the challenge.....ooooo....come on.....

So today I have a challenge for all of you! As you may or may not know, I made a decision to live more intentionally......well, part of that, I think, is gracing others. By this I mean just doing random acts of kindness.....no thanks expected, no recognition of any kind expected, nothing in return, no props....just do something intentional. I will give you an example of what I am talking about, not for admiration or approval or anything for me....but just so you know what I mean.
Yesterday, my daughter and I went to Starbucks for Red Day. The lady in the truck in front of us handed her drink back in twice. The kid at the counter was becoming quite frustrated, the guy in the truck behind me went from looking way stressed to something not at all pleasant, and my grandson decided that moment was his time to scream loudly for his bottle(which I couldn't get to), my daughter began to fidget and I noticed that I was even becoming impatient. So, I asked the Lord for help to calm those in my van. I wasn't given that, but I was given patience and a prompting. Why not pay for the guy in the truck?! He looks oober irritated, so the poor counter guy is not even gonna get a smile.....and hopefully that would be the worst of it, but who knows. So, that decided, when I got to the window I smiled and paid for my order. When he handed me my change, I asked if I could pay for the truck behind me. He said sure, in an uncertain tone. Then he asked if I was sure I wanted to do that.........lol. I told him that yes, I did want to do that, that maybe it would help him become a little less frustrated and know that there is love and kindness around him. The kid smiled at me, the first one I had seen in the 10 minutes I sat one car away from the window, and took my money. I pulled away without seeing the guy in the truck get to the window, but I know that I made at least one person smile. My only regret was that I didn't ask the kid to tell the man that Jesus loved him.....
So....today, I will do another random act....BUT this time I will make sure to include my Lord because it is because of Him that I am doing this. I don't want the praise! I don't want the thank you! I want the glory for everything I do in this life to go where it should......to Jesus Christ my savior and king!!!
So.....for His birthday season, I will gift others in honor of Him so that He gets the glory............and if all of you join me, can you just imagine how many people will be hearing His name and feeling His love........reach further than that and challenge your children, your family.......let's bring Christmas back to what Christmas is, the celebration of Jesus Christ who was born and died for us!!