Day ten #40acts

Secret talents. I can design, I can draw, I can cook, I can bake, I can take a half decent photo, I can keep kids amused, I can teach, I can write, I can whip up a fancy dress costume out of nothing.... But I think most people would know those things about me. 

I don't think I have completely secret talents but I guess my 'secret talents' are the ones I don't push forward as much either because I'm still learning or improving or just because I don't get the opportunities to use them. I play guitar, I can organise and administrate, I can do street and contemporary dance, I know basic makaton and I can ride a bike with no hands on the handlebars (rebel!) 

Im pretty sure there are more to this list but something I'm definitely NOT talented at is writing a blog when I'm extremely tired so I'm off to do something I'm very talented at....sleeping! 

Day nine #40acts

Listening. This morning, just like every Wednesday and Friday mornings, I was at our church toddler group that I co-lead. I love sitting down and having a cup of tea (well...I'll be drinking milk!) with mums, dads, grandparents or carers. It's such a lovely way to spend a couple of hours, I love my job!! A lot of the conversations I have over cups of tea are about sleepless nights, naughty steps, breast-feeding, nappy rash or poo. I find listening really hard work because I either get distracted or I just want to butt in with my own story or ideas. But while listening to the highs and lows of toddler group parents, I can't offer advice or tell my own anecodes because I'm not a parent and I don't have a clue about any of these things! So I just listen. 

I'm listening so they feel heard, so they feel there's value in what they are saying. I'm also listening for the unspoken words that say someone is having a hard time. I'm listening for their achievements so I can encourage and say well done. I'm listening for the moments of celebration so I can join in with their joy. I'm listening to God so I know what to silently pray in my heart. 

Listening might come fairly easily at toddler group but I know that I need to be better at it in many others areas of my life.  

Day eight #40acts

Extravagant generosity. Thursday is my child minding day and from 10 till 5 we are pretty much on the go with playing, nap time, feeding, attending an afternoon group session, doing a school run and more feeding. I wasn't entirely sure where or how I was going to fit in extravagant generosity. I also didn't have a clue what my act of generosity was going to be. I've thought about it all day and settled on heading to Starbucks after work and buying someone coffee. It didn't feel that extravagant but the challenge also talked about being uncomfortable. If I was to buy someone coffee then that would mean engaging them in a conversation, possibly having to explain what I was doing it for, running a massive risk they would think I was a complete weirdo! Yup, I think I was definitely going to encounter uncomfort!!!!! 

So....deep breath and into Starbucks I went. There was no one in the queue so I had to take an extremely long time deciding what my order was going to be while waiting for someone to join the queue. I praying hard for an elderly lady, old people are always nice and easy to chat to. Instead I got a young, trendy looking couple. I placed my order, turned to them and asked if I could buy their drinks. Phew, I'd got the sentence out! I was met with silence while they looked at me, looked at each other, looked back at me....this went on for what felt like hours. Okay, I needed to say something. I repeated my request and added something about just wanting to bless them and that I wasn't a weirdo. By saying I wasn't a weirdo I immediately sounded like one! This time the girl spoke, she was very lovely in declining my request. Against my better judgement I pushed a tiny bit harder and said something about the 40acts challenges. They still declined the offer. The Starbucks guy behind the till who was watching this whole thing play out tried to make a joke, nothing was going to cover my embarrassment but thank you Mr Barista for trying. And just to make things that little bit worse, they took FOREVER over making my chocolate frappe and so we had the awkward wait for our drinks, no eye contact, no more conversation, just pure awkwardness in all it's glory. 

I am never ever ever doing that again! I think I've definitely ticked off uncomfortable for today! Despite my failure I still wanted to do something generous. On my way back to the car I saw a homeless girl who regularly sits on our High Road asking for money. Ash and I have helped her out in the past so I know her name is Abi, she's 17 and I know a little bit about her life. Some other lovely people had clearly helped Abi out today as she had a drink in her hand and a McDonalds bag by her side. My act of generosity was to buy her a Sainburys gift card so she could go and buy some food or anything she needed. It wasn't a big deal, much less scary than offering to buy someone coffee yet much more rewarding. I'm so glad God gave me that chance to not only be generous but to really help someone who actually needed the generosity. 

Day seven #40acts

I knew there would be at least one #40acts challenge that I would absolutely dread or just not want to do and today was the day! I have a fear of speaking on the phone. It's not a rational fear...it's not even a proper fear, I just don't like doing it. I'm that person, when I HAVE to ring someone, who's whispering 'please go to voicemail, please go to voicemail' as the phone is ringing. I don't know why I have this dislike of phones, I just do. 

I much prefer a face to face conversation. I know this isn't always possible but it's my preferred choice of communication. I like to be able to see a persons expression, to be able to see what their words might not be saying whether that's joy or sadness. I like the tangibility of being able to reach out and hug them. I like being able to show I'm listening with my face rather than having to keep 'hum humming' on the end of a phone to show I haven't fallen asleep! 

Dispite my dislike I still did today's challenge. When a friend is far away it is good to be able to hear their voice rather than connecting via text messages and facebook. I haven't got over my phone phobia but it's made me consider having more phone conversations with the loved ones in my life who I don't get to physically see as much I'd like. 

Day six #40acts

Today I have picked you guys as my sphere of influence. I have a video to show you which encapsulates what I want to say better than I can say it. Happy viewing. 

Watch me here

Day five #40acts

Today's act encourages us to be thankful. I read over the challenge and my immediate reaction was to write my note of thanks to someone I know, someone who would appreciate it, someone who wouldn't judge me, someone it would be easy to write to. I mulled over who that 'someone' would be whilst I drove to my morning meeting. I don't know whether it was God's prompting but my heart just wasn't content with writing to someone I knew. 

After my meeting I needed to swing by Tescos and pick up some bits for dinner. I grabbed a card and inside wrote a couple of simple sentences expressing thanks and gratitude. As I walked into Tescos I prayed that God would show me who to give the card to. I was literally shaking as a wandered round picking up the things I needed. Why was I so scared about handing someone a card? I felt so pathetic getting worked up over this!

I had a basket of shopping and walked up and down the checkouts waiting for God to highlight a cashier to me. I had the colour red in my head and as I looked up and down the cashiers there was only one lady wearing a red Tescos blouse so that's the queue I chose to join. My cashiers name was Bhundi, she seemed like a nice lady and we exchanged small plesentaries as she bleeped through my shopping and I paid. When she handed me my change I took it and gave her the card, saying that it was for her, and then I walked away. My heart was literally pounding out of my body and I practically ran to the safety of my car. 

The first sentence of today's challenge says "There's something rather wonderful about genuine gratitude: it impacts both the person who says thank you and the person who hears it." I have no idea about Bhundi's life. I have no idea how my gratitude card was received. Whether my card made her smile or whether she thinks I'm a complete weirdo, I'm so glad I gave her that card and I have definitely been impacted by today's challenge.