Posts Tagged ‘kindness’

Got Joy? Then Spread It

Tuesday, September 18th, 2012

If you're happy and you know it….then your face will surely show it.  Right?  What about the rest of you?  Does it show too?

I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse, but I'm one of those people that wears her emotions on the outside.  My youngest child is just the same.  She and I take a little ribbing (from the rest of our family) for being so "open" with how we're feeling.  If we're mad or upset…..there's no hiding it.

On the other hand, it's pretty difficult for us to stifle our happiness too.

Which is a good problem to have, don't you think?  I mean, the world needs more JOY spreaders!  So, today…that's my goal.  I want to make the ones I come in contact with feel better than they did before they bumped into me.

My tactics?    S E E K

SMILE – No matter who it is, I'm going to smile right at them.

ENGAGE – I will speak to those that I run into and ask them more than "how is your day going?".  I'll be creative and customize my words to fit them.  Who doesn't like someone to notice them?

ENCOURAGE – Face it, everyone isn't going to be having a JOYFILLED day.  I will use my positive attitude to pull a hurting friend up (think, balcony person) not bring them down.

KINDNESS – Of course I won't be able to do any of this without showing genuine kindness.  I hope to spread a little niceness to those who need it.  Oh who am I kidding?  We ALL need kindness, right?

Who can you bless today with your JOY?  Alright then, get busy spreading it!

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Royal Proclaimations | 2 Comments »

Match Up

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Have you ever met someone that acted horribly only to find out later they were an "active" church member somewhere?  I have and it's very confusing.  Don't misunderstand, I'm not talking about someone having a bad day or moment of stress and misbehaving.  I'm referring to someone who has a completely miserable or mean spirit.

Examples:

Unfriendly, coldish, never smiles and leaves you feeling awkward when you leave their presence.

I can still remember the day I found out a certain secretary (at a place where I worked too) was a God praising, hands in the air, eyes closed tight follower.  It literally stopped me in my worship'n tracks!  Every encounter I had ever had with her was ugly and rude (her part, not mine).  She acted like she hated me!  It left me feeling low and embarrassed each time I had to interact with her.  And here she was singing in the big church choir….loving the same God that I do.

Didn't match up.

In my long life as a Christian, I've fallen hard on my own sword of fleshly behavior.  I've misspoken, wounded with my words & actions, acted like a total idiot and completely embarrassed myself & those around me.  I've also recognized it as wrong and tried to make it right as quickly as possible.  I never want to misrepresent Christ because of my weak & human behavior but I have and probably will again.

It doesn' match up.

I've noticed how easy it is to sling scripture around and make ourselves look Christian-y.  But if our behavior doesn't match up with our words, do they really count?  I'm challenging myself and you today–if you are a believer/follower of Jesus Christ please live outloud for Him.  The world is full of meanness.  Why should the ones who profess to love in the name of Christ be jerks too?

Chew on that, friends and let me know…..do you agree?

 

Questions to ponder.

Do I act like a person who loves Jesus TO EVERYONE or just my closest friends/family?

Am I gentle with my words and kind with my actions?

Do I smile and speak when someone does the same to me?

Am I open to being helpful when approached by someone in need?

Do I make other's feel uncomfortable or am I warm & inviting?

 

BE HONEST.  I want to match up with the love the Father has poured out on me. Don't you?

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Royal Proclaimations | 18 Comments »

Snow covers and reveals

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Today was a bust as far as school is concerned. I woke up in the wee hours to peek out the window and fell back in bed bummed when I didn’t see any snow. I figured it missed us and prepared my brain to get up and go to school. Then 5:45am my phone rang with the NO SCHOOL message for me to pass along. Yeehaw!

Except.

I had made arrangements to have two of our barn cats fixed by the neuter scooter folks and the appointment drop-off time was 7:30am. Buzzkill! No going back to sleep for this queenie. I was zinging with fear that I’d doze off and miss the whole shebang! So, I laid there eyes peeled open….fretting! 😉

Finally, I got up and dressed to go. Hubby loaded up the poor scared kitties and off we went in our four-wheel drive! By this time the roads were a snowy mess. We literally had to “take it easy”. After dropping off our now sure to run over and kill cats (since we spent $75 on them), I jumped back into sweatpants with a side of choffee. Ahhh! Relax minus the sleep.

As the snow has steadily fallen and blanketed my neighborhood, I’ve watched the activity of my neighbors. Some are out playing and sledding, others are shoveling and blowing their driveways. Some even pull out the big guns and use backhoes. As long as I’ve lived in this neighborhood (and I’ve always praised it for being a NICE neighborhood) no one has ever helped us with our loooooooong driveway.

I had to ask myself a very important question. Is it me or is it them? I mean, does that say something about me or about them? So, I spent a little time in self reflection.

Do I treat others with the kindness they deserve? I try to.
Do I help when I see a need? I try to.
Do I care about those in my neighborhood? Of course I do.
Do I have the relationships I wish to have with my neighbors? No.
What can I do? Pray for them and try to reach out. From now on, I’ll keep waving even if they won’t wave back.

Do you show the people around you God’s love? Maybe you have a neighbor that you’re not so fond of. Refuse to be frenemies with them anymore. Drop off some cookies to them or yell a hello next time you’re outside. Do something to be a blessing in His name.

Oh and if you’re out bulldozing snow…..swing over and swipe a path for them too! I bet they’ll love you forever. 😉

A quick look out my backdoor this morning….the beginning of SNOW!

**I’m working on finding ways to show God’s love to those in my path! Seeing my neighbors doing just that, reminded me of my mission!

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Royal Proclaimations | 26 Comments »