Kindness and smiles do count!

Smiling is infectious,
You can catch it like the flu.
Someone smiled at me today,
And I started smiling too.
~Author Unknown

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~Leo Buscaglia

How beautiful a day can be
When kindness touches it!
~George Elliston

I have decided to join in on a 90 day kindness challenge found here!

Our Pastor Rick, had a challenge for us a few weeks back where we were to give up something for 40 days, a fast if you will. Something that might be getting in our way of worship and praising God. I thought only for a few minutes and knew right away what it should be: Each morning I sit with coffee and my laptop and sit and relax before my day starts...so I KNEW right away what I should give up...my laptop time. Now, I wasn't crazy radical or anything...just challenged myself that before I could crack the laptop open I had to do my devotional and spend time in the Word. None of this 'I don't have time, business' I knew I had time to spend on the laptop so I knew I was guilty of not spending some time in the Word! It has been AMAZING for me...I am so glad I did this...every morning I can have some alone time and it really helps start my day out right!

International Standard Version
1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is always patient; love is always kind; love is never envious or arrogant with pride. Nor is she conceited,

So now along comes this challenge. Kindness for 90 days? I do try my hardest, I do. I know how much a smile can mean to someone, I have been on the other end and have received smiles...I know how good they make you feel... and I tend to smile a lot...to strangers or casual acquaintances...but to family? to my husband? Man, I think they get my left-overs! I need to be more kind, to smile at them to show them they matter! Let's face it... my heart is in the right place, but sometimes the words or actions don't come out the right way! My husband does so much and doesn't really ask for much at all. So, I am going to try harder not to speak in harsh tones, to speak words of encouragement and praise... to speak to my husband and my family as if they were special treasures...special friends, because well let's just put it out there...My family means more to me than anything else on this earth! They are my treasures of this world. I love them and I want to show more kindness and love towards them. To really listen when they talk and to just always be ready with a...SMILE!! I want them to KNOW without a doubt that I love them, that they are important and that kindness really truly matters! That in the end, it was our love for each other and God that mattered... not our clothes, or our cars or homes...our love and kindness to each other and those around us...that is what mattered! Yes, Kindness and Smiles do count!

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa