Haven't heard of the 30 Days of Kindness?  Click here to find out more. 

I wanted to start off the 30 Days of Kindness with an easy challenge.  This will give us a chance to ease into the kind gestures. 

Smile at a complete stranger.  Now, I don't want your smile to be something like this, small and shy and afraid.
I want your smile to be more like this: friendly and excited and truly happy. 
Make someone's day with your smile.  Make someone feel like you care about them.

You don't have to take a picture of yourself deliberately smiling at someone, because it should be somewhat spontaneous, but I would love to hear your stories in the comments below.  Answer these questions: Who did you smile at (description, boy or girl, etc.)?  Where were you?  What was their reaction?  Would you do it again?

Tune in later today to see what I did for today's act of kindness.

TOMORROW: Greet a stranger!  

Tomorrow is the big day.  The 30 Days of Kindness will begin on October 1st.  It's going to work a little something like this: I'll begin the day's blog post with the challenge and the challenge requirements, and later in the day, I'll be posting photos, videos, or stories of what I did during this challenge.  I'll also be sharing tomorrow's challenge so you can have more time to plan.  The next day, I'll do the same thing. 

If you would like to participate in the 30 Days of Kindness, then please comment below!  If you're a fellow blogger, feel free to post about these challenges on your blog.  Send the link to me and I'll share your blog with my readers.  If you're a YouTuber, send me the links to your videos.  If you're a photographer, I'll share your pictures.  If you love to write, I'll post your stories.

This challenge was originally designed for Christians, so some of the challenges will be faith-based.  However, if you're not a Christian and you would still like to participate in this challenge, feel free to replace those days with a secular alternative.  For example, if the day's challenge is to leave ten encouraging Bible verses in various locations, leave out ten encouraging quotes.  If the challenge is to give away a Bible, give away one of your favorite books instead.  I would love for anyone to participate in this challenge.  Our world needs more kindness.

Share the link to this article on your Facebook or MySpace page.  Feel free to participate with your friends. 

Here is the planned schedule:
October 1: Smile at a stranger
October 2: Say hi to a stranger
October 3: Compliment a stranger
October 4: Give a stranger a hug
October 5: Leave a dollar for someone to find
October 6: Leave an encouraging note on a mirror
October 7: Donate five dollars to a charity or to someone who needs the money
October 8: Leave an encouraging note somewhere
October 9: Donate clothes to a needy person
October 10: Hug ten people
October 11: Make a snack for your friends
October 12: Leave an encouraging note for a friend
October 13: Compliment ten people
October 14: Personally encourage a friend
October 15: Take someone out for coffee/ice cream
October 16: Offer to do an odd job for the elderly
October 17: Give food to a homeless person (if you can't find one, leave food for someone who needs it)
October 18: Offer to help out around the house
October 19: Pay for someone's lunch
October 20: Volunteer your time
October 21: Leave an anonymous letter of encouragement on the windshield of a stranger's car
October 22: Leave a Bible somewhere (or give one away)
October 23: Give away a pair of shoes
October 24: Write a letter to someone you admire and give it to them
October 25: Leave ten encouraging notes/quotes/Bible verses
October 26: Write an encouraging note to a service worker
October 27: Pray for someone you know
October 28: Pray for someone you don't know
October 29: Leave five dollar bills in different places (or give them away)
October 30: Buy someone a thoughtful gift
October 31: Your idea