Random Acts of Kindness

"By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." - John 13:35

Simple.

I think a lot of times we forget, myself included, that as Christ followers this is what we're called to do above all others.

Last week in our Bible study we challenged each other to work on having a loving and generous heart and thought a great way to do that would be by performing a random act of kindness during the week. I was so excited about doing this that it took me forever to fall asleep that night because I kept thinking of what I was going to do.

So the following morning I went to Starbucks (which is very out of the norm for me since I'm on a pretty tight budget) and pulled up to the drive-thru window to pay for my latte. I told the nice young man at the window that I'd also like to pay for the person behind me. Just seeing his face when I said that made it completely worth it (especially since the person behind me had a $12 order). While I was paying he asked if I liked Starbucks' regular coffee. I said yes and he handed me a large, on the house.

I was so blessed and humbled by the experience that I've been thinking about it all week. And what would you know, today I stumble across a blog post from an inspiring mom who performed 38 random acts of kindness for her 38th birthday. Robyn's post can be found here. I read through all 38 awesome acts of kindness as well as the ones in the comments section. This post was published over a year ago and I can only imagine all the wonderful kind things that were inspired by it since then.

And it inspired me to do more.

I am so excited to do 24 random acts of kindness with friends and family in February for my birthday, but I can't wait that long to get started. So during my lunch break I began a list of things I want to do. Starting NOW!

I'd love to hear any ideas y'all might have! I'll make sure to document them as I go so y'all can share in the awesomeness! And let me know your ROAK and the results. I really can't wait to hear them. :)


1. (My favorite) Leave gift cards inside my favorite books at Barnes & Noble with a note that says,  "I enjoyed this book so much and hope it brings you all the adventure, happiness, and joy it has brought me. Much love, a fellow bookworm."

2. Tip an exceptional waiter or waitress 100% and leave a grateful note on the receipt.

3. Pay for a military family's meal at a restaurant.

4. Drop off donuts and a thank you note to the police and fire stations.

5. Buy a toy for a pup at Petsmart.

6. Buy a cupcake for someone else on my birthday.

7. Pay for someone's groceries.

8. Work with the church to find a family in need and anonymously buy or prepare them a Christmas meal feast.

9. Feed some parking meters.

10. Tape some change to a vending machine.

11. Take flowers and a note to the hospital thanking doctors and nurses for all they do.

12. Buy a milkshake for someone behind me in the Chick-fil-A drive-thru. (What a yummy summer treat!)

13. Leave a candy bar and thank you note in the mailbox for the mailman.

14. Offer to help an elderly person load groceries into their car.

15. Write thank you notes to soldiers overseas.

16. Compliment a stranger.


That's about as far as I've gotten so far. And I think it's a great start, but I'm also praying that God presents me with opportunities to share random acts of kindness. And I have a feeling those truly random moments will be the most incredible. :)