Every Day Random Acts of Kindness

D4N is about friends gathering together to fill a need with a deed. Most times, the deed is planned ahead when we need to cook for someone but other times it's a surprise like cleaning the school yard after the Halloween fireworks night. In March we were unable to meet for a few weeks due to family issues and other obligations and I found myself really missing those ladies.
This week, I've been thinking a lot about the times when we don't get to meet, to help fill a deed with a need. I really missed not doing something nice for someone else, together.
Then, I thought about the 'acts of kindness' that I've been trying to teaching my children and myself. Because really, we don't need to wait to do it just once a week. We can do it everyday.

I did a little google searching to see what's out there... where random acts of kindness are concerned... and I found this fellow blogger who back in December of 2011 began an adventure to do and write out each act of kindness for 366 days. In his own words, "There are a ton of people out there who have worries both big and small. I know I can't solve every problem for every person, but I am going to try to do my part. Starting tomorrow, I am embarking on a journey to make people's lives better. 2012 consists of 366 days (unless the Mayans are right, then this is all for naught). Each one of those 366 days, I will do a random act of kindness for a stranger, friend or family member."


http://www.366randomacts.org/

      What about you and me? How can we make people's lives better each day?

I'm looking for stories to share about random acts of kindness. I know God doesn't want us to be boastful... because He does want us to do things in secret. But, this exercise isn't about boasting... it's about us sharing. Helping each other...  maybe with ideas on how to help... and who needs help in our community. I would love to hear your stories and ideas. Please comment below or email me.

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land... You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11 NIV

FYI: D4N will be meeting Tuesday mornings now instead of Thursdays.

Have a great day!
D4N

Taking off the Do Not Disturb Sign

I saw a Joyce Meyers podcast this morning called 'Don't Disturb Me!'  She said that everyone has, in some form, a 'do not disturb' sign on their lives. Rushing through life too concerned about themselves and what they need to do, rather than asking and seeking what God wants them to do. No time for interruptions... She went on to reveal that Jesus had time for interruptions. In fact, he was interrupted constantly,  he never once said,  "I don't have time to chat right now, but you're definitely in my prayers." Wow... talk about conviction... How many times have I prayed for others yet did nothing else? Now, I'm not saying we have to do everything... that's not realistic... but we should be listening to what God is urging us to do daily. Give what we can, when we can as we connect to that still small voice.

I'd like to share with you an excerpt from a story called 'Pollyanna doesn't live here anymore'. It's about a shy, co-dependant housewife who feels unloved. A faceless, unappreciated woman who's afraid of conflict; who avoids it like the plague. She is afflicted with resentments that run deep because she's suppressed them for so long having no one to talk to, no one to listen, no one who cares. Eventually her emotions peak to a boiling point, where she explodes and wants to take her own life. But God intervenes through Kay, who has taken off her 'Do Not Disturb' sign.

Attention: Restricted for adult eyes only - some insinuated swearing (I've blocked the words with wingdings). 

"What are you doing?" Jeff was concerned about his wife. She had just finished a round of chemo and instead of resting she was baking muffins. 

"God wants me to make some smiley face muffins for Polly."

"The neighbour can make her own muffins. God wants you to take a well deserved rest."

"No... that's what you want me to do." Kay was cold and tired, all she really wanted to do was snuggle on the couch with Jeff, but that still small voice wanted her to bake muffins for the neighbour. She didn't know why, but over the past ten years as a follower of Christ, she's learned that God always knows why and there is always a reason. 

"Besides, I've got to keep busy... takes my mind off of things and it doesn't give me a chance to feel sorry for myself." she slowly grabbed the measuring cup from the cupboard and looked down at the recipe.

"I love you." Jeff's heart ached but he swallowed back the tears and hugged his wife, "What can I do to help you?"

“He’s such an A@#!” Polly thought to herself as she slammed the casserole dish into the sink.

“He doesn’t care about me,” she fumed, "if Ron really cared, he would have called by now." Her husband was supposed to be home at five thirty and it was nearly nine now. 

"He doesn't respect me." That was the underlying issue, she's felt that way for years yet never told him. Resentment burning to her core. She's never been one to hold on to a grudge, or so she thought.
“@%$#!” she sliced the tip of her finger on a knife, hiding in the soapy suds underneath the dish she just threw.

It wasn’t the first time Polly worried about Ron, he'd done this kind of thing many times over the past 12 years of marriage. The first time was one month after they were married. He went to an AC DC concert with the boss and some guys from work. 

"I'll be home late," He gave her a peck on the cheek and hopped into a Limo the boss had rented for the night; filled with bachelor wannabes drunk on tequila shooters. Polly woke up in a frenzy when, at 2am, she woke up to find her husband still missing. 

"He said he was going to be late. Don't worry Polly. Just breath. He's Okay." She remembered having  to talk herself out of a panic attack, it was instinctual for Polly, her Mom was a worry wart too; a habit handed down to the next generation. 
"Just relax, he's fine." She couldn't help herself though, she loved him. She laid there for an hour trying not to picture the Limo in an accident on some rural road, or a knife fight in the alley of BC Place.
"How well do I really know these people?" Maybe drugs were involved and now her innocent husband was in the slammer? The dreaded list grew with each passing hour that Ron didn't call. It got to the point  where Polly, at 5am began to pace hysterically throughout the rooms of their small one bedroom apartment. There was no way of reaching him. He didn't own a cell phone and she had no idea how to contact his boss, Paul. 
"He better be in the hospital!" Anger consumed her at 7am. He called at 8am.

"I'm sorry honey. We had a lot to drink and it was late, so I just crashed at Paul's." She was irritated.
"Why didn't you call me?"she asked.
"Are you my mother?"
"No... but I was worried." 
"Don't be honey. I'm a big boy." he laughed sarcastically, making Polly feel silly, as if she was making a mountain out of a mole hill.
"Fine... just call next time. Okay?" she was tired. Defeated, she innocently accepted his apology, thinking it would never happen again. She was so naive back then. 

"I can't do this anymore. I'm so tired of waiting for him to grow up!" She felt her chest tighten up,   "Twelve years of waiting. Twelve years of making excuses for him. This isn't a partnership!"

Many times, Polly tried to calmly explain how she felt when he didn’t call, but  he would get defensive and say she didn't trust him. She didn't think he was having an affair, she just wanted to be sure he was okay. He never understood that. He didn't trust her. Ron never could let go of his independence, he didn't know how a partnership worked or to be accountable to another person. He had no understanding of what 'partnership' meant, and Polly was too shy to defend herself and tell him what she needed in this marriage. A part of it was her fault for not being bold enough to say anything. She hated 'rocking the boat'. 
"It was all his fault! He doesn't care about me. He's the one that's selfish!" Years of built up resentments  exploded around her. Her chest hurt. Her finger hurt. Her head hurt. Her heart hurt. She tried to wrap a Band-Aid around her finger with one hand, it was next to impossible. As tiresome as holding a toddler down to change it's diaper, while in a state of post partum depression. 

“@#$#@!” She threw the box of band aids across the room. 
"Good thing the kids were in bed," she thought, "they can't hear me swearing." she may have been good at keeping her voice down, but that didn't make the anger any less real. Polly rarely swore. 
"Why do I  let him get to me like this?" 
"This is not what I signed up for!" she screamed silently and slid to the floor crying. 

“Polly, you’re such a good girl,” her mother always told her. She never smoked, never drank, never did drugs and she waited till she was married before she had sex.

“She's such a good girl. I'm  so blessed with Polly,” her mother would tell everyone, “we never had to worry about her.” No. No one had to worry about Polly. She was always doing the right thing, helped when something needed to get done, never raised her voice when things went wrong and always with a smile on her face. Even when she didn't feel like it. Good old perfect and reliable Polly, who was so perfectly lonely with no one to talk to.

"No one notices me. I blend in too well." with a feeble smile she picked the band aids up off the floor and put them back in the box. She was able to close the first aid box with her elbow, then placed it back under the sink.

“I’m tired of worrying,” she grabbed the broom and swept the bathroom and hall vigorously, “I’m tired of picturing his dead bloody body somewhere on the side of the road and I’m tired of him not giving a $#$% about how I may be feeling.” Defeated she leaned onto the broom clinging onto the ordinary before her emotions dragged her somewhere she didn't want to go. 
"He doesn't love me." she sobbed. She was tired about everything. Even tired of living. 

“I don’t want to do this anymore. No one would notice if I was gone." a deep sadness swept over her leading her emotions to very dark places. As she reached into the knife drawer, the doorbell rang. 


Polly eventually finds healing. Through Kay, she realizes God has set her apart, she's not alone and faceless, He sees her. He loves her, and no matter how dark her life might seem, she is not hidden from the Lord. You see he sets captives free, he heals the sick and he calls the dead to come out of their graves. That's how much he loves her. 


This is what Jesus has to say, about why he came, "The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and the blind that they see again. God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly..." Luke 4:18


We, who believe, are called to follow in Christ's footsteps. How can we do that when we have our 'do not disturb' sign on? How can we set captives free if we ourselves are captive, focused on our own problems? Everyone has problems. That's life, but what are you focused on?


This week I've been reading The Secret of Happiness by Pastor Barry James Buzza. He states that the Sea of Galilee, even 2000 years later is still known for it's abundant species of fish. 
"One hundred and fifty three species of fish are reported to flourish in the twelve mile by six mile fresh water lake." Barry Buzza
This lake flows into the Jordan River also known for it's abundant aquatic life, but life stops at the end of it when it flows into the Dead Sea. 
"Life flows in, sits there and does nothing and that's the end of the story." Barry Buzza
There is no life in the Dead Sea, because there is no outflow. 
There is no life in you if you receive and take instead of giving. We need outflow in our lives.


"The secret of happiness is revealed in the river that flows out of us, rather than the river that flows into us." Barry Buzza


My challenge for you this week is to take off the Do Not Disturb sign around your neck and notice the needs of those around you. I'd love to hear about your week and if you would like to share a story with us give us an email.


Love You 
Anuschka and the D4N Ladies

Is Power an Illusion?

"With great power comes great responsibility. Why? Because power is an illusion. The desire to yield that is weakness. An exercise in ego, and the fact is that all you really hold when you hold power, is all the rope you need to hang yourself."
 A quote from the TV show 'Being Erica' on CBC

I'm going to leave you with just this quote, no story today.
I heard this quote the other day and found it fascinating. It made me think about the kind of leader I have followed in the past and what kind of leader I'd like to be following now, maybe even what kind of leader I am/or would like to be?

I'd like to stir up a little conversational discussion on this quote. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. So please leave your comments here on this page or if you don't have access to blogspot you can send them via facebook or email me.

Looking forward to seeing your comments!

Anuschka

Tea Cup Story and Cauliflower Soup

This week Krista wanted to share her favourite link for Cauliflower Soup and a story sent to her by her Mom. This little Tea Cup story really has a powerful message and God bless her Mom who knew just what she needed to hear when she needed to hear it. Go figure... God does work through Moms.

 I don't know where the story originally comes from or who wrote it.

Enjoy!

I'm a Little Tea Cup   Love this story or not, you will not be able to have tea in a tea cup again without thinking of this. There was a couple who took a trip to England to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.  They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups. Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked "May we see that?  We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."  As  the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't understand. I  have not always been a teacup. There was a time  when I was just a lump of red  clay. My master took me and rolled me, pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "Don't do that. I  don't like it! Let me alone," but he only smiled, and gently said, "Not yet." Then  WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was made to suit himself and then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and  knocked and pounded at the door.   "Help! Get me out of here!" I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, "Not yet." When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! "Ah, this is  much better," I thought.  But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over.  The fumes were horrible.  I thought I would gag. "Oh, please, stop it, stop, I cried."  He only shook his head and said, "Not  yet." Then  suddenly he puts me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one.  This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged.  I pleaded.  I screamed. I cried.  I was  convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up.  Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering, "What's he going to do to me next?" An hour later he handed me a mirror and said, "Look at yourself." And I did. I  said, "That's not me.  That couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!" Quietly he spoke: "I want you to remember. I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I  know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you." ************************************************************ God knows what He's doing for each of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mould us and make us and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect. So  when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this. Brew a cup of your favourite tea in your prettiest tea cup, sit down and think on this story and then, have a little talk with the Potter.   God Bless You!

Krista

 Here is the link to a good bowl of Cauliflower soup:

The Pioneer Woman - Cauliflower Soup

Very Good People

 Is it enough to be a good person?

Grace... What is it?

Tamara wanted to share a devotion for this week about grace:

 Devotion from Friday Jan 6th:  Ephesians 2:1-10

The Difference Between Root and Fruit

It is by grace you have been saved....not by works, so that no one can boost.  Ephesians 2:8-9

The english politician William Wilberforce is best known for his efforts to end slavery in the British Empire.  It was a decades long struggle, but abolition was finally accomplished.

Wilberforce not only had great determination; he was able to discern spiritual truth.  He was perplexed that many who considered themselves Christian supported the slave trade, which he belived was in opposition to Christian faith.  In response he wrote A Practical View of Christianity to show the danger of making good behavior the basis for salvation.

Can you imagine a politician today calling for social reform by making direct appeals to Christian doctrine?  That's what Wilberforce did.  He rightly pointed out that good works do not create new life in Jesus;  they demonstrate it. 

People who consider themselves "good"  but do not abide in Christ are placing more trust in their own work than in God's.  But the only possible result is nominal Christianity -  surface-level goodness without internal renewal.  That's why Jesus called the Pharisees, who were undoubtedly very good people, "whitewashed tombs" (Matthew 23:27)

Obedience is the fruit, not the root, of being accepted by God.  Work hard at being good, but always remember that your good works "show the incomparable riches of his grace."

From Today, a Back to God Ministries International publication. Author Peter Hoytema

I have been praying that the Lord would show me my sin so I may ask forgiveness (for I always felt like a good person and that I didn't have many sins),  and God has been faithfuly showing me in many ways, one was this devotional.

Thank you,

Tamara

Is being good enough? 

 This is something that many people have a great deal of trouble with. I know I have as well. 

I was always told by my parents and teachers, that I was a good girl. I never got into any trouble. I wasn't never into drugs, smoking, promiscuity or alcohol.  I always did what I was told and helped when asked, even helped when not asked. 

So, compared to other teenagers,  people thought I was a saint. 

"How could I be a sinner?" 

But that's what I was… at least that’s what the Pastor said when I first gave my heart to Christ in 1982. I couldn’t understand what sin was. I never did anything wrong and it felt increasingly uncomfortable to not repent of something. What bad choices had I made? I couldn’t think of anything to lie down at the feet of Jesus and repent. So, I made something up. Maybe that’s why God's grace  didn’t stick the first time a round?

Sin is anything that keeps you away from a relationship with your Creator. Anger , resentment, lieing (to look good), and disappointment at everyone and anyone that isn't up to your high standard of values and morals...  and then pass judgment on those who fall short. 

Instead of catching them before they fell off the cliff,  I gave them a little push with my judgmental rulings. Shame on that high and mighty little princess of long ago, who thought she was better then everyone else. I am not a saint... and no one is. It isn't about my standard of morals, but Gods. Being good by my standards isn't enough.

Lord, forgive us when we think to highly of ourselves and judge others instead of offering them grace; thank-you for showing grace to us. Help us to show your grace to others. Prepare us for every good work. In Jesus name. Amen


Anuschka
and the D4N Ladies

180 Movie and Coffee

Klara Polzl - Hitler's Mom

"Lets not forget what war does... what anger does to a human heart."
"If you could go back into time with a gun, would you kill a pregnant Adolph Hitler's mom?"
"Abortion... are you pro life or pro choice?"

This was the conversation over coffee and tea last Thursday morning at D4N.  Normally our conversations are a little less sensational, but considering the 180 movie we had watched, I suppose it was to be expected.
The movie touched upon really deep issues that I believe, we as Canadians, don't talk about enough. Most of us are non-committal avoiding discomfort to keep ourselves from from seeing what's really going on in this world; safe in our own little 'happy' bubble. Those who forget history are bound to repeat it and most kids today don't know who Adolf Hitler was. Many people have never heard of the Holocaust and if they did hear of it they believe it to be a myth, nothing better than a fairytale.
"It never happened." Is becoming common thinking, because people don't like to feel convicted, because then they would have to change. People don't like change. Yet, sometimes we need to hear things that make us feel uncomfortable because it's in this 'discomfort' that we begin to think - we begin to question - we begin to make changes that help us grow and become stronger.
Anger kills the human heart. It's a disease. Anger kills the spirit, the heart and people. Anger is foolish.  We must teach this to our children and our grandchildren lest we repeat the past.
"If you could go back to the time just before Hitler was born," the commentator asked in the movie 180, "and you had a gun, would you shoot Adolf's pregnant Mom?" Most answered, "YES!"
Million's of families have been hurt by this Man. Unbelievable pain and suffering happened because of one man's idea's. There are many people who would not even pause before pulling that trigger, but does that make it the right thing to do? I think the consensus Thursday morning was that neither one of us could pull that trigger. We would be no better than Hitler, because our anger would have totally consumed us to the point of becoming a killer. Just like Hitler.
" Do you think if Klara Polzl knew she was about to give birth to a mad man, would she have aborted the baby?" Hitler's Mama, was known as a kind and gentle woman who spoiled her son. This is a common attribute of many mothers. So what happened? I touched upon this topic a little in Hitler's Fleas last November.
To abort a baby no matter what the circumstance... Is this a better path of thinking to take? Instead of shooting Klara, would we tell her what a monster she was about to give birth to? Would we persuade her to abort the child? Is this the right thing to do? Millions of woman all over the earth have abortions, killing perhaps many little Hitler's but... they could be killing little Mother Teresa's as well. Who are we to judge? And why would Klara believe us? How could a kind and gentle mother possibly kill her own child? Would we? These were tough questions we asked ourselves Thursday morning.
"Education! Education! Education!" was the mutual agreement. We have to teach kids the mistakes of the past. Teach them about love and compassion. Equip them with healthy skills to deal with the hurts that will happen in their life. To love them unconditionally, with no judgements. And then pray, pray, pray that they become not an ugly scar upon humanity but a great blessing.

To see how the conversation started see:
180 Movie

To view the movie on You Tube:
180 the Movie

If you feel like joining the conversation please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.

Next Thursday's coffe hour will take on a more domestic feel... we will be making meals for a cancer patient... but... then again? Woman can cook and talk at the same time, can't we? Who knows where this weeks conversation will lead? LOL!

Have a wonderful week

Love the D4N ladies

A New Path

A new path lies before us;
We're not sure where it leads;
But God goes on before us,
Providing all our needs.
This path, so new, so different
Exciting as we climb,
Will guide us in His perfect will
Until the end of time.
Linda Maurice


It's a new year, full of new beginnings, full of hope for the year to come. Many different paths will come our way. Which paths will we choose?

The D4N(Deeds for Needs) blog will be changing as well.

I have come to realize over the past few months, that I am doing all the talking on this blog. This blog is not about me, D4N is a group of women who have a voice and wonderful things to share. So, this coming year, I will be sharing my soap box with them and with you.

Deeds for Needs is about friends sharing... sharing our time, sharing our experiences, sharing our stories, sharing our recipes and sharing our love.

I will continue my journey on the Wild West Diaries you are very welcome to travel along.