Tag: Encouraging others

Showing thankfulness to others

First off, let me say Happy National Writing Day to those of you in the UK! When I heard it was today, I decided I absolutely had to get round to posting my next blog in the thankfulness series. It has taken me until late afternoon, but I have been writing during the rest of the day too! (And sorry these posts haven’t been as regular as usual – work on my books has been filling my time – more writing! 😉 )

This post encourages you to do some writing of your own…

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1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to ‘encourage one another and build each other up’. A great way of doing this is looking out for ways to show someone else how thankful you are that they are in your life. Perhaps you could cook them a meal, buy them a small gift or, what I’m suggesting here, find a way to tell them exactly what they mean to you. This will do wonders for their inner spirit – and you’ll also find you are uplifted through doing it.

I would suggest keeping a steady supply of nice notelets or paper and then write notes of thankfulness for the people in your life every so often. Today, pick those closest to you and spend some time pondering what you could say in a note to them. Using pen and paper rather than a computer forces you to slow down, giving you the chance to really stop and think about the person you are going to be writing to.

If you have a partner, or a flat mate, leave them a card letting them know why you thank God for them and why it is wonderful to share your home with them. If you have children, make it a priority to write them a little note and hide it somewhere for them to find later. I have a little tradition with my kids– I write a note each morning and put it in their lunchbox. I know that both of them, since being in full-time school, have found lunch times difficult as it reminds them they are away from home all day. I make a point of telling them how much they are loved. And on days I know they have a test or are worried about something in particular, I write a Bible verse or a little prayer that addresses that. I also try to write notes to them every so often pointing out particular characteristics in them that I really appreciate too…

Of course, you could extend this out to people you don’t know well. Saying, or writing, a quick phrase that lets them know you’ve noticed them, and how they make your day better, will be such a blessing to them. For example, do you have milk delivered? Leave your milkman/woman a note simply saying ‘I thank God for you every time I see fresh milk on my doorstep’ – and then say a prayer of thanks whenever you bring in the milk.

Words that bring life

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‘But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.’

Reflections based on Ephesians 2:1–22.

We have been focusing on the power of our words, and how we can give encouragement through them. Encouragements can simply be words of thanks when something goes well or when somebody’s actions were a real blessing to you. But, actually, the greatest words of encouragement that we can not only receive but give to others are the truths about our identity in Christ. A quick word to someone who is having a bad day, reminding them that they are God’s child, loved and accepted and full of His Spirit, can do wonders to affirm them.

I think it is important that we remind ourselves regularly of who we are in Christ too. That is why I picked out this passage in Ephesians. It is stuffed full of truth about what our identity is now that we are in Him. I’m going to quickly highlight some of them for you: we were once dead in our sin but we are now alive. God has seated us next to Jesus. We have this gift through grace – we don’t deserve it nor is it because of anything that we have done or need to do. We were once far away but are now near God. Jesus is our peace. We are now citizens of heaven and members of God’s household, part of His body in which the Holy Spirit dwells.

Isn’t that all amazing?!

To top it all off, the previous chapter of Ephesians reminds us that we are not just part of God’s household, but we are children of God: ‘In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will’ (v5). I don’t know about you, but soaking in those truths really lifts my spirit!

Prayer: Lord I thank You so much for the new life that I have in Jesus; for the standing and authority that You have lavished upon me because of Him. I stand in amazement before You today.

 

 

Encouragement

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I am excited to kick off this new blog series because it is on a subject that is close to my heart. In recent years God has been talking to me about how we all desperately need encouragement. I’m sure part of the reason was because I have a tendency towards negativity and He really wanted me to grow out of it, but He has been very gracious to me in the way He has dealt with that. (Being married to someone whose primary love language is words of affirmation has certainly taught me a lot too!)

I took over the running of our women’s ministry in church a few years ago, and the subject of encouragement was the big thing I felt God ask me to focus on. There was in fact just one verse that really seemed to sum up what God was calling us to as a group:

‘So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11, The Message).

That has been my hope and prayer ever since: that we would show love, support, encouragement and unity through the way we interact with one another. That when we meet up we learn to intentionally build one another up as well as supporting each other in the day-to-day routines of life. It is my prayer for all of you that are reading this too – that you will have those around you that you can do the same with.

In our busy, time-starved society I believe encouragement can be sadly lacking but it is so vital for the well-being of our souls. There are so many things that can dampen our enthusiasm for life or knock the wind out of our sails, but encouragement is one of the gifts God has given us in order to set the balance right again in our lives. So, during this weekly series, I want us together to delve deeper into the Source of all encouragement and look at how He gently teaches us to be greater encouragers of not only ourselves but those around us too.

(If you’d like to leave a comment or two during the series, that would really encourage me too 😉 )

Lessons from the cheese box

This morning I opened the fridge door and immediately spotted that the box that we keep our cheese in had moved shelves. My family had been staying for the weekend and had looked after our kids while we were out, so they had obviously put it back in a different place. I was intrigued by my response: I was both offended and surprised.

The offence came from my immediate reaction: “What’s the cheese box doing there? That’s not where it lives!” and the surprise, “Hmm, it looks neater there – perhaps that’s a better spot”.

As I shut the fridge door I felt God whisper to me, “That’s your response when people do things differently to you”. I knew He was talking about the ‘offended’ response. Ouch.

As part of a leadership training course I’m attending, we’ve spent time looking at how well we foster new leaders. I’ve started asking myself these sorts of questions:

Do I encourage others into new leadership roles or am I fearful of what that might mean for me?

Do I always ‘need’ to be involved in new initiatives or am I happy to see others bring them into fruition?

Do I gladly embrace new ways of doing things suggested by other people or do I do so half-heartedly, grumbling in my heart that it will never work and ‘knowing’ that mine is the better way?

Am I seeking to raise up other leaders who will be able to take over the roles I am currently in, or am I holding on too tightly?

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