3 Easy Steps to Serve Others

Well school starts on Monday here, so summer is coming to an end.  A little sad because of the additional free time that will be lost with the boys.  A little glad because we can get back to a normal routine full of work, school, church, soccer and karate.

Our "summer of serving" has been fun.  It won't end here.  We still need to go visit a local nursing home (that was the only thing we didn't get to do that I planned to do over the summer).  So I feel like we accomplished much - not just checking our "to do" list but the experiences that came with serving were invaluable family time together.

1. Searching for a Need

Here is an account of our latest serving experience.  I searched our church's website for serving opportunities that would accommodate our boys (ages 7 and 10).  Our church has a button on their website (through Meet The Need) that gives me a list of all the serving opportunities around Tampa Bay as posted by local ministries.  I found a need that sounded perfect for our family.

There was a need to host a family movie night at a residence hall for homeless or nearly homeless families at Metropolitan Ministries.  I adopted the need online and I got an email the next day from a Metro Min representative with details of what we needed to do.  We bring the movie and snacks, they provide the place and people, and we serve the food and interact with families. We picked to show the family movie "Turbo". Easy enough!

2. Preparing to Serve

We invited our lifegroup families to join us and a couple of them did. We prepared snacks bags, popcorn, and cheese and nachos in advance to give to the residents.  The children helped shop for and package the candy.

They drew and wrote encouraging biblical messages on the bags of popcorn.  We prayed for the families that we would encounter and that they would feel the love of Jesus through our actions.  We prayed there would be opportunities to share His word at just the right moment.

3. Serving Others with Dignity

We had a great time putting smiles on little kids and their moms' faces with a surprise Saturday afternoon movie and goodies to boot.  One of the dads that came with us spent some time with a family of 3 boys talking to them about general life stuff (school, sports, etc).  I spent some time talking to a single mom looking for a job to support her two young children.

People that have fallen on hard times, don't want a hand out and feel like they are charity.  They just want to have real conversations and be treated like anyone else with dignity.  It was great for our children to watch the movie and interact with the resident kids so they may be a few moments they could forget about themselves.

What's Next?

We will continue to serve (both inside our church and out in the community).  Serving is a part of who we are.  My husband, Joe, and I met in college serving the community together and we were bonded together from that point on.  We started serving for the sake of Jesus' name further in our marriage.   This is the most important legacy we want to leave with our boys.

I'll still keep posting about new serving experiences and ways we are leading our family deeper in a relationship with the Lord through serving others.  Please share (through Comments) your fun serving experiences that might inspire others.

Serving More than Food

Well it is hard to believe this summer is coming to an end.  It has gone by quickly with family and friends visiting, the boys going to various camps and VBSs, and serving together as a family. I haven't updated the blog in awhile because of so many things going on.  We still have been serving as a family and I wanted to share another experience with you.  

We served as a family at the homeless ministry called Amazing Love. Joe and I have served there for years (off and on) with different lifegroups.  The current group we are with started serving the homeless together (again) a few months ago.  Last month was the first opportunity for us to take the boys with us since they are old enough to remember.

Serving Begins at Home

Serving didn't start when we arrived at the location in Ybor City.  It started with the shopping and preparing of the food our family brought.  We prayed over the shopping list and prayed again over the prepared food. We talked about WHY we were going to serve and HOW many of the people we would be serving may have ended up falling on hard times and in a position where they need a hot meal from our family.  We thanked God for this opportunity to share His love when it is needed most. 

More than Just Food

Once we arrived at Amazing Love, the boys were taken back a little at the amount of people waiting in line to get food. They were also wide-eyed at the number of other people and families there that were serving just like us.  Our few pans of food wasn't much, but put together with our lifegroup and other church groups from around the area there was plenty of food.  Everyone was was so gracious and nice to serve with and to serve. It was ONE body serving together.   

We put on our plastic serving gloves and served spoonfuls of love with a smile.  We stayed after serving food for worship.  The boys knew the songs that were being sung from church.  I had the opportunity to explain that church takes place in many places (not necessarily in buildings) and God is present where ever we welcome his Holy Spirit to move.  

By the Words of Their Testimony . . .

There was a lady that shared her testimony with the crowd.  She talked about being on drugs, losing her kids, being on the street, and the loving people at Amazing Love showing her the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.  She accepted Christ, was able to get "clean", get her kids back, find a job, and find a house right around the corner.  Now she is volunteering to help others at Amazing Love that are in her similar situation. Nothing beats a good testimony to drive home a point that we try to relay to our children.  The boys heard loud and clear how drugs can really mess up your life.  I could have said that 100x, but hearing it from someone else that has actually lived it goes a long way.

Overall, it was a humbling experience for our family. To keep that humbling spirit going, we include the families we served and the many more who are homeless in our prayers for each meal.  We will definitely continue to do this every month with our family and lifegroup.  

Do you have any serving ideas to share that you have done with your family? Please comment.