40acts: Week 6

It’s the penultimate week of 40acts with just six more acts left to go. Once again I’ve been focusing on green and yellow challenges but perhaps I will manage to tick off a red one again next week! One of the things I love about 40acts is the way it makes me think more about things I can do to make a difference and how it has the power to change some of my actions longer-term. My time-keeping has improved so much since being challenged to be on time on day 8 and having a whole day with my phone switched off has made me much more conscious of the need to take time out from the world of social media and fully focus on my family. I might not have managed another day with my phone switched off but I have managed to stay completely offline for a couple of hours here and there.

The challenges for this week have been:

• Act 29: Bless the boss – taking time to thank bosses and those in authority
• Act 30: Be first – being willing to be the first to volunteer
• Act 31: In courage – thinking of those who are persecuted for their beliefs
• Act 32: Brag – time to blow someone else’s trumpet
• Act 33: Scrap the schedule – taking time to do what someone else wants
• Act 34: Carbonate – taking steps to reduce our carbon footprints

 

I’m lucky enough to be able to work part-time from home as I work for my husband’s company, processing payroll. It was a good reminder to stop and reflect on all the things I’m thankful for where my hubby is concerned and to take a moment to say thank you for them.

 

The next act was also a nice easy one – Jessica’s preschool were planning to serve homemade cakes and tea and coffee after the Easter concert and so I offered to make some fairy cakes. It’s quite nice to have the excuse to do a bit of baking!

 

We are very lucky in this country to be able to worship freely across a range of different faiths – in many parts of the world this is not the case. Taking time to stop and pray for those across the world who are persecuted for their beliefs and face a very real risk of being killed for them was quite sobering.

 

I wrote a post last year about my two best friends – both of whom are godmothers to my children – and why they’re so amazing. Sharing that post again on social media was my response to Act 32’s challenge to blow someone else’s trumpet and share what you appreciate about them.

 

Friday is usually the busiest day of my week work-wise and with the to-do list looking rather long, we would normally have spent the day at home with me trying to keep the girls occupied for enough time here and there and making the most of nap-time to get those jobs done. It did feel like quite a challenge to put the to-do aside for a couple of hours and respond to Jessica’s request to go out. We had a lovely walk into the village with lunch at the bakery and it was good for me too to have that time to switch off and properly focus on time with the girls. I still managed to get all the items on my to-do list done but was much happier for the break from it.

 

The final challenge this week has left me with some food for thought. I try to be environmentally conscious – using cloth nappies, recycling as much as possible. We are fortunate in that our kerbside recycling collection will take a broad range of recyclables and whilst I do recycle a lot, I think perhaps thinking about reducing the waste generated in the first place is an area that could be improved on.

 

Have you been taking part in 40acts? I’d love to hear how you’ve been getting on.