I'm not going to share everything I did (see my last blog post). After that post, I got a lot of feedback saying that no one thought I had wrong motives, and if people thought bad of me, who cares? I appreciate the comments, but I wasn't concerned with what people thought, good or bad. I was following the Holy Spirit's promptings and my personal conviction about Jesus' words in Matthew 6. I had a wonderful time sharing some of my 30 for 30, and I had a wonderful time keeping some of them between me and Jesus.
I can't post this without mentioning The Birthday Project. That's where I got this idea. Look them up, they are wonderful. Like them on Facebook. And be inspired.
So here's my list. Feel free to copy these ideas. Most of them are not mine to begin with anyway. If you see a number missing, it's because that one is a secret. :)
I started my day a little before 7:00 am. I wanted to do a whole bunch of my acts of kindness by myself in the morning so I could have a more relaxing afternoon/evening to spend with my family. I got my little kindness kit ready: post-it notes, a roll of pennies, a roll of quarters, a bunch of dollar bills, gift cards, note cards, tape, pen, etc. I got 22 acts done before 10:30 am!
1. Left a thank-you card and a small gift card for our mail carrier. Taped it to the mailbox. There is one lady that is my absolute favorite mail carrier. If we're outside she always takes time to chat with us for a minute and she is so sweet! I had no idea which mail carrier would be coming that day (especially since it was a Saturday), but turns out it was her! How do I know? Because about a week later I found this in the mailbox:
5. Stopped by Starbucks to get my morning coffee. Left a little thank you note for one of our favorite baristas. Just like the mail lady, she always wants to chat with us and play with our kids for a minute, even if Starbucks is crazy busy. A few days later I was in there again and she said THANK YOU, and that our note made her day. :)
8. Took my treat receipt from Starbucks, put it in a baggie along with $2.16 and left it on the front porch of a friend. (This one was gonna be a secret, but she texted me later in the day to say thanks. :) That's what happens when your friends know about 30-for-30.)
Next I went to Meijer. I had to buy some stuff for Paisley's party the next day anyway. While I was there I did a few acts of kindness:
9. Left a baggie full of pennies on the horse ride with a little note that said, "Take one!"
10. Left a few quarters on the candy machines in the entrance.
11. When I went in to use the bathroom, I had an idea. Yes, when I was sitting on the toilet. I left encouraging notes on the mirrors in the bathroom. Girls/women can be so hard on themselves, especially when looking in the mirror. I'm hoping that the right people walked into the bathroom that day and read these words that they needed to hear!
This was probably my favorite act of kindness for the day. Partially because I thought it up all by myself, on the spot. And then someone told me about Operation Beautiful. Check it out!
12. While I was at Meijer I bought a few bags full of food items for the food pantry at Pathway. Took them over to the church and delivered them to the food collection bin.
15. Sent a care package to a young couple who lives far away from family.
16. Paid for the car behind me at the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru. I was hoping he wouldn't see me, but he caught up with me at the stop light and rolled down his window. He said, "Was this you? Wow! I never get a dozen donuts! We have friends visiting from out of town! Thank you so much!" Okay, that kind of made my day.
17. Put gas in Dustin's car. Don't forget your family when you're doing acts of kindness!
18. Scattered pennies around a local park. Because kids LOVE to find pennies, am I right?
22. Brought donuts home to my family. They were so excited!
And that wrapped up my morning. 22 acts of kindness in about 3.5 hours. It was like I was a ninja. A Kindness Ninja!
Which brings me to Kindness Ninjas. I stumbled across this awesomeness a couple years ago when we got a canvas from CanvasOnDemand. When they sent us our order, they also included some Kindness Ninja cards. I think the name "Kindness Ninja" is pretty self-explanatory. But if you want to learn more, click the link above. I took LOTS of Kindness Ninja cards with me throughout the day and I left them whenever I did something random (pennies on the horse, I gave one to the DD worker to give to the car behind me, etc.). I highly recommend being a Kindness Ninja. It is so fun!
After Paisley's morning nap we went to the zoo. All four of us. My pace slowed waaaaay down, but that was the point. To be able to spend time with my family. And do a few acts of kindness together.
23. We bought extra tokens at the giraffe exhibit. Jack got to use one to feed the giraffes, and then he helped me pick out other kids to give the rest to. I was surprised how my shy little boy was so eager to help give away the tokens to kids he didn't know!
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| This has nothing to do with acts of kindness. It's just my crazy little family on the log ride on my birthday. Love them! |
24. When Jack and I were waiting in line at the bathroom to change into his swimsuit (for the next act of kindness!), a mom and little girl were in line behind us, and I could tell the little girl REALLY had to pee. So we let them go in front of us in line.
25. This might be my favorite act of kindness. The whole reason I wanted to take my family to the zoo. My act of kindness for Jack. EVERY single time we walk past this fountain, he wants to get in it. And EVERY single time, I've said, "Maybe next time." Well today was the day.
He was so excited! And a little intimidated by the other kids in the fountain. But all in all, he had a great time.
We left the zoo and took the kids home for nap time. My parents came over so Dustin and I could finish the last few acts of kindness by ourselves.
26. This might be my favorite act of kindness (wait, have I said that before?). I have a good friend (who shall remain anonymous) who owns a recording studio (wait, did that give it away?). When he heard about my 30-for-30, he wanted to be a part of it. So he donated a 4-hour recording session, enough to record and mix one song. And he told me I could give it to anyone I wanted to. I was SO excited! I gave it to another very good friend of mine who writes songs in her spare time. I called her and had to tell her in a voice mail. But she called me back a couple hours later and told me that my voice mail made her cry! She was so excited and thankful for the gift! And I am excited for my friends to get together and record something beautiful. Can't wait to hear it!
27. We had a gift card to Biaggi's lying around our house (actually we had three, but I only used one for this). I walked into the restaurant and gave it to the hostess (along with a Kindness Ninja card) and told her to give it to the next person who walked in the door.
28. We walked into Bed, Bath, and Beyond and left a gift card (with a KN card) on a random shelf. Well, not totally random. Dustin got to pick. And so we put it in the coffee section. Of course.
29. This one was maybe the most fun! We left Starbucks gift cards (and KN cards, of course) inside books at Barnes & Noble. It was fun looking through the books and figuring out which books to put them in! We had four gift cards: Dustin picked a nursing book, one that he said every nursing student needs to purchase at some point. I picked a book about Elvis. Dustin picked a book about Tim Tebow. And then I picked a novel called Snow Baby or something like that. It was so fun! And we were trying not to get caught, so that always adds to the fun. :)
30. Last one! I made up a few little baggies with $1.07 in them. And we went to the dollar store and left them throughout the toy section. Hope those made some little kids' day!
And that was it. We went to Panera and ate dinner together before we headed home. It was such a wonderful day! I wouldn't have chosen anything else to do for my 30th birthday. I was pooped (I might be getting old?), but so excited to think about how the tiny little things I did could maybe bless someone else in a big way.
And I was blessed too.
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