This week, YMZ guest blogger, Whiplash Records artist and host of iShineKNECT, Paige Armstrong reminds us to notice the people around us. We just may change a life. If you missed her first blog, you can read it here.

On October 6th, Paige released her debut album Wake Up and DVDSermonettes to Canadian Christian retail. With a new book in process and a full time focus on ministry with speaking engagements, Paige represents the very best of authentic faith and humility. We are glad to have her onboard.

For more information on Paige, visit please visit her YMZ artist page andwww.paigehasastory.com.

The Button

I’m sitting at Starbucks right now… sipping a mocha frappuccino and typing on my little Mac computer. As I first grabbed my order and sat down, I no sooner looked up and made eye contact with a guy in the corner couch. The awkward part wasn’t per se the eye contact itself, but the fact that every time either of us looked up, we’re directly across from each other in eyeshot. I mean, come on… we all know multiple unintended eye contact just calls for awkwardness! Before I could even begin to search for an in-sight distraction, my attention was caught by something bright orange outside the window. It was an elderly man wearing a striped, bright orange shirt… and knee high matching socks. Instantly I smiled. How could I not? Then, to my right was a girl who seemed to be enthralled in her English book and taking notes until a phone call she received proved to be much more captivating. The last thing I noticed was a girl quietly on her headphones sitting outside. Keeping to herself, she seemed intent on listening to whatever was playing through her phones and the book that was pulling her into a different reality.

Some things you just can’t help but notice. For instance, the man in the blinding orange socks. Others are so non-assuming, it’s incredibly easy to overlook.

Take for instance, the lady behind the counter checking you out at a grocery store. A friend told me a story of how he happened to ask the check out lady about a button that she wore on her worker’s vest. It had a picture of a soldier on it, so he asked who the young man was. Looking down at the button and adjusting it with her fingers, she shared how that picture was of her son who had been killed in the Marines. Not expecting that response, he quickly scrambled for words of comfort for the woman. He ended up inviting her to come to his church and reached out by letting her know she had support if she needed it.

Wow! I was stopped in my tracks when he shared that story. It just took noticing something as simple and small as a BUTTON to open the door to her heart-wrenching story and incredible need.

How many “buttons” do I miss every day? How many opportunities to reach into someone’s life do I let slip by because I’m so caught up in myself?? I barely even want to know the answer to that question.

It’s amazing to me how much of a difference it makes when I take my mind off myself to notice and be aware of those around me. Not only does it change my own attitude, but it has an unbelievable affect on the people I’m acknowledging.

The central theme in my CD, Wake Up, is not wasting your life. While that idea alone can seem overwhelming, I think we tend to make it out to be more complex than it really is. It’s not always about the big sweeping things one does to make a difference. It’s about the everyday, small, but essential choices.

My song called, “Episode” specifically reminds us how there is always something to dig deeper into when it comes to genuinely sharing in someone’s life. When we take the time to simply be aware and notice the lives around us, our eyes are opened to so many new stories and opportunities to serve.

Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”

A few verses down, Jesus flips that and says if you don’t do something for someone in need, it’s as if Jesus Himself asked you… and you didn’t do it for Him.

Man. That’s intense! There is weight and power in serving others. Merely being aware changes lives!

Taking the time to notice that girl sitting by herself at lunch may change her entire school year. Opening the door for someone who has their hands full with drinks and a baby stroller makes their morning! It shows them they’re not invisible.

“Evangelism starts when the invisible person becomes visible.”

Let’s make it a point to notice more than just the bright orange socks that can’t help but be seen. Let’s look for the buttons. What everyone else overlooks, but you stop to ask… to notice. Who knows? It just might change lives.