Karin, Author at karin madden

October 7, 2013 by Karin 4 Comments

~ Day 6 ~

We have those friends.

The ones who serve, give, and go out of their way to help. They appear at just that moment when we need an extra hand… an extra heart… and just one kind word.

Then, they insist that the whole thing is no big deal.

We have these friends that show us how to be better.

They help us open our eyes to people around us. They drop a note and a gift at the door after a miscarriage. They bring a home-cooked meal during a deployment. They drive through walls of snow just to get goat milk for a mom with a house full of kids, an empty refrigerator, and a husband… deployed again. They text a message just when we think God isn’t listening anymore… and they let us know that He is.

We have these friends. They grow our hearts and pick us up. Sometimes they are a life line. These friends. They are some of the greatest gifts He gives us.

Then, we hear a story about someone else who noticed our friend. Someone who just wanted to show love. Someone who saw the gift that this friend is, without even knowing her.

And, the story grows our heart just a little bit more.

Thanks for sharing this story, Jill, my dear friend…

I was traveling with my three kids, and at the airport this guy (who was with his wife and two kids) kept trying to offer help in the security line. Very nice, but my kids had done it a million times so he saw they knew the drill. Somehow he figured out my husband was military and continued to help us as we were gathering our things from security, thanking me for my husband’s service. We later ran into each other at the food court as I looked up with my hands full of bags and ALL the tables full. He motioned over to an empty table that ‘magically’ became open, and said he found a spot for us. I left the boys at the table and took my daughter to get our food and drinks. When I came back, I saw him leaving the table and talking with my boys which freaked me out a little. As he walked off he said, “Your oldest son has something for you.” He explained that he told my son that he knows they shouldn’t be talking to strangers, but he wanted to do something for our family. He put something in my son’s hand and said, “Don’t open it until your mom is here at the table and I am gone.” (Still a little odd). Well, I got to the table and my son opened his hand and it was a $50 dollar bill! Thankfully, we saw him on the way to our gate and we thanked him. He said he just wanted to buy us a lunch or some treats for the kids to thank us for us being a military family.

Showing love to people we don’t even know… gives love to them, and everyone else who loves them.

It just keeps on giving.

John 13:34

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

October 5, 2013 by Karin 2 Comments

Give Love, Get Love

31 days of Good Deeds

(Click here to see the series)

~ Day 5 ~

This.

Give love. Get love.

Happy Weekend…

Matthew 22:39

‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

October 4, 2013 by Karin Leave a Comment

How To Really Be Brave (one for the kids)

31 days of Good Deeds

~ Day 4 ~

I remember her face. I even remember her name.

Katie.

I didn’t know anything about her, but I remember the way people treated her.

She appeared awkward and shy. It was mostly the boys, but there were a few girls, too. The ones who weren’t picking on her stood back and laughed.

I just watched. I mean, what else could I do?

I was only in 7th grade. It was a big school and we all know that junior high isn’t a confidence builder. It’s a tough age. Those middle years.

Most of us just watched.

We watched while they poked and picked and laughed. I knew Katie was in the slower classes, but I didn’t really know much about what that meant back in the early 1980’s.

I felt sorry for her. I wished they would just leave her alone.

I see now. Instead of leaving her alone… I wish someone would have not left her alone. I wish someone would have stood next to her.

I wish I would have been brave.

I wish I had stood next to her.

This story is for kids like Katie.

I pray my kids will learn to stand. Not watch.

Thank you, Joan, for sharing this beautiful story…

One summer day while doing some gardening in the front of my house, there were several children playing out in the street. A little red hair, freckle-faced boy came along and wanted to join them. Most of the kids started laughing at him and calling him names. He started to cry, and I was going to go over and say something to the other kids, when I noticed one of the boys who was playing picked up the ball. The red-headed boy sat on the curb and just cried. The boy with the ball said something to the other boys and then walked over to the red-headed boy and sat down. Since they were sitting on the curb right in front of my house, I could hear what they were saying. This is what I heard…

The young boy with the ball put his arm around him and told the red-headed boy not to cry. But, the red-headed boy said, “They called me ugly and won’t play with me.” The boy with the ball wiped the tears from the red-headed boy and said, “You’re not ugly. God doesn’t make anyone ugly.” Then he hugged the red-headed boy and said, “I will always be your friend and we can play ball together.”

I had tears in my eyes and went into my house and got each of them an ice pop. I lived there for a long time, and watched those two boys grow up to be best friends. Amazing. That happened over 30 years ago and those boys, now men, are still friends with families of their own.

May we learn to defend the weak.

May we learn to stand.

God doesn’t make anyone ugly.

Psalm 82:3

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

(Day 1 is here)(Day 2 is here)(Day 3 is here)

October 3, 2013 by Karin 2 Comments

For The Ones Left Behind

31 Days of Good Deeds

~ Day 3 ~

We hear these stories too often. The ones about warriors lost.

The times I have looked upon sleeping children and slumbering babies, and prayed hard for their daddy to come home… unharmed… are more than I can recall. The times imagined into stomach sickening fear of the knock at the door have been more frequent than I want to remember.

The truth is… it is real. For too many of us. We have lost friends, spouses of friends, and neighbors of friends. Some of us have lost… everything. We have lost too many close to our hearts, and always in our thoughts.

The truth is… there are many we pass every day for whom the dread and the imagined nightmare has become a reality.

A friend who lost her husband in Iraq eight years ago marks the milestones by keeping his memory alive for her children. She is a warrior.

Many faces around us are struggling just to make it to the next moment. Their families have sacrificed… everything.

This story is from the wife and mom of military men. It reminds me to open my eyes and look around. Thank you, Beth, for sharing your husband’s story…

Beth and I returned home today from an FRG training course in Kansas City, Mo. We were standing in baggage claim at O’Hare airport waiting for our bags and we saw a female standing across the conveyor. She had a stroller with a child, a car seat, and two very large suitcases. You would think, looking at her, that she was just waiting for her husband to come help. We watched for a minute as she struggled with all her bags. Beth then looked at me and I said, “okay,” and walked over to offer my assistance. She accepted, handed off the bags, and we walked out. She asked if this was my home post or if I was traveling through. She then mentioned her husband was a Marine. She asked me what I did, so I told her as we walked out to the curb so she could wait for her ride. I set the bags down, she thanked me, and I told her, “not a problem.”

She looked me in the eye then, and told me her husband was recently killed in a training exercise. This was her first time traveling. I was stunned. I said, “I’m so sorry for your loss, Ma’am,” and walked back to baggage claim.

I believe that Beth and I were there to see her struggles and to be there to offer assistance. It was God’s will. My one regret is not asking her husband’s name, so I could say a prayer for him. So I will just have to say one for all the fallen.

~ SGT Stiff

A prayer for all the fallen… and the ones they leave behind.

A prayer that we, like Sgt. Stiff, open our eyes to see the struggles of those around us.

A prayer that our hearts and hands may help to carry each other’s burdens.

Galatians 6:2

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

(Day 1 is here)

(Day 2 is here)

October 2, 2013 by Karin Leave a Comment

Let Your Light Shine

31 Days of Good Deeds

~Day 2~

This story, posted by a friend of mine, is the story that prompted me to look for more good deeds.

Most of the time we like to retaliate. Repay unkindness with some other type of unkindness. This isn’t the way we are called to live. This isn’t the way that makes us happy. This isn’t the way we find peace and joy.

I tell my kids,

Be nice.

Over and over again. Sometimes, it isn’t that simple. Sometimes, it takes making a decision that feels quite unnatural.

Sometimes, it takes hearing a story about someone who made the right decision… and deciding to be more like him.

And, in the end, more like Him…

Here is my friend’s story.

I just had an interesting experience at Starbucks. The drive through is set up in such a way that you can enter two ways. It is customary to take turns approaching the order area. Anyway, I waited my turn and could tell the next car in line didn’t want to wait. They quickly cut me off. I gave the two college-aged boys a what’s going on expression and asked them to roll down their window. They proceeded to cuss me out and say it was their turn and they had been there 10 minutes. Well, this is not the first time someone has done this to me this week, and I’ve had enough with people. So, I seriously considered getting out of my truck, pulling the guy out of his car, and breaking his face (sorry mom). But the thought of going to jail and leaving my wife with 5 kids over Labor Day stopped me.

Just then I seriously thought what would Jesus do. So, I let them go ahead of me and when I placed my order I told the lady I wanted to pay for their coffees, too. I could tell they were stunned when they pulled up to the window. I hope that made a bigger impact on their lives, and maybe taught them a little about courtesy and how to treat others. Hopefully they will remember this long after they would have forgotten their broken noses.

Yes. I want to be more like this.

Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

(Day 1 is right here…)

It Just Keeps Giving

Give Love, Get Love

How To Really Be Brave (one for the kids)

For The Ones Left Behind

Let Your Light Shine

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