Christmas Kindness

In about half an hour it is going to be December. I am really excited about this month for a few reasons. Lots of fun activities coming up, time with friends a family, a little trip for the hubby and myself, good food, etc. etc. What I am most excited about right now is this:

I know, you're probably overwhelmed at the quality of this photo..take a minute to gather yourself and then I will tell you what that is.

It is my Random Act Of Kindness Advent Calendar!

Made by yours truly with a little gluing help from a friend. (Thanks Elizabeth!)

The gist is-each day we will pull out a slip of paper with a "random act of kindness" written on it. Not so random if I am telling the blogosphere? Let me explain my intentions here. First of all, I got the idea from another blog-which then encouraged me to do the same, so I think it's a good thing to share. I have read about where people do 30 Acts of Kindness on their 30th birthday, and things such as that.
I got some of the ideas from other people and made some of them up myself. I am really excited about every single one of them.

I am not a type A person. I am a procrastinator and I have a lot of really good intentions. I miss meetings and get dates wrong for fun get togethers and accidentally skip them. This doesn't really always work for me. I don't always do the things that I really want to and need to do. So lately..I have been scheduling my life out and it kind of helps. Meal planning and exercising are the first two areas that sort of ignited me to be more organized. I can't wait to tell you about our New Year's resolution guidelines and goals. :) ....Anyway..the point is, we all think of little things that would be kind to do and that would make someone feel better but if you're like me, you don't always do it! So...I wrote some things down..stuck them in a little pocket and plan to pull one out each day and do it. It isn't forced or fake because I want to do it. This will just help me to remember and motivate me to actually do it. And..I bet it will be so great that this will just bleed over into many more days of acts of kindness.

We also want to make Christmas about so much more than presents. We want to share with Brody that it means so much more to give to others. So it is really special to us to be able to have the opportunity to do something for someone else, no matter how small, and let Brody be a part of that.

I only have 24 days on my calendar because that is all that fit. I do want to always try and plan one big service project for Christmas each year. This year that is going to be the Pajama Project!! If you missed out on that post you can find that here: http://3hysmiths.blogspot.com/2012/11/project-pajamas-needs-you.html or just go to my post labeled Project Pajama..I still need more PJs. But I have been given about 30 pairs of jammies and I think that is awesome, thanks everyone!

These acts may be really small-but kindness goes a long way. So "FOLLOW" me and join me if you want! And if you want the quick update-follow me on Twitter @AbbyHysmith...if you're into that kind of thing.

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, KINDNESS, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control, against such things there is now law." Galatians 5:22-23

Project Pajamas Needs YOU!

Whether your Christmas tree is up and you've been rocking out to Bing Crosby for months, or you are a die hard "no tinsel till after the Turkey" kind of person..you are probably fully aware that the Christmas season is upon us.

Anyone you ask probably has a different Christmas tradition that they love. Some of them may be big extravagant traditions like boot prints on the fireplace and climbing on the roof to jingle some bells in the middle of the night. Or it may be popping in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and making some Swiss Miss. I don't know-perhaps this year you are going to implement a new Pinterest craft every single day. Oh that Pinterest...I remember making snowmen out of plastic spoons with our neighbors when I was little and I thought that was awesome. (And no-I am not a hater, my Christmas board is one of my most crowded boards.)

Whatever your Christmas plans/traditions/seasonal goals may be....I have something that NEEDS YOUR HELP!! 

One thing that many people like about Christmas is getting new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. Not that big of a thing-but a sweet memory. 

Did you know that there are over 50 kids at the Nashville Rescue Mission? Did you know they range from infancy to 17? Well if you didn't..now you do. 

Ryan and I volunteered with Ordinary Hero at the Franklin Pumpkinfest for their Halloween Outreach with the rescue mission kids. The lady who started Ordinary Hero had the idea one year to do something fun for the kids for Halloween and a tradition started. This outreach opportunity encouraged me to think of something we could do to make Christmas a little more special for them. Thus began...PROJECT PAJAMA! 

I e-mailed someone at the NRM and asked her if this idea was possible/a good idea. She said YES-Great idea...she knows there will probably be around 50+ children staying there at the time. (This changes often) But she thought that the same group that was there around Thanksgiving would still be there around Christmas.  I told her I would try to collect various sizes and some extras so that everyone could have a pair that fits. She is planning to be able to give me more details on number/ages/sizes next week.

But here is my plan for now......Collect as many NEW pairs of pajamas as I possibly can!!! This is where you come in!!!!!!! 

• Please purchase any sizes or styles of pajamas that you want ranging from baby to 17 year old-boy and girl!! They do not have to be Christmas themed, but can be. 
• Spread the word to friends to do the same thing! 
• Bring them to me at any service at Crieve Hall Church of Christ OR
• Contact me via email abbymhysmith@gmail.com- and I will come and get them from you or you can bring them by my house OR
• If you live out of town-you can mail them to me OR
• If you order online you can ship them to my house-just email me @ abbymhysmith@gmail.com 
• Be waiting for an update on the inventory that is coming in and what they need at the Rescue Mission
• Pray for the homeless families all over our country and about ways we can help them! 

They plan to give the children the new PJs on Christmas Eve! What a special thing (though it is small) for kids who don't have much! My prayer is that this small gesture will help the families to know that Jesus loves them so much-because we will be serving these families only in the name of Jesus because we are blessed! 

Let's make Christmas a little cozier for these kiddos!!! And..stay tuned for something I am hoping to do for the women at the Nashville Rescue Mission. We cannot do this without you-please consider being a part of this special project!! 

I want to set a goal but I am not sure what a good number to shoot for is...how many can we collect? If you want to commit please comment and if you want-follow my blog!!!!! 

Thanks!!! 

Orphan Sunday

Today is Orphan Sunday. November is also National Adoption Awareness Month. So I have a few thoughts...

This morning around 4:30 my precious little Brody woke up. His PJ's were wet and his nose is super stuffed up and he has all this congestion in his chest and you can't really explain to a 1 year old how to cough and clear his throat. Needless to say-he was sad. Ryan and I both got up and Ry changed Brody's jammies and we got him some milk and I just rocked him while Ryan changed the sheets. I love my son so much that it makes me melt when he cuddles me and hurts my heart when he feels bad in any way. My mommy heart is often an achy melty mess. Brody is such a special little boy and we are extremely blessed to be his parents.

While I was enjoying the moment of snuggling with Brody and hoping he would feel better soon I couldn't help but think that there are MILLIONS of children all around the world and right around the corner who DON'T have someone to rock them when they are sick. They don't have a clean dry pair of pajamas if they wet theirs. This fact absolutely breaks my heart. All children deserve a mommy and a daddy. Babies deserve full bellies and play time and children need to be able to go to school.

Our hearts ache to know more about our two little ones who will at some point be orphaned. We pray that God can give them peace in their hearts to know that it isn't forever. We also feel so sad knowing that there are so many children out there who will not lose their orphan status. The best thing is to have a mommy and daddy who love you and will care for you always.

I don't know about God's calling for you. But as Christians we are all called to help those less fortunate- particularly orphans.

The good news is-there are a lot of things being done to help orphans. All around the world people are doing  all kinds of bold things and all kinds of small things.

Maybe you are already doing something. Maybe you are already doing A LOT. Thank you for your example and your heart. Sometimes we know we should do something we just don't know what. So here are some ideas...

I ask you to PLEASE pray and ask God what YOU can do to serve an orphan. Here are some ways that you can DIRECTLY help an orphan.

http://www.showhope.org/Donate/BecomeASponsor.aspx Show Hope is an awesome organization that you can support in different ways. 91% of your donation will go to orphan care or to aid families with adoption. Your monthly donation would go to giving life changing care to an orphan who stays in one of Show Hope's care centers.

http://www.worldvision.org/m/sponsor-a-child/?open&campaign=1193519&cmp=KNC-1193519&gclid=CPmU1-rqtrMCFQHonAodqEgA_Q Sponsoring a child through World Vision is a little different. These children may not be orphans but your sponsorship could very well keep them from becoming one. If there school is paid for and they have basic needs met-it really takes the burden off of their parents who so desperately want to provide for them and do not have a way to do so. Many times when parents are unable to feed their child or send them to school they relinquish parental rights or worse-sell them as a slave.

Visit my  link to http://www.147millionorphans.com/?AffId=94 on the side of my blog. There are some great Christmas gifts there and 1. It will help raise awareness to the orphan crisis and you can learn a lot more about the organization and the work they are doing. 2. It will help our adoption efforts 3. Even if you don't want to purchase through our link-just check it out-your purchase will help children in need all around the world!

Our hearts are really aching for children that we know NOTHING about. We are passionate about children in need of families and care and we want to be more involved in whatever little part we can. We want to encourage others to care for orphans and take a new step and leap of faith each day to learn more and do more. God has blessed us so much and I can't imagine not being a child of His. What if someone hadn't cared about me  when I was an "orphan" Boy do we have a LONG way to go to be the people that God wants us to be-and I'm sure we will never actually get there.

Our hearts and minds are open to more than just adoption-if anyone has encouragement or needs something-we are ready to get our hands dirty-literally and figuratively.

PRAY-PRAY-PRAY!!! Speak up for those who don't have a voice!