Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

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I don’t know when it happened, but sometime between the first time I realized I liked coffee and the time when Starbucks appeared on every street corner in America, coffee changed from just something that I drink to an event to be savored and enjoyed.

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 on my blog we discussed California’s latest attempt to ban spanking, and the conversation naturally flowed to something that’s difficult for all parents– disciplining our children.

One of the most difficult things, I think, to remember to do is to always remember why you are disciplining your child– the end goal– and try your hardest not to get caught up “in the moment.” 

To that end, I suggested that you plan what the punishment for a particular “crime” will be before you get in the situation, and that you also enforce your requests.  The last thing that a child needs it to wonder if mom or dad “really mean it this time…”

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The greatest relationship that we can ever have is that which was offered to us by God through His Son– the living Word– as revealed in the written Word.  And yet it’s hard to keep up this relationship, not because of the availability of God, but because of the things that we let get in the way of this relationship.

I was reminded, reading Anna’s post on Daily Devotions, just how important it is to get into a routine, not just because I want to do it in a wrote way, but because I need my relationship with Him to be more important than any other relationship in my life:

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Hubby’s and my love languages are very different.  And I’m no good at speaking his love language: Acts of Service.  A little brainstorming is in order:  How do I show love to my husband when I’m terrible at serving him?

My thoughts are below.  What ideas can you give me?

Food

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?  Maybe I should focus on having a hot meal prepared for him when he gets home from work.  This will take some creativity since I generally pick him up from work.  It’ll have to be something I can cook quickly or that reheats well.

Cleanliness

Staying current on housework, providing a calm, organized environment for him will not only show him love, but will help me feel more collected.  Any tips on getting and staying organized with space?  I’m no good at the “a place for everything and everything in its place” principle.

Sacrificial Giving

I can’t stand tattoos.  I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them, they’re just not very attractive.  But hubby wants a tattoo so badly.  For Christmas, I got him a gift card to a tattoo parlor.  This is one example, but I can’t think of any other bits of sacrificial giving, can anyone help me?

This is about as much as I can think of when it comes to serving my husband, but I know there has to be more to it.  Any other ideas when it comes to service?  Thanks, everyone!

There’s a special breed of man out there, a man that is unlike any other.  He won’t be swayed by watching hours of sports, or wooed with the latest hot rod. He likes to spend most of his time away from the beach, under the glow of an artificial sun.

You love him, but you can’t understand why he’s drawn to the clicking of keys, the fluid motion of the mouse or the whirr of the DVD-ROM drive. And so, I’ve prepared a list of 101 ways that you can show love to the geek in your life:

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When I dally with memories of childhood, it’s not music lessons, or time spent “on the go”, or birthday and Christmas gifts that come to mind. It’s all the simple things. Helping my grandma rake leaves into big piles, riding my bike to the library with my dad, enjoying my mom’s fresh baked breads and the feel of her hands playing with my hair during church…

I think sometimes organized activities take away more than they give. In making each moment count for something, we lose track of what’s sacred. We fill our lives and our minds, but what about our souls? Sometimes you have to have *time* to stop, in order to recapture the magic of “appreciating the ordinary”.

Here are some places to start, a word of warning though: Plans very often need adjusted, and sometimes the best memories are messy. (more…

There’s a verse in Scripture that says faithful are the wounds of a friend.  A true friend is someone that not only does the easy things, but the hard things. A true friend is there with you through trials, and tells you what you need to hear. Those that show you the most love are those that do something– not because they’ll enjoy it, but because they know that it will make you happy.

Take, for instance, blogging. My wife tolerates my blogging, she reads a few of the blogs that I’ve found, and she’s not as into computers as me. And yet, she wrote a post and a comment on my blog– not because she wanted to or because she enjoys writing, but because she loves me.

That’s a small one, I know, but think about how much your spouse does for you every day. If it helps, make a list of the common and uncommon things– but focus more of your time on what he/she does for you without being asked every day that she could be, instead, doing something that they enjoyed.

Don’t take your relationship for granted, and thank them for even the ordinary things!