Friday, February 1, 2013

30-Day Challenge (and my birthday month!): Do some service everyday

So, my first 30-Day Challenge of doing yoga everyday in January, was going along swimmingly. I was getting up early and doing a nice practice of yoga. I was standing up straighter and was feeling calmer and more centered. It was wonderful!

Well, until I tweaked my knee during our family skiing trip on the 19th.

RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)

Doh! I'm not terribly graceful at times, so it wasn't a big surprise I'd hurt myself.

Naturally, I was bummed--I was actually sticking to my first 30-day challenge.

But, things happen for a reason, so I think I'll be doing this challenge again in the future. (By the way, my knee is getting better. According to the X-rays, I didn't break anything and the doctor doesn't think I tore anything. I'm supposed to take it easy for a while.)

For February, my 30-Day Challenge (or rather 28-Day Challenge) of doing some service everyday, centers around my birthday this month.

I love getting together with my friends and family for my birthday, but I found that they always feel obligated to bring a gift.

Birthday cake!

Getting together with my friends and family is gift enough, so I started thinking of ways to ease the gift-bringing pressure. About 10 years ago, I started asking people not to purchase a gift, but rather to bring something to donate or to participate in a service project at my birthday party, like:

  • One year, we had a food drive and people got prizes depending on how many cans of food they brought. 
  • Another year, everyone brought stuff for hygiene kits and we put those together to send to countries where natural disaster had struck. 
  • And another year, we all got together at the Utah Food Bank and volunteered for a couple hours together and had cake and ice cream afterward.


It has been a fun way to celebrate my birthday and there was no longer the pressure of buying a gift that had to be specific to me.  Plus, someone who needs the help, benefits--everyone wins!

For the month of February, my 30-Day Challenge goal is to "first observe, then serve". I am hoping most of these daily acts will be unplanned and in response to what I see happening around me. And I have some planned acts of service throughout the month too.

Fun, fun!

Your Part: As part of this month's challenge and as a birthday present to me :), I'm asking all of you, dear friends, to get involved and to serve someone each day, by taking notice of those around you who may need a hand or a simple hello or a listening ear.

And remember, like the little honeybee’s one-twelfth teaspoon of honey provided to the hive, if we multiply our efforts by tens of thousands, even millions of prayerful efforts to share God’s love for His children through Christian service, there will be a compounding effect of good that will bring the Light of Christ to this ever-darkening world. Bound together, we will bring love and compassion to our own family and to the lonely, the poor, the broken, and to those of our Heavenly Father’s children who are searching for truth and peace.
M. Russell Ballard

I'll report back on some of the things that happened this month, and I'd love to hear anything you were able to do too!


P.S. I recently read this and this, which inspired me to do this 30-Day Challenge.




1 comment:

  1. What a great idea. My birthday is coming up also, so I will do it in honor of your's and mine...

    ReplyDelete

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