If there?s one thing that I?ve learned while being between jobs, it?s that there are always needs and the more that you?re able to meet the needs around you, the more the people that are around you will be blessed.

So, this weekend, be alert to the needs around you?it could be something as simple as needing some help getting into or out of a store, helping do a chore around the house that you do not normally do, or being a friend to someone in need?but meet that need.

Don?t do a half job.  Don?t get in it half-way and bale.  Make the decision to meet a need and finish the job.

You?ll be happy you did, and you?ll have made a difference.

This weekend, the United States of America will celebrate its independence from Great Britain.  It was 233 years ago this year that our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and stated that we were going to be free from the King?s rule.

Take time to thank God this weekend for your liberties and freedoms.  Pray for your leaders.  Attend a parade or a fireworks display.  Take some time to be with family and friends.

It?s a great time to reflect on who you are as a person and who your country is and what it will be.  For a country is, according to the Declaration of Independence, what the people make it to be.

This week has been full of family for me.  Last Sunday, I went to a graduation party for my previous pastor?s oldest son and then travelled back home to celebrate (belatedly) my sister?s birthday.

Tuesday, my sister and her friend travelled to my house and spent the night.

Tomorrow we?re off to spend some time with my in-laws?to visit with my nephew and family.

Spending time with family?unplugged and talking around dinner or a campfire?helps you bond with them, helps you to reconnect and to re-establish roots.

For this week?s challenge, find some time to spend with your family.  Make time that you might have spent doing something else to talk with a child or a parent.  Find a way to reach out generationally?or if that?s not possible, spend some quality time with someone you care about.

Start this weekend to build a culture of love and treat well those that love you.

I know it?s been a while since we?ve done an actual ?Weekend Kindness? challenge?I mean, I don?t know if the whole ?internet grand meme? thing has gone the way of Thursday Thirteens, but as I see many blogs still doing different memes, I thought I?d offer this one.

For anyone that does it, and mentions this post (drop a comment or a trackback) I?ll include a link in the body of this post back to you.

Traditions

What family traditions do you and your family have that make you unique?

My mother is the one in the family that tried to establish different traditions.  One of them was always including one of those chocolate orange candies in our Christmas stockings.  Another was always making sure to kiss us good night.

As far as things we always did, we always made it to church every Sunday (morning and evening) and Wednesday nights.  They always made sure we were at Vacation Bible School?either as workers or as students.

What different traditions do you have?  Anything exotic?

On Friday we talked about taking some time off away from family.  The problem is that if you?re really going to spend time at a location far from your children, you need somewhere to stay?somewhere that will have the amenities of home without the reminders of the stress.

One option is to find a bed and breakfast.  There are many that have all sorts of features: massages, breakfast (of course!) and quaint little towns.  Plus you don?t have to clean up the house.

Another option, if you want to stay away from hotels, is to find a place that does Vacation Rentals.  There are sites on the web that can help you find Florida Vacation Rentals or if you want to get off the mainland but still be in the U.S., there are Hawaii Vacation Rentals.

This week I was looking through this one site that told all sorts of beaches in exotic locales that were private and undisturbed.  Or you could go for a safari ? the choice really is up to you.

There is nothing saying that your life with your spouse has to end because children have come into the picture.  There?s blessing in family vacations and blessings in weekends away. 

The point is to make sure that you are building that relationship with your partner?especially your affection and fun life?so that you?re bonded strongly together.

Oh, I still drink coffee every morning just as part of the routine (a readily available brand that won’t break the budget), but when I go out for coffee, it’s not just to get coffee, but to enjoy the aroma of the coffee shop, the small tables set up for intimate conversation, and the handful of other folks who are enjoying the experience as much as I.

While the coffee is often too strong at the local coffee shop, I’ve learned that two packs of Sugar in the Raw and a pretty decent serving of half and half will do the trick and gives me a treat that I don’t indulge in at home, where my coffee of choice is generally just black.

For my husband, however, going out for coffee does not have the same appeal. Although he is learning to appreciate the difference between store brands and freshly roasted coffee, he is just as happy most of the time with staying home and brewing Seattle’s Best in our coffee maker and sitting on the front porch as we drink every lost drop.

I know it seems like a very silly thing to get exicted about and to feel loved because of, but on those rare occasions when my husband wakes up on Friday or Saturday morning and says “Let’s go out for coffee and read the newspaper there,” I think that he truly, truly loves me. There is more to this gesture than just saying, “Let’s go somewhere,” because if he just wanted to go somewhere with me it would be hiking or fishing or golfing or some other activity that he really enjoys.

But when he says, “Let’s go out for coffee,” I know that he’s suggesting it because he loves me and because he knows how much I enjoy the experience and how good it makes me feel to savor a cup of coffee that’s a little too strong unless it has just the right amount of cream and sugar.

Yesterday, I had the honor of listening to four women from outside the United States. A woman from Sudan, a woman from India, one from Mexico, and one from Bocstand heritage. Each woman had such a beautiful perspective of beauty in their culture. Many woman brought pictures of their children, mothers and friends. When asked the question, “what do you love about your body”, not one mentioned a physical characteristic, but gave thanks to having a healthy body, all their limbs and to have not be taken over by illness. How cool!

At another program, we had the privileged to hear the inter working of a college student who is recovered from high school bulimia. I’ll definitely give her book a plug because she was really a neat person. She open up to our group about the disorder, which is so helpful to someone who works with college-aged women who struggle a lifetime with this disorder.

As February comes to a close we can reflect upon all the great posts that have been written on love and relationship I wanted to add this dimension to the conversation – Love Your Body. If you struggle with loving your body I’ll leave you with a few practical ways to improve your outlook (taken from NEDA):
5. Appreciate all that your body can do. Every day your body carries you closer to your dreams. Celebrate all of the amazing things your body does for you –running, dancing, breathing, laughing, dreaming, etc.

4. Look at yourself as a whole person. When you see yourself in a mirror or in your mind, choose not to focus on specific body parts. See yourself as you want others to see you — as a whole person.

3. Become a critical viewer of social and media messages.

2. Wear clothes that are comfortable and that make you feel good about your body. Work with your body, not against it.

1. Accept yourself – accept your body. Celebrate yourself – celebrate your body!

Lo and behold, Claudia was in the database and here are a few of the results:

• You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. (actually, I’m a good listener)
• You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. (got me confused with someone else here)
• A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. (aren’t we all?)
• You are very adaptable (most of the time)
• You are light hearted and accepting. You don’t get worked up easily. (true, no extremes here)
• Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. (The joy of the Lord is my strength, that’s my “secret”.)
• You don’t really have a lot of worries. (see above)
• You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. (what’s the point of having ducks if they’re not in a row?)
• People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. (who? me?)

It also said I was tightly wound and a type-A personality, but those don’t fit me at all.

Here a few other things you should probably know:

• I feel strongly that if it’s not chocolate, it’s not dessert
• There are only 8 – 10 hours in the life of a banana that it is really worth eating.
• Fruit’s a risk. Jerry Seinfeld actually said that, but I thought it long before. In what other food group can you take two things that look exactly alike, say 2 cantaloupes or 2 strawberries, and have one be perfectly good to eat and the other not?
• Rules are not meant to be broken; rules are meant to be followed.
• Everybody should just try to get along.
• I am honored to be a contributing author at Weekend Kindness. I trust that lives will be changed through the work that is being done here.

This February we here at Weekend Kindness are going to focus on building relationships by giving you dating ideas, talking about times where our husband or wife showed love, showing love to our children and talking about passion while being pure.

I’m really excited about this new focus, and to keep the excitement going, we will be having a contest on our way to building up 101 Relationship Secrets!  That’s right, we’re looking for you to contribute relationship secrets in one of four areas all through this month. We’ll also be announcing prizes– one from each group!

We’ll ask the authors at WK to judge the submissions, but they will not have the names of those that submitted, just the entries. You can use the form below to place your entries or the link at the top of the blog.

Thanks again for coming by Weekend Kindness, and tell your friends about the contest– if you want to donate a book or item to the contest, drop us a note via the contact form and we will promote your item and your site!

We all have them– habits that is.  We have things that we do that totally annoy our spouse and they’ve let us know it. Be it something that is as big as smoking or picking your nose to the small things like snapping your gum or chewing with your mouth open, this week we’re encouraging you to promise to change that habit! You know that you’ve been promising for quite a while– now surprise them by actually following through!

Promise to change a habit that your love has been wanting you to change.

So what are you waiting for– make the promise and keep it!