Blessing Bags – simple way to give back and share kindness.

Helping those in need, sharing our blessings.

To start, I do my best thinking while driving to work because this is the only moment of the day I am alone. I have uninterrupted time to think! Driving alone is the best way to come up with great ideas!  Across the city poverty is at almost every street corner and on my way to work I encounter it daily.

At my core I am a fixer. I want to fix things and make them better. When I see that person standing on the corner holding a tattered cardboard sign, my heart breaks.  Poverty is not something you just fix with a snap of the finger. I have a huge issue passing people in need, knowing we all have so much, and not help in some way. I believe Jesus calls us to help all people and blessing bags are my carpool answer. They are my way to share kindness and look a neighbor in the eye.

It seems like my husband and I have discussed how to best help those in need to the ends of the earth. Spoiler, we don’t agree on this topic.  My husband would rather support an organization that provides help than the person on the street corner, and I don’t disagree with him, but my heart still breaks seeing people begging for help.

Fun project for kids, get everyone on board!

Because our church made blessing bags a few years ago, I thought this would be a pay it forward project for our family and friends.  You could physically hand our neighbors something material to help instead of doing nothing. I wanted to do something once the weather began to resemble winter and I remembered the blessing bags from our church. During holiday parties this year I had a blessing bag station for friends and family to make their own bags to take home. This was my way of sharing the idea and involving the kids so that they would enjoy the activity. Our friends brought their kids over to our holiday open house and the kids loved stuffing the bags! They made many blessing bags and were able to take them home to pass along to those they saw in need. Another way to share the kindness with our community.

Acts of kindness are simple.

Because of a touching conversation with my daughter, I was able to realize how impacted she had been by this project. I was taking my daughter to school recently and she asked me if we could go downtown.  I asked her why, wondering what she wanted to do? She responded, “I want to take the blessing bags to people who need them and we always see homeless people downtown.”.   My mommy heart stopped because I was so moved by her sweet gesture to think about going to find people in need. This simple idea, that I thought was a fun way to add something new to our Holiday tradition, was influencing my five year old.  Kindness is spread in the simplest of ways. I can not tell you how grateful I am for this sweet moment with my daughter. Her kindness to others is such a gift!

Above all else I hope your family takes time during the year to give back to those less fortunate, in whatever way you are called to help.

Shopping List:

To make your own blessing bags, here is the shopping list:

• Bottle Water
• Gatorade
• Trail Mix
• Granola Bars
• Wet Wipes
• Hand Warmers
• **not pictured leftover Halloween Candy

Everything was ordered through amazon, easy, quick and such a great way to show a bit of kindness. 

Happy New Year!

-Amy