Find-No-Fault Friday

The Daily Kindness Challenge

Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.

~ Luke 6:36-37

Ready for the weekend? Let's celebrate the end of the workweek by giving everybody a great big break today! No complaining about people, no talking bad about people, no judging people, and no condemning people.

Wow! That's asking a lot for a Friday. Let's face it - we all have people who get on our last nerve. And we love to vent about it! It feels so good to just get it all out in a good gripe. But, I read somewhere recently that venting is not as great as we've all thought. It tends to stir us up more than calm us down. I've been paying attention since I read that, and I suspect there may be some wisdom to it. Complaining about a person certainly affects our overall attitude toward them, as does listening to someone else complain about them. If we stopped looking for and talking about people's faults, would we be kinder to them? To others? To ourselves?

Want a real challenge? Give yourself a break today! Stop judging yourself so harshly. God loves you! Surely, He's not wrong about what a great person you are. ;)  Be kind to yourself today by not knocking yourself down. Focus on your strengths.

Today, our goal is to overlook faults and keep a positive attitude toward others and ourselves. Yesterday, we practiced thinking well of people. Today we are ignoring the not-so-good, and actively looking for the good. When you're tempted to complain, praise instead. Find something good to say. End the week on a positive note. It's okay to be happy.

Have a kind day!

Lord, thank you for your great mercy! Thank you for forgiving my sins. Please help me to overlook faults in others and in myself. Help me to complain less and stop judging others critically. Help me to see the good in others and in myself. I pray this for the people taking this challenge, too. Help them to see past faults and find good. Help us all to be kind. Amen.

Thoughtful Thursday

The Daily Kindness Challenge

Charity (love) has patience, is kind; charity (love) is not envious, is not vain, is not puffed up; does not behave indecently, does not seek her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil. 
~ 1Corinthians 13:4-5

Finally, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things. 
~ Philippians 4:8

Thoughtful Thursday has two goals. The first is obvious - to be considerate of other people's needs. The second goal follows the above scriptures by examining your own thoughts and keeping them positive. Be considerate of others and think well of them.

I often use 1 Corinthians 13 as my measuring stick. If I love someone, am I being kind to them? Am I being patient with them? Do I think well of them? When I ask myself these questions, I always see failures. I know I'll never be perfect at it, but I can at least do better.

Today, I strive to see people through God's eyes and think the best about them. Yes, there are times when we need to protect ourselves by recognizing when a person has less than well-meaning motives. That's certainly understandable. But, in our daily lives, most of the people we encounter are not "out to get us." They are struggling along, just as we are, making a living, looking for happiness, and trying to have a decent day. So, I will purpose to think the best of people today, and in so doing, to be kind and considerate toward them. I will look to their needs and offer a kind word where I can. Those are today's goals.

Have a kind day!

Lord, thank you for Your loving kindness toward me. Thank you for seeing past my sinful behaviors and loving me for who I truly am. Please help me to do the same for others. Help me to look past what people do and see who they really are. Help me to think well of others and to be kind and considerate. Please help all the people taking this challenge today by directing their thoughts and actions toward kindness. Amen.

Wonderful-Works Wednesday

The Daily Kindness Challenge

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. 
~ Matthew 5:16

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 
~ Luke 6:27-28

Wednesday is good deeds day! Put kindness to work and do something wonderful for someone today - a loved one, a co-worker, a stranger. You can even do something nice for yourself! When's the last time you did that? If you're one of those amazing people that gives until you're empty and keeps going another hundred miles, then you deserve a treat once in a while. It's called self-care and it's an important part of mental and physical health. It helps you to be a well-balanced, kinder person.

Stumped on what to do? Here are a few ideas:

• Take a co-worker out to lunch.
• Give a homeless person a gift card.
• Pay for the person behind you at the drive-thru. (This is really fun! It freaks out the folks at the window.)
• Write a note to a friend telling them how great they are.
• Pick up a dropped item for someone.
• Get something off a high shelf for someone at the store (especially elderly folks in carts).
• Compliment someone or tell them that you appreciate them.

I'm sure you can think of lots more. One of my favorite family memories involves a good deed. We pulled up to a red light and noticed two young men trying to push a car out of the intersection. Rick and both our sons quickly jumped out of the truck and ran to help. I switched to the driver's seat and followed them with the flashers on. They got the car off the road and it so happened that the passenger was a guy we knew who worked at Gamestop. He and his friend were so appreciative of the help! You never know what little thing you can do that means tons to someone.

If you really want a challenge today, then read over the second scripture again and do a good deed for someone that burns your biscuits. Yes, praying for them counts as a good deed. Or go the extra mile and bless them with a gift card, a kind note, or something really imaginative. Remember, both scriptures above were spoken by Jesus Himself, who prayed from the cross for forgiveness for the very ones who crucified Him. What a wonderful example of kindness He set for us!

Have a kind day!

Lord, thank you for all the blessings which you have so graciously provided in my life. Help me and all those taking this challenge to be generous, giving, and considerate with others today and everyday. Please show us good deeds to do and empower us to do them. Let Your light of glory shine through our works. Amen.

Tolerant Tuesday

The Daily Kindness Challenge

In your patience possess ye your souls. 
~ Luke 21:19

Tolerant Tuesday is all about patience and understanding! One definition of the word tolerate is to accept or endure (something or someone unpleasant or disliked) with forbearance (polite, patient restraint).  I love what Jesus said in the scripture above. In our patience, we possess our souls. It is a key to self-control. So often, when we lose our patience, kindness gets lost with it.

The first part of Tuesday's challenge is to keep your patience to the best of your ability. I'll admit, I'm worried about this one. Lately, my patience has not been what it used to be. But, I know the Bible says that the Lord's strength is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I look forward to His strength today.

The other part of our challenge is to be more understanding of people. Show kindness when you disagree or when someone rubs you the wrong way. Put yourself in their shoes. Stand on Boo Radley's porch. Treat them the way you would like to be treated. 

(Warning: Soapbox Rant ahead)

I get so riled up when I hear Christians say that we aren't to be tolerant of other peoples' differing lifestyles or beliefs. #1 - Jesus treated people with kindness, despite their beliefs and sins. For an example, check out John 4. Jesus spoke kindly to the Samaritan woman at the well; more concerned with showing her love and truth than correcting her sins. #2 - You don't have to agree with someone to be kind to them. Like the definition of tolerate says: accept or endure with forbearance. If you can't accept, at least endure with polite, patient restraint. #3 -We "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) So folks need to get off their high horses and demonstrate some brotherly love! I could go on, but....

(End of Soapbox Rant) :)

Yes, I know, I need to be patient and understanding of those who aren't there yet. Touché, Lord.

Here are two more scriptures to strengthen you today:

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 
~ James 1:4

And may the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like minded toward one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one mind and one mouth you may glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. 

~ Romans 15:5-7

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be such a wonderful example of kindness. Thank you for the Gospels and the men who wrote them, so that we could be blessed by Jesus' ministry. I ask for Your strength today to help me be patient, understanding, and kind in the face of challenging situations and people. Help me to possess my soul through patience. Help me to be kindly tolerant of people who live and believe differently from me. Help me to see them through Your loving eyes. I pray this for myself and for each person taking the challenge today. Amen.

Mind-your-Manners Monday

The Daily Kindness Challenge

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another;
~ Romans 12:10

Often overlooked, but always appreciated, good manners are kindness in action. So, today's challenge is a simple refresher of the basics - mind your manners. 

Here are some examples to keep in mind today:

• Use please and thank you every chance you get!
• Hold open a door for someone today.
• Choose faces over phone today by putting your phone away while having face-to-face conversations with friends, co-workers, or service people. If you must take a call, simply smile and say "excuse me please."
• Drive courteously.
• Ask how people are, listen to their response, and comment in a way that makes them feel heard.
• Use good table manners, like chewing with your mouth closed, asking for food to be passed rather than reaching, and using a napkin properly.
• Don't interrupt others while they are talking.
• And, the Golden Rule: treat others the way you would like to be treated yourself.

Oh dear! I need to work on these! It's amazing to me how relaxed we become about things without even realizing it. Manners may seem a bit old-fashioned these days, but they are still the basic building blocks of kindness. 

Have a kind day!

Lord, thank you for my parents and all the other people in my life who taught me good manners. Help me to improve upon mine. Help me to prefer others over myself by being courteous to them and mindful of their needs and comfort. I pray for each person taking the challenge today and ask the same for them. Please be with them today, Lord, and help them to be kind. Amen.

Speak-Sweet Sunday

The Daily Kindness Challenge

Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a fountain send forth at the same hole the sweet and the bitter? 
~ James 3:10-11

There are so many scriptures about the importance of speaking kindly! I chose this one because I love the illustration that sweet and bitter water cannot both come from the same spring. Our mouths should speak only sweetly, like sweet water flowing from a life-giving fountain.

So, that's our challenge today. Speak sweet words, kind words. Speak words that build up, not tear down. Purposefully, give compliments and encouragements today. Use a pleasant tone of voice.

Remember your 3 Focus Areas:

• Speak kindly to yourself. Give yourself a compliment. Engage in some positive self-talk. David had to encourage himself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6). You can do that too!
• Speak kindly to your Inner Circle. Confession time! I talk meaner to my husband than I do to anyone else - and this ought not to be so! Too often, we fall into the trap of being unkind to those closest to us, those that know us well and will love us anyway. Yet, these are the very people that most deserve, and will probably most appreciate, our kindness! Speak extra sweetly to your loved ones today!
• Speak kindly to your Outer Circle. As people cross your path today, offer a pleasant greeting. Say a little something extra that you normally wouldn't say.

If you're tempted to speak bitterly today, think twice before you do. How can you turn the bitter to sweet? Want to complain? Express gratitude instead. If you have to criticize, sandwich the criticism between two compliments. If you're tempted to yell at someone, speak in a whisper.

Here are some more scriptures to consider. There are lots more on this subject, so feel free to share others in the comments here or on Facebook.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 
~ Ephesians 4:29

A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word in due season, how good it is! 
~ Proverbs 15:23

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but crookedness in it is a break in the spirit. 
~ Proverbs 15:4

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles. 

~ Proverbs 21:23

Lord, I am so grateful for the gifts of speech and communication! Please place a guard on my mouth today and help to me be mindful of the words I speak. I choose to speak kindly today - to myself and others - and I thank you for giving me the strength and boldness to do so. Amen.

Smiling Saturday

The Daily Kindness Challenge

...for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
~ Nehemiah 8:10

A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance....
~ Proverbs 15:13

Smiling is the simplest form of kindness. It is an immediate positive connection between two people. I don't have to tell you how good it feels to be smiled at, or to smile back. You already know this. I'm sure you've heard that smiles are contagious, and that they release endorphins that relieve stress. You know all the reasons why you should smile. But maybe you need a reminder to just do it.

So go ahead, smile. Spend your Saturday smiling. After all, it is Saturday! Smile at your family and friends. Smile at that grumpy neighbor. Smile at that harried waiter and that busy cashier. Smile at your pets.

Easy, you say? Okay, so how about that one person that you really don't want to smile at today. Smile at them! If you don't see them today, smile while you're thinking about them. Ha! I challenge you to do that!

No problem, you say? Then I challenge you to smile at.... yourself! Go stand in front of the mirror, look yourself square in the eyes and SMILE! For at least 5 seconds. I dare you! I double-dog dare you to do it every time you look in the mirror today! Stop looking at your hair, or your makeup, or your waist, or your thighs. Look into your own eyes and smile at the person in there. Powerful stuff.

Maybe you are so far down today that you just don't have a smile in you. I've felt that way. A lot. Sadness shows on my face. When Rick sees that I'm down, he tells me to smile. He gets persistent. So, I fake it. I've learned that if I fake it long enough, it sticks. It becomes genuine. If you're having one of those down days, I encourage you to at least try a fake smile. Watch a funny show, or read a few jokes. Maybe a smile will sneak up on you. When it does, share it with someone.

And don't forget to soak up all the smiles that are directed at you today. Look for them. Notice them. Acknowledge them. ENJOY them!

Have a kind day!

Lord, thank you for joy! Please strengthen me with Your joy today and let it radiate from my face. Help me to smile more. Help me to smile to people, rather than at them. Please bless each person that I smile to today and minister to their needs. Be with all who have accepted the Smiling Saturday challenge today. Give them joy and peace. Amen.

The Daily Kindness Challenge

And be kind to one another... 
~Ephesians 4:32

Kindness has been on my mind for a long time. I think it is lacking in the world today, and that is sad. The simplicity of kindness is underrated and overlooked, yet it is one of the most powerful forces that a human being can wield. Kindness has the power to change someone's countenance, lift their spirits, alter their actions, and affect the course of their day or even their life. Can you imagine how different your own life would be if the people around you were simply more kind? Or if you were kinder to others?

As I mentioned, I have often thought about kindness, but I've found myself continuously falling short of where I'd like to be. Yesterday, my wonderful cousin, Susan, posted a Facebook status that convicted me, but also sparked an idea. She wrote: "What act of kindness, what deed of love, have you done today? Shouldn't we try to attempt more of them every day?" I was hard pressed to think of something. Actually, I wondered if not punching somebody in the face might count. And, yes, I do think we should try to attempt more acts of kindness daily. As I wondered what I could do, I realized how simple kindness can be. From that, this challenge was born. So, first of all, thank you, Susan, for your inspiration!!

The Challenge: For each day of the week, there will be a specific form of kindness to meditate on and practice throughout the day. I will post a short reminder/summary on Facebook daily, and here on the blog I'll include scriptures, encouragement, and ideas. These are simple daily challenges!

3 Areas of Focus: Kindness is not just for strangers on the street. In this Challenge, we will practice being kind to everyone, including ourselves!

• Be Kind to Yourself - I listed this one first, because I think kindness should start right here every morning. How can we be kind to others if we are unkind to ourselves? I suspect that this is a key to unlocking kindness in our lives. Remember the second greatest commandment? Love your neighbor as yourself. 
• Be Kind to Your Inner Circle - By Inner Circle, I mean those who are closest to you, those you interact with daily or regularly. They are your family, co-workers, close friends, neighbors, etc. Sadly, I think we are often more unkind to these people than we are to total strangers. Time to change that!
• Be Kind to Your Outer Circle - These are acquaintances, service people (cashiers, receptionists, nurses, etc.) and strangers. You may not know them well, but they are people with their own hopes and struggles, and are deserving of (and sometimes desperate for) your kindness.

The Goal: Simply to be a kinder person. For one week, complete each Daily Challenge by meditating on and practicing the task. Mistakes may happen, but they don't matter. Practice makes perfect, but it takes time. Continue the Daily Challenges for as many weeks as you'd like.

Daily Challenges: Here are links to each day's challege:

• Smiling Saturday
• Speak-Sweet Sunday
• Mind-Your-Manners Monday
• Tolerant Tuesday
• Wonderful-Works Wednesday
• Thoughtful Thursday
• Find-No-Fault Friday

So, Kind Reader, I challenge you to join me! Take The Daily Kindness Challenge! Challenge others. Feel free to link this page and share the Facebook posts. Please share your successes, setbacks, and suggestions in the comments.

One Final Note: I know very few people who are downright unkind. Everyone in my own Inner Circle is kind. Yet, I think most of those kind people would agree that we all have some areas where we could do better. We could be more mindful of kindness. I know that I need to be kinder. I need to stop expecting others to be kind to me, and make the first move to be kind to them (and to myself).

Lord, I am so grateful for Your steadfast kindness toward me. Today, I lift up to You each person who takes this challenge and I ask that You lead, guide, and help them along their paths. Please help me to be kinder to the people around me and to myself. Help me to meet each daily challenge, so that people are blessed by my actions, words, and countenance. Help me to make kindness a daily habit. Let me be a vessel through which Your light of kindness shows brightly. Amen.