This month has been totally crazy and I almost backed out of this Monthly Mission with Unbound because I was just too tired. But, my kids are never tired (seriously!!) and would not let me forget that we were doing a ___-a-thon this month. We finally decided on a Rock-a-thon inspired by a recent Adventures in Odyssey where some middle school kids raise money by rocking in rocking chairs for 12 hours.
I really wanted to ask our local Cracker Barrel if they’d let us use their rocking chairs (hoping people might donate as they walked by) but since my kids are kinda adverse to talking to adults, I took the easier route and borrowed the rocking chairs at our neighborhood’s clubhouse. It’s a beautiful view with a lake and the pool and the weather was insanely awesome for July in Atlanta.
Wait, lemme back up. The day before I made a quick little video of the kids on my Flip. I asked them how old they were, how much money they wanted to raise and who we were raising it for. It wasn’t any longer than a minute and I did zero editing.
I slapped it up on Facebook and asked friends to donate $1 per hour the kids rocked expecting them to rock maybe 3 hours max. So, 3 hours x 2 kids x $1=$6 per donation. That’s chump change, right?
OK. So back to the rock-a-thon day. We went to CrossFit first (where I sweated a bucket and did something called a Renegade Man Maker…seriously.) and then ran home to grab books, snacks, a stuffed animal or two and my computer.
We got settled in our rocking chairs and 30 minutes passed by before anyone asked for a book or a snack or anything. It was so beautiful and peaceful to just sit and watch the ducks and listen to the breeze.
After awhile, of course, we pulled out the iPad…
we played Speedeebee, ate lunch…
…listened to Adventures in Odyssey…
and basically just hung out with each other. There was virtually no complaining and if I had let the kids play with the iPad the whole time, we probably could have made it 8 hours. (iPod-a-thon, anyone?)
Once we hit 3 hours, they were determined to keep going. Asa made it for 4 hours on the dot and Lydia did another whole hour making her rocking time FIVE HOURS.
Y’all.
I thought they miiiiight make it three if I cajoled them and kept popping grapes in their mouths. They were having a great time and even though it was an easy task, it still felt important and had a sense of urgency to it.
During this whole time I was updating on Instagram, my personal Facebook page and Twitter and that made people more excited about our Rock-a-thon. By the end of the day we had 16 people who sponsored us and we raised over $144 to help support girls who have been victims of trafficking!
The kids are beyond stoked about it and I’m feeling a little chagrined because of how I underestimated my kids. They can do big things if we let them. Give them space and the opportunity–they will surprise you!
There’s still time to do your own rock-a-thon with your kiddos. All you need is a rocking chair and a few hours. Just think of what you and your kids might do! Don’t forget to check out Unbound and see how else you might be able to support them and their ministry! And if you do join the Monthly Mission, link up your story or pictures on our main Monthly Mission page!
Heather says
soooo awesome. always amazed how serving and doing for others causes my kids to be less of complainers than when I work so hard to keep them safe & happy. Thanks for this reminder. There is no such thing as a junior Holy Spirit…Way to go lydia and asa..you ROCK! (see what I did there?)
ohAmanda says
You are so clever! 🙂
(I GET TO SEE YOU SOOOOOOON!!!!)
a
Rebecca says
Beautiful testimony to some hearts growing! Keep on rocking!
Meghan says
That is so awesome! My oldest is 3…do you she is at an appropriate age to do some of your missions? (I haven’t checked out that page you linked to yet…but I will) I don’t think we could do the rocking one because I also have a 20 month old and a 5 month old, but I would love to do something with my oldest to get her thinking of others. Any suggestions?
oh amanda says
I loved Nickels for Nets—all you have to do is collect nickels! Check out the Monthly Mission page for more details. 🙂
http://ohamanda.com/monthly-missions/
Leslie Wilson says
Hi Amanda,
I think your monthly mission idea is great! One thing I would like to say Is if it wasn’t for your monthly mission for Unbound I would have never known about that site organization. I have read about human trafficking many times and each time wanting to do SOMETHING to help/volunteer to stop this horrible act on the children of this world. The world is cruel enough.
So I give my special thanks for sharing and giving me the opportunity to do what I’ve thought about doing for quite some time now. I knew God would lead me to where I needed to be to be in the position to help/volunteer. And this is the answer thank you so much.
Blessings,
Leslie
oh amanda says
Leslie! Thank you for your comment! I love finding mom-led organizations b/c it makes me know that I *can* do something to help! 🙂
a
Heather says
Oh I love it when they get their heart set on something and see the impact of their actions! For a boy to stay put anyplace for 3 hours is a total move of God! 🙂