I've had service on my mind for basically 2 years now. The thoughts get stronger daily, and circumstances are placed in my life (books, people, events) that I don't believe are any coincidence. Rather, I feel that God is taking a boot to my head to make sure my eyes are opened -- or my heart is opened.

Last night our family went to "Present in the City" presented by Cobblestone Project.

It was a beautiful night. A heartbreaking night. A challenging night. A powerful night. A hopeful night.

The night opened up with a video clip and music montage of people in need contrasted by the plenty that we all are blessed with. Dominic turned up to Jon and said, "Daddy, this is a sad movie." The purity and innocence behind that comment -- may his little 3-year-old eyes be open to the reality of this world and may his little heart be stirred to do something about it.

Amara said to me, "Mommy, I saw picture of little kids in jail (they were behind barred windows), and it made me sad." May her compassionate heart drive her to action and obedience when it comes to following God to serve others.

Through the night, we heard several different updates from "normal" people doing things daily to serve others. And they're EASY things to do - relatively speaking.

- The Garden came from a local restaurant who began as a company wanting to donate a portion of their profits to global orphanages. When they were out of money in a mere 6 months, the owners felt God telling them to "give it all away." His initial thought was "there's nothing left" -- but he gave it all away anyway. Now there are 3 soup kitchens in the area with talks of more, and they just bought an industrial kettle that alone will serve 750.

- Out of The Garden came The Farm, which logically plants and harvests food to make soup and other meals. Even more than just serving this community, however, they are using heirloom plants that can be harvested and shipped around the world to help other communities begin their own farms.

- Jon got up and spoke about Our Step, and was followed by an incredibly powerful video about Don, who was a homeless man just placed in an apartment. Because of this placement, he was able to get custody of his 3 year old daughter. Not a dry eye after that video!

- Another initiative that truly, anyone with a roll of quarters and a jug of laundry detergent can undertake is Laundry Love. To hear the stories and relationships built from Laundry Love is absolutely humbling. It takes what, 2 hours to do a full cycle of laundry? You can have a 2 hour conversation with anyone in there -- or paint women's nails, color and read with children, seamstresses have been there to patch blankets and sew on buttons. The opportunities for community are really endless, and seriously -- for a $10 roll of quarters and a bottle of detergent. How easy is that!? They said that the volunteer list for this service opportunity is several months out!

- Shear Kindness is another initiative that has my heart. As a female, how much better do you feel about yourself and life in general after you've had a good haircut (and color as the case may be)? I'm seriously going to change my hair stylist to the salon that supports Shear Kindness. I'm going to do some digging on this one. I'm certainly not a stylist, but I CAN wash hair, and maybe even better, I can braid the hair of any of the little girls who come in. I'm good at that!

Part of our sermon on Saturday night focused on serving too. In short, I finished the weekend with a hole in my heart where "service" to others is missing. I know that a big reason for that is that I'd prefer to serve WITH my family so that we can make it a family event. However, I also must acknowledge that Jon's JOB is service. So he needs (and deserves) a break from that during our family time. So I came out of the weekend with a few things:

1) I asked Jon to call me with volunteer opportunities at his work that would allow me to work alongside him. Even if that means me taking a few hours or a day off of my own job. As the situation permits, I'd love to spend a few vacation days working alongside my husband serving.

2) I need to make it my DAILY prayer that God soften my heart with my attitude toward serving my family. Currently, I see cooking and cleaning as an obligation, not an opportunity to serve. If I can make that simple mind/heart change, it will make all the difference. I absolutely hate obligation and typically try to avoid them. Having a "guilt complex" like I do, that's not always easy...which probably makes me dislike obligation even more! However, I LOVE to serve! And admittedly, I'm not always good at serving my family -- most probably because I see much of it as obligation. Imagine what that simple change in focus might do!

As the night came to a close, a full hour past the kids' bedtime, I was grateful that we didn't drive separate so the kids and I could leave when they got antsy. They did get antsy. But they also saw and heard service.

You want to see a fast event tear down? Go to an event designed to celebrate service and those who serve. The whole place was cleared, torn down, tables loaded onto trucks, etc -- in under 1/2 hour. It was incredible. The cool thing -- the kids got to be a part of that. The kids were putting the decorative stones back into their respective bags, hauling chairs all over the place to be stacked, helping me fold up tables. And seriously - they were as happy as I've ever seen them. They "get" that it's wonderful to serve. The love to be able to help others. And I was SO thankful to be able to give them that opportunity -- even if it meant this morning was a struggle to get moving (for all of us!)

The quote of the night came from Greg Russinger, founder of Just One: "The Holy Spirit can't comfort you if you're not living an uncomfortable life."

I don't think I'm uncomfortable enough.

How about you?