Helping ourselves
In one story Jesus told, a young man left home hoping to make his fortune, but ended up wasting his share of the family’s wealth on wild living. Finally, penniless and hu... »
Volume 14.06 | June 2013
My moment of glory
During the spring of my junior year in high school, some girls suggested we practice for the junior-senior basketball game, and I thought it might be fun, so I tagged alo... »
Be a giver of kindness
On a flight I took some months ago, there was a little girl sitting in the catty-cornered seat from me. She had a beautiful new coloring book that her mother had obviousl... »
The courage to be kind
One sunny afternoon roughly seventy years ago, a young girl and her friends were watching through the mesh of a barbed wire fence as a group of men played football [socce... »
Kindness—the irresistible fruit
Kindness is love in action, love translated into simple everyday terms. It’s being considerate of others. It’s living the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have t... »
The gift of listening
I had just moved to a new country with my husband and family. That meant new schools for the children and a new job for my husband. It was a difficult time of adjustment... »
Pausing to care
I don’t know how she did it, but the cashier's eyes peered right into mine. I’d been discovered. I had tried to avoid eye contact as I was finishing the grocery shopping.... »
Net worth and breeding patterns of the common hug
The signs were nothing but rectangles of white-painted plywood adorned with bright red words proclaiming, “ABRAZOS GRATIS” (“FREE HUGS”), along with flowers, hearts, and... »
Change the world
Question: I’d like to do more to improve things around me, but I don’t feel there’s a lot I can do. Changing the world seems like such a huge task—how to know where to st... »
The unsung hero
The story of the boy who gave his lunch to the disciples to share with the multitude is well known.[See John 4:1–3.] Jesus took the two small loaves and five fishes, bles... »
Love at work
There is a special happiness and contentment that comes from putting others and their needs above your own. When you’re doing something kind for someone, it doesn’t just... »