Not So Random Kindness

AH! 13 Days until Christmas all Day!

If you didn't know this time of year is also a time for birthdays! My brothers birthday is on Christmas Eve and my birthday is on Christmas Day. So it's extra busy but my awesome parents make it work every year.

On my 21st birthday my parents had a surprise party for me and it was one of my favorite birthdays to date. The reason it was my favorite was that a handful of my dearest friends and I followed a map (made by my parents) and did intentional random acts of kindness (already thought up) in a near by city. We did everything from singing Felize Navdaid to Chick-fil-a staff to bringing toys to the children's hospital to helping the cart man at Walmart put the carts away. It was a blast!

So day I what to give you a Christmas challenge! Go out do an random act of kindness before Christmas is over. Christmas is supposed to be about giving, caring, joy and selflessness. God gave and so should we! And I promise it's so fun!

Here are some ideas that you can do:

1. Hand out gift cards ( like $10 to a gas station, coffee shop, grocerie store etc.)
2. Give Christmas cards with an encouraging note inside to random people(ask Holy Spirit what it should say and who to give it to).
3. Give a homeless person a cozy hat, warm gloves or a thoughtful care package.
4. Make some goodies to give to law enforcement, firemen; people who serve us everyday.
5. Pay for some one's coffee or meal (this really does bless people!).
6. Ask the bell ringers if they want something hot to drink or a snack. Then go buy it and give it to them (don’t forget to put a few cents in their bucket). This is one of my favorites to do!
7. Give the person at the check-out counter a encouraging word from God.
8. Tip your waiter or waitress well above the normal rate.

The list could go on forever! Do this with your friends, family or just by yourself. Remember have fun! I promise you this is a blast! Now don't forget to do his with a smile on your face and the love of God all over you. Be genuine, love that person like crazy. 

A few rules to make this more fun : The whole point is to be kind and spread the love of Jesus. Don't give expecting something in return and don't be showy when doing it (people see right through that).


And a litttle extra tip: If you want to make this a witnessng tool go for it! Just make sure that your motive it pure love. Like don't do something kind of nice, then give them a track and say a quick "Jesus loves you" (there is a place for those). 

My point is that Jesus lives in you. If you feel like that person needs saved lead them with love to the Father right there. If they need healing don't wait for a slow song on a sunday moring. Heal them right in the resturant. If they are going through a hard time don't wait to light a candle for them. Pray right there in the coffee shop. Love them. See them. Know them. Love is powerful and true love cannot be ignored. Love is never, ever wasted. Do that, and you will see a life changed by love...and that is fail-proof witnessing.

Romans 12:9-10 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Once you go out and do one of these or your own I would really like to hear about your experince! You can use the hash tag #janellschristmascountdown on Facebook and Instagram I'll be able to see it. Love you all! 

See you tomorrow!!!!

Love vs. Hate: A Powerful Outcome

Can you imagine being taken from your family and country then becoming a servant to the commander of the army that took you? This happened in 2 Kings 5. A young girl was taken and was given to be a maid.  It ends up being a great story of healing but I want to focus on the impact of this nameless girl.

For most people if they were in this situation the last thing on their mind would to love the people who took you from everything you knew. But this girl sees that her master has leprosy and instead of hating him or talking behind his back, she tells him that there is hope for his leprosy. She tells him that there is a prophet in Samaria that could heal him.

This is crazy! She is literally helping and having compassion on the enemy! What a crazy radical love she displayed. Because she did love, her master was totally healed of leprosy, experienced the power of God so much that he would never serve another God again. What an impact her love and compassion had! He was the commander of an army and friends with the king! I can image her master told everyone what God did for him. Those who knew him before could not help but notice his healing. He was a walking, talking testimony! Generations were impacted…A because of a girl who didn’t let hate blind her. That is powerful!

Do we love those who have hurt us? Are we willing to look past those things and just love? In our

world today we could care less about helping our enemies. Why on earth would we help those people?

Well it could change everything, it could impact generations. When people experience God, change will happen. So we have to be willing to lay down our pride, bite the bullet and love. Our enemies might laugh in your face, totally ignore you or even kill you. With love, nothing is wasted.

We are to love because God first loved us. We love people because God loves them. How dare we not love those who are precious to God?

Whatsoever Think

Have you ever loved your enemy? What happened? How did you feel? Comment below!

P.S Happy International Woman's Day!

My 500 Words

This month I have joined a 31 day Writing Challenge called "My 500 Words" put on by writer and blogger  Goins, Writer. If you are interested in writing try out this challenge! 

If you want to write...you have to write! 

Join me and a ton of others!