A Lesson on Thinking of Others

Yesterday while we were in the car running some errands, Audra pointed out the window and said,"Look Mom, someone is camping!" I look and see a homeless guy with a backpack and his dog by a tree. I explained to her that he didn't have a home and all he owns is in that back pack. She was obviously upset about the situation. She asked a million questions of why and how. I explained it could be a lot of reasons: lost his job, made bad decisions, or by choice, but that we needed to pray for him. We both took turns praying for him. We talked about how thankful we should be about the blessings we have.

I had wanted to make "Blessing Bags" awhile back, but never got around to it. I took this as the best oppurtunity to bring it up. If I mention something to Audra I will have to follow through because she will not let me forget otherwise. So I asked her if she would like to make a list of food and toiletries we could get and make some packages to hand out to the homeless people we see.  She was excited and talked about it all night and this morning. We went to Wal-mart and checked of our list and came home to do our service project.

 We got:

Water bottles

gum

granola bars

peanut butter crackers

raisins

fruit cups

juice packages

soap

tooth brush

tooth paste

Gallon bags

 We sorted it out! (Bonus: Math fun too!)

 Got our four packages ready and prayed over them. 

 Audra decided she wanted to make a card for each package. 

 "We prayed for you" was inside each card she made. 

Finished product with a beautiful card. They are in a basket in the truck ready to be passed out. It isn't a whole lot, but it was a great teaching moment of thinking of others and hopefully the individuals that get the bags will be blessed. I intend to restock as needed. Audra will probably remind me, so I shouldn't worry to much about forgetting.

 I hope that these moments in her life make an impact forever. I enjoy them and they are so special to me. I pray she continues to grow up with her caring heart. I know God has big plans for her life and I pray that Ryan and I just do our best to guide her to look to Him and use every opportunity that is put in front of us to it's fullest teaching potential. I can't wait to see her grow into the woman He has made her to be.