Sunday, April 18, 2010

It Keeps Going and Going and Going!!


Woodson Chapel Christian Church in St. Joe, MO is starting the 40 Days of Kindness. Pass it on!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Reflections


As I sit and reflect upon what my 29 Days of Giving has done for me and how I've benefited from my own acts of kindness, I'm AMAZED at how much I've infected others to react, initiate and incorporate bigger and better ways to keep the momentum going!!  It's been well beyond my 29 days of Giving and I've seen and witnessed how it keeps going and going although I've quit the accountability and daily acts of giving.  Even though I'm not intentionally and actively giving on purpose each day, I'm still giving and sharing daily.  And the benefits are overflowing! 
We've all heard the phrase "Pay it forward" and many have seen the movie, but this is more than a movie or a phrase, it's real life and it's PURE- giving or acting without expectation.
If you google the phrase, "pay it forward" this is what you'll get:

Wikipedia also defines it:
The expression "pay it forward" is used to describe the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead. In contract law, typically there are two parties, but there may be a third party beneficiary. "Pay it forward" means the creditor (obligee) offers the debtor (obligor) the option of "paying" the debt forward by lending the funds to a third person instead of paying it back to the original creditor. Debt and payments can be monetary or by good deeds. In sociology, this concept is called "generalized reciprocity" or "generalized exchange". A related transaction, which starts with a gift instead of a loan, is alternative giving.

See also
Kindness
Reciprocity (social psychology)
Reciprocity (cultural anthropology)
social responsibility
Gift economy

I absolutely LOVE this- especially what's found in the See Also- kindness and social responsibility.  It's part of our core responsibilties and the way to Walk in the Shoes of Jesus to live as we are here to live.  Hebrews 10:24... And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds...

Many times I've been asked about my giving and what inspired it, why I did it, how it worked and so on....  I'm really not one to talk much about my personal life (in person any way), or make a big deal over the things I do or have done- I just do it to do it....  But I do talk about it and love what it's done!  My sister-in-law and her husband, the Pastor of a church in Minnesota, have taken my acts of kindness and enveloped it into a passion and ministry within their church and they've blogged about the responses and reactions within the church and their community!  Click on her link to follow their story.


Not long after they started their 28 Days of Giving, I was again approached to share my story.  My own church wanted to start up something with a goal of 4,000 Acts of Kindness!!  Expanding from the 29 Days, they wanted to encourage 100 people to take the challenge of 1 act of kindness each day for 40 days = 4,000 acts of kindness!!!  They kicked this off Easter Sunday with my own video testimonial.

Check out their link and progress here:


Who knows where this will all lead?!  I'm just proud to say that I've been an active part of it!!  Don't be afraid to get involved and pay it forward yourself and to give back.  Who knows, mabye your town will be the next Kindest City in your state!?  See how this city is working towards that title now: