Kindness

My LG (LifeGroup) at our home church in Texas started a new bible study yesterday. I am doing the study with them via correspondence - a weekly commute to Texas would be rather far. :) The book our wonderful leader chose is Love as a Way of Life by Gary Chapman (author of The Five Love Languages).

This week's homework is Chapters 1 & 2. Chapter 1 is basically an intro to what love as a way of life looks like - authentic love - sharing Christ's love for us. This chapter discusses the seven characteristics of a loving person:

• Kindness
• Patience
• Forgiveness
• Courtesy
• Humility
• Generosity
• Honesty

Chapter 2 is where the meat of this book begins. Here, we begin on delving into the first characteristic - kindness. Kindness, according to Chapman, is the joy of meeting someone else's needs before your own simply for the sake of the relationship. I agree with this assessment. You can't do anything about how someone will react to your kindness, you simply need to be kind in all situations, no matter what. My challenge to myself this week is to look for the kindness in the everyday situations. I challenge myself to truly appreciate and let those in my life know how much I appreciate their kindness and to pay it forward.

Here's my list of kindness today:

• My sweet husband taking the girls for a walk this morning (as he does every morning without complaint) and letting me sleep in. He also looked up flights for me to go back to Texas and visit (and go to the State Fair), bought tickets for us to go to the Iowa vs. Pitt game with our friends Palmer and Ellie, set up all of our electronic equipment and moved a bajillion tons of stuff for me, said how great the curtains looked that I made (and how yum dinner was) and worked a ten hour day.
• A sweet older couple at the mall that I held the door for. The husband insisted that I go in the store before him and the wife remarked on what a beautiful day it was.
• The kind young man at the oil change place. They did a great job on my car, were courteous and didn't try to sell me something I didn't need.
• The salesperson at GameStop who sold me to Wii Fit for my Mom.
• The clerks at the adorable shop at the Mall. They were so sweet and one lady shared how much she loved her Wii Fit with me.
• The person at the stop sign who waved for me to go first.
• My Mom and Dad - my Mom is coming to visit me soon!
• The joy I felt in mailing cards to some people I care so much about.
• My Mother in Law (best one on Earth) - the care package she sent us.
• The thank you note from our new bank.
• The joy on the faces of our girls when I got home. Their tails were wagging so hard!
• Talking to my dear friend, Kristy, on the phone and catching up.
• My sweet LG leader keeping me up to date with what is going on in Texas so I feel a part.
• The internet guy recommending a church for us to try.

I hope your day is filled with kindness today - take a look - it's everywhere.