Will you join me in an experiment? I will answer the question: What was I doing 10/20/30 years ago...Then, you answer this question on your blog or here in the comments section. Tag as many other bloggers as possible & have them link back to http://www.relevantblog.blogspot.com/ (Mary DeMuth) who started this little social experiment!

Here we go:

10 years ago: I lived in Moscow, Russia. In Russia, I experienced darkness. The missing sun on a winter's day when inky midnight grabs the light away at four in the afternoon is one kind of darkness. The death of dignity when people created in God's image are reduced to scrabbling for the top of the human heap is another kind of darkness. In Russia, I understood for the first time what a gift our puritan roots bestows on each of us in America. We live in a country where a single human life matters. Sure, the fingers of darkness creep across our sky, but we still have vestiges of light. We still careflight people on helicopters to hospitals. We fight to save trapped miners, abused children and cancer victims. At a basic level, we still care...about a single human life.

20 years ago: I lived in Orlando, Florida. My father was unemployed, our house gone. We borrowed a vehicle and lived in it. I read recently that only 5% of the U.S. population has ever been hungry because they lack money to buy food. Well, we made the five-percent! But, God proved Himself faithful. He always met us at our need. Like Elijah, He led us to the brook (Westwood Chapel) and the ravens fed us. Words fail to convey my gratitude for my experiences at the brook. Poverty doesn't frighten me...because I know my God can and will supply all my needs.

30 years ago: I moved to the country. I discovered God in the world He created. I heard His joy in the bubbling brook. I experienced His humor in the silly antics of the skimming water beetles. I sensed His gentleness in the baby mockingbirds. I knew His protection from angry bulls, threatening cotton-mouths and deadly black widows. I relive those moments with my children and relish seeing the world through their fresh eyes, the way it looked when I was eight and living in the country.

Wish With Me...

My son yanked a dandelion from the ground and handed it to me. "Make a wish, Mom," he grinned.

I stood holding the limp puff-ball while loose dirt from the dangling roots showered my toes. Hm. What to wish for? I finally decided to make my wish a prayer…for my son and his future. I looked at his eager face and I caressed the curve of his round cheeks with my eyes. May my little boy grow up safe, healthy and loving you, Lord. Then I blew until all the little white messengers floated away to heaven carrying my heart’s plea.

“Well, that’s one way to do it.” Said my boy, tugging another dandelion from its earthen home. “But when I make a wish, I like doing it like this.” He shook the dandelion violently until all the white puffs scattered every direction, and he chanted, “I wish that all the people in all the world everywhere would be kind.”

The selflessness of a four-year-old who would use his dandelion wishes for strangers prodded me to pray a second time. Lord, please hear Jacob’s wish. Make people everywhere kind…and start with me.

So, here are some questions I find myself pondering:

• What keeps me from being kind to others? Time? Money? Thoughtlessness?
• Can I budget a small amount of money for a kind deed?
• Can I manage my time to allow an extra moment of kindness in my driving?
• How can I be kind to my family, neighbors and friends today?

Has someone blessed your life with a gift of kindness?

Did you have the opportunity to bless someone else?

I’d love to hear about it! Click on comments and share your story.

From Mundane To Marvelous

As I progressed through the first trimester of pregnancy, I discerned that the baby-forming process promised a whole bunch of discomfort: sausage ankles, midnight heartburn and unceasing urges to visit restrooms and refrigerators. I had three choices:

• I could pass the next nine months whining and miserable.
• I could keep my mouth shut and simply survive.
• I could rejoice in God's gift growing inside me.

By choosing to replace negative complaints with positive praise, my life moved from mundane to marvelous, and I learned a valuable lesson from the experience.