Random Sampler  Making Pillows Talk  In our family, pillows
really do talk—and they say a lot about our family’s love for
one another.  My husband and I wanted a creative way to
encourage loving, helpful relationships in our home, and so we
bought a variety of small wooden shapes at a craft store,
painted them as artistically as our talents would allow, and
gave each shape a title. A little house became “Happy Home”; a
candlestick, “Let Your Light Shine”; a heart, “Love One
Another”; a dove, “Peacemaker”; and a bunny, “Speedy” (quick to
offer help). These became our family awards. (We have since
added more awards for other actions we want to encourage.
“Courage Cat” came into existence when we wanted to encourage
our children to try new things.)  During the week, we are all on
the lookout for kind deeds. When someone receives or notices a
kindness, he or she hides an award under the giver’s pillow
sometime before bedtime. The recipient can keep the award until
our next family home evening, when we collect the