The Little Things

Hello! I hope you all had something to smile about today!

Every Monday, I play volleyball with a group of friends at my church. Last night, I could tell something was bothering one of my friends. I tried talking to him at the time but I didn't get much in response. Today I knew I needed to reach out to him so he would know I'm thinking about him. Here is a clip from our texts today:

 



This seems like such a small thing to do but I hope I brought a little bit of joy to his day.

Who did you make smile today?

A lot to smile about

Hi all! There has been a lot to smile about in the past 24 hrs.

As you all know, I end each post with "Who did you make smile today?" and here is a message I received from a friend yesterday in response to the question:

"Someone else made ME smile today! At church this AM I was handed an envelope which contained $400.00! (This a not a typo)!!! God IS good! No matter what men/women may say!  :) "

WOW!! That is amazing. I am so happy for my friend and so proud of that church for helping out someone so deserving!

Today, others made me smile as well. This past weekend I had some unexpected expenses come up and I have been very stressed about making it until pay day. My employer (well, they are not technically my employer but they have the power to fire me at any given time so referring to them as my employer seems appropriate lol) paid for my lunch, and it was one of my all time favorite meals! Then when I arrived home, I noticed that my sister had given me her rent money (she lives with me) a few days early and there was much more money in the envelope than originally expected. Thanks sis!!

Today at the gym, I slipped an encouraging note in a book someone was reading (they placed it in a cubby while working out). Hopefully, they will enjoy the encouragement.

Who did you make smile today?

Spreading smiles at church

Good afternoon! I hope your day is going well! Today's random acts of kindness were focused on smiles at church. I left inspirational notes in a few random member mailboxes before church service began. Hopefully they will see the notes after church and it will brighten their day a bit. I wanted to make sure one of the notes went in Pastors mailbox. As a Registered Nurse myself, I know that a profession focused on helping others can sometimes feel like a thankless job. We become so dedicated to caring for others, that we often forget that we matter as well. We constantly have to be reminded that we are allowed to put ourselves first from time to time. So I left the following note specifically for him:

 



After church, I spent some time talking with a good friend. We shared our trials and triumphs from the past few weeks as we hadn't seen one another. When she learned about some monetary concerns I was having, she offered to buy me a Diet Dr. Pepper. She is well aware of my DDrP addiction and how I was worried about getting through the day without my caffeine since I didn't want to spend the money. After politely declining her offer three times, she insisted that she drive me across the street to the gas station and buy me the beverage. She was so persistent, I couldn't refuse. This made my day. This goes to show how such a small gesture can go a long way. It meant so much to know that someone was so willing to help me in my time of need. Not to mention, I don't have to deal with a caffeine headache all day. Thank you Lisa! I am blessed to have a friend like you in my life

Who did you make smile today?

I have also now created a twitter if you would like daily inspirational quotes!! Follow me @LendASmileToday

Happy Saturday!!

Happy Saturday all! I hope you all are enjoying this day and spreading the love!

Today's acts of kindness

• A woman sitting in front of me at a weight watchers meeting put her coat on the back of her chair. I took this opportunity to slip an encouraging note into her coat pocket. I hope when she finds it, it will make her smile
• I took the time to call my grandmother who lives out of state. She was ecstatic and told me that I had made her day.
• I complimented the bank teller on her gorgeous hair.

Witnessed acts of kindness

• A kind woman at the gym got on the elliptical and noticed an Ipod on the machine. She tracked down the owner to return it
• A woman's water bottle fell off her machine. A man picked it up and returned it to her.

Who did you make smile today? Please share in the comments!

 

 

The Start of Something New

 

 

Yesterday, I received a text from my sister saying that she was having a rough day. Later, I called to see how she was doing but when I received her voicemail I hung up. Then I thought to myself 'Why hang up? Why not leave her a message to lift her spirits?' I immediately called back, waited for the beep, and I left a message; complete with a southern accent and inside jokes. As I was leaving the gym a few hours later, I checked my phone and saw a text from her stating "Your voicemail was the first thing to make me smile all day." In return, this brought a smile MY face. At this time, I realized two things:

 

1. How something so little just made someone's day better

2. How it only took 30 seconds of my day to makes someone smile

 

If it is so easy to make a difference in someone's day, why is society not making more of an effort to be kind? Right then, driving home from the gym, I decided to start a new way of life. I cannot help all those in need but I can certainly make an impact on those around me. Hopefully by doing this, there is a chance they will pay it forward as well. So, this is a blog of daily random acts of kindness. My hope is that all those reading this will pay it forward.

 

Today's random acts of kindness:

 

1. My mom is our church secretary and often gets stressed on Fridays trying to get all the bulletins and newsletters together for the weekend services. I spent two hours with her this morning helping print, cut and stuff bulletins

 

2. I went for a massage and had decided that I wanted to go the Bed, Bath, & Beyond next door afterwards (even though there was nothing in particular that I needed or wanted). However, that plan quickly changed when I decided to ask my massage therapist about her life. She began telling me about a tragedy that occurred two years ago, leaving her adult son disabled. She is now caring for him and her four young grandchildren. I was blown away with her positive attitude about the situation. She actually feels BLESSED because she realizes that her son could have died or been confined to a bed for life. She is also a firm believer that the Lord does not give her more than she can handle. Throughout the massage, I was just so impressed by this strong woman of faith and the willingness she had to forgive the man who injured her son. As I was leaving, I couldn't bring myself to waste money buying something I didn't need while this woman worked overtime to provide for her family. Instead, I left the woman a hefty tip with an uplifting note.

 

Who did you make smile today?