365 Days of Kindness

If you are new to our page you are probably wondering what this is all about.  Three years ago we started a 365 Days of Kindness Challenge where every day for the entire year we do a random (or can be intentional) acts of kindness.  It is a cool way to show the Love of Jesus to others expecting nothing in return.  We made up these cards so people will “reuse” them when they have been shown an act of kindness.

Each week we will give you 7 ideas for random acts of kindness that you can do.  You can tweak them however you want or not even do them, but they are just some ideas and/or suggestions to help everyone out.  Many of these will coincide with our weekly coupon deals so many ideas will cost you nothing to bless someone else.  

None of us can help everyone, but all of us can help someone and when we do we serve Jesus and lives are changed!! I think in light of all the negativity that is going on this is a wonderful way for us to start showing “love” to others. It is such a cool way to show LOVE, HOPE, AND JOY to others and change our communities, one life at a time. . all for the glory of God. We will also continue Sharing Sunday, where I ask for everyone to donate 5 items a week to your local food pantry, shelter, or family you may know in need. Let’s make 2015 a year that others will feel the unconditional love of Christ. This is such a tangible way to be the hands and feet of Jesus. If you have ideas or suggestions of random acts of kindness, please feel free to comment or send me an e-mail at joni@freetastesgood.com. MATTHEW 25:40!! How many of you are excited about this? I sure am!! GO HERE to print you 365 Days of Kindness cards to start handing out with your acts of kindness!!

We would love to hear your story, either as the giver or receiver, please share at bottom in the FB message! This is a great way to encourage everyone that is involved!!

 

 

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As most of you know we have become extremely good friends with Dennis or as our kids call him “Uncle Dennis” Dennis is homeless – lost his job 2 years ago as the plant he worked for shut down and for these reasons he has found himself homeless. BUT to us Dennis is so much more than homeless.  He is a wonderful creation of God and he has blessed our lives so much!! We thank God daily for bringing Dennis into our lives.   Thanks to God the Western Avenue Ministries Pastor (Pastor Dave) is letting Dennis sleep inside his office but during the day he is out wondering around and we would LOVE to bless him this CHRISTmas. You can read more about Dennis by CLICKING HERE-  Dennis will be spending CHRISTmas Eve with our family and we would love to be able to give him all these gifts listed below ~ We are asking for NEW items.  If you purchase an item, please enclose a card so he knows who the gift is from.

To sign up for any of the items just click below and you will see the full list & then add your name beside the item you will be purchasing.  (yes, it is on perfect potluck, but the easiest way to keep organized)

 

We will need all items no later than December 15, 2014 but you can mail CHRISTmas cards up until December 19th. You can also make a monetary donation via paypal through www.miraclechristmas.com and click on the  “Make a Donation” tab & I will purchase the items for him.   We ask everyone to PLEASE PRAYFULLY CONSIDER THIS!

As always, I will post pictures 🙂

In addition to the above-mentioned items I would love if every single person sent him a CHRISTmas card and we will give them to him CHRISTmas Eve. (Also please consider enclosing $1) You can mail cards to:

Uncle Dennis CHRISTmas Blessing
C/O Free Tastes Good
PO Box 312
Sylvania, OH 43560

Thanks for considering.

What a huge blessing if everyone would donate just $1 to make this MIRACLE HAPPEN!! Don’t discount the smallness of 1 as Jesus performed the miracle with 5 loaves and 2 fish!!  Thanks for considering everyone as this would mean so much to our family as we just absolutely adore Dennis.

GOD IS GOOD. . . .ALL THE TIME!!

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ACTS OF KINDNESS ~ MATTHEW 25:40

Oh my heart is so full of JOY . .. and all I can say is THANK YOU JESUS, THANK YOU JESUS, THANK YOU JESUS!!!!! I have such a whirlwind of emotions tonight. When we plan for these Feeding the Homeless/Less Fortunate meals we just never know how many will come, how it will turn out, but one thing is for sure, we completely cover EVERY aspect of it in prayer. The preparation of the food is one of my favorite things. As we are making the food, me, Jamie, and the kids pray over it. That not only the people receiving the meal will be fed physically but also spiritually. That they will see Jesus through all of the volunteers. Today, we AMAZING. We served well over 300, probably closer to 350-400 people. As you can see from the pictures, there were no empty seats. We arrived at the church at 2:15 and people were already lined up and we were not serving until 4 p.m. The amount of LOVE that the volunteers show is so AWESOME. I always feel bad because I never get to thank everyone enough for helping as things get so crazy, but from the bottom of my heart please know I know none of this is possible without ALL OF YOU. From the volunteering, to the donating food, to the monetary donations, and all the prayers. You are all appreciated more than you will ever know and please accept this as acknowledgement from me on how much you mean to me. Our prayer circle was amazing today. As you all know, before we open the door, we pray over the volunteers, the people coming in, and invite Jesus to our event, and all the glory goes to him and him alone! The power in the prayer is amazing and Satan doesn’t stand a chance:)

This has nothing to do with any of us, but everything to do with God. Today was a Thanksgiving Feast so after we prayed, Danielle and I went outside to pray with the people coming in to be fed. The line was wrapped around the church (probably 100 people) it was amazing and Danielle’s prayer was perfect!! Once the doors were open it was major chaos, BUT good chaos, LOL:) Within 10 minutes we had went through the first roaster oven full of stuffing.

We only had one more, so Gina headed to the store to pick up 15 boxes of Stove Top & some more lemonade. You see that is the amazing thing, everyone comes together to SERVE others. It is not about feeding them a meal, it is about serving them. Going around with drinks, desserts, salads, and serving THEM ~ to let them sit down and relax and we go to them. Thanks to Jen and Neil for organizing the beautiful centerpieces and music and today we served on glass plates and silverware. It was a special day in every aspect possible. Eric was so excited about his strawberry pie, you remember it was his birthday.

I think for me the coolest thing is so many friendships are forming between the volunteers and those coming to be fed. The smiles, the laughter, and the friendships. God is in the house!! You can feel his presence in that room, because it is so full of LOVE, a LOVE that only comes from God. I won’t lie when the kids told me Dennis was there, my heart skipped a beat. I love this man more than you all can imagine. He has blessed me so much by just knowing him.

Our kids had made a decision that they wanted to use some of their money to buy “Uncle Dennis” a new pair of boots. He is homeless and it is cold. I had asked everyone to send Jonah and Isaiah a birthday card, I was not expecting them to receive money only cards, as that is all they wanted. Ms. Gladys and Mr. Ed sent them a card and each one had money in it. Jonah and Isaiah were so excited because with the money they received they had reached their goal to be able to get “Uncle Dennis” his boots. He will be coming over for Thanksgiving Dinner with us or we will be picking him up on Saturday to go get his boots. It brought him to tears when Isaiah told him. Isaiah sat at the table with Uncle Dennis and just talked to him and to see them all give him hugs and watch him light up, well there isn’t really anything better than that. We are so proud of our children. They have such loving, compassionate hearts and they see Uncle Dennis for what he is, a masterpiece of God!! Each month when we find out it is someone’s birthday, we make a special dessert for them, well tonight 3 people told me their birthdays were in December. I think they like that little extra special love they are receiving!! I wish I could bottle up all the LOVE and give it to each of you, because it is so refreshing. There is honestly nothing like it. To experience it first hand is priceless. We also handed out close to 180 care packages ~ AMAZING!! Tonight as I write this I am crying tears of joy, thanking God for today, for all of you that helped, those that stay and help clean up, for loving me and my family too. You guys are so special to us and we love you guys. I think we are all seeing miracle after miracle happen through these meals.

Our next meal will be December 21st and it will be a Ham dinner. I am also trying to get 50 stuffed animals and books to hand out to the children as they come. I will try to have the sign up list done tomorrow night (God Willing). I would love to hear all of your thoughts on today (anyone that helped). Thank you all and please know I love you guys and when I say that, I truly mean it. Life is better because of each and everyone of you and I am so thankful to have each and everyone of you in my life. GOD IS GOOD. .. ALL THE TIME!!

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365 Days of Kindness – Day 321

So many AMAZING Random Acts of Kindness Stories from the 365 Days of Kindness from last year and so far this year! If you would like to share your story, GO HERE!! It is so encouraging and exciting to watch God at work. THANK YOU JESUS!! I will start posting the night before so everyone can like and share with their friends and family. Let’s get everyone we know involved in this movement of the 365 Days of Kindness:)

**DAY 321 CHALLENGE**

Today, I challenge everyone to send a Birthday Card to our two sons, Isaiah & Jonah, who will be turning 13 and 11 November 28th and December 8th.  They are both very special to us (we adopted both of them and they both have severe drug/alcohol exposure.  Isaiah has some pretty severe mental health – i.e. anxiety, etc as well as has encountered significant bullying and Jonah had a stroke at birth and has cerebral palsy – they are truly both miracles) and we would LOVE to show THEM just how special they are.  They would be so excited to receive cards.  What a great way to show the love of Jesus.

Please send all mail to:
Isaiah’s Birthday
C/O Free Tastes Good
PO Box 312
Sylvania, OH 43560

Jonah’s Birthday
C/O Free Tastes Good
PO Box 312
Sylvania, OH 43560

My vision is that this will continue and continue until EVERYONE is involved in some capacity. Who’s in? I am praying that everyone gets involved in this. None of us can help everyone, but all of us can help someone, and when we do we serve Jesus. We can make an impact in our communities, one life at a time!!

If you want to share you random acts of Kindness stories or see the random act of Kindness list that we have completed, CLICK HERE!

GOD IS GOOD. . ALL THE TIME!!

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Luke 14:12-14 NIV “Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Amen. Today was simply amazing. As most of you know we feed the homeless/less fortunate once a month and today was an amazing day. This has become one of the most special days in our family’s life. Before we open the doors to serve someone prays over the event and today Danielle prayed. It is so cool to watch the circle form and everyone holding hands. More than anything else that happens during the meal, we want God to be glorified and for everyone to feel his presence, not just those receiving, but those volunteering. We have gotten to know so many of the people we serve and we know them by name and they know us by name.

It has opened the door for so many friendships to be formed. Everyone has a story, we don’t know why some are down and out, but we can get to know them and love them and let them know we care. Everyone wants to know someone cares about them and that is what we are called to do. Our prayer continues to be that as people are coming to be fed physically, we can also feed them spiritually by the love they feel. It is nice to hear so many compliments, compliments of how kind everyone is when those being served leave. We heard many thank yous today. Many people saying thank you for serving and not expecting anything in return. Jesus went out in the community and served and that is what we want to do. We want EVERYONE to know they are loved and are God’s masterpieces. It doesn’t matter what their past says about them, because in God’s family you are a masterpiece; created in his image and we ALL matter.

Today, we were able to feed approximately 200 people. Thank you Jesus, simply AWESOME. We start serving at 4 p.m. and by 4:20 p.m. one roaster oven was already empty and I began praying Loaves and Fishes. As soon as Ed opened the door, there were at least 25 people and the line just kept coming. We also served many teenage boys today.

It was a very touching, emotional day. I am sad to say that I didn’t get to see Dennis, so please pray that he is okay and safe and warm somewhere.

There were many people lined up so I knew it was going to be a good day!! It is so cool to see familiar faces and new faces. Eric and his wife, Phyllis, have gotten to know us and Phyllis has paralysis of one arm, so Eric always has me or Isaiah help with her plate while she get their seat. He also informed us that he has a November Birthday and put a request in for a strawberry Birthday Pie at next dinner (November 23rd) and of course you know we will make sure he has a strawberry pie made especially for him and full of LOVE.

It is so cool to walk in the auditorium and see the fellowship taking place, kids laughing, smiling, and enjoying all the yummy goodies and today they received a Halloween Goodie Bag full of candy! Well, we probably should have waited until after dinner to give it to them, because many of the kids wanted to eat the candy first LOL 🙂

We have the most AWESOME volunteers ever. I truly do not know what we would do without them. So many friendships have formed and I am so blessed by each and everyone of you that serve with us. We had extra helpers today so were able to actually go table to table and hand deliver drinks and desserts. It is so cool to be able to serve everyone in every capacity possible. To watch so many of our children pitching in to serve also!!

That’s what being a part of God’s family is all about, serving others, and not worrying about ourselves. We are seeing love with no barriers. A love that comes only from Christ. I know each time I try to personally thank each and everyone of you that help make this possible; whether making a monetary donation, donating food, volunteering, or praying over the event; it all matters. I cannot thank you all enough and I truly hope you all know how much this means to so many. Lives are being impacted because so many of you care about others. None of us can help everyone, but all of us can help someone, and when we do, we serve Jesus. Love you guys more than you will ever know!!

GOD IS GOOD. . . ALL THE TIME!!

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365 Days of Kindness – Day 274

So many AMAZING Random Acts of Kindness Stories from the 365 Days of Kindness from last year and so far this year! If you would like to share your story, GO HERE!! It is so encouraging and exciting to watch God at work. THANK YOU JESUS!! I will start posting the night before so everyone can like and share with their friends and family. Let’s get everyone we know involved in this movement of the 365 Days of Kindness:)

**DAY 274 CHALLENGE**

Today, I challenge everyone to send a birthday card to our son, Josiah, who will be turning 9 on October 3rd. He is very special to us (we adopted him and actually were in the delivery room when his biological mom gave birth) and we would love to show him just how special he is. He said all he wants for his birthday is a mailbox full of birthday wishes 🙂 What a great way to show the love of Jesus.

Please send all mail to:
Josiah’s Birthday
C/O Free Tastes Good
PO Box 312
Sylvania, OH 43560

I hope everyone gets involved in this challenge. We truly can show the love of Christ in such a small, small way! None of us can help everyone, but all of us can help someone, and when we do we serve Jesus. We can make an impact in our communities, one life at a time!!

To see the full 365 Days of Kindness (Random Acts of Kindness) List – Click here!!

GOD IS GOOD. . ALL THE TIME!!

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