Twenty Bucks and Some Change: Pay-It-Forward Stories of How Twenty Bucks Changed People’S Lives

By Kathy L. Pierce

Have you ever had a stranger pay for your dinner? Or buy you new shoes? Fill your tank with gas? Supply food for your child? Has a stranger ever blessed you financially and let you know that Jesus loves you on one of your darkest days? What a blessing that is! But the greater blessing is to be that stranger who pays it forward while being led by God.

In Twenty Bucks and Some Change, author Kathy L. Pierce shares a collection of uplifting pay-it-forward stories, where just a small contribution of time, effort, and a little spare change turned into opportunities for witnessing the amazing presence of God in our everyday lives. Whether its offering someone a thoughtful memento, caring for a person in need, or sharing the gospel message of Christ with someone in spiritual darkness, these stories show both the simple and profound ways in which we can all see each other as special, just as God sees us.

It is better to give than to receive, and Twenty Bucks and Some Change can inspire you to let your light shine and change lives through Gods blessings. The more you give, the more you will want to giveand the more God will enable you to give.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973617662

Kathy L. Pierce

Kathy L. Pierce has always been a country girl in Indiana, loving the simplest things in life: cats, dark chocolate, seasons changing, hiking, and getting to know God. Her father taught her the simple lesson of putting others firstthe best lesson he ever taught herwhich she shares now in Twenty Bucks and Some Change. Kathy is also the author of Broken Into Gods Peace, which is a memoir about her victory in overcoming childhood abuse by the power of God and humor.

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Copyright © 2018 Kathy L. Pierce.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-1765-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1764-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1766-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018901191

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/07/2018

TABLE FULL OF PAY ITS

#1     Simple flowers

#2     Chocolate & cards

#3     Survival kit

#4     Candace

#5     Troopers

#6     Philippines

#7     Food pantry 1

#8     Flowers

#9     Homeless

#10   St. Jude

#11   Angel tree

#12   Bagger tip

#13   Missions

#14   Firefighters

#15   Chocolate 1

#16   Drive thrus

#17   Friend

#18   Cards

#19   Beggar

#20   Restaurant

#21   Chocolate 2

#22   Tip 1

#23   Puppies

#24   Flowers

#25   Chile

#26   CDs

#27   Chemo

#28   Waitress 1

#29   Shoes

#30   Bird bath

#31   Waitress

#32   A mom

#33   Gideons

#34   Cashier 1

#35   Carmelite

#36   Bus boy

# 37   Bibles

#38   New church

#39   Cool peeps

#40   Bus driver

#41   Flowers

#42   MAPS

#43   Cashier 2

#44   Burn Camp

#45   Socks

#46   Cambodia

#47   Food pantry 2

#48   Gas

#49   T-shirts

#50   Baby food

#51   Groceries

#52   STL

#53   Vanuatu

#54   Bears

#55   Christmas

#56   Tip 2

#57   Neighbor 1

#58   Neighbor 2

#59   Funeral

#60   Unknown

Twenty Bucks and Some Change

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It all started with stubbornness. Not an admirable trait. But I was determined to challenge my massage chick. She refused to take full payment for our sessions and I refused to not pay her in full. So we were like two old-time cowgirls on the dusty street in front of the western saloon ready to draw at the count of three. The crowds scattered for cover as we stared each other down. She spit. I spit farther. The tumble weeds were blowing at our feet as the spurs on our boots were jingling away. We both took aim and shot! As God would have it our bullets hit each other in the air; it was a draw. Yet we both won. See she would only take half of her fee for my massage because she wanted to be nice and help me since I was broke. I think people should be paid for their work. She stuck to her guns and refused to take full payment. So I pulled out my best comeback and said, Well then I will just ‘pay it’ forward because I am not keeping it! And so it began. With the extra $20 (twenty bucks) for each of our massage sessions, I asked God to show me what to do with that extra money. Everywhere I went my ears and eyes were wide open to opportunities to ‘pay it’ forward. God always made it clear to me what I should do and who the intended person or people were. It was exciting. Truly, it is better to give than receive! I am not so sure that I did not benefit more from all this than all the people that God chose to bless through me.

It reminds me of this old story. I don’t think it is that old, but it is a story. It is about four people: Somebody, Everybody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

I have had so many people tell me how great it is that I do these things. It is not so hard. Anybody can do it, but not Everybody is willing. If Somebody won’t do it then Nobody will be helped. People often think they have to go to Africa or another mission field to do something great. I say just look next door. Look at the grocery store. Look at work. Look at church. Just look somewhere! Opportunities to help someone are everywhere. It doesn’t take a special person. Whoa, wait a minute. Let me take that back. It DOES take a special person. It takes a person who is selfless, a person who gives with no expectation of return, a person who would rather walk barefooted than see a needy person with no shoes, a person who is hungry but still gives their lunch away to the homeless, a person with a grateful heart, a person who sees other people. Our hearts have eyes, you know. See others with the eyes of your heart. Don’t just look at them. SEE them!

So with that said, I would like to share my ‘pay it’ forward stories. Some are not as cool as others. Some just blew my mind. A couple were totally uneventful, but all of them changed lives. It changed my life and it changed other peoples’ lives. The more I gave, the more I wanted to give and the more God enabled me to give. You can never out give God. Dare you to try it. Hence, Twenty Bucks and Some Change. And just so you know, all the verses I use are from the New King James Version and I will never give satan a capital S because he does not deserve that type of respect. So those are not typos. They are very intentional. Be blessed and be inspired.

Pay It #1

This was an easy one. I had a part-time job with a home-care company for the elderly. My boss was in danger of losing her job because of downsizing. She truly was one of the best bosses I have ever had. She was down to earth and easy to talk to. She loved people, not fake-to-your-face love, but real love. She cared for and invested herself in these people’s lives. I respected her and learned much from her. She was broken over the possibility of losing her job.

So I went and got her some flowers and a thank you card. She was a flower lover and definitely deserved some heartfelt thanks. With flowers and card in hand, I snuck up the stairs to her office. I wanted to surprise her, but she had just stepped out on a visit. I left my gifts on her desk, which would still be a surprise. I was disappointed but started down the stairs and headed out. I chatted with many of the elderly residents on my way, hoping my boss would show up sooner than later. But she didn’t. I forget now how I even found out how emotional she was when she saw them. Those flowers took away all that fear of the unknown for just a bit and allowed her to see the goodness in the world. There are people that do care in spite of circumstances that are out of our control.

When I saw her the next time, she was still beaming because of my thoughtfulness. It was definitely worth the effort. She ended up losing her job anyway, and to add to her stress, her son died shortly after that. We never know what tomorrow will bring, but we sure can make someone’s today better with just a small effort.

It makes me wonder how often we search out God to give Him some flowers and a thank-you card. Of all who deserve some thanks, is it not our awesome God? We just assume because He is God that He does not expect or need our thanks. Wow, is that ever wrong! He doesn’t need it, but He sure wants it. God talks about a thankful heart quite often in His Word. How can we not be thankful when God gave His only Son for us? Our limited minds cannot even get close to understanding the depth of our sin and how thankful we should be that our sin can be forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus. So maybe it’s hard to give God flowers and a card, but we can sure give Him the thankfulness of our hearts.

Pay It #2

After the first ‘pay it,’ I knew I was hooked. I was still on the thankful kick and wanted to continue that. At the time I worked with mentally ill adults. I loved that job. Mentally ill people are often misunderstood. They are some of the coolest people I have ever worked with. It is a hard job, and it is a thankless job—well, thankless to those who don’t see. Everyone likes chocolate, just about. So I bought several bags of mixed candy: Snickers, Milky Way, Three Musketeers, etc. One bag for each of my favorite departments: maintenance, pharmacy, inpatient, the secretaries, and the cook staff. I have never silenced so many people in one day in my life. I went from department to department to give them a verbal appreciation for who they are and what they do. I thanked them for giving of themselves in such a way so that our clients could have a better life. I thanked them for taking a job that did not pay much to sacrifice for others. I thanked them for coming in every day, never knowing what was in store for them. Maybe a violent client. Maybe a suicide attempt. Maybe an unexpected death. Maybe a client sitting in the hall crying uncontrollably. Maybe a client demanding more narcotics. Maybe a client jumping the counter to strangle them. Or just maybe a client singing because someone remembered his or her name. Or because a staff member stopped just to talk. Or because someone took time to listen to a riddle for the tenth time from the same client. None of the departments knew what to say. I was so sad. Had no one ever come by to thank them for what they do and mean it? Most of them were stunned. Blank faces, tears forming in their eyes, wondering when I was going to say Psych! Gotcha! and make the joke. But I was the one who got more choked up as I went to each department, because all the reactions were the same.

Then I would break out the chocolate and hand them thank you cards. Such a simple gesture, simple words for common everyday people making a difference in so many lives. Most of them said I didn’t need to do that. They were wrong. I did need to. We all need to. We are all in this together, and if we don’t support each other, who will? Words last a long time in our hearts. The next time I came across these people, every one of them was waving, smiling, and still thanking me for thanking them and thinking of them. The chocolate was long gone, but the cards were all posted on their boards and the smiles stayed for weeks.

The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21, Death and life are in the power of the tongue. James has much to say about the tongue. It is full of evil, and no man can tame it. It is up to us whether we will use it for good or evil. To lift someone up or cut them down. To give life or suck the energy right out of them. It is much more fun to build people up. Anybody can bad-mouth others. Be the better person. Have a thankful heart and express it. But I may have to do some research to see when chocolate was invented, because that sure helps too. You can’t go wrong with kind words and chocolate.

Pay It #3

This ‘pay it’ was a little odd but rather funny. My friend was going to have to spend some time with her in-laws. She liked them well enough but not enough to spend a week of vacation with them. The in-laws were nice people. Like most, they were old and set in their ways. My friend thought