Grace At The Gas Pump
I walked into the gas station with my debit card in hand. “Hi! I had fuel on pump one.” The young woman behind the counter looked at her register and then looked at me. “Which pump?” “Pump one.” Again...
View ArticleIt Feels Good To Be Trusted
I wonder sometimes about the messages I send even when I am completely unaware. I have been known to roll my eyes and huff at my youngest son, “Can you please remember to bus your own spot after...
View ArticleHarvey Book Club Reminds Us To Look For The Helpers
When Mr. Rogers was a boy and terrible things would happen around the world, his mom would tell him to look for the helpers. Instead of focusing on the destruction, she encouraged him to look for the...
View ArticleCan We Trust The World To Be Kind To Our Kids?
I was walking through Walmart the other day watching parents and their college students prepare for a new chapter in their lives. It occurred to me in the middle of the toothpaste aisle that it...
View ArticleFinders Keepers Doesn’t Apply To Kindness
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Only what if it wasn’t meant to be trash in the first place? Is it then called finders keepers? Not when kindness is involved. A woman in Ohio named Jessica...
View ArticleKindness Has A Way Of Circling Back
Anytime is a good time for kindness, but receiving it is especially sweet when you feel like you’ve got nothing left to give. Proud dad, Scott Wright, who lives near the Wisconsin/Iowa border, and his...
View ArticleKindness Happens When We Take Time For Others
It’s the question that guides most of my parenting decisions: Am I teaching my kids to be kind? I don’t want them to be doormats or people who bend to the will of others even when it’s dangerous or...
View ArticleRide Home Opens Door To Life-Changing Kindness
When I think about the very first acts of kindness I can recall, I think about my mom. I remember her teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in our small town. How scary it must have been for her...
View ArticleKindness Is Found In Giving To Others
My friend, Tania, has been going through a whirlwind year of transition. One year ago, she sold her dream house, the one she had designed, built and lovingly decorated eight years prior. She and her...
View ArticleNo Need To Plan Kindness This Season
Are you done? Have you finished all the hustle and bustle that comes with creating the magic of the season? If so, good for you! (Now can you come to my house and help me?) If not, take heart....
View ArticleA Christmas Kindness Story, Part 1
It’s our stories that build the color into our lives. Yes, there is often pain as they are being written, but without that pain we wouldn’t know real joy. I want to spend this week and next sharing the...
View ArticleThe Conclusion Of A Christmas Kindness Story
Last week, I shared part one of the story of a single mom struggling to make ends meet with her teenage son. It’s the backdrop of pain in our lives that gives our joy such brilliance. And often, it’s...
View ArticleSouper Bowl Puts Kind Spin On Big Game
Super Bowl Sunday: the best time of year to buy a big-screen TV or football-themed paper plates. The hype behind the biggest game of the year has become its own beast. This year, the cost of one of...
View ArticleHold On To Kindness
In the beginning of January, Rebecca Somers boarded a plane in State College, Pennsylvania, heading for Detroit, Michigan. She had no idea that what she was about to witness on that airplane would give...
View ArticleKindness Is A Sweet Gift To Give Or Receive
Back when my now-teenage daughter was 7 or 8, we got to experience the grand tradition of Girl Scout cookie sales. I don’t know how it works these days, but back then we had to estimate how many...
View ArticleDog And Boy Form Special Bond Thanks To Trainer’s Kindness
Danette Jensen lives in Goodridge, Minn., about 70 miles from the Canadian border. She and her husband run DJ’s K9 Country, a boarding facility with more than 20 kennels and a large training room. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kids Will Remember Kindness In The Classroom
I packed a bag lunch for my second grader this morning. Actually, he packed it for himself, but I stood guard making sure there was something other than sugar in his noontime meal. The last thing that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mother’s Kindness Ripples Far
There is a woman in my town who does a lot of good. I mean A LOT. She and her husband have been blessed with a successful local business, and they are constantly pouring into the community. The thing...
View ArticleKindness Is The Real Showstopper At The Circus
Saul and I were young parents when the circus came to town. Only two of our three children had been born, and with both of them under the age of 5, it felt like we were living in a circus. Or at the...
View Article