Inspiration

39. Act on "inspired" ideas.

Most of my "firsts" have been just to INdulge my fantasy list or to get over some INhibitions. This post has to do with INspiration- some I have received and some I want to pay forward to inspire my faithful readers :) Both of you... haha~

a) The idea for this blog of mine was inspired by Micah's "30 by 30 list." She has an official list of things she wants to accomplish before she turns 30, several years from now. The birth of 2 babies in 2 years has slowed her down a little, but I'm confident the list will be completed. Thanks for the inspiration, daughter!

b) Another Micah-inspired act occurred today. A few years ago, she read an article about simplifying your life, paring down to only 100 possessions. No, she didn't go quite that far, but she did actually make a poster of 100 things that she gave away or sold, freeing up some space in her house. My attempt at this was even a little smaller, but better than nothing! Today I gave away 55+ items to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. If I did this once a month for the next 55 months... ahh, how great would that be! I would feel like I had a new big ole house :)

c) A few weekends ago, we kept an adorable little 11-week old baby boy for a weekend. The inspiration for this act, besides the selfish one of getting my hands on a really cute & smiley baby, was The CALL. This is an amazing organization that promotes foster care and adoption of children in need. The baby we kept is in the foster home of a sweet family in our church. They wanted to take their older child for a last-minute quick vacation before school started. My challenge to others (and to myself) is to look for ways to be of a little help to families as the idea pops into your head. We all know of someone that could use the surprise of a casserole or a few hours of baby-sitting or "I'm headed to the store- what can I bring you?" My other inspirers- Tommie & Jill & Pam, who amaze me with the giving of their time to others, just because. Further suggestions are welcome---

d) For several months, I have felt a desire to put into writing how my former pastor of several decades continues to influence me, and to invite the input of others. I finally got around to this, with an open-ended post on Facebook. I LOVED reading what others remember. (Hopefully, just so I will have it forever, I will copy these comments into a future blogpost.) My other inspiration for this act was my friend Andi, who is quick to act when she feels the Holy Spirit leading her to do something, no matter how strange it may seem. Challenge- jot that note you have been meaning to send to someone, do that random act of kindness you've been thinking about, make that long-overdue phone call to a friend, etc.

Other suggestions???