A couple of posts ago I mentioned something about the Birthday Project. A facebook friend of mine had posted about this project on her page and explained what it entailed and that she was planning on taking on the task of the Birthday Project with her upcoming 29th birthday approaching. Since I also had the big 3-0 sneaking up on me, I thought that this project would be a great idea for me to mimic for my own birthday. So, you are probably wondering what in the world is "The Birthday Project?" Well I will tell you. You take the age that you are turning for your birthday and do that many acts of kindness. Yes, it's that simple. These acts of kindness can be anything as small as giving someone a hug or a compliment to buying school supplies for a needy child to volunteering your time for a non-profit organization or just simply a good cause. Some of the acts below were very simple to do and were part of my every day/week norm so to speak.... While others took a bit more pushing myself and were just outright tougher to do-- at least for me.
Below are my 30 acts of kindness that took me about 2 weeks to complete and has taken me even longer to post! I definitely learned a lot from this project. One thing is that something that might seem really small and insignificant to you may make someone else's day. And, its just a nice state of mind to get into actively doing kind things all day and week long. I so enjoyed this project and plan on making it not only an annual thing, but to try (I realize some days will be tougher than others!) & strive to do more acts of kindness on a daily basis. I hope that you will enjoy reading my acts of kindness and consider taking on the challenge of the project or sharing and encouraging someone else to do it. Not only will it just "make ya feel good," but most importantly it just might make someone else's day or help them out in ways that you could never imagine. :) (Side Note: This is a great tradition to start with your kids!)
My 30 Acts of Kindness:
1. Sent a handwritten note to a co-worker who had just lost a loved one letting her know that I was praying for their family.
2. Wrote an encouraging note on Tim's napkin that I placed his breakfast on one morning.
3. Cooked breakfast for my family.
4. Texted 2 friends and let them know I was thinking about them both as they went back to work today and had to leave their infants. (All working mommies can sympathize w/ this one!)
5. Bought donuts for Ella's babysitter for she and the other children to enjoy one morning.
6. Set out everything for Mom to make her coffee one morning when she stayed overnight so she wouldn't have to look for anything (mug, creamer, sugar, stirring spoon, & k-cup)
7. Donated food items to the local food pantry based on their current needs (did this multiple times).
8. Let another lady skip in front of me in line @ a crowded restaurant so she could place her order w/ her friend who was ahead of me.
9. Filled up a book bag full of supplies requested for a Hispanic community that was in need of children's school supplies.
10. Gave a compliment to a co-worker (this is an easy one to get in the habit of).
11. Prayed specifically for a couple friend of ours whose husband is overseas serving in Afghanistan. Sent them correspondence letting them know I had lifted each of them specifically up in prayer that day.
12. Wrote a short note of thankfulness to Ella's sitter. (I have actually done this every week since Ella was 10 weeks old and went to her for the first time!)
13. Donated money to our "coffee fund ministry" at church.
14. Prayed specifically for the teachers, faculty, staff, administration, and kids going back to school on my drive into work.
15. Gave a "word of thanks" to a friend for his teaching and leadership.
16. Shared a wonderful women's devotional website w/ several friends and family members via an email.
17. Purchased & donated medications needed/requested to our church's mission team that is going on mission trip this month to serve in Ghana, Africa.
18. Surprised mom with an "all expense paid" manicure one afternoon! (She didn't know that her bill and tip had been taken care of by my sister and me until she went to the desk afterwards and tried to pay!)
19. Mailed a birthday card to an elderly friend back home.
20. Surprised a co-worker of mine w/ a restaurant gift card so she could "have lunch on me" one day.
21. Bought my niece (future big sis to be) and my niece "on the way" some outfits "just because."
22. Donated a ton of clothes and odds and ends house ware items to the local Good will store.
23. Mailed a handwritten note to several different church members letting them know I was praying for them specifically based on prayer requests that had been submitted to the church.
24. Worked a 2.5 hour shift at the local food pantry one morning. (I will def be doing this again!)
25. Offered to babysit a friends baby w/ "No strings attached" / "just because" so she and her husband could have a date night (they took me up on it!)
26. Wished a good friend a happy 30th birthday!
27. Cooked dinner/dessert for a sick neighbor and delivered it to their home one afternoon.
28. Bought a muffin for a co-worker one morning for breakfast.
29. Called my 97 year old grandmother just to check on her, say hello, and chat.
30. Shared this project with you in hopes that you will be inspired as I was when your birthday rolls around :) (or just any time- not necessarily your b-day! For example, do one act of kindness each day for a month- Have fun with it!)
Special thank you to Amanda Smithers for sharing this project. It has absolutely been a blessing......
