. . . I have another name for your "To Buy For" list!
Add R.A.K. to your lists! Before you go to a mall or a website or anywhere else to shop this Christmas season, consider a couple of things:
1) Contributions to churches are way down because of the economy.
2) Groups that traditionally help during the holidays are experiencing catastrophic drops in contributions - the Salvation Army is down 38% over last year, and last year was not their best year.
3) People who have never had hardships like this to contend with are right up there with people who've been "a paycheck away" from disaster for a long time.
And this list goes on . . and on . . . and on. What I sometimes wonder if a LOT of us realize is "the power of one". One of our churches has a motto that is posted right over my head when I'm at the piano . . . you've maybe heard it before . . . "I am only one person. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I will do with God's grace".
I'm fine with it if you want to take all of the religious "buzz words" out of what I'm saying. The idea that we "are" each other's keepers to an extent is something we need to embrace and act upon. Whether our "pay it forward" is based on the sacred or the secular isn't nearly as important as whether or not we "get it" and "do it" . . .
So - - - add "R.A.K." to your shopping lists! Who is this R.A.K.? It's "Random Acts of Kindness". If you don't know Random, consider introducing yourself and getting acquainted! I'm being a tad "flippant" but I'm not kidding. There is a thrill to be found in doing something for somebody you don't know and especially so if the person for whom you do it can't repay you and if you do whatever you do more or less anonymously.
When you give to an organization, in the name of someone else, the money is used twice! What a bang for your buck, huh? The receiving organization benefits from the $$ contribution and a notification is sent to the honoree letting them know that someone has thought of them in a special way. You don't have to feed it, wrap it, dust it, insure it or take it out in the snow, etc. You bask in the joy of "paying it forward".
Even more than money, per se, I am talking about the pure joy that comes from seeing someone smile over some little gesture of kindness directed their way at what might be just the right moment. If you haven't ever stood in the "fast lane" at the grocery store and paid for the order of someone else in the line and seen their surprise and pleasure, you have missed something!! If you haven't seen others in line catch the spirit, you have missed something!! There are dozens of little things you can do that are inexpensive and fun and that will give YOU the same kind of smile :)
Need some suggestions? How about:
Adopt a needy family for the holidays. Let members of your family buy a present for the person closest to their own age.
During the holidays tip someone who doesn’t expect it.
Mend a broken relationship with a friend or relative during the holidays.
Take a basket of Christmas goodies to a grumpy neighbor.
Compliment at least three people every day.
Volunteer to deliver Meals on Wheels to shut-ins during the holidays.
Help and elderly or infirmed neighbor clean and decorate his or her home.
Take a decorated mini-tree to someone in the hospital or a nursing home.
Give a donation to every Salvation Army bell-ringer you pass.
In response to God’s grace in your life, practice giving grace to others. For example, forgive some unacknowledged offense.
Do something for someone who is currently experiencing some sorrow or suffering to bring God’s joy to their lives.
Speak to everyone you encounter. Don’t wait for others to acknowledge you…speak first.Better yet, SMILE! It's contagious!
Telephone people you’ve been meaning to talk to and tell them you’ve been thinking about them.
Do something completely out of the ordinary,completely
out of character for you. If you’ve never given a homeless person a dime, find one today and give him/her a dollar and a wish for a nice day, or a blessed Christmas.
Send someone flowers. Think of someone you’d like to send them to and what kind of flowers the person would like to receive. Go to the flower store and pick them out yourself if possible. Think about why you have chosen this particular person to receive the flowers. Whatever the reason for your choice, remember to send the feeling with the flowers.
Do something nice for an animal. Play with a dog, stroke a cat, feed pigeons or ducks in a nearby park, or take care of a friend’s pet for a day.
Let everyone go ahead of you today. No matter what you’re doing today – driving, grocery shopping, waiting to use the copy machine at work, looking for a parking place at the mall, leaving a restaurant at lunchtime – whatever it is, let others you encounter along the way go ahead of you or get served ahead of you. Say “Merry Christmas” if you are so inclined.
When driving, treat others to the “right of way”, even if it isn’t rightfully theirs - - - stop for pedestrians – let people change lanes or get out in traffic in front of you,etc.
When a clerk asks, “Who’s next?” turn to the person waiting with you and say, “She is.” Be sure the people know you are doing this on purpose - - - that you are choosing to defer to them. Watch for and enjoy people’s reactions.
Baby-sit for someone else’s child or for your grandchildren. Volunteer to keep a child or children for an afternoon or an evening so the parents can shop or attend a special Christmas event without the added expense of a babysitter, or the worry about how their children are being cared for. It’s important for you to realize what a gift this is that you are giving the parents, and how good it will make you feel.
Give blood. If you’re physically able to do so, go to a blood drive or to the blood bank and give the gift of life. There is always a dangerous shortage of blood during the holidays because of an increased number of traffic accidents, house fires, and weather-related disasters Having enough blood available can mean the difference between life and death for auto accident victims, surgical patients, natural disaster victims, etc. Giving blood without knowing who is to receive it provides us an excellent means of realizing our interconnectedness with all of life - - - our interdependency on one another.
If you go to a movie, buy a kid in line a ticket or a box of popcorn or a soft drink and say, “Merry Christmas!”
Buy a supply of McDonald’s gift certificates and keep them in your pocket, purse or glove box in the car to give to a child or a homeless person.
Bake a pie for a neighbor.
Keep some extra coins with you and feed an expired parking meter. Leave a note on the windshield that says, "Merry Christmas, Friend!"
Go to a local senior center and volunteer to play cards or a game of chess or to read to a sight-impaired resident.
Take hot chocolate and cookies to the night shift at your local fire station.
Buy a stranger at the post office a book of stamps for his/her mail.
Pay anonymously for a full tank of gas for a stranger.
Send a prepaid pizza to a friend.
Give an electric train setup to a local children’s hospital. Hand deliver it and help set it up.
Help a stranger fix a flat tire.
Leave a “thank-you” note with your tip for your “waitperson” at the restaurant.
Gather up a box of usable toys and take it to a local women’s homeless shelter or shelter for battered women. If you don't know where one is, most pastors do know, unfortunately.
Buy pizza for a group of teens who are “hanging out”.
Donate old board games to a local senior citizens’ center. Go and play with them.
Teach someone (maybe a child?) your favorite hobby.
Offer to run an errand for a neighbor.
Bake a lasagna for a friend’s family.
Go for a walk with a friend.
House sit for a traveling neighbor.
Offer your newspaper to someone as you leave a restaurant.
Call your in-laws and thank them for raising your spouse as they did.
Take a small gift to a sick person.
Whenever you buy a new coat, take your old one to a shelter and include a pair of warm gloves.
Wish a stranger “Merry Christmas” with a warm smile.
Mow your neighbor’s lawn or help rake leaves.
Help with snow removal . . . prevent a heart attack!
Revive the custom of hostess gifts - - - take a small gift when invited to a friend’s home.
Participate in a program like “Toys for Tots” or “Empty Stocking Fund”.
Keep a “spare” umbrella in your trunk to offer to someone at the mall who is caught without one in the rain.
Give your postal delivery person a small Christmas gift.
Give a neighborhood child a big box of new Crayons and a coloring book..
Be a soup kitchen volunteer.
Buy craft supplies for a needy family to use to make Christmas gifts for friends and family.
Sprinkle bird seed on a window ledge for someone who is home-bound. Remember to return and replenish the supply for the birds!!!
Send a sympathy card to someone who has lost a pet.
Give up a long-awaited table in a restaurant to someone else who is waiting.
Buy an inexpensive toy to surprise a neighborhood child.
Pay for the Starbucks Order of the person behind you. When they drive up to pick it up, they'll receive a nice surprise.
I'm sure all of YOU are much more creative than I am and that you will think of wonderful things to do if you will keep R.A.K. at the top of your "To Buy For" list. Feel free to post other ideas as comments to this post, if you want to do so. Join me in a "covenant" of sorts to make Christmas less "crass" and more personal. Reconnect with neighbors . . . revive feelings of community that supersede "neighborhood" . . . a neighborhood is geographical but a community is a bond - people you do things with and for and about whom you care deeply.
Happy Thanksgiving to each of you and all the blessings of the coming Season, whatever it is you celebrate and however it is you do it!! Be safe in traveling and take good care of yourselves and each other. Call somebody you miss on Thanksgiving Day and tell them you love them. Help me restore some sanity to this crazy world. Thank YOU for being MY friends!!!
Add R.A.K. to your lists! Before you go to a mall or a website or anywhere else to shop this Christmas season, consider a couple of things:
1) Contributions to churches are way down because of the economy.
2) Groups that traditionally help during the holidays are experiencing catastrophic drops in contributions - the Salvation Army is down 38% over last year, and last year was not their best year.
3) People who have never had hardships like this to contend with are right up there with people who've been "a paycheck away" from disaster for a long time.
And this list goes on . . and on . . . and on. What I sometimes wonder if a LOT of us realize is "the power of one". One of our churches has a motto that is posted right over my head when I'm at the piano . . . you've maybe heard it before . . . "I am only one person. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I will do with God's grace".
I'm fine with it if you want to take all of the religious "buzz words" out of what I'm saying. The idea that we "are" each other's keepers to an extent is something we need to embrace and act upon. Whether our "pay it forward" is based on the sacred or the secular isn't nearly as important as whether or not we "get it" and "do it" . . .
So - - - add "R.A.K." to your shopping lists! Who is this R.A.K.? It's "Random Acts of Kindness". If you don't know Random, consider introducing yourself and getting acquainted! I'm being a tad "flippant" but I'm not kidding. There is a thrill to be found in doing something for somebody you don't know and especially so if the person for whom you do it can't repay you and if you do whatever you do more or less anonymously.
When you give to an organization, in the name of someone else, the money is used twice! What a bang for your buck, huh? The receiving organization benefits from the $$ contribution and a notification is sent to the honoree letting them know that someone has thought of them in a special way. You don't have to feed it, wrap it, dust it, insure it or take it out in the snow, etc. You bask in the joy of "paying it forward".
Even more than money, per se, I am talking about the pure joy that comes from seeing someone smile over some little gesture of kindness directed their way at what might be just the right moment. If you haven't ever stood in the "fast lane" at the grocery store and paid for the order of someone else in the line and seen their surprise and pleasure, you have missed something!! If you haven't seen others in line catch the spirit, you have missed something!! There are dozens of little things you can do that are inexpensive and fun and that will give YOU the same kind of smile :)
Need some suggestions? How about:
Adopt a needy family for the holidays. Let members of your family buy a present for the person closest to their own age.
During the holidays tip someone who doesn’t expect it.
Mend a broken relationship with a friend or relative during the holidays.
Take a basket of Christmas goodies to a grumpy neighbor.
Compliment at least three people every day.
Volunteer to deliver Meals on Wheels to shut-ins during the holidays.
Help and elderly or infirmed neighbor clean and decorate his or her home.
Take a decorated mini-tree to someone in the hospital or a nursing home.
Give a donation to every Salvation Army bell-ringer you pass.
In response to God’s grace in your life, practice giving grace to others. For example, forgive some unacknowledged offense.
Do something for someone who is currently experiencing some sorrow or suffering to bring God’s joy to their lives.
Speak to everyone you encounter. Don’t wait for others to acknowledge you…speak first.Better yet, SMILE! It's contagious!
Telephone people you’ve been meaning to talk to and tell them you’ve been thinking about them.
Do something completely out of the ordinary,completely
out of character for you. If you’ve never given a homeless person a dime, find one today and give him/her a dollar and a wish for a nice day, or a blessed Christmas.
Send someone flowers. Think of someone you’d like to send them to and what kind of flowers the person would like to receive. Go to the flower store and pick them out yourself if possible. Think about why you have chosen this particular person to receive the flowers. Whatever the reason for your choice, remember to send the feeling with the flowers.
Do something nice for an animal. Play with a dog, stroke a cat, feed pigeons or ducks in a nearby park, or take care of a friend’s pet for a day.
Let everyone go ahead of you today. No matter what you’re doing today – driving, grocery shopping, waiting to use the copy machine at work, looking for a parking place at the mall, leaving a restaurant at lunchtime – whatever it is, let others you encounter along the way go ahead of you or get served ahead of you. Say “Merry Christmas” if you are so inclined.
When driving, treat others to the “right of way”, even if it isn’t rightfully theirs - - - stop for pedestrians – let people change lanes or get out in traffic in front of you,etc.
When a clerk asks, “Who’s next?” turn to the person waiting with you and say, “She is.” Be sure the people know you are doing this on purpose - - - that you are choosing to defer to them. Watch for and enjoy people’s reactions.
Baby-sit for someone else’s child or for your grandchildren. Volunteer to keep a child or children for an afternoon or an evening so the parents can shop or attend a special Christmas event without the added expense of a babysitter, or the worry about how their children are being cared for. It’s important for you to realize what a gift this is that you are giving the parents, and how good it will make you feel.
Give blood. If you’re physically able to do so, go to a blood drive or to the blood bank and give the gift of life. There is always a dangerous shortage of blood during the holidays because of an increased number of traffic accidents, house fires, and weather-related disasters Having enough blood available can mean the difference between life and death for auto accident victims, surgical patients, natural disaster victims, etc. Giving blood without knowing who is to receive it provides us an excellent means of realizing our interconnectedness with all of life - - - our interdependency on one another.
If you go to a movie, buy a kid in line a ticket or a box of popcorn or a soft drink and say, “Merry Christmas!”
Buy a supply of McDonald’s gift certificates and keep them in your pocket, purse or glove box in the car to give to a child or a homeless person.
Bake a pie for a neighbor.
Keep some extra coins with you and feed an expired parking meter. Leave a note on the windshield that says, "Merry Christmas, Friend!"
Go to a local senior center and volunteer to play cards or a game of chess or to read to a sight-impaired resident.
Take hot chocolate and cookies to the night shift at your local fire station.
Buy a stranger at the post office a book of stamps for his/her mail.
Pay anonymously for a full tank of gas for a stranger.
Send a prepaid pizza to a friend.
Give an electric train setup to a local children’s hospital. Hand deliver it and help set it up.
Help a stranger fix a flat tire.
Leave a “thank-you” note with your tip for your “waitperson” at the restaurant.
Gather up a box of usable toys and take it to a local women’s homeless shelter or shelter for battered women. If you don't know where one is, most pastors do know, unfortunately.
Buy pizza for a group of teens who are “hanging out”.
Donate old board games to a local senior citizens’ center. Go and play with them.
Teach someone (maybe a child?) your favorite hobby.
Offer to run an errand for a neighbor.
Bake a lasagna for a friend’s family.
Go for a walk with a friend.
House sit for a traveling neighbor.
Offer your newspaper to someone as you leave a restaurant.
Call your in-laws and thank them for raising your spouse as they did.
Take a small gift to a sick person.
Whenever you buy a new coat, take your old one to a shelter and include a pair of warm gloves.
Wish a stranger “Merry Christmas” with a warm smile.
Mow your neighbor’s lawn or help rake leaves.
Help with snow removal . . . prevent a heart attack!
Revive the custom of hostess gifts - - - take a small gift when invited to a friend’s home.
Participate in a program like “Toys for Tots” or “Empty Stocking Fund”.
Keep a “spare” umbrella in your trunk to offer to someone at the mall who is caught without one in the rain.
Give your postal delivery person a small Christmas gift.
Give a neighborhood child a big box of new Crayons and a coloring book..
Be a soup kitchen volunteer.
Buy craft supplies for a needy family to use to make Christmas gifts for friends and family.
Sprinkle bird seed on a window ledge for someone who is home-bound. Remember to return and replenish the supply for the birds!!!
Send a sympathy card to someone who has lost a pet.
Give up a long-awaited table in a restaurant to someone else who is waiting.
Buy an inexpensive toy to surprise a neighborhood child.
Pay for the Starbucks Order of the person behind you. When they drive up to pick it up, they'll receive a nice surprise.
I'm sure all of YOU are much more creative than I am and that you will think of wonderful things to do if you will keep R.A.K. at the top of your "To Buy For" list. Feel free to post other ideas as comments to this post, if you want to do so. Join me in a "covenant" of sorts to make Christmas less "crass" and more personal. Reconnect with neighbors . . . revive feelings of community that supersede "neighborhood" . . . a neighborhood is geographical but a community is a bond - people you do things with and for and about whom you care deeply.
Simple acts of kindness make a huge difference in the lives of both the person performing the act and the recipient of the kindness. Whenever we step outside ourselves to do for others, even the simplest act of kindness, we serve our Lord Jesus.
We lead busy lives. We are often preoccupied with our personal agendas, and we often fail to recognize the many opportunities for service that present themselves to us. This is indeed unfortunate because most of life’s joys come from simple interactions with other people - - - interactions that cost little or nothing other than our willingness to give our time and our talents. Sometimes we may fail to realize what a difference we can make in the lives of others.
Kindness is so contagious! I have a little magnet in my kitchen that says, “Love is contagious – we get it from others.” Doing these random acts of kindness gets “under your skin” – the more you do, the more you want to do. Once you are the recipient of a kindness, you’ll find it difficult to resist passing it on to someone else! Don’t be reluctant to start an epidemic!
Happy Thanksgiving to each of you and all the blessings of the coming Season, whatever it is you celebrate and however it is you do it!! Be safe in traveling and take good care of yourselves and each other. Call somebody you miss on Thanksgiving Day and tell them you love them. Help me restore some sanity to this crazy world. Thank YOU for being MY friends!!!
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