Apples of Gold

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11

I had been having a hard time seeing through the onslaught of naughty behaviors to my sweet children's hearts last week, and decided to refocus on the good. I remembered how my old pastor Keith Moore in Georgia keeps a file folder in his office with kind and encouraging notes and cards he has received from people, to lift his spirits when needed. And I remembered reading in Florence Littauer's book "Silver Boxes" about how our kind words are like little gifts we give to others, which they can treasure for a lifetime.

So the children and I sat around the breakfast table last week and took turns telling nice things about what we appreciate in each other. Here are the lists we made:

It just so happened that McKenna and I were to lead the character trait activity on "kindness" at our next Keepers at Home meeting a few days later. I thought the list idea would be a great way for the girls to show kindness to one another, as well as being special for each girl to keep. So I bought some pretty paper and sparkly pens, and had the Keepers girls go in turn saying nice things about each other that I wrote down for them. Here is what they had to say about McKenna:

(The part at the bottom that's hard to see reads "Is very pretty/ Is very playful/ Has a great laugh".)

The activity was a big hit with the moms as well as the daughters. The girls also made gorgeous faux porcelain Christmas ornaments, but until next January, I cannot post a picture of those!