“All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action.”

-James Russell

Several months ago God put someone and something on my heart. I felt that HE wanted me to help a single mother who was struggling.

Being that I could truly empathize with her scenario all too well, I felt like I could do something to help her. Even if it would only be on a miniscule scale.

So I decided to “adopt a family”(this single mother and her 4 children) for Christmas. I gave myself several months to prepare…because as much as I love philanthropy, I’m no Oprah Winfrey with a billionaire status, who has unlimited funds to give extravagantly.

All I saw, was a single mom hurting, and I could relate to the hurt (because everything she said was me- and my life at one point in time.) Therefore, I felt a call to minister with a “lovely action.”

Before I knew it, another kind soul wanted to be a part of this kind deed. Then another, and then again, another. Suddenly there was 4 of us who had officially adopted this single mother and her 4 children for Christmas.

After several months of collaborative efforts on our part, we were able to abundantly bless this family.

With the help of these 3 ladies I was able to do more together, than anything I could have ever imagined doing on my own. Thank you Marsha Haywood, Marcene Weatherall, and Vanessa Hill, for your substantial and generous contributions.

Initially, I hadn’t planned on blogging about our kind gesture. I thought of this many months ago before I even started my blog. Although, I have since changed my mind and decided to share about it because it really was intrinsically rewarding and the four of us were glad to do it.

And if it encourages others to go out and participate in their own random acts of kindness and “lovely actions”…then it has caused a chain reaction of good deeds. Why wouldn’t I want to share my good and positive energy with the world?

One thing I hope to accomplish with my blog is to positively influence people, and to highlight the beauty of human nature. We see enough of the cruelty and callousness in human nature, and I don’t really have a vision for those topics and that direction right now.

So, may the words on this page cause a ripple effect in all who read, and inspire them to go out and find a single lovely action to perform this new year. Don’t forget to come back and share them with me.

Remember that all of your single lovely actions are more valuable than all of your well intended sentiments.

I know I have felt conviction myself behind this. Many times I have said to a fellow friend, “I’ll pray for you.” When it is just more effective and meaningful to the person if we just pray with them.

I’ll be honest, for me, it’s a fear that my prayer won’t sound right, or be eloquently expressed. Maybe 50% of the time I have the courage to actually pray with them. So, I know I have some growing to do in that area. But for now I will keep moving forward.

Please remember to leave a comment. What great ideas can you think of that might be considered a “single lovely action?”

Topic & Title Inspired by James Russell quote

Photo credits: Deanna G.M.Childs