30 Days of Giving Day 9

For today's giving I went to CVS and bought two of the Nova Max Glucose Monitors. It was a great deal since it was free after ECB's and I know that the food pantry can certainly find someone that will be able to use them. It is never easy to have to deal with diabetes, but I hope that our donation will lighten someone's burden.

30 Days of Giving Day 8

Today's giving was a little different for us. Since it was a weekend for Captain Obvious and Princess Random to be with their dad we had very little family time.

So when they came home tonight I had cooked a great steak dinner and we all gave each other our time. We ate together and then we all went on a walk together.

It was something very special to give each other something that is a very precious commodity.

I am still looking for a few soldiers to send packages to. If anyone knows of a soldier please email me. Supercpnmom@gmail.com.

30 Days of Giving Day 6&7

Today giving opportunities seemed to be everywhere for me. It was nothing at all for me to see great ideas for giving of my time or resources.

Day 6: One of the girls on Princess Randoms soccer team has been missing practice, I wasn't aware why until I talked to her mom. Turns out that for financial reasons the mom has had to return to work, and now there is no one to take her to practice. I was able to convince her that I would love to come pick her up each week to ensure that she is able to come to practice. I know it made the mom happy, I know the daughter will be happy, and I know that Princess Random will be so excited. Win, win, win.

Day 7: Old Navy had one of the $1 sales this morning. This time it was their scarves. I went in to buy several for my little family and also for gifts. When I was checking out with my first transaction, I noticed a small sign on the counter asking for coats, hats, scarves and gloves to be donated. I went back and got more scarves and handed them to the cashier as a donation and several other people asked why. I hope that it maybe spurred a few more donations. It was nice to hear from the manager that the donations are for the local Boys and Girls club. SO all of the donations will stay in the area.

There has been a lot of talk about the blessings that come from giving. For me the biggest blessings are the positive thoughts that I have during a very trying time for me and my little family.

30 Days of Giving Day 5

Part of this challenge for me is to focus on Him, and on the amazing good He can accomplish when we trust in Him.

On the Facebook group for the challenge I read this quote someone posted and it has been ringing true for me today.

When seeds of kindness are sown prayerfully in the garden plot of our lives,we may be sure that there will be a bountiful harvest of blessings for both us and others. ~ W. Phillip Keller

One challenge that I face daily is allowing my emotions to be dictated by other people's actions. All too often i allow some small thing someone else says or does to create negative feelings inside me. There are three men that I work with that do just that to me. The industry I am in is a very male dominated one, and it is very typical for young men just starting to have HUGE ego's. As they grow with in the company the ego seems to shrink, but these three are not shrinking yet. They are the one's who think I am a terrible person because I am divorced, and feel the need to share with me and others exactly how they feel.

Today though I had an encounter with one of them and I immediately became so angry I was shaking. A few minutes later I was approached by yet another one...this one has just told us this week that he got married back in May and that he is expecting his first child in December. He was passing out flyer's for a baby shower for them and my first instinct was to mock him. I could not believe that I could be so shallow. So I prayed and regrouped, I realized that it was sad for him, his wife and their baby. See, his family is not being supportive, her family doesn't live here and they have very few friends. So I immediately decided that I would go through the stock pile and choose several great gifts for this sweet baby girl.

It was one of those moments in life where a moment of frustration can be either used for good or for bad. I am so thankful for this challenge for helping me remember to stay focused on the positive opportunities.

30 Days of Giving Day 3 & 4

Last night we had a great family talk about giving. It was so Awesome to watch the kids process the things we talked about. I loved the ideas that they had about the gifts that God has given them and how they can use their gifts for other people.

Our day three giving was a family decision to give some classroom items to Captain Obvious' Pre-K Class. Each month his teacher puts a list of things that she needs for the classroom. So we sent two boxes of Huggies wipes and a 3 pack of paper towels. He is always happy to bring things to his teacher so he was super excited.

For our day four giving we decided to give time to each other. We are so often bombarded by the craziness of our everyday lives that we forget to enjoy each other. So we enjoyed a nice family dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We used this time to further discuss giving with the kids. We talked about some of the opportunities we have found already to volunteer our time. We are going to work at the food pantry, help in the community garden and hopefully find a great place o help serve Thanksgiving Dinner to those in need.

My kids may be too young to understand the awesomeness of their actions, but it does amazing things for my heart to see how much they are not only willing but that they are wanting to give.

30 Days of Giving

I have been meaning to write this stuff down and share with you guys. I have been inspired by a fellow blogger Alyssa, to join her movement this month. She has titled it 30 Days of Giving. Check out her blog here Kingdom First Mom.

Here is what we are doing. Starting on November 1st we are asking God to lead us all, to show us an avenue in which to give of ourselves.

It may be any form of giving, from time to money or any amazing gift in between.

God has blessed us all in so many ways, he gave us each special gifts that He wants us to use to spread His word.

So this month, I have chosen to give of myself in any way possible. In a time where my heart is hurting and my family is struggling through some really rough moments, I truly believe that this challenge is God calling me to stay focused on Him.

I realize that I am a day behind on my giving updates but I would like to write about yesterday and today in this first post.

I will take a photo each day just to help keep myself accountable.

Day 1. I was able to find a few extra moments this weekend to sort through my stockpile. I was able to pack up 1 large box, and several grocery bags full of grocery, baby, and hygiene items to donate to my local food pantry. The kids and I took all of this to Katy Christian Ministries. This is a charity that I hold dear.
They were so excited to help. They helped me load the car and they got to unload the car into a shopping cart and push it into the building. The volunteer who was there was so sweet and showed them around. He told us that the last two days they have served more than 300 families.

Day 2. Princess Random and Captain Obvious chose to give to their school's School Supply Drive. They are collecting books and school supplies to send to kids in Nigeria. So they went through the school supplies in the Stockpile. It really makes my heart glow to see them give so openly and proudly.

Iwant you all to know that this is not a bragging post... Oh look at me, look what I did. This is me trying to keep my self accountable.

I believe that as parents we have moments in life where we can truly teach our children what it means to be Christ like. For me this is one of those moments. When my kids see me broken from the stress of the last couple of months, I want them to see that I am not only human. Yes, mom's do cry...but, i want them to see that I picked myself up and stayed focused on Him. I believe that there is no greater lesson for them to learn.

I also believe that as blogger's we are given an amazing opportunity for outreach. What an easy amazing way to spread the message of God's love for us.

I challenge all of you to join the movement. Even if you think you have nothing to give. I challenge you to stop and listen. Pray, that he will lead you, and I am sure you will find a way to use the amazing gifts that he has given to you.