The Fourth Day of Christmas

Kindness

When you think about it, showing random acts of kindness without any expectation of gratitude is easy. It takes little effort to give of ourselves.

Can we do more? Certainly! It is as simple as having awareness of others around us ~ near and far. Besides smiling at everyone we see, holding open a door for a stranger, or offering a helping hand to someone, what other ideas are there?

Back in November, I happened across Coffee Cups and Crayons. Megan had put together a Random Acts of Christmas Kindness (RACK) Advent Calendar for December 2016. I went through her website and discovered she has also created Summer Kindness Calendars for us to download ~ all free! Oh, and she provides a list suggesting 100 Acts of Kindness for Kids that I believe are great ideas for adults as well!

There is a Random Acts of Kindness organization. Within the website, beyond their kindness ideas, they have created free lesson plans for teachers to incorporate within the classroom!

Besides doing Random Acts of Kindness (RAK), I will be more aware and will support businesses that also extend RAK’s! I will be looking for signs like these:

While doing Google searches to find fresh ideas, I discovered ~

February 17^th is National Random Acts of Kindness Day!

But, what if I don’t get out into the real world very often? What and how may I show daily Random Act of Kindness to others while I’m here on the ranch?

A few ideas I came up with:

• Write (and get it in the mail) “thinking of you” letters in my own handwriting – not typed or sent electronically!
• Bake cookies and mail to those I rarely see.
• Send “Thank You” cards to people that take my mother shopping and/or out for lunch, or picks up milk for her when they are going to the grocery store anyway.

How do you show Random Acts of Kindness, even from your home?

Acts of Kindness – aka Happiness Heroes

When we “sew for the experience of it” (the 2016 theme set by organizers of National Sewing Month) we make something special, a unique one-of-a-kind creation. When sewing for others with a giving heart, it lifts our spirits!

What is your favorite thing to make for others?

Quilts?   Pillowcases?    Doll Clothes?    Bags?

I love the mission statement found on Mum in the Madhouse’s website:

·         Spread the word – encourage other people to join in and become happiness heroes

·         Have fun and enjoy making other people happy

·         To be kinder than you need to be

It’s her key phrase: Happiness Heroes that caught my attention!

Such a wonderful idea!

Although the article’s focus is on kids doing random acts of kindness, many of her suggestions apply to all ages!

Are you into free printables? Click here for their offer!

Second Day of Christmas

Not until this morning had I ever taken the time to look up Turtle Doves! I found this fabulous picture of two together! They are beautiful! After a brief read over, it doesn’t appear they are common in the United States, rather folks will readily see them in the UK and Europe.

Source: Arkive.org

I then tried to find out why the creators of the song 12 Days of Christmas selected Two Turtle Doves to represent the Old and New Testaments. I haven’t had any luck finding that bit of information. In fact, I haven’t found why they used any particular symbol! Maybe you know and will share!

Anyhoo…

My niece recently wrote the article “Open Me” for her blog. I highly recommend reading her account of an awesome random act of kindness.

I know other people have written or shared similar encouragements of doing 26 random acts of kindnesses in honor of the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary. I’ve started mine, in the name of each victim.

(Source: Huffington Post)

- Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06, female
- Daniel Barden, 9/25/05, male
- Rachel Davino, 7/17/83, female.
- Olivia Engel, 7/18/06, female
- Josephine Gay, 12/11/05, female
- Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06, female
- Dylan Hockley, 3/8/06, male
- Dawn Hochsprung, 06/28/65, female
- Madeleine F. Hsu, 7/10/06, female
- Catherine V. Hubbard, 6/08/06, female
- Chase Kowalski, 10/31/05, male
- Jesse Lewis, 6/30/06, male
- James Mattioli , 3/22/06, male
- Grace McDonnell, 12/04/05, female
- Anne Marie Murphy, 07/25/60, female
- Emilie Parker, 5/12/06, female
- Jack Pinto, 5/06/06, male
- Noah Pozner, 11/20/06, male
- Caroline Previdi, 9/07/06, female
- Jessica Rekos, 5/10/06, female
- Avielle Richman, 10/17/06, female
- Lauren Rousseau, 6/1982, female
- Mary Sherlach, 2/11/56, female
- Victoria Soto, 11/04/85, female
- Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/06, male
- Allison N. Wyatt, 7/03/06, female

Did you know there is a Random Acts of Kindness organization? They have 273 kindness ideas! They also have wonderful quotes to inspire kindness. This is one in particular caught my eye:

Carry out a random act of kindness,

with no expectation of reward,

safe in the knowledge that

one day someone might do the same for you.

Diana Spencer (1961-1997)
Princess Of Wales