The Extra Challenge!

Hey Y'all! Remember how I said that on the 20th I would post an extra challenge? Well, I'm actually doing it! lol. Kinda creepy, since that never happens. "Aren't you proud of me?!" ("Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs")

So, The Extra Challenge is...

Matthew 6:3-4 - ³But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: ⁴That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Do actions of thoughtfulness *in secret*. Not only does God enjoy seeing us do things in secret, but they are also really fun. *hehe* Therefore, I would like to challenge you to do some "fall actions of thoughtfulness" in secret! Here are some ideas:

-Leave anonymous notes.

-Slip a note of appreciation in someones mail folder at church (our church does the mail folder thing, but I don't know about others)

-Leave a little gift (i.e. chocolate, candy) in someones chair or desk.

-Leave cookies with an anonymous note in random places (obviously where it's legal and where people are gonna find them soon)

-Send anonymous emails (you know how much fun these are?! Most of the time I get found out though, cause I'm not that good at hiding my name and email address.)

Also, here are some other ideas for not-so-secret actions:

-Buy an extra sandwich and give it to someone who needs it.

-Send a friendship e-card.

-Buy a drink for a grocery store worker.

-Clean a room without being asked.

-Smile (you know how many people don't smile these days? This is one way we can show the world that we are different. And sometimes, someone needs a smile.)

-Make and give baby blankets to a pregnancy center.

-Donate clothing and shoes to a resale shop.

-Give stuffed animals to a fire station.

-Give bottled water to nurses at a hospital or rest home.

-Bring a gift, or just even visit, a rest home resident. Some of them never get any visitors, and they get so lonely.

-Bring your neighbor's trash cans in on trash day.

-Leave a note and treat for the mailman in the mailbox.

There are literally hundreds of things you could do! So what are you waiting for?

In Christ alone,

Buttercup

*note: some of these ideas were not originally mine.

Fall Actions of Thoughtfulness challenge - what I've done

Hey Guys! I really hope that you have participated in this challenge, no one has told me so, but I can still hope, right? :D

Anyways, I know this post is LONG overdue, and I apologize, but better late then never!

First, for the past couple weeks, I've been making Thanksgiving cards for some of my friends. I've been making them out of colored construction paper that I got at the dollar store (it is really good construction paper though), a glue stick, scissors, and a pen! Easy cheesy, but I think they turned out good. :)

I traced a slightly real looking, plastic leaf, then just kept tracing the leaves I cut out. Needless to say, the leaves got quite a bit bigger as time went on. lol. So they kinda hang over the edges of the cards, but I think that's cool. I think I made a total of about 20 cards before I ran out of construction paper. Well, all I have left are black, blue, pink, and purple! haha.

In the inside on the left I wrote out 1 Thessalonians 5:18a - In everything give thanks. And on the right side I wrote a note to the receiver. Though, only a couple (uh, one or two?) have personal notes, the rest are all the same (because I'm not creative like that). Nonetheless, it's the thought that counts, right? And I worked hard on 'em. :)

Second...aw man. I just went totally blank. I know I did other things, and I was thinking of all of them when I was thinking about this post! Ahh! I hate that. Well, when I remember, I'll post.

So what have you been doing? I hope you've taken this challenge with me, I really do. It's a great time to remember to think about others first - and do things for others before you do things for yourself.

Lastly, I want to encourage you to read these two posts: by Anna and by Chelsea, they are really great!

Till I remember what I did or I think of a good post!

In Christ,

Buttercup

It's Fall and time for a challenge!

Hi Y'all! Well, all day it's been quite chilly, rainy, and windy! As long as I am indoors, and not out, this is my favorite weather! If I'm outside...just stop the rain. :)

Well, seeing that it is now fall, and the month of November, we are getting quite close to Christmas! Dangerously close for those of us who like to make all our gifts! Anyways, in honor of fall, I am going to propose a challenge!

The Challenge

Fall Actions of Thoughtfulness

It sounded kind of weird to me, but not so much that I would try to find another name. The idea is not mine, but another blogger's. But they named theirs "Random Acts of Kindness." So, to be honest, I just typed that into Microsoft word, right clicked each word, found a synonym that I liked, and went with it! lol. (Just in case you thought I've lost it... no, "fall" is not a synonym of "random". But all the synonyms for "random" were bad - not the "random" that I'm trying to get across.)

So that I don't leave anything out, let's get organized with the classic 5W's and an H:

Who: Anyone who wants to.

What: Fall Actions of Thoughtfulness

Where: Everywhere! You figure out what your going to do, and then go do it for someone.

When: From now until November 30th. Making it a month-long thing, I think, will give all of us plenty of time to do many different things! No time excuses.

Why: To do things for others and to bring glory to God by thinking of others instead of ourselves.

How: is this necessary???

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Fall/Thanksgiving cards. Who doesn't like receiving a card or note from a friend? It is a simple thing that says that someone took time to think of you.

• Small gifts. I.e. crocheted scarf, earrings, photo of you and them, etc.

• Take on someone else's chores or do a service for free.

These are just a few ideas, but there are so many things you can do! Get creative!

This challenge is open to anyone, and it will be a challenge. Doing things for others, taking time to do something for someone else and not for ourselves can be hard, but it is awesome when you can lift someone up and make their day; and at the same time, be a shining light in a dark world.

Please, don't shy away from this challenge! Do it with me! I'll be posting what I do so that y'all can hopefully get some ideas and encouragement from it, so I would like you to post too! When you do, please share it with me and my other readers:

When you do put it in here, please put the link to the exact post, and not just your blog - because that makes it hard to find your post sometimes.

In Christ,

Buttercup

P.S. On the 20th, I'll propose a special, extra challenge! So be sure to look out for it!

The beginning signs of busyness...

...are starting to come.

Have you noticed? Students all over are watching this thing creep up on all sides as summer fades into the busyness of the fall semester.

Sports are starting;

School supplies are being sucked up from the stores;

People are going to just a few more places before they must buckle down to wait till Christmas break;

Registration for everything that you can imagine is happening;

Etc.

Our precious summer break is coming to a close...oh, well, it had to happen sooner or later, it does every year. I guess we should expect it by now. lol.

Being busy is a good thing, and a bad thing. For one, you don't waste as much time, or, put more bluntly, you don't have much time to waste! I mean, between Church, Youth Group, Keepers at Home, Gymnastics (hopefully!), AWANA, Co-op, Go Ye Therefore, Mission Minded Teens, trying to earn some money, and High School in general (and all those other things that, for some odd reason, seem to show their surprising faces at the most inopportune times) I'm not going to have that much extra time to burn! But, on the other hand, being busy also means that you might not be able to fit everything into your schedule, and you must put the most important things first, which is sometimes very hard to do.

As this new semester comes creeping in we need to be in prayer, 1. that God would lead us to be witnesses wherever He leads us, and in whatever situations He puts us in; and 2. that we would always put Him first; and finally, that we would use our time wisely and effectively to His glory!

Just as a warning, I will probably be posting less, just like all you other bloggers out there, which also means that I will probably be reading and commenting less also. So, don't be offended if I nearly cease to visit your blog for a while, I do love reading y'all's blogs! and commenting! (Who doesn't love comments?!)

Who besides our Lord knows what this next semester holds? Honestly, I can't wait till stuff starts up again!

God bless!

In Christ,

Buttercup

This next semester, gettin' busy

Hi y'all. I just wanted to ask y'all to pray for me, I am going to be very busy this semester. I'm starting Volleyball tomorrow!!! YEAH!!!! That is going to be three days a week. And I am going to go to three homeschool co-ops this semester, and of course, AWANA. I just want to make sure I spend time with my Heavenly Father daily, both in prayer and in study. I am getting up at 6:00am to do my Bible reading and school work, but with one of the co-ops in the morning, that is going to be more difficult. Also, volleyball practice and the other two co-ops interfere with the time I usually spend on the 2nd Timothy study in the afternoons, so I might not be able to do that every day. Please just pray for me, I know for a fact that I will learn later that I am over exagerating this, but I am starting to feel overwhelmed. Please, please pray for me. God bless you all! I hope you all have a great week! In Him, Buttercup :)