Day #21 - Grocery store day!

Hello friends!

Today service was again, small. I went to the grocery store with my brother and afterwards I went to return the cart while he finished loading groceries. Remember that today is day #2 of continuous snow fall so the parking lot was quite full of said glorious moisture. In places where cars were frequently driving the snow was packed down, or melted to slush and therefore, manageable to walk and push a cart in. In other places, by the cart return, for example, the snow was NOT packed down, melted, or moved at ALL. As I carefully maneuvered my way over there I noticed that another person had attempted to brave the snow drifts to return their cart... but it only made it part of the way to the return. I thought of joining my cart to theirs and leaving it outside of the cart return. After all, it was really snowy and deep in there! But then I thought about my days as a bagger... er... convenience clerk at a grocery store when I was in high school. How I dreaded cold and rainy/snowy days when I'd have to go out and retrieve carts from the parking lot. Playing hide and seek with the numerous carts that were left strewn about the parking lot was not my favorite game. Mostly because the carts did the hiding (in between other cars and objects in the parking lot) and I did the seeking. So I thought about the "convenience clerk" that would have to trudge out here during their shift to retrieve these carts, and I grabbed the lone cart, pushed mine into it and pushed them into the cart return. Did it take more than 30 seconds? No. But I hope it helped someone on this snowy (beautiful) day!

PS - dear all the people that drive the snowplows, I love you. Love, me.
PPS - dear Kaysville city who funds the snowplows, I love you too. Love, me.

Day #20 - Snow day!!

Welcome snow! Because of you I get to go skiing. Therefore, I love you.

Today with all the wonderful snow came the opportunity to shovel. My step-dad, is a hero, and he is always the first out to shovel, morning, afternoon, night, he's doing it. Without a groan. Without a hesitation. Even with a smile on his face! So today I got home from swimming and shoveled before heading out for the rest of the day. (thankfully it was the really light powder stuff... so I actually got off pretty east) :) That's proof that service has its perks and you're even helped to do it!

Happy Tuesday!

Day #19 - I'm loving the holiday break!!

Hello to anyone who is still with me on this adventure!

Today was pretty simple - I'm learning that that's what most service is. Simple. I did some dishes for my mom after family left tonight instead of sneaking back to my room while I pretend that "maybe she won't do the dishes tonight and will leave them there. That way I won't feel bad for not helping because she isn't technically doing them!" That isn't, by the way, a frequent thought that crosses my mind. But it tempts me. I'll be honest. So it was nice. And I hope it helped her load. She does a lot when family comes over for game nights, movie nights, chill time, etc. She's always working hard to make food, clean up, entertain, etc and does it all so selflessly. I'll be like her one day.

I also want to share one thought that will seem general without me being able to expound and dig into the details. I thought of a specific experience that I've recently had in life and while talking to my sister-in-law I was hit with the truth that all things happen for a reason in our lives. And sometimes the experiences are painful, or seemingly "unwanted." However, they are for our benefit and good. We just have to be willing to look at them in that way and think, "Clearly the Lord wants me to be refined in some way or learn something from this experience. So I'll stay faithful and continue moving forward so that can happen." The Lord loves us so much. He never leaves us alone or walks with us through each part of life just to give us something we don't ultimately need. He is so kind!

PS - another VERY selfless service today was letting someone else win at a certain game called "nertz." I consider that a great service. So that would person...

Day #19 - Wedding gifts, anyone??

Today is kind of funny. I thought of a couple things during the day that I could have counted as service but I didn't know if they'd be too small to count... which is funny because any act of service is service and counts!

So my brother, who just got married a little over a week ago, and his wife opened their wedding gifts tonight but they wanted to do it with family members there. I had no idea about this until last night and I wasn't sure what to think of it. I mean... I hadn't ever heard of anyone waiting to open their wedding gifts with other people there to watch so it was new to me. And I'll be honest, at first I wasn't really planning on going. But then my mom asked if I'd go with her since Blake, my step-dad, wasn't able to go... and, again, I'll be honest, I thought, "I guess I can count it as service if I go!" Is that horrible?? Probably. Maybe on day 365 I'll have better outlooks on stuff like this than I do! I'm learning. :)

Anyway, I went and it was, as it always is with things like this, a really fun time! It was great to celebrate with them over their stash of goodness and money. And it was just good to be there to support them. I loved it. Service is rad. I feel kinda bad counting this as service. So just in case, while I was there, I cleaned out some trash for my brother. I feel better now. ;)

The end!

Long live Sundays!! I love these days!

Day #18

My internet went a little crazy last night when I tried to write this so technically it's day #19 but I'm filling in for yesterday. I served yesterday by going to the temple. *sigh* I really can't say enough of how much I love that place. I love everything about it. But most especially I love the feeling of comfort and calm that I get when I'm in there. It doesn't matter what kind of confusion or stress is going on in my life when I'm in the temple. For that amount of time, and afterward, I feel so good and I'm reassured again of eternal perspectives and the importance of being faithful to my covenants, and the blessings that come as I am.

I love serving there. I feel like I receive more help than I give to the special "brothers and sisters" I go through for.

Merry Christmas! Day #17

Merry merry Christmas, my friends!
I hope your day has been wonderful and so full of good things/people!!

Here are some clips of my Christmas day:

Brinley got in "hug" mode and little Jackie couldn't escape it!

You better believe I'm gonna learn how to play this thing! Boo ya!

For service today I decided to reconnect with a couple of friends - both who I love dearly, and one who I haven't talked with in SO long! And today seemed the perfect day to reestablish our friendship! The thought of texting to wish them a merry Christmas crossed my mind... however, I knew to make it more personable I should call. Let me tell you that phone calls sometimes aren't my favorite things when I know the conversation potential is going to be very short (BUT if there are any boys reading this... phone calls are good! Especially if they involve asking out on a date, phone calls are the only way to go... anway...). But I was excited to send a personal hello and "Merry Christmas" wish over the phone. Unfortunately when I decided to do this, it was already 11 p.m. on east coast time and I knew a phone call wouldn't be the smartest idea. So for that one, a text had to do. I'm just grateful for the opportunity to speak with dear friends. The Lord is so good to us as He blesses us with wonderful people in our lives! It's important to let those people know how much we appreciate them... and sometimes texting just doesn't fully clarify that.

I wish you all a merry Christmas! I hope you've taken this day and season to grow closer to our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is our greatest friend and example.

Day #16 - Merry Christmas Eve!!

Hello my friends!

A big shout out for Christmas Eve!! What a wonderful time of year. And a BIG shoutout for the snow. Woot!

Today service was simple. My parents made a final run to the grocery store this morning in preparation for a family fiesta and while they were gone, I took the opportunity to vacuum and dust to help out a bit. I wasn't available much to help with the food prep so I hope the cleaning prep helped them out!

That's all, my friends. Merry Christmas tomorrow!!

Day #15!!!

I am very excited about today. I got to bring something to pass that my family and I have been prepping for since August. As a result of an inspirational talk given by a manager at the Utah Food Bank my family and I began saving the change we'd receive at the store. This change would go towards buying turkeys to donate to the Food Bank for Thanksgiving. Our motto was "One coin at a time... one turkey at a time... one family at a time."

We put all of our nickels and dimes in a jar and little by little it began to grow. In my visions of how this would go I saw us eventually filling the old jam jar to overflowing and moving on to fill a big 2 liter juice bottle. We DID fill the jam jar to overflowing but, that's as far as it went. There were plenty of quarters in there so I knew we'd have at least enough for one turkey, but I wasn't sure how much more. I asked around and found out that Turkeys ran anywhere from $15 to $30 dollars. My heart sank as I thought we probably only had saved enough for one turkey. This saving wasn't easy. The age of debit cards and credit cards makes it easy to never have to carry cash, so I made the conscious effort to get cash back as much as possible in order to have change to contribute to our "turkey jar."

The holidays have really crept up on me and before I knew it, it was Thanksgiving and our coins still sat in the jar... with no turkeys given to families in need. Thankfully Christmas is still a time for turkeys so we had another chance to put our coins to good use. And thankfully the Food Bank is still accepting turkeys. I took the jar to the credit union and was so surprised to see that over $40 was in there!! I quickly ran to the store and was so excited to see that I could buy THREE turkeys for all the change we had saved.

I love service. What is it about serving that brings such happiness? It's wonderful. As I drove up the ramp at the Food Bank toward the volunteers who stood ready to unload my car I was almost giddy. I drove away thinking of three more families who can enjoy a turkey dinner for Christmas. Thanks for your work, fam!

Let us keep those families who are going without so much in our prayers. And let us look for ways to help them.
In the words of tiny Tim, "God bless us. Every one!"

Day #14 - Simple Service Day

Hello friends!

Today was just excellent. Service came early today for me - which again, I am thankful for since the rest of the day was packed.

There are a few months of the year that are bittersweet for me (is bittersweet one word or two? Anyway...). These months are November through March. Why?? Because those are the months in which I canNOT park my car on the street at night. *grumble grumble* Our driveway is not ideal for parking in over night seeing as how one side is taken up by a big, white truck, and the other side needs to remain open for my mom's car to get in and out of the garage. Thus, during these winter months I am left to park my car behind the truck, or in the way of my mom's car. Neither option is ideal because they both require me to move my car daily - sometimes multiple times a day. This morning was a great example. I got up and heard my step-dad start his truck. Often times, if I'm still asleep when either of them leave in the morning they will move my car for me, out of the goodness of their hearts. (bless their souls!) So this morning when I heard my step-dad start his truck I almost continued on my way to the shower thinking that he'd probably just move it for me anyway. I then thought about how inconvenient that makes it for him... and what if he was in a hurry? Still the temptation for me to continue on my morning tasks and leave the car to him was quite alluring. I even did continue on with a couple of things I wanted to get done... but thankfully the nudge to get out there and move my car for him so he wouldn't have to persisted. And I'm glad I did.

Personally, it's the little things that people do for me, that I love most. Just showing that someone thought of me, is huge. So I hope this did the same, in some way, for Blake this morning. If nothing else, I hope it made his exit a little easier.

3 days till Christmas!!

Day #13

I loved today. Today was FULL of service opportunities. My awesome ward did a VERY fun service project tonight, putting together kits for the men at the road home. What a great ward I'm in! There was a great turnout and we all seemed to really enjoy ourselves and each other as we worked for the good of others. Thanks to those who helped in putting it together!

But the opportunity to serve that I'd like to focus on is one at work today. A cute coworker of mine came into my and Megan's office asking if we'd seen the engagement ring of one of our editors. Apparently, it was her mother's, who has since passed away, and she was frantic (as any one would be!) to find it. When Megan and I heard this we looked around our offices and almost returned to our work! (Shame on us!) Thankfully as we turned back to our desks our better senses took control and we quickly got up to help in the search. After searching offices, the bathroom, the breakroom, the parking lot, her car, and some garbages Megan, Charlene (the cute editor who lost her ring), and I were sitting in Charlene's office verbally going over her whereabouts of the day. I had said silent prayers during the search and as we all talked I happened to be looking down. I saw Charlene's right hand on her desk... with the ring she usually wears on her right ring finger. Then I noticed a ring on top of that one. It looked familiar, like I had seen Charlene wear it before. Then thankfully I woke up and realized it was the very ring we were searching for! I wasn't completely sure so I only continued to stare while I pointed slowly to the ring on her right ring finger. Charlene and Megan stopped talking as they noticed what I was doing. It was all like a very dramatic, silent, slow-motion movie. Loved it. ;) Then as I was almost touching the ring, Charlene looked down and let out a shout. IT WAS HER ENGAGEMENT RING! She must have taken it off to put lotion on or something and absent-mindedly put it on her other hand... and since there's always a ring on that finger she didn't feel a difference or think to look there. (It's like those moments when you're looking everywhere for your pencil and you realize you've been holding it the whole time. Classic) We were all so happy it wasn't lost. I detest losing things! And I can only imagine the horrible feeling one must have to lose something to dear and valuable.

Anyway, good times at Gibbs Smith today! I was happy to help - and so happy all was well! We work with great people and had many people up searching.
Shout out for Gibbs Smith employees! Woot Woot!

Day #12

I LOVED the service today... I again was able to do another favorite service... not that I don't love all service... *clearing throat* Anyway... my cute mom has always had a beautiful singing voice and has participated in many singing groups throughout her life. I thank her for also being blessed with somewhat of a singing voice. As she gets older she tells me she fears that she's lost her solo voice and that she has a harder time keeping the tune/notes when she sings by herself. Last week she came home slightly despairing as she said, "Kris! It's official, I've lost my solo voice. I can no longer sing by myself and follow along." She was asked by the ward choir director to sing the 2nd verse of Oh Holy Night as a solo and after a couple of practices she said she'd feel more comfortable if I sang with her. I sang often in the ward choir when I was in my home ward and have sung a couple of times there again since leaving the ward for U32 (shout out for University 32nd ward!!), so I was grateful for another opportunity to sing there again with people who I love. And Oh Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas songs! So today, I was blessed with the opportunity to use a talent the Lord has mercifully blessed me with and to sing with my talented mom. And the Lord truly blessed us as we only practiced the song together for the first time yesterday. I'm so grateful that the Lord qualifies His servants who try to use gifts He's given us. It's hard for me to classify it as a service since singing is just something I LOVE to do! But I'm so grateful my mom asked!
And a moment of recognition to my cute brothers and sisters-in-laws and nieces who came to support us! Love you guys!!

Day #11

Today I got to do my favorite service and go to my favorite place. The temple. :) Oh I love that place. And I can't describe all of the reasons that I love the temple, but one of the greatest blessings it brings to me personally, is an unmistakable rest, and stillness inside of me. It's perfect and I can't do without it.
So today, I served in the Lord's house. And what a blessing that is for me every time I go. I heard a cute sister from Ukraine talking to one of the temple workers while I waited to do initiatories and her words sum up my feelings about the temple. "Do you want to know the way to be happy? Come here. It is to come here frequently. And you will be happy." Let's come to the temple... and live happier lives.
See many of you in church tomorrow!!

Day #10

I can't believe I'm in the double digits already! This service thing is getting to be tricky. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I have a pretty good idea of what I'll do to serve... other mornings, like today, I think, "Hm... this could be interesting." But I always move forward trying to remember to keep my eyes open for ways to help out, even if they only take 45 seconds. (see Day #7??)

It wasn't until almost 7:00 p.m. that I was able to serve someone. My brother came over with his daughter while his wife went to a friend fiesta. I was getting ready to go out for the evening while I played with my adorable niece and chatted with my brother. After a few rounds of Chutes and Ladders we noticed how hungry we were and raided the fridge. Ryan pulled out a turkey burger... something that I have a hard time ingesting, so I continued looking... and settled on a BLT. Ryan saw the bacon I was pulling out and decided he was interested in that as well. So I got the opportunity to make some dinner for us. Simple, but nice to do for him. It would be the perfect ending to this post if I was able to add that I did his dishes afterwards... but unfortunately I can't post that... I'm still learning. I'm sure this process will help me get to a point of doing extra duty service! For today though... a meal will do. :)

Day #9

First - congrats to Tyler and Heather (my bro and sister-in-law) on their wedding today!! Woohoo!! They've waited and searched for a long time to find each other and today was just a perfect day! (not to mention we were able to sit at the feet of an apostle as he sealed them-woot! ... AND eat lots of cake and good food... )

So service today was another simple act - I'm learning a lot about service as I do this. I'll share those thoughts afterwards, though. This morning as I was on my way to work Blake, my awesome step-dad, asked me to proof read a church document that he had put together on how to use the ward website, from his duty as ward clerk. I agreed and thought that he probably meant at a later time since I was leaving for the day. But something urged me to do it then, nothing more than a quick thought. I'm grateful for the urge and to have followed it. It took nothing more than 45 seconds, tops. Why did I hesitate? Why did I put my own needs first when I was asked to help? I then thought, "Oh I won't count that as my service. I'm sure other opportunities will come up later in the day." Really - no other opportunities really came up. With work and then an afternoon and night of wedding fiesta I didn't look for other opportunities. Boy am I glad I took the one 45 second opportunity to serve this morning.

So what am I really learning from all of this? TAKE THE SERVICE MOMENTS THAT COME! You never know how many more will be presented to you during the day. And as I type this I had the thought - besides, how much more will the Lord feel that He can trust us if He sees us taking WHATEVER opportunities may come to reach out, give of ourselves (time, means, etc.), and serve? We will be more trusted servants. We will be more filled with love. We will be more aware of our brothers and sisters. So take each chance. Even though it's small. Even though you're on your way to work.

I'm loving this and learning so much! I hope you're learning and enjoying the journey with me.

9 days down, 356 to go!!

Day #8

Hello friends!

Sometimes I like to start these as if we're all the closest of friends, which is true for those who take time to read this. Because of the blogging world, and life connections, we're bonded. We share details of our lives, feelings, thoughts, and experiences, and though it's all through the superficial wiring of technology, it has a close feeling to it. So thanks for taking time to read this and share in some of my life experiences. I look forward to reading yours.

Yesterday my planned service changed. I ended up doing something for a different friend. I didn't think of it as a service until she thanked me after. I spent some time listening to and chatting with a friend, celebrating with her because of some great experiences she's having. Now, "why would that be a service, Kristi?!" Maybe you asked yourself that question. Let's just say that the area of life that she's celebrating right now is an area in my life that took an unexpected turn (which is actually quite for the best! :) ). But that didn't stop me from celebrating with my friend, though I'm sure it would have been easier to withdraw into myself and my own thoughts. It was wonderful to celebrate with her. I loved it. She thanked me for spending time listening and sharing my thoughts even though my situation was different than what I thought. That's when it hit me - it's so much more fulfilling to look outside of ourselves and into the life and joys of others, even though our own thoughts seem to be more consuming.

Today I sent some scriptures to a friend in the cast of Christmas Carol that I've come to know and love as I've performed with her. Tomorrow the missionary that she's written for two years comes home. She's terrified, of course, as any girl would be at this homecoming, as she considers all of the possible outcomes. His family wants her to be at the airport so she thought she'd bring a little something for him. She wanted to do something that wouldn't be too big or overwhelming for him so she thought of his favorite candy and a poster. She came to me for help, wondering what a returned missionary would like to come home to, and I suggested that she add some comfort scriptures on the note she writes him. Returning home from a mission is, in my opinion, dreadful! And nothing comforted me more than spiritual reminders, things that reminded me of the Savior, of missionary work, of service, the gospel, etc. So I found a couple of scriptures that will hopefully bring comfort to her missionary as he embraces "normal" life again. If anyone is interested I suggested Philippians 4:13 (a personal favorite of mine), or 2 Tim 4:5-7.

Goodnight, my friends! Until tomorrow...

Day #6... and #7 since that's today. :) A little is better than nothing, right?

Okay so yesterday was a small work of service that I'm hoping helps in some way. I have a good friend who taught me the importance of picking up trash that I see as I go from place to place. She taught me this while we were up at school together and I've carried it with me ever since. Yes, it's gross and some items just go untouched for the sake of sanitation purposes... however, there are many instances that it's just a wrapper, or piece of paper... and that's what hand sanitizer is for, right? Perhaps all of you who are extra germ conscious are dying inside right now. I promise to sanitize before I come around you. No worries.

Well yesterday I was walking out of again, Albertson's/Fresh Market and I almost stepped on a large receipt that was somewhat wet, due to the recent snow fall and large amounts of slush. I picked it up and thought, "I hope this isn't my service for the day." Well, it certainly turned out to be. So does one less piece of trash on the ground count as an act of service?

For 365 days some of these "acts" will certainly be small. :) But that's where Alma 37:6-7 comes in, right?

And so to today, I already have my act of service determined...

Day #4 and #5 :)

Hello friends!

Clearly I am not as dedicated as the character Julie was on "Julie and Julia" because she was up at 5:30 every morning updating her daily blog for all of her readers... weekends are obviously a road block for me as I don't frequent the computer that often.

Anyway, without further ado let's see what I was able to do to serve over the weekend! I DID get my letter written to my missionary friend on Friday! Woohoo! Then Saturday was quite a full day and I realized that the day was drawing to a close and I hadn't served someone yet. Saturday night I was filling in for the other girl who plays my same character, Isabelle, in Christmas Carol (since I'm double cast and only perform every other night). I took the opportunity to run around and see how I could help other people in the cast. I filled some time zipping dresses, tying bows, etc. Small things, but I hoped they made life in the dressing room a bit easier for other cast members.
Sunday I helped my dear step-dad shovel. Talk about a LOT of WET snow! He is a dear and dutifully does most of the shoveling. And yesterday he was out shoveling multiple times! I wasn't able to help much, but I was glad to help a little bit for the time I had and hope it helped lighten the load at least a little bit. Besides, I enjoyed the bit of "holy" exercise it was yesterday. ;)

We'll see what comes my way to do to serve today. Time is running short already!!

Happy Monday!!

Day #3 - when it rains it pours

Just for fun I thought I'd start out with this little goodie. This is my car... the image that I woke up to. At least I don't have to pay for it! :) And I get a new bumper out of it...

Day 2 threw me for a loop. Let me lay it out for you - I worked for 8 hours and then went home to writing essays, and working through some other stuff, up until 11 p.m. That left me little time to write a missionary letter. Truth be told, I forgot about writing the letter until I was neck deep into my essays... SO, that will be done today. YES TODAY! Even if I have to write it while I'm off stage at the theater tonight in between scenes.
But did you do the act of service yesterday?! You may be wondering. And thankfully yes, I was given two opportunities. Let me share the story. I was heading to work late... for some reason lately I don't get to work before 9... sometimes 9:30... anyway. As I was putting my lunch together I noticed that the dishes were clean in the dishwasher and usually I just leave them because I'm in a hurry to leave and I feel perfectly justified. :) However, yesterday there was the thought that kept coming back to just give a few minutes and empty it. I tried to ignore it a few times before I gave in. I'm so glad I did. Because that ended up being my service for the day - and a good one for my parents who were gone all day, also, who didn't have that to worry about when they got home.
I'm grateful for inspiration and ideas that certainly aren't my own!
What's the second opportunity, you may be asking? At about 10 p.m. my mom called and asked that I put together a salad that she was taking for a work party today. I was, as I said earlier, using every spare second to tear through a couple of essays and time was precious. But service is more important (other people are more important)... that's what I'm trying to engrain in my mind through all of this.
"He who loses his life for my sake shall find it."

Day #2

So far so good! Woohoo!
I'm a big people watcher, and yesterday as I was in Albertson's (soon to be "Fresh Market") buying ice melt for my car (both to weigh it down and help me should I get stuck somewhere) I was watching different people and looking around the store. I looked up and saw long strands of paper Christmas ornaments strung from the ceiling. In that moment inspiration struck! Many grocery stores do things from time to time to help a certain organization that benefits the needy and those who are going without. Most often you pay one dollar as you go through the register, write your name or something anonymous, on whatever piece of paper/cardboard cutout the organization is using and they hang it up in the front of the store to advertise the organization they're trying to help. In this case, Albertson's/Fresh Market/Why is that really going to be the title of their store?... anyway... they were collecting money for the Children's Food Bank. Truth be told I was just so excited to be able to help out that I didn't really pay attention to the organization they were collecting for. I'm not sure, had I not had this daily goal in mind, that I would have immediately thought "Service!" when I saw those paper ornaments. But I'm grateful the inspiration came.
With a smiley face drawn on "my" ornament I cheerfully handed it back to the cashier and she added it to the growing stack... which represents growing amounts of money to help children who live lives much less fortunate than ours.
May God bless those dear children and families who are going without, especially at this time.

For my Day 2 service, I already know what bit of service I'll be rendering. I'm actually going to write a letter to my dear friend who's serving on a mission. Maybe some of you are thinking, "Wow, Kristi. That's not really service..." Clearly those with that thought running through their minds haven't served a mission, or haven't taken the opportunity to really hear about a mission from those who have served. Letters are everything. And you're grateful for however much time the person took to sit down and write a letter to you. "Dry Box" as I used to call it on the mish, aka NOT receiving ANY mail some days, is something akin to having a root canal. It's just better not to have it. Besides, I usually just write emails to her, my friend, since that guarantees she'll at least hear from me. But there's something different, something more exciting about a letter. It guarantees something being in the mailbox. And it guarantees greater excitement as its something you can hold, something you can open and anticipate.

Thank you, to those of you who have joined me on this journey already! I'm excited to see your comments and I hope they keep coming!!

365 Days of Service

Hearken and hear all ye citizens of my kingdom. I will be taking this blog in another direction. Due to the inspiration of the movie "Julie and Julia," I have set a daily goal for myself for the next 365 days. In the movie, Julie decides to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook in one year, cooking slightly over 500 recipes. This gives her substance, and greater meaning to her life.
My inspiration comes from realizing that I tend to focus so inward when life becomes extra busy or when things don't go as I think they should. So in my attempt to keep my focus outward, and thus having a more fulfilling life and helping others do the same, I will be looking to do one act of service every single day for the next 365 days. I will blog my experiences, NOT IN ANY WAY to have a "Let's celebrate Kristi" blog. No. But to have something that keeps me focused. I also hope to share what I learn along the way that those few of you who may stumble across this blog can learn with me and we can all joy in helping others.
So, here we go!
Day #1
It's 11:03 a.m. The day is already half gone. We'll see what opportunities come! With the Lord's help, I know this can happen. It is kind of scary to think of this commitment for the next year. But here we go!
I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I will.

My Crown Goes Off To You

There aren't many times when a queen will remove her crown. Not for the stars that just ended their CMA awards though they work very hard and bring entertainment. Not for the Hollywooders, though they work hard too. No, not even for those who play the sports I love to watch with all the physical labor they give.

No, today my crown goes off to those men and women, wives, and husbands, who have truly done the hardest work of all. Who have left sons and daughters, home, and comfort. Stability and assurance of life as it is and has been. Like the man pictured here, those who love their country and fight for each of us. Those who have lost lives, given lives, preserved lives. To you I give great gratitude. To you I honor and respect. To you I give my deepest appreciation for my freedom. For my life. Thank you. Thank you for thinking of anyone besides yourselves as you've thrown yourselves into a whirlwind of danger and uncertainty. Thank you for leaving your comfort and life behind so that I can have mine.

My heart goes out to you and all who have lost loved ones in war. Today is for you. All of you. Thank you.

May You Enjoy Your Time...

Hear ye faithful subjects of my kingdom!

Royal Order #2,601 (I like to think that this blog has been going on for ages when in reality this is only the second post in my blogging history… anyway, *clearing throat and stepping back into character*)

I have gathered you all here today as a celebration of a wonderful beginning! Beginning of what you may ask… the beginning of Kristi’s Kingdom! (uproarious applause from both peasants and nobles alike – you can choose which category you’d like to fit into… remember that “blessed is the poor in spirit…” I’d like to say “There are no peasants in Kristi’s Kingdom!” But that’s kind of socialistic. And we all know how bad THAT can be! To me, you’re all the noblest of the noble!” Anyway…*back into character*)

You are all now privy to stories of courage and cowardice, love and intrigue, triumph and despair… along with a few girl chats, photo sessions, surveys, summaries, reality checks etc.

As part of this kingdom you are hereby called to share your humble (or haughty, you choose) opinion. Give your feedback, for the kingdom greatly requires it. Should you shun this duty the gravest of outcomes await you. Among which include a day spent in the stocks, only to be scoffed at with bread thrown at you from passersby, and to be pooped on by various bird life. If I were you – I’d choose to follow the Royal Order.

So, welcome! Welcome one and all! May you enjoy your time in my kingdom.

How Should I Do This?

If any of you have noticed... I started my blog about a month and a half ago. Mostly experimenting with fun, free backgrounds that would "perfectly" symbolize me. Then October rolled around and I took time to add a festive background and even a profile picture. I felt proud of these blogging milestones. But never have I posted anything... much to the demise of my brilliant friend and office pal. The impediment in all of this is my desire to have a blog that's, dare I say it, "unique." Something different. With posts that aren't the normal post... like the one I'm creating now. So I ask you, blogging friends, any ideas on how I can do this blog? In other words, mayday! Help please!