Aloha to Blog Tours, Community Outreach, and Positive Energy

Aloha!  You probably noticed that I have posted a series of blog tours for the past few weeks.  I signed up for the blog tours after spending the week at RT with Danielle Gorman from Author's Pal.  She has such positive energy as an author assistant.  I not only wanted to support her ... but also introduce you to a wide range of romance authors and new releases. 

I admit it is easy filler for my blog ... as my life has been a challenge of late.  I'm juggling several family issues yet I did not want to give up on my blog here at SOS Aloha.

Three weeks ago, I attended "Wine, Women, and Word" with the ladies from my church.  I thought it was a Bible study. Instead, the host leads a discussion of issues that relate to our spiritual growth.  This month's host read a passage form Debbie Macomber's ONE SIMPLE ACT:

Debbie Macomber invites us to live with open hands, offering who we are and what we have to others. When we do so with an eager sense of expectancy, lives—including our own—are changed in ways we never envisioned. All it takes is one simple act.

Debbie shares vignettes from her life (and others) on how to use simple acts of sharing, caring, and forgiving to improve our own lives.  The host then gave me her copy to read.  Indeed, Debbie is a practicing Christian and quotes from the Bible.  But she references just plain common sense you would expect from any religion - be kind to one another.  

Most of my coworkers know I volunteer in the community. One coworker mentioned that she was moving into a small home and wanted to donate household items to military families. Last Saturday, I recruited my college son to help transport the items from her home to Fort Meade.  We took three car loads of household items to the Enlisted Spouses' Club (ESC) Thrift Shop (which raises money for student scholarships) and the Meade Attic (which gives household items for free to the lower ranks of all services).  

During our second trip to Fort Meade, I watched a young mother unload a double stroller from her car.  She then transferred a toddler and baby from the car to the stroller.  As she walked towards the Airmen's Attic, I informed her that it was closed; that we were only there to drop off donations in the collection bins. I subsequently invited her to my friend's house since she had baby and toddler items available.  I could see that the young mother was hesitant ... but it was a military base.  I was not a virtual stranger.  So the young mother followed me back to my friend's house - she stocked up on children's books and even took home a bouncy seat.  

In the end, my son and I:
- helped a friend clear out her house
- donated items to the Thrift Shop to raise funds for military families
- donated items to the Airmen's Attic to assist the lower enlisted
- enabled a young mother to pick out children's books for her family 

On our way home, I treated my son to Chick Fil A.  We even brought back chocolate shakes for hubby and younger son who volunteers for roadside clean up with his scout troop.  

For a few hours, I found satisfaction that I could help others, thus distracting me from my own problems.  Those problems are still present in my life, but the problems don't seem so daunting after all. 

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1. What do you have planned for the upcoming holiday weekend?

2. Comments are open through Sunday, July 9, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Monday, July 10.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City