Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Service Boot Camp: The Courage To Serve



Well Soldiers,
what can I tell you about Service Boot Camp?

It's 28 days of serving others.

It'll have you up out of bed and down on your knees
at the crack of dawn each morning,
and working your tail off each day to help someone other than yourself.

And frankly, new recruits,
it's got me shakin' in my boots!!

Why?

Well, putting others first is hard work.
And I'm not as good at it as I want to be.

And seeing as I am from a long line of people who
have "honorably served"...

I decided it was my time to enlist.



And let me clarify one point, Platoon-mates.

Unlike other recent Tours of Duty my family and I have been on,
this Boot Camp is not for my children.

They will serve right along with me, this is true.

But really, I'm the one who needs to do this.

I can't very well teach them what charity is
until I've got it right down deep inside of me, you see.

So here, we go.
Fall in line, troops,
and look alive.

We've got 28 Days of early wake-up calls
praying for guidance,
and hopefully following through on
promptings to help.



Will I survive Service Boot Camp?

Will I thrive?

Will I keep my boots spit & shined,
my uniform pressed,
and my bed-corners tucked
(Just had to throw that one in for my grandpa!)
Will they put me on K.P. duty?
Or worse yet...latrine duty??

Can I find some way to serve
and actually carry it through each day
for an entire month?

What will I learn?

How will I change?

Only the Lord knows.

And what He knows needs fixin', He's gonna fix.
(Insert a big "Eeek!...but OK, I'm ready." here.)

Courage.

No sappy words of encouragement in the comments section today, please.

All I want to know is:

Are you IN or are you OUT?



Letter from Basic: Day 1

I came downstairs to find my son and daughter salivating over the pages of "Hello, Cupcake".



So, I made these Petits Fours (found on page 139).
Changed plans a few times, but finally settled on one person who needed them.
Delivery of the goods had us shooing cats and chickens out of our van and listening to Scarlett sing what she deems to be the only correct rendition of "Huck MacDonald".
Today's work also left my kitchen a complete wreck,
but it might have been that way to start with...the details are a little fuzzy.

Oh, and I also got totally Smacked Down by my sister Dawn
in Part 1 of our Sewing Smackdown.

She's good...What can I say?

(And a LOT of people out there really like jean purses...who knew?)

Day 1: surviving...so far.


8 comments:

  1. i'm in....phew...good thing I treated someone to a breakfast cake last night (feb 1) when her family AGAIN opted to forget/neglect her birthday. So I am on a roll of one day

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  2. I love this challenge....and I'm completely intimidated by it. But don't we all need to be a little less selfish? I've been so self absorbed in my own exhaustion lately. You always give such great reminders and motivation Jocelyn!

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  3. Can I nominate you for energizer bunny award! You are overflowing with ideas...Now let's focus on some non sugar service ideas and I'll join. Just calling or commenting on someone's blog can be a service. Reaching out with love, acceptance or a listening ear....

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  4. I recently foudn your blog about the Proclmation, we've been doing some of the same things for FHE nights. Thank you for the idea! And I am in on the service boot camp, I need my rear in shape, so I decided I would do a sweet service and help a family out with refreshment at their baptism tonight..it is a duh.. for many, but i have struggled with issues with this family for a while, so it is a stretch and a service of love for their sweet daughter that is pushing me to do thid, not to mention the Spirit as well....I'll be a day behind the rest of ya!!

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  5. There's nothing greater than to serve others like Jesus asked us to do. Excellent!

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  6. totally awesome!!! :-) each day we should live like this...:-) glad for boot camp to get us all into shape:-) blessings.

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  7. I just recently found your website. I am 13 years old and trying very hard to live the gospel. Sometimes I find it really hard though, as there's a lot of bad things in the world. Some of your blog posts and challenges have really impacted my life and I am really grateful to you for doing this. You're living your life as an example and you're being a hero. We talk a lot in Young Women's about changing the world. Thank you for doing your part. :)

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  8. Wow! I'm honored that you read my blog and flattered by your comment! Thank you for your encouraging words...we're all in this together! I'd love to hear from you again sometime! XO Keep up the good work...and remember "They that be with us are more than they that be with them!" That scripture often gave me hope when I was a teen!! :)

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