My youngest daughter had a stroke in Dec. 2016 when she was three years old. During the month that she was hospitalized, we were blessed by the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which is a home away from home, for all the families that have kids in the hospital. In the past I had heard of the Ronald McDonald House but never really knew the magnitude of an impact that they make. The house offers a private room with bathroom, community kitchen with warm meals, play areas for the kids, activities and more. This place truly became home for us, not only in Tampa but in St. Petersburg when we had to go back this year for a three week intensive therapy.

I have always been intentional about teaching my kids to serve. In my opinion the real world is not in all the things I can give my kids and the fun experiences they can have (including all the fiction that is out there for kids). To me, the real world is to teach your kids how fortunate they are with the little or much they have, and for them to see the world’s greatest needs and how they can contribute to make a difference. Having said this, I like to teach them to share, give, help and serve. Here is how I do it:

• Christmas and birthdays are special times for them, but they don’t have to be ALL about them. These can be opportunities to bless others too.

• I model service to them. We are constantly helping others and volunteering at church.

• We take them on mission trips and show them how fortunate they are with all of what they have.

• I ask them for their own ideas as to how we can help others. This helps them take ownership.

• This is our way of life. (Service is not what we do in Christmas time only, but we TRY to make it our way of life).

Last week I decided to reach out to the Ronald McDonald House to see if we could volunteer for Christmas, but all three houses in our area were booked completely with volunteers making lunch and dinner (they do a cold breakfast so no volunteers). I was pretty sad that we missed a wonderful opportunity. After a few minutes after having ended my conversation, I received a call back from the Ronald McDonald House telling me that they had a cancelation for Monday (that was in three days) and if we could come and make lunch. I was so tempted to say “no” because my weekend was already packed with activities and I was going to be exhausted. Well, I said “yes” and after I hung up, I wondered how we were going to pull it together. I quickly call some friends and thank God, we had a team put together to go and cook and helped me with the purchase of the food.

Yesterday, we had a wonderful time making taco salad for 40 people (that’s how many are staying at the house and come through out the day to eat) and our kids were ready to mingle and make crafts with the children that were staying there.

I encourage you to find a place, person, charity or ministry that you can help and encourage your kids to love to serve. This empowers them to be world-changers.