The Giving Challenge: Revised Edition

Dear Blog Friends,

You may have noticed that I have not done a Giving Challenge the past couple weeks.

I have decided to do something different with it.

No longer will I post about who I am giving to, or their reaction.  I want my giving to be un-noticed.

What I do want to do on this blog, is show ideas of what others can do to give, and to also give encouragement in the giving process.

There’s a lot of “giving” in that sentence above, but you see (or read) my point.

The Giving Challenge is will still go on, and I hope you will be encourage!

Giving Challenge #2

This Giving Challenge has been quite an eye opener for me.

Never did I realize how much I think of my own self, wants and needs until recently.

This life is not about ME.  This life is about serving God and others, as our God taught us:

Matthew 22:37-39

“Jesus replied: ‘LOVE the Lord your God with ALL your HEART and with ALL your SOUL and will ALL your STRENGTH and with ALL your MIND.’  THIS is the FIRST and GREATEST COMMANDMENT.  And the SECOND is like it: ‘LOVE your NEIGHBOR as yourself.’” 

 

 

Jesus and Others and You

What a Wonderful Way to Spell JOY

J is for Jesus, for He takes first place
O is for Others you meet face to face
Y is for You, and whatever you do,
Put yourself last and spell JOY

 

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Giving Challenge #2

There is a dear lady that has done my hair for years.  She will never receive a payment from me, nor from my parents when she gives my mom a perm.

She has been a 2nd mom to me, and is a great example of humility.

So…

…knowing how she LOVES to take baths, I chose a recipe straight of a Gooseberry Patch Book.

 

I had completely forgotten I had this book, silly me! 

The recipe is for a Strawberries & Cream Milk Bath.  The only problem is…I couldn’t find Strawberry Essential Oil.

So I went with the next best thing…Lemongrass!

#1  Pour 1 cup of powdered milk and 3/4 cup sea salt in a large bowl; mix well.

 

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*psst!  I just had to point out the lovely vintage Pyrex bowl my mom has had since…well, you probably can tell.

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Now back to our regularly scheduled recipe.

#2  Scoop about 1/2 cup of the mixture into a smaller bowl.

#3   Sprinkle 1/4 tsp. of your most favorited essential oil over the mix in the small bowl; stir well.  

#4  Add oil mix back into the large bowl; mix well.

#5  Store in an airtight container. I couldn’t believe this Goodwill find actually held the exact amount I made!  Perfect!

#6  Attach a gift tag with instructions.  Yes, I learned from my last gift.  Instructions can be pretty handy.I cut out a strip of colored paper and folded it.

Then I wrote a special note to the special lady on the inside and also the instructions. 

With the name of the milk bath on top, I punched a hole in the top corner to slip the ribbon through.

And Tah dah!

Lemongrassy Goodness in a Jar
 Click Picture Below to find this Gooseberry Patch Book on Amazon.com


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I dropped by my dear friend’s house out of the blue as she was preparing dinner.

We chatted for a bit, and then I handed her this Milk Bath.  With a, “you didn’t have to do that!”, from her and a, “yes, I did!”, from me, she opened up the jar and just said, “Mmmmm!”

With a hug, I thanked her for what she has done for us.

We just LOVE her!  God bless you Linda!

 

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Now it’s your turn to share your own personal story for this week’s Giving Challenge on your blog!

Then link up your Giving Challenge blog post to the Mister Linky below.

If you don’t have a blog, go ahead and share us

your Giving Challenge in the comments of this post.

 

The Giving Challenge #1

When God asked me to do this, I was really excited because I knew how much it would bless others.   

But…

I was SO scared.  Why?  Because I didn’t feel worthy enough to take this on.

Here’s another but. 

BUT I knew God wanted me to do this.  So I pressed on!
 


I had a hard time finding who I wanted to Give to this week.  There are SO many great people in my life!
There was one person that has stuck in my mind that I really wanted to do something for.  She has blessed me by providing a house-cleaning job when I needed it the most.  So I started with her.

A Blessing for a Blessing!

So, can you guess what I did for my first Giving Challenge?  Baked, but of course.


I made a Cherry Pie In A Jar!  The idea came from the blog “Explore The Cabin”.  Click on the link to find the recipe….a very easy, yet creative recipe!
For the pie crust; I used the Butter Pie Crust recipe from Aunt Ruthie from Sugar Pie Farmhouse. 

OH MY, that crust was GOOD and Easy, also! 

I have a love/hate relationship with pie crusts…but not this one! 

The Almost Finished Product

THE Finished Product

As I wrote out a card to thank her for providing extra income for me, I couldn’t help but feel complete GRATITUDE.

Of course, I was always thankful for this extra job…but in doing this for her, my heart was just smiling with GRATITUDE for her.  She was an instrument in God’s hands in helping me in tight financial times.

Thank you Mrs. D.!

When she was gone, I left this on her counter as I continued cleaning her house.

She returned home a little earlier than I expected.  But with that, I got a surprised “thank you!”…and a “what do I do with it"?.

Oops!  I didn’t think to put instructions to say “This is your own personal slice of pie that you can eat right from the jar”.

*note to self:  put instructions on things that are a little out of the ordinary.

So, tell me…what did you do for this week’s Giving Challenge?

Share your Giving Challenge story that you posted on your blog in the Mister Linky below.