A few weeks after beginning this blog, our church had White Bucket Sunday. The teaching that morning was about the early church and how the people shared everything in common. At the end of the teaching that morning, white buckets were placed around the stage. We were then asked to evaluate our lives right now. Did we have more money than we needed and could share with others? Or did we need money to help cover the bills that were piling up? Either way, we were instructed to come to the buckets; to put money in if we could or to take money out if that is what we needed. I have never experienced something quite like this before.
…this has become my white bucket project.
Well, I’ve been thinking of ways to take it a step further… and was inspired once again. When we arrived at church this week, there were five gallon buckets lining the walls. Each family was encouraged to take a bucket or two home, choose a theme for the bucket (Food, Personal, or Baby), and fill the pail with a specific list of items. Then over the next couple weeks we’ll bring the pails back to church and Rays of Hope for Haiti will ship them to Haiti. I love that even the bucket itself is useful. Families will use them to carry water, wash clothes, or as a chair. Brilliant!
So my brain started chugging and I’m introducing a new weekly post “The Bucket List”. I plan to compile a list of the best deals that you’ll find on donation items each week. Fill a bucket or a box up and bring it to a local charity. Maybe filling even one bucket or box seems like too much of a stretch for your budget, but I believe that if we shop wisely we’ll be able to fill a bucket (or two or three) at bargain prices.
So I hope to have the list ready later today, so stay tuned. I’d love to be able to share stories of how just a little of our resources can make a big impact.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
This is great!! I am doing something similar on my blog! I am challenging my readers to pick up at least one thing this week, find a spot in their homes to collect, and, hopefully, continue. I’ve included a link-up so I hope you will include “The Pail Project” on it!
I think this is a great idea! When I first read the “White Bucket Sunday” post (a few months ago?) I was very inspired! We started a box in the spare bed room for “Toys For Tots”. Using coupons and the awesome toy deals this last X-mas we donated over 40 toys this year! The box is already filling up this year thanks to the Hasbro Game and My Little Pony coupons as well as the great toys we found at the 75% Target toy Clearance! I look forward to reading your “Bucket List”, and will be filling one also for a local shelter! Thanks for all you do, and I hope you inspire others to help as you have inspired me…
Yay! I’m glad others are excited too. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to sit through church because I was so excited!
Mariah, thanks for being such a blessing to the people around you. My hope is that the work that I do on this blog will save my readers money allowing us to in turn pour out generously to others.