5 Ways to Scatter Kindness Giveaway
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Welcome to those of you who are joining us after reading my Proverbs 31 devotion entitled, No, After You. {If you haven’t read it yet, click here to do so.}
As mentioned in the devotion, here are five ways to scatter kindness and a giveaway based on my book A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others.
5 Ways to Scatter Kindness
1.Look within your own four walls.
Start with and those who are closest to you. Perhaps even in your very home. What could you do today to make them feel loved and to put them before yourself? Could you do a child’s chore for them? Could you whip up your husband favorite main dish or dessert for supper? Could you lighten someone’s load? Look for tangible ways to put someone in your home before yourself.
2. Look throughout your day.
As you go throughout the day, be on the lookout for people who could use a good dose of kindness. Especially since today is Memorial Day in America, could you bless a veteran? If you run into one at a parade or see one dining in a restaurant, go up and thank them for serving our country. But don’t just thank them, elaborate. Rather than just saying, “Thank you for serving our country” tell them what their service buys you. “Thank you for serving our country so my family and I can sleep in peace.” (or can enjoy a baseball game or worship where and how we want, etc…) Then, buy them something. Pay for their meal or slip them a ten dollar bill so that they can treat themselves and someone they love to ice cream today.
3. Peek into your past.
Is there someone from your past who helped you get to where you are in the present? Call or write to thank to them for the contribution they made to your life. Or post a picture of the two of you, along with a message of gratitude, on their Facebook wall. Be specific. Name a memory you have of what they did that encouraged you. Then encourage them in return.
4. Think about the future.
Is there someone you know who has hopes and dreams for the future? Your kind and encouraging words can help them reach their goal. Tell them you believe in them. Point out aspects of their personality and character qualities they possess that will perfectly position them to reach their dream. Then ask them if there is anything you can do to help and tell them you are going to commit to pray for them as they pursue future plans.
5. Notice the one who least expects to be noticed.
Is there a widow who lives on your street? A shy teenager who buses tables at the local restaurant where your family often eats? A single mom from your kids sports team who is barely making ends meet and rarely gets a day to herself? Surprise them with a gift card to a store, restaurant or business they’d enjoy. {I’ll bet it has been ages since that single mom treated herself to a pedicure!} Tuck it inside a note telling them that God sees them and loves them. Do not sign the card but give or send it anonymously. (If it is an employee, ask for the store’s manager and have then deliver it in secret)
Now for the giveaway:
Includes a retro apron from Alynn’s Aprons, some note cards, a cube of scrap paper, a five dollar Target gift card, some Bath and Bodyworks coconut lotion, some salted caramel coffee, and a copy of my book A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others.
Simply leave us a comment telling us someone you would like to sprinkle kindness on today.
Little acts of kindness may go unnoticed, but its the blessings one receives when they reach out to a friend, family, or a stranger. These come as: an unexpected, surprise look when a friend, who has been really down, finds a little gift in their mailbox, being able to see a little girl hug her favorite doll after it got broken & didn’t think it could ever be fixed, my daughter coming home from work & seeing the wedding dress she fell in love with but couldn’t afford, hanging on her bedroom door, my mother’s tears of joy, when her first great-grandson was placed in her arms & hear her say “I thank my Lord that He allowed me not only to see my children grow up, but my grandchildren, & now to hold my great-grandbaby”. 5mos later she went home. I would love to do another act of kindness by giving this gift to Doris, my son-in-laws mother, who, after working all night, came to my home to take care of me while I was bedridden for 8mos from a battle with cancer, so my daughter and son-in-law could go to work.
Your inspirational books have been & still are such a blessing to so many.
I need to start by being ,alot, more kind to my husband and children . I need look for ways to speak and show more kindness. Thank you for this devotional-definitely gave me a push in the right direction .
I would love to sprinkle some kindness on my dear sweet friend Dawana who is helping me rebild my life after my divorce.
My friend “T” could use some kindness. He’s always thinking if other people even though he has a rare cancer.
If I was a better person, I would do a kindness for a co-worker (“D”). I have never liked “D” as he is very insensitive, likes to laugh at people and is always bragging. A couple of says ago, I discovered he had done something behind my back that (to my mind) was cheap, underhanded and just mean. He really made me look bad and it’s very insulting. I’m praying for him rather half-heartedly, because I know I should. Maybe I can bring myself to turn the other cheek and so him a kindness.
A friend who has been going through a lot and needs some cheer.
My next door neighbor. She is a single mom to the best kid ever & she has done an amazing job with him. She works full-time but is always there to offer a helping hand, take my kids to give ME a break, or just be an ear. She is so deserving!
I am going to sprinkle kindness on my husband who works very hard at providing a nice home for us and who is a loving husband to me and wonderful father to our children and their spouses and a great grandfather to our grandchilren.
I want to share kindness with my mother-in-law. She has been such a blessing to me these past couple years. She lost her husband suddenly in 2012, and since then has opened her home to us so I could continue to be a stay home mom. Recently her youngest daughter has moved in with her as well, and things have been strained, with the end result being my mother in law feels under appreciated in her own home. She’s also under enormous amounts of pressure as her brother has health issues and her roof is falling apart and leaking. I do what I can to help her, but I would love to give her extra love and kindness now.
I’m going to sprinkle my sister with a kind gesture in a few minutes when she comes to visit. She is my best friend and helps me every chance she gets. I am going to fix her dinner.????
Our neighbor who is so sweet and always going out of her way to think of her children. She lives with her husband who is well into his eighties and has numerous health problems. although she lives with him, there’s always a sense that she feels alone. we will be going over with a cake to surprise her for a belated birthday.
Since it is just me and my husband home today, I will try and sprinkle some kindness on him with encouraging words and helping with what I can while he is cooking our dinner on the grill! I in general do try to be kind to whoever I come in contact with each day, but sometimes at my job I have problems with trying to be kind to certain people just because they are always talking about others and putting others down. My pastor just did a sermon a couple of weeks ago about slander. You should always lift others up and make the people that are talking about others leave with thinking higher of that person that they are talking about. I have been working on this, but some days it is hard listening to others and their negative talking. So I would love to have this book to try and spread more kindness to others around me.
My best friend – Marlene – whose husband just found that he has a brain tumor. Would love to bless her with kindness today.
Thank you.
My wonderful, hard working husband….I’m going to make his favorite dessert tonight just to bless him!
I would love to extol kindness on some friends who just had a baby and are penny pinched.
offering encouraging words to others :)
I would like to give this to my mom who has given to me unconditionally all my life as a single mom.
Thank you for great reminders in this post. You have reminded me how I need to be intentional to thank people. Today I will get a card ready to mail thanking a family member for serving in the military.
I would like to sprinkle some kindness on my husband. He works two jobs so that I can stay home with our little boy. He works a full-time corporate job then is the Student Pastor at our church. He works long hours. More like 24 hours a day 7 days a week. But he still has time for his family. We may not get to see him much but when we do, he is totally focused on us. He needs a time where he can just relax!
I plan to sprinkle kindness on the mother of one of the students I teach. She is a single mom, very little money, and has two challenging young sons…. She is exhausted in every way. One the second to last day of school, my student told me they had no food in the house. I quickly walked him over to our family resource specialist, who was able to send home some food and information about food banks, but I have been wanting to send them (anonymously) a grocery store gift card. And, I love the idea of sending mom out for a pedicure, so I’m going to send a gift card for that too! Thank you for the inspiration!
I’d like to sprinkle kindness on my only daughter today; because more often than not, I point out her shortcomings rather than praise her efforts.
I’m going to sprinkle some kindness on my parents by cleaning their house and helping to declutter.
I would like to show more kindness to my mom. She is from a family of 9 who were raised on a cotton farm. All she has known is working hard and she never gives up. She has put myself and my brother before her countless times making sure that we have the best. She takes care of us all and I’m glad I have her to look up to. I thank God every day for blessing me with such a wonderful mother!
Today, I want to sprinkle kindness on my dear friend, Rebekah, and her family who are on furlough after a busy and exhausting four years on the mission field in Southeast Asia. They selfless serve in a spiritually depleting context and are beautifully making Christ known. But, they are tired and need folks to just love on them!
I’m not going to be out about today, but I always stop and talk to the workers at the store I’m in….. I smile at everyone……. I try to interact with people a lot…. I’ve bought a soda for a worker that couldn’t leave their post, but they were really hot…… I’m always looking for a way to bless someone :)
I love this! and am going to share it