Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Day 2 ~ Love is Kind
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. -Ephesians 4:32
Kindness is love in action. If patience is how love reacts in order to minimize a negative circumstance, kindness i show love acts to maximize a positive circumstance. Patience avoids a problem, kindness creats a blessing. On is preventive, the other proactive. These two sides of love are the cornerstones on which many of the other attributes we will discuss are built.
Love makes you kind. And kindness makes you likable. When you're kind people want to be aroudn you. They see you as being good to them and good for them.
Kind people always seem to find favor wherever they go, even at home. Kindness is broken down into 4 basic core ingredients:
~Gentleness.
~Helpfulness
~ Willingness
~ Initiative
Wasn't kindness one of the key things that drew you and your spouse together in the first place? When you married weren't you expecting to enjoy his or her kindness for the rest of your life?
Even though years can take the edge off that desire, your enjoyment in marriage is still linked daily to the level of kindness expressed.
The Bible describes a woman whose husband and children bless and praise her. Among her noble attributes are these: "She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue" (Proverbs 31:26). How about you? How would your spouse describe you on the kindness meter? Do you wait to be asked or do you take the initiative to help? Don't wait for your spouse to be kind first.
It is difficult to demonstrate love when you feel little to no motivation. But love in its truest sense is not based on feelings. Rather, love dtermines to show thoughtful actions evven when there seems to be no reward. You will never learn to love until you learn to demonstrate kindess.
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Today's Dare and questions to think on at your completion of your dare:
In addition to saying nothing negative to your spouse (day 1 dare) again today, do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.
What discoveries about love did you make today?
What specifically did you do in this dare?
How did you show kindness?
*The Dare posts are excerpts taken from The Love Dare written by Stephen and Alex Kendrick

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