About the Author

Jen encourages women to embrace both the beauty and bedlam of their everyday lives at BeautyandBedlam.com. A popular speaker, worship leader, and author of Just Open the Door: How One Invitation Can Change a Generation, Jen lives in North Carolina with her husband, five children, and a sofa for anyone...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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Comments

  1. Thank you so much for sharing :)) The Lord spoke to me through your post. I’ve been burdened to bless a certain family in church and the idea of giving anonymously is definitely how God wants me to do it!

  2. Jen,
    What a wonderful and fun way to give as Christ teaches us to give – with love and to the least of these. I can only imagine the fun your family had delivering that basket to the nice lawn guy. When we bless others, we honor God and it also brings us a joy that is a real jolt of happiness. Christ knew what He was doing when He commanded us to give to others…He knows what a blessing it is for both parties involved. You are just the inspiration I needed this morning…thinking up my next 007 mission 🙂
    Blessings,
    Bev

  3. When my husband was unemployed a few years ago, we were the recipients of great kindnesses both big and small that carried our souls through that time. It propelled me to keep my eyes open for others in similar need…as a matter of fact doing one such thing was on my list for today as well! THANKS for the blessing!

  4. Love this! Going to put my kiddo to work helping me put your printable together & will probably fill them with chocolates for my (in)RL meetup gals 😉

  5. I get the same joy when I give out prayer quilts. I include a card telling the person that I’ve prayed for them each step in the making of a rag quilt. Most of them are sent through other people who have requested the quilt, so I get to hear the receiving stories afterwards.

  6. Throughout the year 2014, I am encouraging my blog community to give to others more. I named the challenge #GoGive. This is a wonderful idea for the next Go Give challenge in April. I’m going to link my readers over here and challenge them to #GoGive blessing baskets for spring! Thanks so much for this idea!!!

  7. I am a consultant with Thirty-One Gifts and had a friend approach me with an idea this week. She and a friend have both been blessed with meals from their community during different times of need and wanted to find a way to pay it forward. They are going to be ordering a couple of our large thermal bags, having them embroidered with some cute saying, filling them with a meal, and leaving it on someone’s doorstep. They will include a laminated card explaining that they wanted to bless them in this way and request that they pay it forward by doing the same for someone else. My friend wants this to be completely anonymous…so much so that she’s ordering with me because I’m out of town, don’t know any of her local friends, and nobody will be able to track it. 🙂 I love this idea and will be sharing it with others…what a neat way to bless someone!

  8. I do things as well. Took someone for her long awaited Indian Curry and it was the Rugby Tens in the club. But, we found a table by the pool and just enjoyed the afternoon together. Even with my husband. We drove her home and she blew me a kiss of thanks. She’s seventy-five. She cannot walk well and just lives in a room. A tiny tiny room. We are getting her a DVD player so she can worship and a toaster.
    Small blessings are good and I do them all the time.
    Met up with this family who has a son who will need to be taken care of for the rest of his life.
    The blessings of the LORD do come in the most unexpected moments and in little ways that are really big really. No small. In the end.
    🙂
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FxaUYjRtkc

  9. I have been out a job since 2008. I am helping my sister because she’s sick. I do not like asking anyone for the things I need but I give you all that I have. The Lord is showing me that to depend on Him for what I need and to ask. I have no money but to me it’s not about the money it’s about taking care of my sister as the Lord ask me to. I thank you for all the encouraging words I read.

  10. Aww, I love this! As a caregiver to seniors, I got a little choked up thinking of how much that must have meant to Nice Lawn Guy. How special. Cheerful giving works both ways, I think!

  11. {Kathy} We just can’t have enough 007’s!!! Kids just need the opportunity to do good deeds. This proves it.
    A new mom Blessing Basket is the best. It doesn’t have to be a full blown meal for the family, but a couple of healthy snacks and a decent refillable water bottle is a good choice.

  12. Wow, the Lord reminds me to touch other with my gift…cause I remember I didn’t have anything and the give me himself to us. I am thankful for my gifts to bless others…

  13. My heart is so full! Thank You for such a Sweet Post! My husband and I in the last 10 years were lied to and cheated out of a business, losing everything including our retiremet. My husband’s prostate cancer returned, and our youngest son has become our (Jesus’) “Prodical”. We are majorly in debt from such a loss. After holding all this in my mind and heart for several years Jesus has shown me in many different ways, gently speaking, that HE wants to be #1 in my mind and heart not the problems. The problems were and still are toooo big for me to solve and Now they are in His hands and not mine. My husband is 65 and trusting daily for Jesus’ “daily Mercy”, giving he and I strength, resolve, faith “in what we can not see”, and we are paying our bills! Thank God! I Am however Ready for Refreshment! ; ) ♥ your posts!

    • Joyce,

      Prayers for you and your husband. May God continue to bless you and shower you with His most tender mercies. I pray your son has a heart change soon and comes back to God and you.

      Father God,

      Please give strength, courage to this family. Keep showing them that you are in charge and will provide for their EVERY NEED! Help their son to come back to you and them. Heal the father of his cancer, if it is your will.

      AMEN!

  14. Jennifer, you remind me how we each so much desire to be known–and how blessing another like this communicates that they are valued, desired, seen. I love this. Thank you so much for your encouragement.

  15. Jen,

    This was such a joy to read.What a truly kind, sweet gesture ……

    Thank-you so much for sharing this with us and reminding us of a such an important value of life……

    Penny

  16. Jen,

    In the past I have been the recipient of many gifts from friends. Last year a church friend fell & hurt his shoulder. He would be out of work 8 months for recovery. Meanwhile his wife had to take a second job. When this hit me I told my husband that we needed to do something for them. We got a card and sent them a large sum of money–anonymously. It felt good to do that.

    A few weeks ago I made a meal for a church friend who’s having trouble with both parents. I felt like she needed the time to rest and not have to cook.

    Love your idea of blessing baskets and teaching children to give without expecting anything in return. They need to learn these lessons early on in life. It helps build character.

    Blessings 🙂

  17. This post made me cry. My dad was a nice lawn guy. He passed away 2 years ago. My mom can’t care for the lawn like he did, so a little bit of beauty left this world when my dad entered his eternal home. Many people gave praise to him, but no one ever went as far as your family. I know how much it would have meant to him. I applaud you for doing something so thoughtful. You’ve given me something to reach for!