Some "Pay it Forward" Ideas

I always have to revisit paying it forward here. I suppose it is because I am so blessed by friends and even strangers blessing me for no reason. Here are some blessings I have witnessed or heard about
 in one way or another in the past two weeks.

1. Someone shopping for someone else and loading down their vehicle with groceries.
2. Someone slipping an envelope with cash in it in someone's purse.
3. Buying pet food for someone.
4. Helping another person do a complex and confusing (for them) transaction.
5. Giving home grown produce to people.
6. Paying the tab of the people at the next table in the restaurant.
7. Getting the line trimmers repaired for the neighbors.
8. Cooking a meal for someone.
9. Sharing baked goods.
10. Several people giving away free products or giving more than was paid for.

It is easy to become complacent. It is easy to feel entitled or ungrateful. I would like to encourage you to do two things in the next few weeks. First of all look at the areas where you have plenty. Give freely out of your abundance. Bless your friends, bless your neighbors and bless your enemies. See how many people you can bless from things that you have plenty of. Next, give out of your need. Think of an area or two where you are in need and bless someone from there.

I promise that if you look around for people who have less than you have and give to them (I am not talking about enabling addictions etc.) you will come away from the experience with a new frame of mind, with greater appreciation for the situation you are in and with more contentment. Try it. Put giving on your to do list for a while if you are not a natural giver. Be sneaky, be anonymous whenever you can, most of all, have FUN!

Lawana

Farmer's Market Report

Jesse and I had a wonderful time at the Farmer's Market. We took 5 or 6 types of fudge, several types of cookies and bars and some lettuce and micro greens. I LOVE the market. We did better than we have so far. Not getting rich by any means, but my son is developing a love of the market atmosphere and all my children are learning about baking, wildcrafting, making salves etc. Grace-Marie got fired last week because she was disobedient and difficult. Actually, I suppose she was just laid off, as we will give her another chance next week.

We had so much fun with our 4 Alarm, He-Man-Woman-Hater Fudge! (Named from the club on Little Rascals)
I made it for the people who complained that the regular Jalapeno fudge wasn't hot enough. This one definitely was! It tasted really good, but I could only eat a tiny nibble because of the heat. That is the only kind I should keep around.

I have been feeling good about getting in close to 5 miles walking as many days per week as I can. It is an accomplishment for me. Tonight; however, I talked to my sister-in-law and she told me that a lady we both know who is 86, is putting in 20 miles per day on a stationary bike! Now she could have just kept that information to herself! If I live to be 86, I probably won't even be able to get on a stationary bike. The nerve of some people.

I hope you had half as much fun as I had today (and that you didn't have an embarassing, earth shaking, bone crushing fall on concrete in front of half the town). I hope your sunset was stunning. I hope you see the sunrise. I hope when you count your blessings, you run out of fingers and toes.

God bless you!

Lawana

Are You Paying it Forward?

The thought of paying forward is a recurring theme in my writing. I have benefited from the benevolence of others my entire life.My parents were known for paying it forward before the phrase was even penned. I went into a local restaurant this weekend and visited with the owner/waitress. She was so excited that a stranger off the freeway had just helped her out.

The lady came into the restaurant just as a large private party was leaving and the lunch hour was beginning. As this stranger waited for her food, she noticed that my friend was having a hard time catching up the dirty tables. Somewhere, she found a cloth and went to work.

My friend was so touched by this rancom act of kindness. I am sure it made her entire day go better. I know she passed a kindness on to me while I was there.

I would like to challenge you today. Make it a goal to commit 3 random acts of kindness. If possible, do these anonymously. Pray and think about what you can do. Ask God to guide you and to show you the people who are in need. Be willing to leave your comfort zone and sacrifice. We are a blessed nation, but there are hurting people interwoven into our lives. Touch someone today. Do something for someone that will make them cry tears of joy or shake their heads in amazement.

Some of you will do your R.A.K.s at work, some outside the grocery store. Perhaps this challenge will take you into the local hospital or nursing home. Maybe you will pay someone's power bill, or paint someone's fingernails. Can you do yardwork for an elderly neighbor, or give away nice detergent to the people at the laundromat? Perhaps it will be closer to home. Maybe a date with a child who has seemed distant, or helping your spouse with the job they have been dreading. The options are endless.

After you have done these things, please share here. Either share anonymously or in some way that won't mess up your gift. Remember, the recipient of your gift could read thisblog. It is a small world. We all could use the encouragement and possibly use your ideas for our own giving in the future.

I am making my list right now. Will you accept the challenge?

Lawana

Sleeping People

It is a beautiful Saturday morning. Our children have permission to sleep in until 8:00 and they are doing a very good job. My beloved is also still sleeping. He almost never gets to sleep past 6:00 and I am thankful he is getting a little more sleep today. Even the bald hill that curves protectively around our place has a sleepy air about it this morning.

When I got up, I made the rounds. I looked at each sleeping face. I listened to each person's characteristic breathing. I thanked God they were not scattered in a jungle or in a desert trying to avoid persecution as some of their counterparts in today's world are. I prayed for the people who are being persecuted in the world. I tried to think specifically of who the individuals might be, wanting my prayer to be valid, not just a mantra that I say every day. I am so grateful to be safe. For my children's biggest concerns to be getting an education and balancing their schedules or perhaps whether they will need another surgery.

There are many mothers who won't be able to find their families today. Perhaps they will be reunited in a refugee camp some day, perhaps only in eternity. I pray for peace in their countries. As the Bible admonishes, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem. When Jerusalem is finally at peace, it will mean that the Lord has returned as the King of Kings! In that day even predators will be at peace with their prey and little children will be able to play with an asp (a type of viper) safely. Please come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Today, as I enjoy  undeserved privileges and prosperity that are greater than those of  99% of the world, I plan to be joyfully grateful. I am going for a walk now, in a safe area, while my children rest safely untouched by fire, flood, famine, or war.. I am hugely thankful for all my blessings.

Lawana


P.S. What song did I sing in my sleep last night?

                                                                                     
Lead Me To Calvary

King of my life, I crown Thee now,
Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.

Lest I forget Gethsemane,
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.

Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid,
Tenderly mourned and wept;
Angels in robes of light arrayed
Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept.

Let me like Mary, through the gloom,
Come with a gift to Thee;
Show to me now the empty tomb,
Lead me to Calvary.

May I be willing, Lord, to bear
Daily my cross for Thee;
Even Thy cup of grief to share,
Thou hast borne all for me.

Hand-Me-Down "Rows"

The sun came out today! I think we might have hit 70 degrees F! Jesse and Grace-Marie and I decided to do a little gardening. A good friend and neighbor gave us some of her Topsy Turvey planters this year so we decided to plant some tomatos and some strawberries in them. We are taking quite a risk with the tomatoes as it has been a VERY cold spring. I don't think it went over 45 yesterday. The plan was that I could keep them hanging on the porch at night and bring them in the house if it got too cold. That was before I planted them, filled them with soil and WATERED them. Yikes! They are very heavy.
                                  

We are thrifty , by necessity at our house. Our garden fences, raised bed materials, planters, and even hooks that we hung the Topsy Turveys on were all free. Our potting table is a smashed wheel barrow propped on a little goat trough turned upside down. I am so thankful for all my friends who give me things and let me know if they see something I might need somewhere for the scavenging. Because of this we can garden and afford seeds and a few little hand tools. It is very encouraging to be able to garden even when we don't have much expendable income. I get so excited about the produce anyway, but when it costs us almost nothing, it is an even bigger  blessing!

                                                                            

Here is an example of my husband's upcycling. He put a licence plate "tin roof" on the bluebird house.   

                                                                                
This is a glimpse of my slice of Big Sky country through the scavenged chain link that my husband painstakingly trimmed to the right size, one wire at a time with bolt cutters. What a labor of love. 

                                                                              
This year we have high hopes for our hand-me -down rows. We look forward to fruits from the  freeTopsey Turveys potted in the rescued wheel-less barrow, hanging on the recycled bungee cord hooks, on the upcycled fence in front of the innovative tin roofed bird house under the beautiful gift of a free view of the Rocky Mountains, in the Land of the free. I am so grateful to be able to live where and how I do. I have lived other places and might again, but for now, this place is just about perfect.