Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

Happy birthday to MInTheGap!? You, through this blog and others, have touched many lives and today is a celebration of how God has designed you to be a leader in His kingdom.

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Life as a railroad family can be a little hectic. My husband comes and goes with the trains, sometimes staying for as little as 6 1/2 hours before being called away again. And of course, somewhere in there he needs to get some sleep. It is his job that allows me to stay home with the children while also not having to worry too much about personal finances. Children, however, tend to be very concrete. They only know that the train is what takes daddy away. And daddy knows that “I love you” over the phone doesn’t mean as much as wrestling on the couch. While nothing can quite replace that, my husband has found ways to tell the children they are special and that he is thinking of them despite the separation.

Their favorite? Gifts, of course!

These gifts, however, are not generally items that you could find in a store. In fact, it is rare that they have any real material value. A lump of coal or interesting rock found while walking the tracks, a menu from the restaurant he ate breakfast at, a brochure from the hotel, a map, a penny, and a walnut have all become treasured possessions. While they are frequent, they are not quite routine…and my husband does not even necessarily bring something for each child when he does bring something home. Our oldest stores away her treasures, as she calls them, to draw out when she misses her father. The younger ones tend to drag them around until they are worn to nothing or finally lost, which has been the fate of all of the postcards he has sent thus far. So much for the album I was trying to make for them!

These simple gifts do not represent anything of material value. Instead, they demonstrate that their father thinks of them while he is away in a very tangible way. And while they cannot give him a hug every day, they can clasp a walnut, flip a coin or recite the lines off the back of a postcard while they wait for his next phone call.

Please forgive me for the play on words here but the Lord keeps bringing it mind. The Lord has been dealing with me a lot lately concerning my dependence upon Him. This dependence must be in every area of my life.

When I started blogging eleven months ago I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I have been hurt, discouraged and forced to look more deeply at who I am. Though most painful, this has stretched me and caused me to grow. But I have also made many friends along the way. They have encouraged me, spurred me on and challenged me which has also caused me to grow.

The Lord is actively at work in my life and I have a peace that passes all understanding. I have been allowed to be a blessing to others and the Lord continues to open new doors of ministry for me in the blogging world. This adds a great responsibility I did not anticipate and is one I constantly feel ill-equipped to fulfill. I am humbled each time I am praised because I know that it is only by the power of the Spirit that anyone is touched.

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Each and every day presents us with a chance to make a difference in the lives of those around us.  We impact each person that we interact with on different levels, and the strange thing is that most of the time we don’t even think about how we will interact– even though if we did we could dramatically improve our relationships.

With that in mind, I want to ask you this question: What will you do this weekend to say “I love you?” It could be to your spouse, your family, or some friend, but if we start to ask the question now we should have something in mind so that when the time comes we actually have a better chance of making a difference in someone’s life.

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The other way to ask this question is: How do you juggle blogging and family time?

For me, I tend to try to leverage (I know buzz-speak) the times that I’m still awake and the family is not.  So, I end up staying up late at night to write posts for all my blogs.

I did try mornings for a little while, but I found that I was much more likely to wake someone up when I got up in the morning than I was when I worked late into the night.

And, of course, how late I can work and how much I get done is a factor of when I get started.  The later I get started, the less I get done.

How about you?  Do you blog when the kids are around, or do you find odd hours as well?

So, here’s your chance…  What did you do this weekend that was kind?

My weekend has been a blur, but there are always many opportunities to be kind– especially in the store.

The other day there was someone looking for Mootserella cheese– I showed them where the Mozzarella cheese was.

Saturday I found something to buy for my sister, but it was missing something inside the box.  I brought it to the attention of one of the employees and they were thankful that I brought it to their attention before someone else took it home and was unhappy.

And then there was taking my kids to the dollar store so they could get some new pirate action figures…

How about you?

You can tell a lot about what people value by the place that items are given.  This year, as you get down your Christmas decorations, where will you put different items and what will draw the attention of guests to your house?

I’m certain that many of us will have a tree, gifts around it, lights inside or outside and probably a nativity of some kind.  Some of us will have the three wise men in the nativity,and some will have them in another room to symbolize the fact that they didn’t show up in Bethlehem until Jesus was no longer a baby and was about two years old.

But what will your display this year say about you, about who you are and about your faith?