December Kindness Month Week #4 Link Up

This is our last week of the December Kindness Month link up.  Jenn and I want to thank those of you who participated even if you didn't link up.

I have to believe that one act of kindness can brighten a day.

I have to believe that one act of kindness can spark a change.

I have to believe that one act of kindness can make a difference...maybe even change the world.

I challenge you.  Don't let your deliberate acts of kindness end just because the season is over.  Make it your goal to spread kindness everywhere you go everyday you live.

This past week I tried to do things that would help make the season a little easier for people.  I helped my mom wrap presents. And I helped with the dishes at..all the Christmas celebrations.  (That is a lot of dishes.)  Besides that I brought breakfast for the staff at my job.

You see, it doesn't take much.  Just do what you can do.  Inspire change and give kindness.

Thanks for linking up!

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December Kindness Month Challenge Link Up Week #3

Wow this month is flying by.  I hate that about the busy schedule.  I rarely get to slow down and just enjoy the holidays...

This month Jenn and I have been hosting a weekly link up on Fridays.  We want you to take a challenge with us.  We want to spread Christmas cheer and KINDNESS every where we go.  We hope that you will take this challenge with us especially this next week and then link up here or on Jenn's blog next Friday.

This past week I've been working hard to purposely change my behaviors to be kinder.  For example, I helped my mom with her family Christmas letter.  I hate strongly dislike clerical work, but I had a few days off of work and my mom needed help so that's what I did.

I also got the opportunity to help some of my friends wrap presents for a fundraiser they were doing.  They are going to Ukraine next summer to run a summer camp for an orphanage   I wish I could go, but I can't.  I did the next best thing.  I helped them wrap presents.  We had a lot of fun doing it too.

It's kinda fun secretly running around trying to find ways to surprise people with little blessings.

We only have a few more days left in this Christmas season.  While you're out finishing up your shopping work extra hard to show kindess.  This season can be one of the most desperate, lonely times for people.  Everyone wants to belong somewhere so when you don't belong anywhere it makes that desire seem so unreachable.

Can I add one key thing to our challenge for this month?  Let's try to go out of our way to reach out to the "unlovely" and "unloveable."  You might find that these people are really just like you.

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December Kindness Challenge Link Up #2

I came across this quote today and thought it really describes what Jenn and I are trying to do this month.

This past week I've tried to keep track of the times I've been kind to people, but honestly, this week I've struggled with being out right kind.  For me, at least this week, I was kind by NOT replying with a trite comment.  This week I was kind by working extra hard to be flexible.  This week I was kind by simply smiling because this week that's all I could do.

And you know what?  That's fine.

I did what I could do and I have to trust that what I did was enough.

I hope that you will take this challenge with Jenn and me.  We would really love it if you would.  This link up is happening every Friday of this month.

Oh, and make sure to catch Jenn's new design.  It looks marvelous.

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December Kindness Month Link Up Week #1

If you're linking up here today it's because you've chosen to take the challenge.  You've chosen to strive everyday to do at least one extraordinary kind action for someone else.

Now, this can be a simple act but the point is that you do something.  Sometimes the simplest of kind acts can change someone's life. I know that some of you may be reading this post and thinking to yourself, "What a naïve thought.  To believe that one fleeting person could leave such a mark...ridiculous."

But it's not friends...not by a long shot.

Let me tell you a story and please understand that this is a difficult task for me.  I don't like writing about what I do for other people.  I tend to think that it's a little arrogant, but this is to prove a point.

This past week I was at the Dollar Tree purchasing some LED candles to make this craft (click the words to see the instructions) from A Night Owl, when the lady in front of me was having difficulty paying for her items.  I don't know if the card reader was having problems or if there just wasn't money in her checking account.  It really doesn't matter.

After quite sometime and many tries, I thought to myself, "Why not just pay for this?  It can't be that much."

So I did and guess what.  I think the total was under $3.00, but you would have thought that it was $100.  The cashier kept talking about it.  The person behind me kept talking about it.  They all just keep talking about it.  And it was uncomfortable.

But what was the girl's response, "Are you serious?  You want to pay for mine?"

She was shocked.  And I was shocked that she was shocked.

I truly hope that she looks back on that moment and feels joy and feels comfort and feels friendship.  Hopefully, she'll realize that she's not alone.

There's just something about those little acts of kindness that inspire us and make us want to be a better person.  Like when someone paid for my Starbucks.  I was shocked and so happy.  It made me want to brighten someone else's day in the same way.

That's what December Kindness Month is all about.  This is the brain child (or maybe Heart Child) of Jenn from My {not so} Glamorous Life.  Jenn has been inspiring me all week to be better.  We want you to join us and it's not too late.  If you missed the first week, no big deal.  Get in on the challenge now.  Start today.  Change a life today.

So here's the rules:
1) Aspire to do at least one out of the ordinary kind thing everyday.
2) On Fridays during the month of December link up your post about how you were kind.
3) Don't feel guilty for "bragging."
      -My voice teacher says it takes 21 days of consistant action to make a new habit.  Aspire to let kindness by your new habit.
      -Your story could help inspire others.  Let's start a revolution.

That's it.  That's all the rules.  It would be rather cool though if you'd join Jenn and me in tweeting using the challenge's hashtag.  It's #DKM.  It'd also be cool if you'd tweet, Facebook, and google share about this challenge.  The more people who participate the more lives changed!

Ok, so get to it!  Link up and spread love, joy, peace, happiness, and KINDNESS everywhere you go.

Until next time...

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December Kindness Month

Today I wanted to share with you a post that Jenn from My {Not So} Glamorous Life is sharing today on her blog.  

I am so excited for this campaign.  December Kindness Month will be a month of spreading kindness everywhere we go.  Kindness is letting the person go ahead of you in the long line at the grocery store.  Kindness is refusing to say that sarcastic comment even when you are completely justified.  Kindness is letting the that ridiculous driver who speed up to cut across you in traffic to go a head and get in.  Kindness is buying the Starbucks of the person behind us.  Kindness is taking your neighbors paper to their front door.

Kindness is many things, and when we do it our action can brighten the world around us.  Read Jenn's post below and get ready to spread kindness.  Tweet about it. (Tag it with #dkc.)  Post about it on Facebook.  Let's do something to start a chain reaction that will change the world around us.

"There would be less suffering in this world if humanity would learn this one truth: 

It is not what we receive but what we give, that heals us."

~Richard Paul Evans (The Carousel)

Kindness is something this world can never have enough of. It is something that I strive to teach my children, not only with words, but with examples. When my boys are bickering, the first thing I usually say to them is "Be Kind". When someone does something that isn't nice, I will say "that wasn't very kind."

Kindness is a virtue that will never become outdated, and one that all of us could improve upon.

Now, I know that in this busy time of year, it's easy to become caught up in all that we have to do, where we have to be, what we must purchase or wrap or decorate. Many times during the month of November we see our friends and family taking time to post on Facebook, Twitter, or on blogs what they are thankful for. I love that. But why let this wonderful season stop because thanksgiving is over? Let's extend that thankfulness by giving someone else something
to be thankful for!

Recently, I felt led to do a series on Kindness. I invited Danette from All My Love for All My Days to co-host this series with me, and she graciously agreed. (If you're not already following her, you should be. She's such a fabulous lady!)

This series is going to run throughout the month of December. Danette and I are challenging ourselves, our families, our friends, and our fellow bloggers and readers to perform an act of kindness EACH DAY, no matter how big or how small.

During this busy time of year, this challenge would be a great way for people to conscientiously pause, and consider others more deliberately instead of just going through the motions of the season. By participating, we could all have our best Christmas seasons yet!

Each Friday in December, post what you did for each of the days the week prior. Danette and I will have the link ups on our blogs where you can share your blog post about it. If you're not a blogger, simply tweet it, share it on Facebook, and/or share what you did in the comments.

Please consider participating and remember, no act of kindness is too small.

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

~Ephesians 4:32



For great resources on kindness, check out The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

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