Taking Time

Today I realized that the gift I really need to be giving is the gift of paying attention to the small things: really looking when my son wants me to look at his toys, giving sincere praise to my family members, taking the time to ask about and care about what they are doing.

I was reading Elder Ballard's talk "Finding Joy through Loving Service" in preparation for Julie's lesson Sunday, and this quote made me feel empowered: "Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another."I can do this. I can give of myself in small ways everyday and have true joy now and when I see Heavenly Father and Jesus again!

The Push I Needed!

What I like about this challenge is that I am doing things that I normally want to do but don't follow through with. For example, tonight my gift was to go to the Family History Library and do some research for a friend who wants to find out where in Europe her ancestors originated. Usually with the chaos of the kids' bedtime it would be hard for me to find the motivation to get out the door to do this, but the challenge provided the extra push I needed to act upon my good intentions. Hopefully this will be a habit that I can maintain after the 29 days is over...

Sunday, July 10th

I thought about this challenge after church and concluded I didn't have time to do a charitable act every day. But that evening, I baked a dozen muffins for our Stake Emergency Prep meeting. I thought the muffins would tie in to the meeting, because the recipe can be altered to use only ingredients that one may have in the pantry.

Monday I made tacos for my husband, because they his favorite dinner. I had to make a special trip to the store for ingredients at the last minute... but had decided that would be my 'gift' for the day.

Tuesday I drove one of our cars to the gas station to fill it up. I knew my son would do it that evening, but he'd had a long drive home after work. So I thought I'd help him out.

Wednesday I drove to a friend's house who does my hair. I brought two special jar lids to use with her Food Saver. These jar lids allowed us to vacuum pack foods into canning jars. We did a dozen of them, and it was quite fun.

I've decided I can do this challenge, though we're leaving on vacation next Monday.

32min59sec Bike Ride

On Mondays and Fridays my little family and I meet with our 60+ year old aunt to cycle a 7mile trail...not long at all. We've maintained a 37min. ride for weeks which is not a bad pace considering we're novices.
On Monday we rode as usual and finished our ride in 32 minutes 59 seconds. We all felt good about it but our aunt was the most ecstatic. She said that she had not met that time for many, many years.
Because she felt soooo happy she made me promise that I include this as 1 act of service (I talked to her about our SOS). I didn't think it was much of a service but I promised.
She said to write the following:
"I helped my old decrepit aunt finish our 7 mile ride in 32 minutes and 59 seconds."
I laugh but if it helps her feel happy and accomplished then I guess it is 1 act of service for a day.

A Phone Call on Day 2

Today I made the time to call a friend who struggles with chronic fatigue syndrome and often needs a pick-me-up. I think I gained more from her cheerful attitude and kind comments than she gained from mine, but my heart was in the right place.

Welcome!

As we learned in our lesson today, the stake Relief Society has asked each ward Relief Society to participate in a "Summer of Service." For our ward's Summer of Service, our Relief Society presidency is inviting each sister to participate in a 29 Days of Giving Challenge.

The Inspiration for the Challenge

The 29 Days of Giving Challenge is based on the book 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life by Cami Walker. The author was a successful business woman, who when she was newly married found out that she had Multiple Sclerosis. She was deteriorating quickly, becoming addicted to prescription drugs, and was barely able to get out of bed. She was MISERABLE and overwhelmed by self-pity. At rock bottom, Cami spoke to a woman who was a sort of spiritual leader to her, who gave her a prescription for healing: to give away 29 gifts in 29 days and to write about her giving experiences in her journal.

Cami reluctantly took up the challenge. As she made the effort to willingly give of herself in whatever small ways she could each day, she started to regain her health and vitality. Her gifts of her time, means, and talents were simple, spontaneous gestures-- a donation to a homeless person, giving away flowers to strangers on the street, helping her husband with chores around the house, taking the time to listen to a friend in need--but they transformed her life by improving her outlook. Instead of focusing inward on her pain and inability to do all of the things she used to do before MS took hold, Cami learned to focus outside of herself and find ways to offer gifts to those people who crossed her path every day. She also learned to recognize and give gratitude daily for all of the gifts she was receiving from others.

While in her book Cami Walker looks at her giving experiences through the lens of a non-Christian Eastern philosophy, essentially what she is chronicling is how she developed charity through her giving. As she cultivates a habit of reaching out to others and learns to give out of love, rather than out of obligation, and with no expectation of reward, she is learning to obey the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves and is realizing the Relief Society motto: "Charity Never Faileth.”

Our Challenge

Thousands of people have participated in the 29 Days of Giving Challenge since Cami started a website based upon her experiences. Every sister in the Glendale 1st Ward is invited to participate in the challenge as well, starting today. The idea behind this challenge is not to suggest that we are not all already trying to give every day. The real challenge here is to start being more mindful of your giving--to record what you give and what you receive every day so that you become more aware of your growth, of all that you have to offer, and of all you have to be grateful for. Thinking and writing about what you give and receive every day will increase your ability to give as you recognize the impact you are making and get beyond the day's problems.

In sum, here is what we will do:

1. Give a gift every day when the opportunity arises as we go about our ordinary day to day tasks.
   

2. Strive to give with love, without the expectation of return. The intention of the gift matters, not the size.

3. Open yourself up to receiving and welcoming gifts from others.

4. Write about your gifts in order to better internalize how the giving affects/transforms you. You can do so by posting to this blog, writing in your journal, or just listing your gifts on a calendar, like the one handed out in Relief Society.
   

I will be posting to the blog daily. Please return here to read about other sisters' experiences and to share your own!