#20: Send a friend a funny e-card.

It's Valentine's Day so it was a perfect day to send e-cards. I kind of went a little overboard with this one...instead of one friend, I sent a card to 20. Here are a couple of the best ones:

Ash Wednesday

I just got home from cantoring Mass at St. Louis for Ash Wednesday--that place was packed tonight! It's probably one of my favorite days to go to Church because it's not a holy day of obligation--everyone that is there chose to be there themselves and it's kind of cool to see so many people come out for it. It's the start of a 40 day journey of reflection and change--40 days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. 
  
I used to always give something up for Lent: soda, meat, fast food, liquor, Facebook, you name it and I've probably done it. Last year, my priest suggested doing something instead of giving something up. So, I decided to write and mail 40 letters in 40 days. I wrote a thank you letter to anyone that is or was important in my life. It was really hard narrowing it down to just 40 people, so I ended up writing a little more than 40. It took a while and was overwhelming to write that many letters but everyone seemed to love it so I decided I would think of another cool idea to do this year. This time, I wanted to focus more on almsgiving. I think that it doesn't just mean donating money, it could also mean donating your time, talents, and treasures.

Teddi and I were having lunch a couple weeks ago and we started brainstorming ideas. So, we came up with 40 random acts of kindness! We spent the next hour at Panera googling--there were tons of ideas out there on the internet (and especially Pinterest). I finally compiled a list of 40 things today.

Today's reading talked about how we're ambassadors for God. So, what better way to be an ambassador than to do random acts of kindness to not just people I know, but strangers as well? These will be done in no particular order and I reserve the right to change or add any of these over the course of the next 40 days. :) I'll try to stay up to date with my blogging about it as well. I hope you'll enjoy reading about my Lenten journey and hope that maybe you'll decide to pass it on and do some of these too!

1. Blessing bags for the homeless.
2. Give out stickers to the kids you see throughout the day.
3. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you at Starbucks.
4. Offer to return a shopping cart to the store for someone loading a car.
5. Bring store bought dessert for a police station.
6. Donate stuffed animals to a fire station.
7. Donate treats to an animal shelter.
8. Be a designated driver.
9. Send flowers to someone just because.
10. Thank my mail carrier.
11. Baby sit for a mom.
12. Write to a teacher who has changed your life.
13. Bake someone cupcakes.
14. Tape popcorn to a redbox for someone’s movie night.
15. Take a coloring book and crayons to the pediatric department of a hospital.
16. Put quarters in the toy vending machines at Toys R Us.
17. Leave diaper bags (filled with diapers and wipes) in a public bathroom.
18. Put a post it with a motivational quote on a public bathroom mirror.
19. Write a note to management about someone that treated you well.
20. Send a friend a funny e-card.
21. Pack a box of food for a food bank.
22. Write a card to your parents.
23. Serve food at a soup kitchen.
24. Hide dollar bills in the toy section at the Dollar Tree.
25. Place a pile of change by a fountain with a note about making a wish.
26. Buy carousel rides for the kids in line.
27. Send a sunshine box for someone that is sick (kleenex, medicine, soup, card).
28. Surprise someone with dessert.
29. Take parents a date night kit.
30. Take a package to someone going through chemo (lotion, antibacterial wipes, chapstick, etc.).
31. Add money to someone’s meter that is almost expiring.
32. Let someone go ahead of you in line.
33. Thank a soldier for their service.
34. Be a mentor.
35. Make a generosity kit and give it to someone that is stressed (chocolates, stress ball, etc.).
36. Donate clothes to charity.
37. Drop off donuts to an office.
38. Leave detergent at a laundromat.
39. Buy $1 scratch off tickets and pass them out to people.
40. Leave a gift for the server after a meal in addition to the tip.

xoxo,
Linh

 ps. Huge shout out to Teddi, Cammy, Greg, Paul, Tiffany, and anyone else who helped me think of this list!