Unless you have been living on another planet for the last few years, you may have noticed there is an increasing lack of kindness in our world. It seems everyone has lost the filter that keeps them from saying and doing every hurtful, hateful thing that enters their minds. Sadly, even Christians have not seemed to be totally immune to this virus of unkindness.
When anyone teaches on the Fruit of the Spirit, they seem to fly right over kindness. It’s definitely on the list though, right after love, joy, peace and patience. Yet, I have never heard sermons or read articles and books on the idea that God expects his people to be kind. Period.
I was interested naturally, when a book on kindness was finally offered to me to review. It was by one of my favorite Christian authors, Shaunti Feldhahn. Her books on marriage are great, because they combine God’s commands and principles with hard, cold facts, leaving no wiggle room for avoiding what you must do.
Continue reading Christian Families and the Kindness Challenge
If you are like me, clothing care labels are more confusing than helpful. Many of those international symbols are not quite as clear as I am sure their designers had hoped. Attempting to place labels on people can cause confusion and a lot of unintended problems as well.
Let’s be honest. Thanksgiving prayers and sharing can become a bit routine over the years. Sometimes, it may seem the thanks to God are standing in the way of all of that good food you are about to enjoy. You may also have people at your table whom you haven’t seen in months or not know well at all. Why not switch things up a bit and make the mealtime conversation a prayer of sorts to God and have fun reconnecting in the process?
Have you ever seen a celebrity apologize for something horrible? Sometimes they look more like a five year old being forced to apologize to a sibling! Or have you ever experienced someone who “apologizes” by saying “I’m sorry if I did anything that made you mad.”? Really? Apologies are meant to begin repairing relationships, but most apologies do more harm to the relationship than good.
If your children can speak, you probably realize they consider you and anyone else close to your age “old”. I laugh now, because I will talk to friends from home and they will mention someone is “getting older”. In my memory, that person had to be at least in their 60’s or 70’s when I was a child. Inevitably, I will ask “What?! Isn’t she over 100 by now?” Usually, I realize the “old” person had actually been only in their 30’s or 40’s when I was little!