Tag: serving others

Mission Ideas

Loving Others: Our Healthcare Workers

Kimmy

Being any type of healthcare worker is hard right now and with the continuing and rising numbers of Covid cases (at least locally) our healthcare professionals are exhausted and worn down and so are their families. I’ve seen it in their social media posts. I’ve read it in article after article. A few of my healthcare friends have even told me directly.

So, How can we love them and serve them well through this time? How can we love their families too?

Here are a few simple ways to love and serve our healthcare friends and their families:

1. Pray for them by name and let them know! Many are feeling isolated and frustrated and a simple text reminding them that they are prayed for, could be the boost that they need as they begin their shift or end out a hard day. What about their spouse? Pray for them too and text and let them know! Thank them for the wonderful job they are doing.

2. Leave a surprise for them! Bake cookies or a yummy treat that you know they will love. Grab a gift card to a fun restaurant or coffee shop and have your kiddos draw them a picture or write them a card. Drop it off at their home or leave it for them at their office, if allowed. A little “sursy” goes a long way to lift spirits and bring a smile.

3. Love and serve their family too. Grab a restaurant gift card big enough to serve their family. Prepare a meal that they can enjoy together. Put together a fun game night box or movie night box for their family to enjoy. Families of our healthcare workers are so loved too!

4. Do your part to stay healthy! If we all do our part, many of our friends in healthcare will feel valued and loved and seen. I’m pretty sure that they don’t want to see us in their ER or their exam room right now, so let’s work hard on our end to not make that happen.

What ideas do you have to say thank you to your healthcare friends and family? How can you share the love of Jesus with some of our favorite people?

Mission Ideas

Summer Serve Fun Ideas 2020

Kimmy

The summer is shaping up to be super different this year, but that shouldn’t distract us from serving and loving others with our little ones. There are so many fun ways that we can still serve this summer despite the restrictions in place due to Covid-19 and all that is going on our world and in our own hometowns.

Here are some fun and simple ideas that you could use and adjust for your family as needed to love and care for your neighbors at the same time:

1. Host a Sunday Sundae Party! Invite a few neighbors over to your front yard, serve ice cream or make homemade ice cream and have lots of fun toppings to go along with all the yumminess. You can also do this socially distanced by inviting your friends to bring their own chairs and ice cream yumminess and just provide a fun evening spread apart yet hanging out together!

2. Showing Love to Healthcare workers! Most of the media has sadly moved on from highlighting those serving in this capacity in our region; however, our numbers are higher than ever and they are working more and more! Spend an afternoon baking cookies, making cards or posters, praying for those that are sick and serving the sick, and drop off at your local hospitals and doctor offices to offer encouragement and a little joy!

3. Love missionary friends well! Several of our missionary families from our local church have had to make the difficult decision to come back to the states because of virus related issues in their countries. They need our support and love and encouragement during these weird days! If you know a missionary family who is back, drop off a gift card to a favorite store, invite them over for dinner (if you can safely do so), text or call and just say hey! Include them into your friend groups and hangouts and welcome them back “home” during this season.

4. A little Happy Fri-yay Gift! Do you have a friend who just needs a little encouragement and happy? Take a few minutes to grab their favorite little goodie and drop it off to remind them they aren’t alone and you are praying for them! Ask your little ones to pick a friend that they are missing or just want to love a little extra and let them do the same! Take some time out of your Friday to make it extra special for someone else. Don’t forget to remind your little friends that Jesus loves them big!

5. Go on a Summer Fun Prayerwalk/Scavenger Hunt! Look for summer fun things like pool floats, bicycles, sidewalk chalk and beach balls and point out simple ways to pray around those items! Here’s a simple printable to guide you along the way!

Now more than ever is the time to show love and kindness to those we meet along the way and friends and neighbors who need encouragement! Have a blast this summer being creative as we love Jesus and serve others! Be sure to share your fun ideas with us too, by tagging us over at Instagram!

Mission Ideas, On Mission

Teacher Appreciation Week: Showing our Teachers extra LOVE!

Kimmy

Typically the first week of May is set aside for Teacher Appreciation Week but this week looks so very different this year! My oldest daughter and I were chatting about how we could show love to our teachers despite these differences and we came up with a few ideas that I’ve shared below. We also began to remember and think back on what a great year she has had in Kindergarten. While we are sad that it ended very differently and abruptly, we are also rejoicing for the time together at home, for new ways of learning, and for the sweet and hard moments. We also are rejoicing and so very thankful for all the of the hard work that our teachers have put in for us! They have sent us messages, put together learning packets, posted assignments, called her through Zoom, paraded through our neighborhood, and even surprised her with a free Happy Meal from McDonald’s (which is a super fun treat for her!) And while I wish that I could put together a fun goody basket of yummy treats or help cater a lunch, or all the hundreds of other ideas that are posted over on Pinterest, we can’t really do that this year.

But we can…

Email them a gift card to Starbucks! You can do this from your Starbucks app and it’s super fun and fast!

Purchase some items off of their Amazon Wishlist. Most teachers have built one at some point!

Share a reward with them from your ChickFilA app!

Have flowers delivered to them either at the school for them to pick up or at their home. You may want to check with the school first to see what can be delivered to there during this time.

Have your child simply make a quick video saying hello and thank you!

Have your child draw a picture or make a card and mail it or take a pic and email it to them.

But most of all, we can pray for them and keep telling them how much we love and support them!

What ideas can you share to show love to your children’s teachers?

Don’t forget the many different teachers they have such as their dance teachers or their piano teachers or their Sunday School teachers. Our children have many people who are serving them from behind a computer screen right now and could use some encouragement and extra love!

Mission Ideas

A Little Bucket of Sunshine

Kimmy

I think we can all agree that life has just been weird lately. For us, we are all able to be home and I’m so very thankful for that. I know lots of friends who are still having to go into work though. And some of my sweet friends are even having to work full days and come home to lead their little ones in school work after a long day at their office. I know the days have been long and hard for many!

I know you have friends that are in that same boat too. A little basket of sunshine is an easy way to encourage another friend in this different season of being disconnected from one another physically. And my prayer is that they will be reminded that they are loved and that this is just a season (hopefully short!).

It’s really simple – grab a yellow bucket or basket and fill it with all things yellow! Some of the items I found to put in my bucket were a yellow bottle of bubbles, a yellow candle (that smells amazing!), a Little Miss Sunshine book, and yellow bags of some yummy candy and snacks. I added a little personal note too, reminding them that they are loved and prayed for!

Now I can’t wait to surprise a friend with a little bit of “sun” on this hard gray day…
How are you loving and encouraging others during this time?
Hop over to Instagram and tag @onmissionmoms to share your ideas!

On Mission

Serving Others after the Storm

Kimmy
Photo Taken from Spartanburg City Facebook Page

Our sweet little city took a pretty hard hit yesterday with tornados striking in several places. It was pretty scary, honestly, and we are all praising Jesus that no one was killed that we are aware of at this point. Our city leadership, county and city officers, and linesmen have done an amazing job assessing and beginning the cleanup.

Now our community will be serving and working and cleaning! If you’re local and looking for ways to step in, there are opportunities all around us! It might be a little harder with our little ones with us but there are always ways to serve! Here are just a few simple ideas.

1. Buy some coffee or bake something yummy! Stop by and grab a big carafe of coffee and cups and all the sugar and creamers. Or bake some muffins or cookies or a little easy snack and stop and deliver it to our linesmen and tree clean up crew! They are working today in really windy and quite dangerous conditions even though the storm has passed and will be for many more days!

2. Open your fridge and your home! A lot of our friends are without power and it may be a couple days before it’s restored. Offer to store their items in your fridge. Invite another mama over to hang out, take a nap or whatever she needs. Go and pick up their kiddos so they can have a few hours to clean up or work around their homes without distractions.

3. Buy them a gift card! Our friends may not even be aware of what they need yet. Their power is still off and they just wanna figure out the next step. Stop by Publix or Ingles and grab a gift card. Trust me, when you start having to replace all the food in your fridge it adds up. Grab a gift card to a pizza place or nice restaurant. They will be so excited when they don’t have to think about where dinner is coming from because it’s not coming from their fridge right now.

4. Call and Listen. Yesterday was scary for some. Ask your friend or neighbor or even the lady behind the cash register if they are doing okay and let them just talk. Just listen. They will want to tell their story more than likely. If they don’t, that’s okay too. Just be ready to listen. Be ready to pray. Be ready to encourage their weary, overwhelmed and anxious hearts with the truth that God loves them and you love them.

5. Step in and work! Spend a couple hours helping your neighbor or friend clean their yard or their house. If your little ones can help, great! Let them see the example that you set. You know what your little one can handle as their mommy. Check with your church for opportunities that they may be organizing. Make sure though that you’re doing the right kind of help at this point and not causing more harm or slowing down the work. Sometimes we need to step back and let the experts do what they know how to do.

Stepping in and serving our neighbors and friends during this time is so very important. May our city be known for how we loved and served other another and may they see Christ displayed after this terrible day of storms.

What other ideas could you share as we work to restore our city?