“Mom, why do you tell us this every day…we know!” The frequent response from my children after I tell them, “Attack the day with kindness,” as I drop them off for school each morning. (I am sure those of you who have witnessed this exchange are giggling in your heads.)
Every morning, this is a must right along with “I love you and have fun today”. However, one day last spring, our kindergartener, reminded me I forgot to say “attach the day with kindness” and he proceeded to say, “Mom, what does it actually mean, anyway?”
I actually taken aback by his question, how could my son NOT know what that means? I explained him, it means that you have to smile and be nice to everyone you see. I went on to tell him, you just don’t know, someone might need a smile to make his or her day. Then Addi popped in and said, “Zephyr, its like sharing your crayons and opening the door for people. It’s being nice.” His response, “Oh, I get it now!” (Side note: This is totally uncommon…these two actually prefer to see who can annoy the other moreJ)
I got to thinking; I really liked how simple Add made it sound and how Zephyr seemed to think it was really that easy. Yes, really it does come down being that simple, however it can be incredibly difficult. Incredibly. Difficult. For. Me. A personality test (taken a decade ago) determined that empathy and kindness where not even in the top 20 of my strengths…For the Love! Seriously, I have to kind, right? Maybe it was how was showing kindness? But yes, I had to practice showing and extending kindness. I have to model kindness, because I want my children to kind to everyone.
Jump in, For the Love by Jen Hatmaker. A book I couldn’t put down. A book I connected with and consumed every word Jen wrote. A book that summed up everything I am trying to model and teach my children in three simple statements:
Every morning, this is a must right along with “I love you and have fun today”. However, one day last spring, our kindergartener, reminded me I forgot to say “attach the day with kindness” and he proceeded to say, “Mom, what does it actually mean, anyway?”
I actually taken aback by his question, how could my son NOT know what that means? I explained him, it means that you have to smile and be nice to everyone you see. I went on to tell him, you just don’t know, someone might need a smile to make his or her day. Then Addi popped in and said, “Zephyr, its like sharing your crayons and opening the door for people. It’s being nice.” His response, “Oh, I get it now!” (Side note: This is totally uncommon…these two actually prefer to see who can annoy the other moreJ)
I got to thinking; I really liked how simple Add made it sound and how Zephyr seemed to think it was really that easy. Yes, really it does come down being that simple, however it can be incredibly difficult. Incredibly. Difficult. For. Me. A personality test (taken a decade ago) determined that empathy and kindness where not even in the top 20 of my strengths…For the Love! Seriously, I have to kind, right? Maybe it was how was showing kindness? But yes, I had to practice showing and extending kindness. I have to model kindness, because I want my children to kind to everyone.
Jump in, For the Love by Jen Hatmaker. A book I couldn’t put down. A book I connected with and consumed every word Jen wrote. A book that summed up everything I am trying to model and teach my children in three simple statements:
Be You. Be Kind. Love Jesus.
Be You. For the Love, discussed how we can live in a world that has impossible standards. Be kind to yourself! I can’t master it all nor can EVERYTHING be on my beam. I have to realize, Be Me, decide what is on my beam. Baking is not on my beam, I would take cooking off my beam also, but I am pretty sure I have three kids and a husband who wouldn’t appreciate that!
Be Kind. Jesus made it easy to be friendly, generous, and considerate. Isn’t this what we all want? I want people to be kind to me; therefore, I need to be willing to extended kindness to those I live with, other family members, friends, neighbors, etc. Extending kindness, isn’t always going to be easy – in some instances it may take courage, being open-minded, or even being gracious – and it is going to take love.
Love Jesus. Everything about Jesus revolves around love. Loving Him requires me knowing Him. Understanding how He lived his life. Develop a relationship with Him through His word and His promises. Doing these things helps me understand what it truly means to Love Jesus. 1 John 4:7, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”
For the Love is must read for those who need to be extended grace while living in this imperfect world. You will find yourself belly laughing (or in my case, snorting), tearing up, to shouting “Amen”. Jen (yes, I am on a first-name basis with her) so eloquently wrote about being kind in our world today. This book will not disappoint!
For The Love website
Be Kind. Jesus made it easy to be friendly, generous, and considerate. Isn’t this what we all want? I want people to be kind to me; therefore, I need to be willing to extended kindness to those I live with, other family members, friends, neighbors, etc. Extending kindness, isn’t always going to be easy – in some instances it may take courage, being open-minded, or even being gracious – and it is going to take love.
Love Jesus. Everything about Jesus revolves around love. Loving Him requires me knowing Him. Understanding how He lived his life. Develop a relationship with Him through His word and His promises. Doing these things helps me understand what it truly means to Love Jesus. 1 John 4:7, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”
For the Love is must read for those who need to be extended grace while living in this imperfect world. You will find yourself belly laughing (or in my case, snorting), tearing up, to shouting “Amen”. Jen (yes, I am on a first-name basis with her) so eloquently wrote about being kind in our world today. This book will not disappoint!
For The Love website