SERVICE BEADS

Todd and I created a family mission statement a little over four years ago.  With in our mission statement we incorporated six core values that we want our family to learn and develop.  We used an acronym as one of the words in our statement that allows us to remember each of the values.  Just recently we have decided to take each of those values one at a time and spend a month focusing on what each one of them mean and how we can develop these values as part of our character in life.  With six of them, we will be able to focus on each value twice a year.  It has been a great thing for not only the kids, but for Todd and me as well to be reminded of what we are striving for and what we need to focus on individually to get there as a family collectively.

For the month of August we’ve been focusing on Service for family night.  We have converted the kids behavior bead necklaces from Yellowstone to Service beads.  They are now earning beads for service.  They have really enjoyed this.  It has been fun to see them find ways they can serve each other as well as Dad & Mom.  This week we started to incorporate more fully the challenge to keep an eye out for people we can serve outside of our immediate  family.  It was fun for me to hear Alyssa go up to her Grandma  yesterday and ask “Do you know what service is Grandma, cause I do.”

This week we have had examples of service given to our family by others.  We are very thankful for those who have done those acts of kindness for us.  We are also grateful to have opportunities arise for us to serve others.  It is definitely not always easy to stop busy schedules to help others, but I have found such rewarding happiness when I chose to help others even when it may be an inconvenience.