Today I am grateful for the kindness of strangers.Last fall, my sister and brother in law moved from a dinky town in Illinois to a larger town in Iowa and bought this older home... They've since been remodeling and trying to update it and improve it to make it comfortable to live in. Along the way they have found one problem after another and have sunk so much more cash into it than they'd planned on & now they are expecting baby #3. Just a couple of weeks ago the furnace went kaplooey... another thing added to the pile of woes and worries. Money has been tighter than normal & they've been avoiding spending on extra things like going out, etc.
Last week she was a recipient of a Single Lovely Action (aka Random Act of Kindness). She said that she was out running errands with the 2.5 yr old b/g twins and everyone was tired & hungry so she decided to stop at McDonald's and get kids meals and dollar menu items to hold them over until they finished their errands and got home. Anyway.. when she pulled up to the pay window the attendant informed her that the car in front of her had paid for their meals. My sister said that was the coolest surprise that someone would just randomly pay for someone.
A SIMPLE Single Lovely Action that made someone else's day! How cool is that? It was awesome to hear and we talked about the Pay it Forward concept... She told me how it really got her thinking about what little things they could do to brighten someone's day.
What Single Lovely Action can you do this week to lighten a load or brighten someone's day?
Surprise RAK !!!! To help pay it forward I have one set of 3 pairs of chipboard covers (sizes are 4x4, 4x6 and 6x6) by Zutter Innovative (Bind It All) to give away. Leave a comment here on this post and commit to performing at least ONE SLA/RAK within the next week. You don't have to tell us what you're going to do... just that you promise to do it :)
PS. I'm editing some photos for a fun artwork post and have a couple of really neat things to share in the next couple of weeks! Stay tuned :)
13 comments:
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This post was great and what a beautiful thing to happen.
I love knowing that there are kind hearted people out there who don't want any glory.
Thanks again!
I experienced RAK for my first time while living on the Washington side of Hood River. To go grocery shopping I had to cross the toll bridge. It was only .75 but still that starts to add up. Anyway one day while crossing I got to the window, oh I should mention I had my two children in the car and was already maxed out and I hadn't even done the shopping yet. Anyway, when I got to the pay window, I was told that the car in front had paid. What a mood changer it was. After that I can't tell you how many times I've paid twice just hoping to cheer up someone behind me. My husband started half joking about how it costs us double to cross the bridge. But I loved that feeling and if I could give that to someone, even better.
My sister just had this happen to her but on a much bigger scale. She was out to dinner with her husband and three boys, someone was so impressed by the family when it was time to pay, they were told that another unnamed couple had paid. My sister wrote about it the next day and it appeared in her local newspaper. What a great feeling.
It's been a while since I've done a RAK, thank you for reminding me of the feeling. I'll look for an opportunity again this week.
This RAK /SLA would befit our DIL who is coming this late evening after Thanksgiving Eve service. Her pinkie does more creative service than a whole day of my two hands! We would love to gift her with a chipboar RAK to season with her creativity then pass on at least one or more board books to a grandma hosting five grandchildren in here home and teaching them twice on Sunday in our congregation. This dear grandma is blest by pewsitters who cradle the infant girl and take a hand to walk the two toddler types from worship music time through the end of junior church. She could use a delightful outlet, relaxation stamping/scrapping. Everyone was interested and she was relieved to find that the newly arranged broadcasts of the worship service were unable to hear noise ..baby or cough, if the mic was more than six inches away from the point of generation! That's the target of this RAK if chipboard comes our way. Keep Looking UP!
What a great story!Off to figure out who to RAK. This is fun.
anitamocha@sbcglobal.net
109 PIF coffees!!
That was the line at Starbucks I was in...
Being the 110th person and no one behind me, I gave the cashier an extra $5 for the next order to come along!!
Someone had heard about one similar on the radio I listen to in the am, and sooooo...we had to top it of course!
I Love the Pay it FOrward mentality! I strive to do it in everything - pay someone's toll or randomly do things for people I have no idea who they are... It feels good! Thanks for sharing your awesome story! Kisha
Thanks for putting this on there. I love the idea to share with others.
Hugs.
This is the time of year to find a service member and send a CARE package to our military serving our country. Check with the Red Cross or ask around your friends and family, everyone knows someone who can use a CARE package.
I promise to do an RAK tomorrow in your honor! Linda in TN
Its funny how such simple things that we do can affect someone. Wednesday I had some last minute things to buy at the grocery store. I had less than 10 items. The lady behind me had a couple more than me but her two kids were tired and kranky so I let her in line in front of me. She started crying. She was having a really bad day and just wanted to get home.. and was so thankful I would do that for her. It was no big deal to me? What an extra 5 minute wait???
I will think of something to do this week. Not sure what but I'm sure the opportunity will arise.
I'm going to do something for someone this upcoming week.
Good Morning! I too love the "pay it forward" idea. Thanks for inspiring us to do more to make our world better, one act at a time. I will start looking for new opportunities today!
Can I borrow your quote & post it on my blog also?
Thanks again!
Erin this is great! I am a random PIFFER :) My daughter and i actually have been doing things for years and we delight in seeing others expressions but we aren't about the thanks or making sure they know it was us who did it. We one year took candy canes and hung them on all the neighbors doors with Merry Christmas tag- houses we knew had more than one kid got more candy canes :) We sometimes pay fixed tolls for ppl on the highway if we have the change handy (did it this weekend actually LOL!) and we have paid for others dinners in restaurants as well as one time I bought a whole boatload of gift certificates from a place and when we walked into the restaurant we asked for a seat all the way in the back and we dropped one on every table we walked by till we ran out! It is FUN and the joy it gives others is only a smidgen of what joy you feel inside from doing good!
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