Welcome to Week 4 of the 100 Acts of Kindness Project!!
We only have a few days left in our challenge... but there is still time to join in! There is always more time to be kind and just because our kindness project ends on February 14th doesn't mean that you need to be done!
Today I am really happy to introduce the blogger who will be issuing our last Kindness Challenge.
Alissa at Creative with Kids is someone who consistently inspires me to be a better mom. Her post from last year's kindness challenge, 100 Ways to Be Kind to Your Child, was a beautiful reminder to parents of how many simple ways that we can be kind to our children each day. It is amazing how each simple act of kindness adds up to create a beautiful relationship with your child.
This week Alissa is issuing a different sort of challenge. As parents we are constantly giving to our children and often we don't take time to properly care for ourselves. What we don't realize sometimes is that by sacrificing our own health or sanity, we can actually give less to our families...
So, pop on over to Creative with Kids and check out Alissa's Kindness Challenge titled Take Care of Yourself and then let us know how you plan to accomplish this challenge.
Click here for Kindness Challenge 4 @ Creative with Kids
I really really needed to read this post because I definitely need to be reminded to slow down and take care of myself from time to time. Last week my husband was out of town and my 5 year old son was in excruciating pain. He was basically up all night every night until we finally figured out what was wrong at the end of the week and got him the right medication to help. I was completely spent by the end of the week and an emotional wreck after getting literally no sleep for 4 days (in addition to nursing a newborn around the clock and taking care of all three kids without my spouse being home).
I can be kind of stubborn and just want to take care of everything on my own without asking for help, but as I prayed last week for my son to feel better, one thing I realized was that I need to let other people help me and I needed to take care of myself so that I could help my son (and my other 2 kids) as much as they needed me.
So, instead of cleaning the house like a maniac each night, this weekend each night I either went to bed early or let myself veg in front of the TV for 45 minutes after the kids went to sleep and I watched a show with a bowl of ice cream. If someone asked if they could help me or do something for me I said YES (usually I would say no)! It felt great and I am starting this next week re-energized and prepared for any challenges that come.
Here are a few of the kind ways that people served our family over the past few days...
A friend watched my daughter while I took my son to a doctor's appointment
A neighbor watched my daughter while I took my son to a dentist appointment
A neighbor brought me bag full of goodies from Trader Joes... including these pretzel slims that I inhaled in one day.
Three different neighbors stopped by to give me hugs, offer help, and just listen to me and let me cry.
A friend brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
A friend brought us two bags full of food to eat and some special snacks for the kiddos... and more ice cream for me.
A friend brought me a six pack of diet coke since she knew I hadn't been sleeping much.
A neighbor went and picked up some essentials for us at the store (like a big box of diapers... since we ran out).
A dentist came in on her day off to help figure out what was wrong with my son... and then proceeded to call me all weekend long to check on him.
My little sister skipped work and spent the day watching my daughter, running to the store to get me medicine, and just giving me hugs while entertaining my kids.
My brother and his wife came to visit and entertained my kids and made a long day go by quicker.
Several friends invited us over to dinner so that we could be distracted a bit and I wouldn't have to cook dinner.
Neighbors invited my kids to come play outside with them while I took a shower and got a moment to clean up our house.
My sister, mom, and dad all called and listened to me talk and helped encourage me during a rough week.
And just tonight a neighbor said that she and her daughter made us brownies that they are going to bring over tomorrow.
Seriously... how blessed are we to have so many amazing people in our lives watching out for our family? There is no way that I would feel energized right now if so many people hadn't been so kind to us last week.
Sometimes the most kind thing we can do is let someone else help us... and let them receive the blessings that come from helping others. As I have let people help me, I feel like it has deepened our relationship with one another too. It requires me to let go of my pride and be a little bit more humble too... and acknowledge I can't do everything... which is hard!
How have others helped you recently?
Is it hard or easy for you to accept help from others?
How are you going to accomplish week 4's challenge?
While you are over at Creative with Kids, check out some of my other favorite resources over there:
I am so excited that you chose to join us in this challenge. If you are just finding out about our challenge, head on over to our 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge landing page to find out all of the details and stay up to date. It is not too late to join in!
You are right that sometimes receiving can be so much harder than giving! What a wonderful message to impart on this last day of 100 Acts of Kindness project. A very good reminder that I especially need because I am like you!