Hello There! đ Â If you just received a beanie or NICUÂ blanket... this welcome + resources page is for you!
We want you to know that while things might look dark in the world today, there is love, kindness, and hope in the world -- still!
And that someone who you probably never met made the hat(s) or blanket for you, with love, by hand!
Yep, that's right, someone you've never met, an unknown friend cares about you and is supporting you on your journey through chemo -- blasting love your way -- with zero expectation of anything in return.
Pure kindness and unconditional love.
We pray this gift warms your heart as much as it warms ours to know that you have received it. And we hope you find more love and kindness on this page so that you can feel as much love as possible!
We want you to know a few things about your gift...
Everyone on our team loves you, and we are rooting for you.
We prayed over your gift before it left our office.
Many hands lovingly made, tested, tagged, bagged, packed, and shipped your gift.
The person who handmade your beanie or NICUÂ blanket loves you and made it just for you! They spent hours on it, just so you could wear it and feel the love -- and they expect nothing in return.
You are loved by the countless people who were involved in the delivery of your new gift -- from door to door -- to your hands, heart, and head. From the makers to the ops team to the shipping team at Knots of Love -- to the UPSÂ and USPS people who often pick up our packages in the snow and rain, every week -- to our founder (Christine) who calls each and every maker who sends a beanie or blanket to personally thank and tell them where their lovingly handmade creations were delivered -- to our sponsors and donors that help us cover shipping costs. All of these people, each one, love you!
You are loved. Even if it might not feel like it sometimes. Even if you are struggling. Just as you are, right now.
You are wonderfully made and loved by God, and He has a purpose for your life, no matter how hard it might be right now. The Lord, Jesus is there for you, and we hope you turn to Him now, even if you already know Him, and invite Him into your challenges and journey. He loves you and He wishes no one should perish without knowing Him. He doesn't tell us life will be easy, but that within the challenges, the struggles, He promises (and delivers!) that we will have a peace that surpasses all understanding and a joy that is so unspeakably awesome that you cant even put it into words. And He delivers on that. We've seen it first hand, time and time again. We hope you get to know Him, and learn His ways, because, as our fav musician Forrest Frank sings "Your Way's Better":
Lastly, because the science of kindness is AWESOME and studies (1, 2, 3, and countless more) show that acts of kindness has great health benefits -- and it feels good to do -- so we hope you will share a quote from this page and/or become inspired/called to do a small act of kindness for someone in your daily life. We do acts of kindness because they are the loving and right thing to do -- but expect nothing in return.
That is it.
The goal of this page is to provide you with some links to resources to encourage you, lift you up, and warm your heart. â Below, we have assembled a page of quotes, projects, books, videos, and ideas that are rooted in kindness and love -- with some Jesus sprinkled in, because, how could we not share the most amazing gift ever: eternal life, and a peace and joy while on earth that is beyond words? We must. We also don't want to be pushy, so know that is our heart and we have zero expectation.
We don't make any money from any of these linksâwe want you to have them because we love them and love you.
We hope you find this inspiring, love-bringing, and helpful on your journey through whatever you are going through!
May the Lord bless you, keep you, and guide you through this challenging time.
đ
â P.S. We are always updating this page, it is a work in progress, so please send any ideas, feedback, or suggestions for additions togeoff@knotsoflove.org!
"There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind." âMr. Rogers
âYou have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.ââJohn Bunyan (Author of Pilgrim's Progress)Â
"One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone."âShannon L. Adler
âA kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.ââSteve Maraboli
âSometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a personâs life.ââJackie Chan
"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving."âAmy CarmichaelÂ
âRemember thereâs no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.ââScott Adams (Dilbert Comic Series creator)
âSpread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.ââMother Teresa
âYou cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.ââRalph Waldo Emerson
âYou can cultivate mercy when you extend acts of compassion and kindness to yourself and to other people.ââBree Miller
âYou don't have to be an angel, just be someone who can give.ââPatti LaBelleÂ
âDo your little bit of good where you are;Â itâs those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.ââDesmond Tutu
"All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors--in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver."Â Â âMr. Rogers
âUnexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.ââBob Kerrey
âA part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.ââJoseph Joubert
âBecause thatâs what kindness is. Itâs not doing something for someone else because they canât, but because you can.â âAndrew Iskander
âCompassion isnât about solutions. Itâs about giving all the love that youâve got.ââCheryl Strayed
âCarry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.ââPrincess Diana
âLove and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.ââBarbara De Angelis
âThat is what compassion does. It challenges our assumptions, our sense of self-limitation, worthlessness, of not having a place in the world, our feelings of loneliness and estrangement. These are narrow, constrictive states of mind. As we develop compassion, our hearts open.ââSharon Salzberg
âKindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.ââEric Hoffer
âAs forâŚthe fear that compassion will involve you in suffering, counter it with the realization that the sharing of sorrow expands your capacity to share joy as well. When you callously ignore the suffering of others, you lose the capacity to share their happiness, too.ââAlbert Schweitzer
âPractice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.ââAnne Herbert
âAlways be a little kinder than necessary.ââJames M. Barrie â âBecause thatâs what kindness is. Itâs not doing something for someone else because they canât, but because you can.â âAndrew Iskander
Do your little bit of good where you are; itâs those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.â âDesmond Tutu
âTo err on the side of kindness is seldom an error.ââLiz Armbruster
âMy wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.ââMaya Angelou
âIt is the characteristic of the magnanimous human to ask no favor but to be ready to do kindness to others.ââAristotle
"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."Â Â âMr. Rogers
"Love and success, always in that order. It's that simple AND that difficult."Â âMr. Rogers
"Love is like infinity: You can't have more or less infinity, and you can't compare two things to see if they're 'equally infinite.' Infinity just is, and that's the way I think love is, too."Â âMr. Rogers
"Lifeâs persistent and most urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'âMartin Luther King Jr.
"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."âWinston Churchill
âRemember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.ââRobin SharmaÂ
"True kindness, loving kidneys, is selfless. Focusing not on self... but on Jesus, and what He calls us to do.... how He tells us to do it... to deny self, to count others more important than self... to serve others, by truly loving others, centering Him, not self, not the world. By loving God and with all of our heart and mind, we have the power to love with and through His strength... truly and deeply... with a unconditional love so powerful it can heal what seems impossibly broken... because what is impossible with man is possible with God. Let us not fall into the tempting yet toothless false definition of love... that lustful and limited-limerence type of love that the world pushes. Let us bless and forgiving even our enemies / those who persecute us... those who the world tells us not to love. Let us do all things in love, with the right the right heart, a selfless heart, one that is following and loving Jesus, which in itself does something wonderful for the painful and pitiful fallen sinful human condition... it transforms... it brings a peace unexplainable and joy unspeakable, in and through Christ." âGCS
(a fun + impactful random act of kindness idea is to ask your infusion nurse or doctor or receptionist if you can print some copies of our kindness quotes page at your infusion center or doctors office -- and put some of these up on the walls and around town at coffee shops or wherever you feel inspired to: Click here for a printer-friendly version of this list of quotes)
There is no such thing as a small act of kindness.
Even the most seemingly-small act of love will have positive ripple effects and travel farther and make an impact greater than we will likely ever know.
This massive study on 40,000 Americans ranging inage from eight years to more than 80 was done and here is what they found:
Scientists proved that reading The Bible 4 times a week -- not once, not twice or three times, but everything changed at reading it FOURÂ TIMES a week -- in doing so it had a reamarkably positive and transformative effect by reducing the odds of critical destructive behaviors:
âŹď¸ Getting drunk = 57% lower odds âŹď¸ Sex outside marriage = 68% lower odds âŹď¸ Pornography = 61% lower odds âŹď¸ Gambling = 74% lower odds âŹď¸ Any of these habits = 57% lower odds
If there was a pill that delivered these result, everyone would want it.  It's no wonder that the bible is banned and changed/modified in so many countires, and so many false teachers are preaching a false Gospel and not encourging people to read their Bibles for themselves. Because it is powerful. Becuase, it works. It is alive! The Bible is God's Word, and God's Word does not return void: ~ "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) â "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
"Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." James 1:21 (NIV) ~ â Are you not yet a beleiver in Jesus? Why not give God a chance? The choice is yours. He gives us free will, so we can choose to love Him, or not. Becuase, He loves us. Loving Him is a choice. We hope you choose Jesus. â If you are interested... â We reccomend reading the Bible NASBÂ 1995, NLT, NIV translations of God's Word.
