Scatter sunshine every day this month—no matter what the weather is! Here are some ideas to help spread sunshine every day of any month. Try these ideas or some of your own to bless those around you. (If the current month has fewer than 31 days, try doing two items from the list some days.) Smile! Tell a family member why you love him or her. Find out more about someone you don’t know very well. Give a sincere compliment. Visit someone who may be lonely. Sienna G., 13, from Utah, USA, says, “One of the ways I scatter sunshine is by visiting the sick, lonely, and elderly. If people my mom knows are in the hospital, a retirement home, or a rehabilitation center, we go to visit them. These people love to see the smiling faces of youth.” Eat lunch with someone who needs a friend. Share your testimony. Deliver a treat to a neighbor. Reach out to a ward member. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, “Our wards and branches should be places where the Golden Rule always guides our words and actions toward each other. By treating each other kindly, speaking words of support and encouragement, and being sensitive to each other’s needs, we can create loving unity among ward members” (“Finding Joy through Loving Service,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2011, 47). Express gratitude to a family member. Pray for someone. Encourage someone to do something good. “In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children” (M. Russell Ballard, “Be Anxiously Engaged,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2012, 31). Be kind to someone who seems lonely. Share a scripture with a friend. Help someone do something he or she can’t do alone. Brendon P., 17, from Wyoming, USA, picks up his friend Kenly for seminary each morning. Kenly, who has Down syndrome, does not have her own driver’s license, so she cannot drive herself to seminary. Text a friend and share what you like about him or her. Teach someone about family history. Be aware of how others could use your help, and act on promptings to serve. “Often small acts of service are all that is required to lift and bless another. … If we are observant and aware, and if we act on the promptings which come to us, we can accomplish much good” (Thomas S. Monson, “Three Goals to Guide You,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2007, 120–21). Share a spiritual message through social media. Give a friend or family member a call just to say hello. Communicate with someone “heart to heart” so you can understand and help meet his or her needs. President Thomas S. Monson has said, “Often we live side by side but do not communicate heart to heart. There are those within the sphere of our own influence who, with outstretched hands, cry out, ‘Is there no balm in Gilead?’ (Jeremiah 8:22). … We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us” (“What Have I Done for Someone Today?” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 85–86). “Sing some happy song” (“Scatter Sunshine,” Hymns, no. 230). Do an extra chore around the house. Write a note. Lucy T., 15, from Utah, USA, says, “In my Young Women class, we were challenged to write a note to one of the widows in our ward. I decided to drop a note off at a widow’s house that I pass on the way to piano lessons. This woman loved the note so much that I decided to leave her a note every week. I also started visiting her in person. She tells me hilarious and inspiring stories and sends me cards every holiday. I’ve made a fabulous new friend.” Introduce yourself to someone new at school or at an activity. Ask someone about his or her family to show you care and want to get to know him or her. “The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Come What May, and Love It,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 27). Offer to help someone with a difficult task. Ask a friend how they’re doing and then really listen to what they have to say. Congratulate someone on a success.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 16:17:53 +0000
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