World Kindness Day 2022 | JOY for Today

(Updated 11.2.2023)

Kindness grants JOY not just to the receiver but also to the giver. If that's true, why aren't we all kind to everyone we encounter? Is it fear? Is it that we think the other person is unworthy? Maybe we think it's unfair: we haven't received kindness, why should we spread it to another? Or perhaps we dismiss personal responsibility for kindness because it does not come naturally to us. But we all have the capacity for kindness within us, no matter our personal circumstances. Showing kindness might cost strength, courage, and humility but it produces exponential JOY.

JOY for Today Offerings:

• Did You Know... Facts about kindness.
• Wolfe Stew Connects With a kindness competition.
• Bible Verses and Quotes about showing kindness.
• Activity Suggestions To promote kind words, actions, and thoughts in the classroom; "Would you rather..." questions; and a family challenge

Did You Know:

1. Even animals demonstrate kindness? Male fiddler crabs refrain from killing the other amid territorial fights, rattlesnakes wrestle but never bite, and bonobos willingly help unknown comrades acquire food without prompting. (Phys.org)
2. Darwin argued that we are wired for kindness? We have an instinctive interest in, sympathy for, and need to nurture others. Just as our physical differences help strengthen our gene pool, our character differences and willingness to show sympathy within them help to strengthen our social bonds. (Huffington Post & Psychology Today)
3. Kindness is good for your heart? Experiencing emotional warmth produces a chain chemical, physiological, and psychological reaction that lowers blood pressure while increasing our self-esteem and optimism. (Good and Kind and Mayo Clinic)
4. Kindness strongly contributes to a longer lifespan? A decrease in death rates among those who volunteer range from 20 to 60 percent compared to clean drinking water which reduces death rates from 15 to 20 percent. (Psychology Today)
5. Kindness, in all forms, makes us feel happier? In a social psychology experiment, conducted by Lee Rowland and Oliver Scott Curry, researchers found that observing and performing acts of kindness increased overall happiness. There was a positive correlation between the number of acts and degree of happiness. Additionally, the relationship between the participant and the recipient did not affect perceived happiness levels. (National Library of Medicine)

We'd Love to Know:

Which fact interests you?

Wolfe Stew Connects

Let's outdo each other in showing kindness!

Normally, I am a competition avoider. Competition pits one person, team, or thing against another to prove superiority. Not my thing. But in several versions of Romans 12:10, we are asked to:

Outdo one another in showing honor.

Okay, where do I sign up?

In a competition of this type, we would not brag about how good we're doing because that's not showing honor. Instead, we would encourage the person who is taking the lead because that shows honor.

What's more, it's a great framework for regulating thoughts, words, and behavior. Are my thoughts, words, and actions:

• Helpful or harmful?
• Uplifting others or uplifting myself?
• Reflective of others' circumstances or demanding attention for my own circumstance?
• Demonstrating high or low regard for another?
• Coming from a place of peace or anger?
• Aligned with God's values or do they miss the mark?

Oh friends, as I think through this list, I know I have work to do if I want to win this competition. Indeed, I'm not at all surprised if you're ahead of me right now. If so, well done! We need more competitors like you. Keep going!! I'm right behind you and I am training to catch up. Let's run this race together.

If you do not feel like you could possibly spread kindness because of personal sorrow, join us for our GROWTH focus next week. Each day we will undergo short, but impactful, Bible based exercises to train us in developing strategies to overcome sorrow. We are more than conquerors in ALL these things, Warrior!

For Reflection:

What exercise might you do to train your honor-showing skills?

Bible Verses and Quotes 

Bible Verses

• "Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up." Galatians 6:9 CEV
• "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." Ephesians 4:29 KJV
• "Don't pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you, or ridicule those who ridicule you. Instead, bless them, because you were called to inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:9 NOG
• "Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. If you do, you will have a great reward. You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people." Luke 6:35 CEB
• "Therefore, holy and beloved, as the elect of God, put on hearts of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against another: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Colossians 3:12-13 KJ21

Quotes

• "Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." - Mother Teresa
• "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." - Mother Teresa
• "A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve." - Joseph Joubert
• "Life becomes easier and more beautiful when we can see the good in other people." - Roy T. Bennett
• "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle." - Plato

We'd Love to Know:

Which verse or quote sparks you to spread kindness?

 

Activity Suggestions

 Boost your positive classroom climate with kindness! Try a new routine, project, or discussion.

Our Nephew's Suggestion:

Be kind!

We love the simplicity of this suggestion. You know what is kind and what is not. So, choose kindness!

Our Suggestions: 

Speak Kind Words

Browse ideas on our "JOY for Today: Speak Kind Words Saturday" post that features articles for leaders and activities for learners.

Show Kindness

• Brainstorm ways to show kindness as a class.
• Find additional ideas (also daily ideas) at RandomActsofKindness.org.
• Make a kindness chain.
• Discuss kindness received and observed during morning meetings or end of day routines.
• Implement the "Kindness in the Classroom" curriculum into your routine from RandomActsofKindness.org.

Think Kind Thoughts

• Learn to regulate your own thoughts. Only allow honest, kind, and virtuous thoughts to fill your headspace. This will positively affect your attitude, which will change the climate of the classroom.
• When negativity arises, take time to examine and create a plan to conquer the "why" behind it.
• Find more helpful tips for encouraging a positive attitude at Connections Academy.

Discuss "Would You Rather...?" Questions

For World Kindness Day, would you rather...

• Let someone go before you or hold the door for someone else?
• Say "Please" and "Thank you!" all day or compliment ten people?
• Clean up without being told or let someone else choose an activity to do?

This Wolfe Stew PowerPoint contains three daily "Would You Rather... questions for November. Or get it (free!) from our TPT store.

Family Challenge

Complete the love language quiz to determine how each family member receives love. Then, make a list of ways to show kindness in every love language. Display your list. Each night, discuss how you observed each language in action throughout the day. Encourage each other in opportunities to spread kindness using the love languages to people throughout your lives.

We'd Love to Know:

How you encourage kindness in your classroom.

We’re excited to share one more day with you and wish you JOY for Today and HOPE for Tomorrow. Come back next week for...Thanksgiving!

Fighting the Good Fight with You,

Find even more JOY for Today in our monthly calendars, holiday, and seasonal posts.