Are you a RAKer?

I don't know about you, but am totally digging Starbucks' new fall marketing. Have you noticed the sleeve's with the writing and definitions on them?!? #Upstander it says and then it gives you the definition: A person who acts to make a positive change.

#UPSTANDER

So, I bring this up because at least once a week, I will be asked by my oldest daughter Payton if it is "pay it forward Friday". We don't do Starbuck's everyday, but when we do it is usually a Friday treat. I had the privilege of working for this company back when Payton was a baby and she grew up hearing the amazing stories of customers that would start a "pay it forward" train or one that would load a gift card with money and then leave it at the drive thru window to be used on orders till it ran out. Days that this would happened, these people known as RAKer's (A person who does a Random Act of Kindness) would leave my heart so full of love and gratitude. You walked a little lighter in your shoes and perhaps smiled at a complete stranger. It was days like this that if you were cut off by a car in front of you, perhaps you took a moment to pray for that person and what ever was causing them to be in such a hurry or get there safely and for all to be well in their world - instead of the usually silent out burst of a few four %&#@ letter words that you normally would utter.
Yeah - I have been watching this movement for awhile now, and yes, I play along too. I love more than anything setting a good example for my girls of what it means to be a RAKer. Little stuff like paying for the car that let me go in front of them and seeing the smile on their face in my rearview mirror when I drive away. Watching my daughter collect what ever lose change she can find so she can pick out something from the dollar section and give it to a friend. Donating clothes or meals to neighbors or friends. Picking up the phone and talking to someone you may have lost touch with.
The list can go on and on. I played the game, I love playing the game, I think that I am making a difference, I feel good inside, but you never really know what impact you've made, if any because we do these RAK's and go on with our day and will usually never see some of the people that we helped ever again. Well, I had a HUGE a-ha moment a few weeks ago. You see I was the person on the other end of a random act of kindness. A woman, who I didn't even know a year ago was prompted to stop by my house and give our family a very special gift. Now it might not sound like much, but the God thing in all of this is that it wasn't until recently that our children's activities brought us together even though we have been in each others backyards for several years, that fact that we just met when we did I know is not a coincidence, but perhaps the biggest one is that the gift she brought was exactly to the letter what I had prayed about to God just that morning that our family needed.
I was blown away, by the kindness of this very special woman, and the selflessness she had toward my family. I was speechless! It was then that I realized that these little random acts of kindness that make us #UPSTANDER's really DO matter! They matter to those we do them for and they matter to those little eyes that watch us everyday.

So I ask you - Have you RAK'd someone today!

New beginnings

Well again I am that habitual person who blogs oh.... about once every 365 days. Well, I hear you asking why am I even bothering to write something today?!? That is a great question and I really have no other reason than I was driving yesterday and if the idea had been a ton of bricks I would be buried by it. That's right! As I was driving the 45 min early morning drive to my nanny job, and about a 1,000 topics started flooding my brain, I couldn't turn them off. There I was and God was weighing heavily on my heart to turn these thoughts into words and share them. So, I will listen - I will write - and maybe just maybe I might have someone who wants to listen. Today I am motivated by the fact that even if I have made one person smile today then it is a good day and if not ... well it is still a good day cause in the words of Martina McBride, this one is for the girls! 

Payton and McKenzie are the reason I get up everyday. They are the reason that I work as hard as I do to try and make ends meet for my family. Some days are worth it and go off without a hitch and other days are a little rough but it is in those moments, the moments when I want to give up that I look down and see those beautiful eyes looking back at me. Our children watch everything we do and it is up to us to teach them that through hard work and discipline and the graceful hand of God anything is possible. Thank you for challenging me to be a better version of myself each and every day!

My inspiration 💕