Kindness

God looks at the heart. Betsey speaks about how she guided her children with 1 Samuel 16:7 to see others in a nonjudgmental way. She is a mother and grandmother, and so her influence is far-reaching to other’s hearts…yours can be too!

Kindness is not what we have been taught it is. It isn’t a soft virtue, expressed only by sweet grandmothers or nice Boy Scouts. Kindness is neither timid nor frail. Instead, it is brave and daring, willing to be vulnerable with those with whom we disagree. It is the revolutionary way that Jesus himself called us to live. The way of selfless risks. The way of staggering hope. The way of authenticity.

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Overcome evil with good. Simple as that, and these are words that are straight from Scripture. Kendra shares the verses that she uses when her kids are experiencing conflict. She paraphrases two key verses into a teaching tool for her 7 kids. “Do not repay evil for evil, but overcome evil with good”.

Fair Warning: Jim’s sweet story may bring tears to your eyes! He discusses how our
kids can actually be vessels of the Holy Spirit, and if we keep our hearts open and
available, there are so many lessons we can learn from their innocent ways. How
refreshing to know that God can use even kids and all the various types of kids at
that, to carry out His will.

Mr. Pope is a father to 7 kids! I’m sure he has loads of wisdom. He shares two verses to use when children aren’t sharing their toys or other items. Luke 6:31 & Psalm 24:1 emphasize that everything belongs to the Lord, and we should do onto others as we would have others do to us. Learning to adopt these ways as kids should translate into more successful adulthoods.

Casey Hilty
Author of Her Children Arise – A Bible Study for Moms

SITUATION:

A package addressed to the kids arrived on our doorstep. Inside was an assortment of crafts with a coveted archeology kit buried at the bottom. My younger two each immediately claimed itas theirs. This kit included a block of clay and wooden tools to excavate the hidden treasures inside of it. The brick was about the size of a man’s hand, but there were enough tools for the kids to work together on it.

After nearly 30 seconds of working together, my middle son started inching the brick a little closer to him. My daughter, the youngest, reacted by yanking it closer to her which incited a not-so-friendly game of tug-of-war. Voices rose, followed by the easily-identifiable “victim’s shriek” that signals “I’m telling Mom!”

As soon as I arrived, the kids simultaneously started telling his/her side of the story. I learned that the shriek came when my son slapped my daughter’s arm. My son claimed that it was, in his words, “revenge” from her hitting his hand with the excavating tool.

In the New Testament, Jesus had some thoughts about retaliation – getting revenge on someone who has wronged you.

VERSE:

“If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also…Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”.

APPLICATION:

In other words, if someone hits you, do not hit them back. If someone takes something away from you, don’t yell at them to give it back to you. It is never a child’s job to decide how another child gets punished. That’s the parent’s job. Instead of getting revenge, Jesus wants you to find another way to solve the problem. Ask yourself, how would you like your brother/sister to treat you? Do you want him/her to take the toy away from you? Do you want him/her to hit you? Or do you want him/her to use kind words, share, and work alongside you? Think about how you would like to be treated, and that is how you should treat your brother/sister.

Together, we then brainstormed better ways they could have handled the situation which brought us to the root of it all: sharing is caring. Minutes later, they had excavated all of the coins from the block of clay and were happily divvying up their treasure. Fortunately, it was an even divide.

To contact Casey, email: hello@caseyhilty.com and visit her website at www.caseyhilty.com

Timothy’s story is a brilliant reminder that parents are the first example in a child’s life, and we as parents are to lead by example. He speaks of a situation in which he quickly and automatically accuses his middle son of doing something that the son actually did not do. After his wife lets him know that the middle son was innocent, he knew he had to ask his son for forgiveness. He references 1 Corinthians 11:1, which says, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. This verse basically means, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” Timothy’s experience is a great reminder to always be slow to anger and quick to listen. He literally gets down on his knees, looks his son in the eyes, and asks for forgiveness. Timothy’s story is an awesome reminder of the power of both forgiveness and compassion. To God be the glory!

To contact Pastor Timothy Stover, please email him at Pastortimothystover@gmail.com

Fish Lake Bible Chruch

25108 Banker Street

Sturgis, MI 49091

This is how I discussed racism with my 8-year-old daughter today. I revisited this awesome video by Betsy Kopecky. Betsy’s story is titled “How Do I Help My Children See Others Through The Eyes Of God’s Grace?” 1 Samuel 16:7. We talked about not judging or making predetermined assumptions about anyone regardless of their skin color or appearances. We are to look at other’s hearts and actions instead of their skin color or appearances. I think this is such an amazing verse for this subject when talking about racism. “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”