Nice Or Kind?
Which One Are You?
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_http://www.google.com/search?q=quote+pictures+about+kindness&hl=en&rlz=1C1EODB_enUS516US521&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=e80kUYWIFovS9AT_oIGYBA&ved=0CDsQsAQ&biw=1241&bih=567__
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Mark Twain
http://www.quotegarden.com/kindness.html
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I mentioned to a friend how much I wished that people would be more kind. Not just do kind things, but actually BE more kind! Now his response to me was to share about 30 picture quotes on his social media site talking about kindness and what it really means. This one act brought a huge smile to my face, at a time when I really needed to smile, because his gift to me was much more than simply being nice. I smiled because what he did showed me that my friend cared enough about me to do something he knew would make me feel better. He showed me someone who has beating within, a truly kind heart! And that is not as common in today’s world as we would probably like to believe. You see, it is easy being nice but being nice is not necessarily being kind!
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The difference between the two, as I see it, is the difference between liking and loving! You see, being nice often says to another I am doing the things I do because I want you to like me. I am doing what it is I am doing because I want my act to be seen and recognized by others. Kindness, on the other hand, is doing something for another, sometimes without them even knowing it. Kindness never cares what others think about what is being done, and it is this selfless doing that is reflected in both one’s intentions and as well as their actions! Even someone who is cruel can manage to be nice once in a while. But kindness is an instinctive compassion that dwells within the heart. A person can be taught to be nice. It is a lesson we all work to instill in our children almost from the moment they are born. But genuine kindness is selfless and innate. It is a love instilled by a hand more powerful than that of man. No Bible verse says it more beautifully than this one from Romans 12:9-10 (NLT), “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.”
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Elizabeth of the Trinity, an early 20th century Carmelite nun, and who was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 25, 1984, was a prolific writer of prayers, and is credited with the following quotation: “There is no wood like that of the Cross for lighting the fire of love in the soul.” And it is exactly this same wood….the wood of the cross… that ignites within each heart the capacity to be a truly kind person. Anybody can be nice. It takes the finger of God for a heart to fill and spill over with kindness!
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law”
Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
Hosea 10:13 NIV
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It is now February of 2013, more than 3 months since Superstorm Sandy struck on October 29, 2012, and yet there are still people living in Staten Island that remain without the essential services that you and I are taking for granted today, even as Winter weather is now descending. Please remember the millions of our brothers and sisters who continue to suffer from the effects of this horrific storm. Lives will continue be impacted for years to come. But you can help! Please consider sending a Gift Card to the organization listed below. Thousands of cards have been distributed since November but millions more are needed. Give as much as you can, as often as you can! Your gift might just mean a family who has lost everything might just have something to smile about!
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