I have a few friends who spent time living in Europe while their husbands were stationed in the military. They recently informed me in Europe it’s customary to give gifts and pay for dinner when it’s your birthday.
As in, “It’s my birthday, so today I will pay!”
I think my friends are saying this because they’re hoping to get a ... Read More
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 kid needs right now is sugar. Ben is pumped so full of end-of-the-year adrenaline that I say a little prayer for his teacher ... Read More
Is it enough as a parent to live your life with kindness and hope your kids catch on? Or is kindness something that needs to be intentional?
What sort of resources do kids even have the ability to give?
It turns out quite a few!
Susan Crites Price is an expert on family philanthropy. She has a great book called Generous Genes: Raising ... Read More
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 guess you could say Danette is dog crazy. She is certainly an expert in the field. She has a radio show and people call in with ... Read More
I have yet to meet someone who says, “Nope. I’m not a kind person and I have no intention of changing.”
We might agree that we have a little work to be done in the kindness area, but generally people seem to think they are doing a pretty good job of treating others well.
In a study of 100 young people with ... Read More
Megan Murphy lives with open hands. Instead of clenching her fingers around her stuff, her ideas, her time, she greets people palms up, freely giving what she can to help another along the path of life.
Isn’t that a beautiful way of living?
Certainly there are rocks along Megan’s path, but most of them are colorful and filled with inspiring ... Read More
They say there are ties that bind, things that happen in our lives that leave us forever connected and intertwined with others.
But what happens when decades begin to deteriorate our communication with those people?
As Caryl Kiser from southeastern Ohio shares, those ties not only continue to hold, they grow stronger with each knot of kindness.
“Five years ago, after moving back ... Read More
What are you doing right this second?
Reading this, right? But really, where is your mind? Are you in the moment, engaged and thinking about each black and white word on the screen?
Or are you wandering?
Research tells us that people are not paying attention to what they’re doing 47% of the time.
Half the time we’re doing something we’re ... Read More
Our lives often intersect for a reason, but isn’t it amazing when we they do, and we actually notice?
Two men, one from Twin Valley, Minn., and the other from Loveland, Colo., have never met in person, but their paths crossed 20 years ago, leading to a beautiful act of kindness today.
Here is their story:
“In October 1998, I was traveling to ... Read More
I was sitting in my chair this morning, having a quiet conversation with God and thinking about all the people I know who are intensely hurting right now.
As each one came to mind, I thought about the terrible things that are happening in their lives and the ways it seems the darkness is winning.
I parked my brain in ... Read More
