{"id":71625,"date":"2025-04-28T08:19:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T13:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/?p=71625"},"modified":"2025-04-28T08:33:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T13:33:58","slug":"71625-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/71625-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Were you a Latch-Key Kid?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI believe that appreciation is a holy thing – that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does all the time. So, in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something sacred.\u201d \u2015<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Fred Rogers<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you remember the childhood TV show, Mister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood<\/em>? As a \u201clatchkey\u201d kid, it was comforting to watch and feel I had someone who was so near and genuinely caring. For over 30 years, Mister Rogers built relationships with millions of children, each one feeling like they were spending time with a trusted friend. He looked straight into the camera, offering kindness, empathy, and acceptance. TV Guide<\/em> once said Mister Rogers \u201cmakes us, young and old alike, feel safe, cared for, and valued\u2026. Wherever Mister Rogers is, so is sanctuary.\u201d<\/p>\n

I recently read a book titled Holy Hygge<\/em> (pronounced HOO-GAH), which explores the Danish concept of hygge<\/em>. It\u2019s a word with no direct English equivalent but centers around creating warmth, slowing down, and enjoying life with others. Its core values include simplicity, relationships, presence, and comfort<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Holy Hygge<\/em> blends this lifestyle with Christian faith, encouraging us to live intentionally and relationally. When we approach hygge through a Christian lens, it becomes a powerful way to reflect God\u2019s love in our everyday rhythms. The chapter on relationship was especially enlightening. We all crave what Mister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood offered \u2013 a community to feel safe, cared for and valued.<\/p>\n

From the very beginning, when God created a garden home for Adam and Eve, it was also a model of perfect relationship and community. He walked with them. He talked with them. God designed us for relationship\u2014with Him and with one another. \u201cIt is not good for man to be alone\u201d<\/em> (Genesis 2:18), and Jesus reiterates this in John 15:12: \u201cThis is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Ironically, in today\u2019s hyper-connected digital age, loneliness and isolation are on the rise. Hygge-inspired living invites us back to meaningful conversations, face-to-face connection, and even handwritten notes\u2014things that nurture the soul far more than likes or follows. As followers of Immanuel<\/em>\u2014God with us\u2014we know the true answer to loneliness is found in relationship with the Lord and deep connections with others. Holy Hygge<\/em> encourages us to build our social connections around three pillars: encouragement, discipleship, and evangelism<\/strong>. The author offers simple ways to practice this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ask thoughtful questions\u2014and really listen<\/li>\n
  2. Serve and sacrifice for others.<\/li>\n
  3. Establish meaningful rhythms, traditions, and spiritual practices.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    When we holy<\/em> hygge<\/em>, we create space not only for comfort and community\u2014but to invite others into the presence of Immanuel, God with us.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cI believe that appreciation is a holy thing – that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":71628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 01:08:37","action":"delete","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinshipradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}