My boys are not really into Valentine’s Day – all the hearts and mushy stuff is not exactly up their alley!  But as I was thinking ahead to February, I decided that it might be a great time to focus on learning to love others.  I don’t know if it’s a result of the holiday season or what, but we’ve really been struggling with rudeness lately.  It seems like the boys have huge blind spots when it comes to their own faults, but notice every little error and shortcoming in their brothers!

Really, I shouldn’t be surprised.  Kindness doesn’t come naturally.  We are all sinners, and what comes naturally is to think of ourselves first.  We also live in a rude culture.  TV and movies communicate to us that insults, disrespect, and sass are humor!  And even if we aren’t exposed to a lot of junk on TV, rudeness has infiltrated our culture and the people we come in contact with.

Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

That is the goal for these devotions!  To be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  To allow God’s word to soak into our minds and hearts, and then for our actions to reflect the truth of His word in the way that we love Him and love others.

Kindness in Action: A One Month Devotion for Families on Loving God and Loving People

Kindness in Action:  Devotions for Families on Loving God and Loving People {99 cent download}

Included in the devotions are:

  • 28 days – I chose this length for the month of February, but these devotions are not “Valentine’s specific” and could be used any time during the year.
  • 22 Bible study days with a passage to read and discussion questions.  Seven days also have a suggestion for a simple object-lesson activity to go with the verses.
  • 6 Project days – You and your kids can choose from a list of suggested “acts of kindness” projects or come up with one of your own.  The goal is to learn about serving, and then to put that knowledge into action!  The project ideas range from simple tasks around the house to serving in your church or community.

Kindness in Action: A One Month Devotion for Families on Loving God and Loving People

Presentation Idea:  Put each day in an envelope to open.

I made our devotions a little more “festive” by cutting them apart and putting each day inside a white or red envelope decorated with Valentine’s stickers.  The envelopes are labeled with the date.  The stickers were $1.00 at Michael’s, and the red and white envelopes came from 90% off Christmas cards at Michael’s, so the project was very inexpensive!

I made the box out of a cardboard box and duct tape.  You can find more details on the duct tape Valentine’s box here.

If you’re doing the devotions during another part of the year, it still would be fun to put them in envelopes.  Or, roll up each one and tie it with a ribbon.  Or just print them and use the devotions as is – whatever works for you!

To download the devotions, click here: KINDNESS DEVOTIONS

 To see a sample day, scroll down.

Thanks for joining us on this journey to become more like Christ!

Sample:

Day 8:  Out of the Overflow of the Heart…

Activity:  Saturate two identical kitchen sponges – one with water, and the other with muddy water or water with a couple drops of food coloring added.  It doesn’t take much dirt for it to show up, and you don’t want the sponge to look visibly muddy.  Both sponges should appear fairly identical.  Ask your child to squeeze out each sponge into a dish.  What came out of the clean sponge?  Clean water.  And what came out of the dirty sponge?  Dirty water.  We’ll come back to this after the Bible reading.

Bible reading:  Matthew 12:33-37

In these verses, Jesus was talking to the Pharisees.  The Pharisees thought that they were holy before God because they obeyed the law outwardly (in action).  But their attitudes and words were not godly. Where does Jesus say our words come from?

Our words show what is really in our hearts.  It’s impossible to speak kind words if we are filled with bad attitudes.  When we squeezed the dirty sponge, dirty water came out.  There was no way to get clean water out of that sponge!  In the same way, if we want to love others and speak kindly to them, we need to deal with what is in our hearts.

Memory verse:  Matthew 12:34b

Kindness in Action - Devotions for Families

9 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. Philippa Jan 21, 2014

    So excited about this new material Sarah, we got so much out of your December devotionals. Thanks a load for sharing all your hard work.

    Reply
  2. Allison Hendrix Jan 22, 2014

    Sarah, these are great! I smile because romans 12:2 is taped on our fridge right now. Love these and will begin sharing. Thanks for taking the time to make these. My crew needs them.

    Reply
  3. Christina Jan 23, 2014

    Love this, Sarah! Thanks for putting it together!

    Reply
  4. Michele Jan 27, 2014

    hello Sarah,

    I like your spin on Valentines day. It has become such a commercial event, nice way to make it meaningful.

    Reply
  5. Doreen Jan 9, 2015

    Sarah,

    I am praising the Lord for directing me to your site. I want to order the devotions but do not have paypal. Can you email me and I can send money in the mail?
    My hubby and I are both born again believers and are adopting our 4 foster children.
    Doreen.savedbygrace@gmail.com

    Reply
  6. Donna Jan 24, 2015

    Wow, this is great. I cannot wait to start this with my 6 soon to be 7 year old in February! Thank you so much for the time you spent putting it together.

    Reply
  7. Lori War Jun 19, 2016

    I would love to order this series on Kindness in Action: Devotions for Families on Loving God and Loving People. I tried to "Add to Cart" but it just kept saying my cart was empty. How can I go about ordering this?

    Reply
  8. Katie Sep 10, 2016

    Is this product still available? The link does not seem to be working.

    Reply
  9. Elizabeth Feb 1, 2017

    Thank you for sharing this Sarah. I'm so excited about using this tool this month. You are a blessing!

    Reply

Post a Comment