  (October 17-24)
I'm posting this a few days early to give you time to plan, organize, etc......

Act 1

Create and distribute 10 Drop Cards.  I got this idea while doing a search for acts of kindness and I immediately knew it was something I wanted to do.  These cards can be used in a variety of ways and the possibilities are just endless!  This was something I wanted to involve my kids in so I just got 5 sheets of thick paper, cut them in half, folded them, and let my kids decorate them with our marker dots.  This mom did such a great job and I was truly inspired by her creativity and her blog.  Can you say "amazing pictures?"
When I explained this to my kids they were really excited to do this!

Next, we plan to write some simple but sweet notes inside and attach small amount of money to them.  We brainstormed a list of places and came up with:
  • Taping a quarter inside and taping a couple of them to the gumball machines inside the mall.  Our mall has this big gumball area in the middle of the mall and we figured we could bless some sweet kid with a piece of gum.  I think about how many times I've been at the mall with my boys and they wanted gum and I didn't have any cash/change on me that day.  Can't you just see the smile on that sweet kids' face?
  • Taping a dollar inside and then taping the card to a vending machine or coke machine.  Now who wouldn't be excited about a free drink or snack?
  • Taping enough money inside the card to pay for a free newspaper (there is a great little breakfast restaurant we visit sometimes on the weekends and they have the newspaper vending machine right outside)

Again, the possibilities are endless and your kids will have fun coming up with ways to bless others!  I am excited to hear about where you put your drop cards and the overall experience you had.

Act 2

Do a favor for a neighbor.  This is something you can do, your kids can do, or both.  Either way, do something unexpected for someone else.  Try to have your kids involved or at least see you so that they understand the importance of helping others.  While I believe it's huge that our children do these things for others, I also feel it's equally important for them to see us doing them too.  Start praying that God opens your eyes and puts a situation before you so that you can bless someone else this week. 

5 comments:

  1. WOW Jen...this sounds amazing! This is something that has been eating at me and my husband. It's so hard to emphasize to a 3 and 2 year that it's not all about them. Thanks for the challenge.

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  2. Denise, I'm so glad you are excited to try it out. I know that most of us have a vision for where we want our kids to end up and what kind of person we want them to become. It's all the stuff in the middle that takes getting them there that seems fuzzy to. Thank you so much for commenting and I look forward to growing together!

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  3. meant to say "that seems fuzzy to me."

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  4. I think this is great- thanks so much for sharing through this blog... now we can all take advantage of your creativity and planning :) I'm looking forward to doing both this week!!

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  5. I think this is a great idea!!! I want to try this, too!! Thanks for sending this to me!!

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