Five Fall Favorites: Kindness
Hi everyone, and welcome back to Friday of the Five Fall Favorites blog party!
“The fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness . . .” – Galatians 5:22
It’s intriguing to me that this word (chréstotés is the Greek) is translated gentleness in some versions and kindness in others.
Our level of gentleness and our level of kindness go hand in hand.
Here are my top five picks for the kindness genre. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!
Bridgers
By Angie Thompson
This is a story about radical kindness that will challenge your safe, “respectable” Christianity to the backbone. (I know—weird mixed metaphor there, but you get the picture.)
Most of us are so familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan that we’ve learned to gloss over most of the shock factor from the original parable. This modern version is another story! How would we actually respond to the Good Samaritan’s choice if we faced it in our own cultural context? Exactly who are the Samaritans of 21st century North America? Are we prepared to accept the heart of Jesus message when the parable comes on ordinary city streets today?
Through the Tunnel
By Rebekah A. Morris
I’m realizing this is the third of Rebekah’s books that I’ve featured this week. Apparently, she does a great job of incorporating the fruits of the Spirit!
Through the Tunnel is an enjoyable story about found family—and the power of kind people to change lives. It’s also yet another book that does a great job of normalizing home education by showcasing a homeschooling family as the backdrop, even though it’s not the focal point, of the story.
The Mansion
By Henry Van Dyke
“Sometimes I feel as if I’d like to do some good in the world, if father only wouldn’t insist upon God’s putting it into the ledger.” These rather startling words capture one of the unique human truths explored in this thought-provoking little Christmas story. Is kindness really kindness if we’re doing it for a reward? Is serving God for blessings really serving God at all?
I love the combined poignancy and gentleness of The Mansion’s message. At one moment Van Dyke is cutting ruthlessly to the heart of self-deceiving hypocrisy. At the next, he is showcasing the unfathomable care with which our tender-hearted Father treasures up even the tiniest fragments of sincere love.
This is definitely a story you don’t want to miss!
A Christmas Sermon
By Robert Louis Stevenson
I’ll be honest here. I started reading this book just to see whether it was some sort of joke. I mean, this is the guy who wrote A Child’s Garden of Verses here. Actually, never mind that—this is the guy who wrote Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Now he’s trying a Christmas sermon???
Believe it or not—he is. And it’s worth reading. A Christmas Sermon is an inspiring call to humility, kindness, and a faithful life.
Franklin’s New Friend
By Paulette Bourgeois
And now for our picture book! Franklin’s New Friend is a sweet little story about overcoming fears and prejudice to extend kindness even when it takes some courage.
Franklin is a turtle who finds Moose—the new kid at school—more than a little intimidating. But when Mr. Owl assigns Franklin to be Moose’s buddy, Franklin just might be about to make a new friend.
Something I love about this particular book is that it essentially addresses all the issues surrounding negative biases and racism—without touching on any of the stereotypical topics associated with either. We’re talking about a turtle and a moose, but we’re learning lessons about kindness that apply to so much more.
Those are my Five Fall Favorites—What About Yours?
Kindness can seem like a bit of a commonplace virtue. (If you can even use those two words together!)
It doesn’t even seem like a specifically “Christian” concept at times. After all, even secular individuals tend to agree that there’s merit in being kind. And yet, ultimately, true kindness is the result of the Holy Spirit flowing through our lives.
Kindness matters. Books about kindness matter!
As always, I’d love to hear your own Five Fall Favorites in the comments section below.
After that, head over to Once Upon an Ordinary to catch up on the rest of the fun. And don’t forget to come back tomorrow. The best list of all is yet to come!
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I love Through the Tunnel, so it was so fun to see it here! Thanks for joining the party, Courtenay! It’s been a delight to have you!
Thanks, Kate! It’s bee a lot of fun for me, too!
Through the Tunnel is already on my TBR, because of course. Why wouldn’t a Rebekah Morris story not be on one’s TBR? 😉 And The Mansion looks intriguing. *Adds it to a towering stack, hoping it won’t topple over*
CutePolarBear/Hanna
Thanks Hanna! I think you’ll enjoy them both!
I love “The Mansion”!!! It’s such a moving story! And I remember watching the Franklin cartoon when I was little…
Aw, that’s fun, Riley! Yes, we watched a lot of Franklin growing up in my family!
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I’ve read those first two books. 😉 Angie’s characters are always so much alive and read! And of course I love “Through the Tunnel.” 😉
Thanks, Rebekah! They’re both ones I’ve enjoyed!
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I’ve read all of these except Stevenson’s and now I’m so, so intrigued, because I’ve struggled with him ever since reading a very harsh, pessimistic, evolutionary paper of his on man. XD (now I wonder if I misunderstood it????) Anyways, I’m surprised to see you feature The Mansion! I was gonna comment this last time you featured van Dyke, but I read that ages ago and did not like it but now I want to retry it because it occurred to me recently it might be like A Christmas Carol, which I also hated at first and now love…
Yeah, I could see how you might or might not enjoy The Mansion. I was into the second half of my twenties before I read it for the first time. I feel like if I’d come across it earlier I might not have liked it as much, either. 😉