This = my 2018th published post on this blog!! Hooray! ❤❤ (I don't have anything monumental to write about, but I did want to acknowledge hitting 2018 posts in 2018. lol)
This Thursday, our women's lifegroup (Alex, Kelly, me, and Katie) volunteered at Tulsa Night Lights. They meet every Thursday to help our local homeless or very low income families... They have several stations where you can volunteer, including grilling burgers and hot dogs, handing out food and drinks, clothing and shoes, painting nails, washing feet, praying with those who want prayer, and a "kid zone" area where the kids get to be kids for a bit! There is also a salon that volunteers to give haircuts and a company that volunteers to feed their pets! ❤ All around, it's an awesome service that they're providing, and I was surprised by the large crowd (of both volunteers and people in need).
We volunteered to hand out clothing, but they already had enough people in that area. So we volunteered for the kid zone, which was great! They had sidewalk chalk, bracelets we could braid for them, coloring books, a 9-square ball game, checkers, and this epic game of giant Jenga! (Kelly and Katie played each other before the kids arrived, and Katie's worried face is cracking me up! lol)
The acronym for their LIGHTS = Loving Individuals, Giving Hope, Touching Souls. I'm cheesy, and I like that! =) We were asked not to take pictures during the event (from 7 to 9 p.m.), but they had a photographer who goes around getting pictures for their page, so here are a few of those...
It's so often a myriad of little things that add up to become big, life-changing things! I think it's awesome that people can come here every week for a hot meal, some clothes or blankets to keep them warm, get their feet washed and/or get their hair cut, and talk to people who will pray with and for them!
Anyway, it was a good experience. ...Since this kind of goes along with the kindness theme, here's a great quote by former First Lady Barbara Bush, who passed away earlier this week:
This is another picture I saved when I saw it on Facebook, because it's just a good reminder! I don't know if it's personality or background or just the enemy at work, but it's always been a bit tempting for me to fade into the background and hide, not really offering much or using the gifts God has put in me. So I'm trying to remind myself of this -- that God created me on purpose and for a purpose, and even when I feel unheard or undervalued for one reason or another, my voice and my heart matter to Him, so I want to be courageous and SPEAK UP and use them to glorify God!! (And I want to encourage others to do the same!) ❤
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