Showing posts with label A Dose of Encouragement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Dose of Encouragement. Show all posts

Wednesday

Thankfulness & Happiness go Hand in Hand - A Dose of Encouragement








When you think of Thankfulness what comes to your mind?



When you think of Happiness what comes to your mind?








When my husband and I think of thankfulness we often talk of God's protection over the years.         

       One winter Sunday evening we were driving home on the same road on which we then travelled twice every Sunday to go from our home in Banbridge to the church we attended in Lurgan. The drive takes 20/25 mins depending on traffic but on Sunday evenings there is normally very little traffic on that road.


        A certain section of the road has a few quite significant dips so that as you drive up towards one of these you have no real view ahead and the road is clearly signed to tell drivers about this in advance. So as we drove along in the dark around 8.30pm and came to the slight brow of a hill before one of these dips we suddenly saw several lights of cars coming towards us but as well as this we saw a set of lights coming towards us on our side of the road. 


       This is a country road with a very narrow footpath and hedges or walls etc. so usually no room to manoeuvre. A large lorry (truck for my American friends) was trying to overtake 3 or 4 cars and was still on the wrong side of the road; he had obviously ignored the signs about the dips in the road and also the road markings which clearly showed that no overtaking was allowed on that stretch of road.


        The only thing my husband Fred could do was to swerve in to the side of the road as the lorry tried to cut back into his proper side in front of the lead car. Up until then there had been no break in the narrow footpath but at the exact place that we had to cut in there was a gap in the footpath and in the hedge because there was an entrance to something there. 

Just enough room for our car to get in out of the way as the lorry skimmed past us.


Obviously God had brought us to the right spot at the right time

 and saved our lives.



There are big things in our lives that can cause us to be thankful & happy like this time 
and the other times He has protected us in the car. 

 You can read about these occasions at:
4 Accidents and a ????  (pt1)
4 Accidents and a ????  (pt2)
4 Accidents and a ????  (pt3)
4 Accidents and a ????  (pt4)
4 Accidents and a ????  (pt5)



But there are also the other smaller things everyday that we sometimes forget to be happy about. 

We have had several times when we have been thankful to God because of his hand of protection but so many other times we forget to be thankful for the things that make us happy.  Most of us will have something each day which makes us happy but often we forget to thank God for that (however small) thing He has provided in our life.




Then also we often forget to thank others who in some big or small way help us out.

One example is the time I was happy to have been able to help someone I only knew online, with somethings that I used to have to ask others to help me with.






Isn't that nice that Caroline acknowledged the help I had given her, she didn't need to do that, but thankyous are always appreciated.


Then there are the friends that you make that no matter what happens throughout the years you know they will always be your friends.  The ones who know you for who you really are.  Such a gift to be thankful for.








Who or what are you thankful for & happy about today?


So many times we are drawn to think on the more unpleasant things in life which lead to unhappiness and they can keep us from being thankful for anything when we are in that frame of mind.  






What can we do to keep the right frame of mind and not get into that attitude that can get worse and worse as we dwell on the hurts and unpleasantness caused by others?





 

We can remember that God has not promised us that everything will always be perfect for us, that every day will not be full of happy events, that many days will bring upon us the more unpleasant things in this imperfect world.

 

One of the saddest times in my life was when I miscarried my first pregnancy.

All those years ago most people did not know what to say or how to comfort someone but God sent me someone – not a particularly close friend, not someone who had gone through a similar experience, not someone who was even married.

He sent me someone who simply said they were sorry about what had happened and were praying for me and then they gave me a card with a little poem.  Somehow that card got lost – I just don’t know how or when but then one day I saw the same poem

 




I bought this box and it sits in my study now (empty) but it reminds me to be thankful and happy that God will care for me through the worst of times.


Memories of times when we proved God's comfort and love are GOOD! 




God’s word also reminds us that: 
  • God’s love to us never ends.
  • God’s mercy to us never ends.
  • God’s faithfulness to us never ends.







So let's not forget that:
  • God has promised to be with us at all times, the best and the worst.
  • God has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us in all our days.
  • God is still with us even when we don’t feel we are close to Him.
  • God is still demonstrating His love even if we are not looking for it.









How To Be More Encouraging on Facebook - A Dose of Encouragement


I want to be more encouraging to others.

I want to share items that will make others laugh, smile, learn something worthwhile, help, and encourage people.  


You probably want to be a good friend to others too!

So we all really want to be good encouraging friends on Facebook!



I just thought I would share a little story with you because if we were out for a coffee together I would have told you this.  I love sharing little things that happen to us (or rather mostly me) if they are funny as it is good to laugh.

I love my slippers.

For years now as soon as I get into the house off come the shoes and on go the slippers.  


But last year I got worse!


Yes I started getting into the car in my slippers and taking a pair of shoes with me for putting on at my destination.

Before anyone starts to worry about safety in the car let me assure you this is perfectly ok as I am not driving very much now and my husband Fred does wear his shoes as he drives.


So one day I opened the hall cupboard and grabbed my black sling backs and headed on out to the car in a hurry.

However when I got to my destination and went to put on my shoes I discovered I had lifted two left shoes.


Yes I have two pairs of the same shoes!








They must have both got thrown in to the same part of the cupboard and in my hurry I did not look closely enough to make sure I was bringing out the correct pair of shoes.

Now the thing is 2 left shoes are very useful if you have the two right ones to match up with them but 2 left shoes on their own are not good.

Firstly they are exactly the same shoe but my feet are not, no way is a left shoe going to fit properly on my right foot.  I could get my foot in but it would not be the correct shape so not a good fit.

Secondly it would not be wise to try to walk with the wrong shoe.  Of course I did try but it is so uncomfortable especially around the toes and the arch.   Wearing shoes like this would end up injuring my foot.



What do we learn from this little story?


Not everything is what it immediately looks like!

Be more careful!

You must look carefully at what you are going to use!


In a pair of shoes, both will look exactly the same in colour, size, design but they are not identical.  We have to look closely at them to see which is the right one for each foot.

Something like this happens as we scroll through our facebook.
We will see posts that look like great Christian posts but we need to look closely at them to know whether they are the "right fit" for us.

Remember there will always be imitators of all good things and there are plenty of them on Facebook

but it may be a while before you see their true colours

for example

A.  In a group of what were supposed to be "Christians" I had a lady private message me and call me "the Devil" because I had spoken to her friend about the reference for a verse she was using to instruct other women.  She was actually taking a verse out of Job and using it wrongly but did not want us to know so she just said it was in the book of Job and then scoffed that we obviously did not know our bibles well enough when asked for the reference.  I gave her the reference of the verse and then asked her to treat it properly in context with the verses around and that is when she got mad at me and her friend messaged me (twice in fact because she claimed this lady was very holy).
Obviously these two ladies had to be blocked by me on facebook so that I would not have to put up with being cursed at on messenger and called names and I also left the group because being in it was going to bring me into contact with more of this type of person - trying to teach the word wrongly.







B.  Then there are the lovely pictures we see on Facebook but they are not being shared by Christians - they are being shared by people who just want more attention and followers and have sometimes even stolen other people's pictures to use - as was the case a few years ago when someone took a picture I had made and shared it but they had removed my name from it before they put it on their page.

These people are not there to help or encourage others but to gain something for themselves.

They don't care if they are sharing misquotes of the Bible or of well known Christians, they don't care so they don't check their pictures or words are TRUE.

(This is completely different from the people who share pictures of mine straight from my page and I have several people who do this regularly and I do appreciate their support.)


I don't want to share things on my Facebook personal page or on Sandra's Ark Facebook Page 
that would not be fun or educational or encouraging or beneficial to others and I certainly don't want to share posts that are advertising/promoting something I do not believe in.

So I am very careful to avoid certain posts on Facebook.



How can we we tell which posts to avoid?



1.  Take a little look at the bottom of the picture or in the corner and you may see the credit given to whoever or whatever organisation created this picture, you may have a good hint from this name whether it is a Christian post or NOT.

NOTE. 
Almost anything with "Spiritual" in the name will indicate other religions and not true Christianity. 
Spirituality does not = Christian and if you don't know what I mean here take a look at all the categories in bookshops - Spirituality there will present you with Mysticism and Occult and other Non-Christian Religions.

I actually wrote a previous short blog post about    Spiritual = Christian?



2.  Look and see who originally posted this on Facebook and you may get a clue about whether or not this is a Christian post or NOT.

NOTE. 
If they regularly tag loads of people they are looking for lots of likes and shares, if they are looking for an amen comment or if they are trying to make you feel bad for not commenting, liking or sharing their post, they are using a form of blackmail so just let it pass by.



3.  If you are not sure about the poster/page when you find out who originally posted it, just click through to "about" on their Facebook page  (about is sometimes now under "Community" on the side) and then scan through what you find.

NOTE.
You will most likely see a link to a website with a strange name, or a website which when you click through to it and scan down a page or two will obviously show you whether you can trust it or not.

EXAMPLE:

You may see "Project Happiness" and it looks like a good name.

These two links will indicate what it is like

https://www.facebook.com/projecthappiness

http://www.projecthappiness.org/

(you don't have to scan far on either of these two sites before seeing a person or a small logo of a person in a sitting yoga meditation position - and no you cannot have Christian Yoga)




4.  Not everyone who calls themselves
 Apostle / Prophet / Prophetess / Pastor / Pastrix (new term used for a female pastor) / Minister / Elder / Deacon / Deaconess, 
are actually ordained by a true Christian Denomination. 


Matthew 7 v 21-23
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

NOTE.
Most Christians worth following on Facebook rarely mention their true titles.




5.  One thing that stands out to me is if the picture or the cover pic of the page that shared it has angels or a type of celestial look to it just avoid.


Another Tip!
Look at quality of the picture that is shared - if not good or looks like it has been altered then think twice before you click the like or share button.





I know this all takes a bit of time but it is worth it not to be passing on something that is linked with someone or some organisation you really would not intend to advertise to others.


And remember EVERYTHING we do on Facebook
 actually does promote ourselves and others
 whether we mean it to or not.


I make a point of not feeling that I have to just share anything I see.

I make a point of not feeling that I need to daily fill up my personal page or my Blog Page.

I make a point of thinking twice about whether the item is good to share onwards.



When we have a safe, friendly, encouraging page or group or personal profile on Facebook 
we will be an encouragement and blessing to others. 



For further help in checking out other FB pages see my earlier blog post  Spiritual = Christian?








Here are some Facebook Accounts to avoid:

Jen Hatmaker
Heidi Baker
Paula White
Christine Caine
Ann voscamp
Joshua Mills
Bill Johnston - Bethel (California)
Joseph Prince



Here are some Facebook pages to avoid:

Letting Love Flow  by Mary Ruth Velicki
Wisdom of the Women rising
Soul Awakenings
Butterflies rising
Embracing yourself
The Warrior within You
Project Happiness




Here are some Words / Phrases to avoid:

Angelic
Spirituality
Christian Yoga
LDS - Latter Day Saints (Mormons)
Good Thoughts
Sensing your spirit
Spiritual energy
Crystals






10 Ways to Help Start A Good Daily Habit - A Dose of Encouragement


Oh go on admit it!

We all have habits.

Some are Good and then there are those ones that we just don't want to talk about.







Well they say
(don't really know who they are but I am always reading or hearing that this is what THEY say)

that

 if you do something for 30 days you will form a new habit



I took this seriously a few years ago because I seriously wanted to get into the habit of reading at least one verse of the Bible before I got into some kind of Social Media or something else on my iPad each day.

So if you read my  "Advice for a King & for Us post in my Encouragement Series you will know that I started with Proverbs 31.


Well I can tell you that 30 days
did not truly make this
 a habit for me!!!


But


We all know the saying

"An Apple a Day keeps the Doctor away"


So how about we make it

"A Psalm a Day keeps the Devil at Bay"?







Or

Maybe it would be better to make it


"A Chapter a Day Gives The Lord His Say"?






A Chapter is not too much to read each day.


So


How do you get started?



Here are 10 suggestions:


Also don't miss the 3 TIPS at the very end of this blog post.


1.   Start at the very beginning.
If you are a methodical person you might find this suits you and of course the Book of Genesis gives us a good grounding for all that is to come later.

At the start of this year I chose to read through the Bible in one year Chronologically so it did not follow through the Bible in the order of the placement of books in the Bible but by the time in which they were written.






2.   Pick a Book you have never read before.
Something that will be fresh and new to you.

Even though I have read straight through the Bible a few times there are still some books like the minor prophets that I often can't recall.



3.   Pick a book you could read completely in one day.
There are 5 books that are only 1 chapter long:

OBADIAH
PHILEMON
JUDE

The other 2 are
2 JOHN
3 JOHN
However it might seem strange to read 2 & 3 John before 1 John so see below to join up all 3 books







4.   Pick a short book that you could read within one week.
There are several books that have between  2 - 7 chapters.

HAGGAI  -  2
HABAKKUK  -  3
JOEL  -  3
NAHUM  -  3
2 PETER  -  3
TITUS  -  3
2 THESSALONIANS  -  3
ZEPHANIAH  -  3
COLOSSIANS  -  4
JONAH  -  4
MALACHI  -  4
PHILIPPIANS  - 4
RUTH  -  4 
2 TIMOTHY  -  4
JAMES  -  5
LAMENTATIONS  -  5
1 PETER  -  5
1 THESSALONIANS  -  5 
1 TIMOTHY  -  6
1, 2 & 3 JOHN  -  7

Or a combination of 2 or 3 from this list to make up a week's reading.







5.   Pick one of the Gospels.
Some people prefer to read the New Testament first before the Old Testament as they feel it is easier.
Some people prefer to read the narrative about Jesus before the other books.

Many people recommend John's Gospel as the first Book to read.







6.   Pick the book of Psalms 
Where each one can be thought of as a complete read on it's own.

There is great wisdom for us in the very first Psalm so a good starting point.







7.   Pick the book of Proverbs
Where each chapter is often thought of as easy to read.

This is a book which is full of wisdom and advice & I like to note the repetitions of phrases within it.







8.   Pick a book you have read a long time ago.
One not so familiar at the moment.

Like my choice of Song of Solomon in the recent past because I could not really remember it and I never felt I understood it very well.



9.   Pick a book that your pastor has preached on recently.
One you can think of in the light of what your Pastor has taught.

For me that would be Ruth.

Perhaps I should have waited to hear his teaching before I wrote these two blog posts. 


Ruth & Boaz - The Start of the Story





Ruth & Boaz -  Love & Perfection?







10.  Pick a book that your pastor is about to start preaching on.
One to prepare you for future teaching.

For me that would be Esther.







Plus 3 EXTRA TIPS


1.  Do Not start with the book of Job  -  long & hard to read

2.  Do Not give up with reading the Bible daily  -  if you feel you cannot understand a book then simply leave it
 and choose another.
You can always go back & read it later.

3.  Tell someone your plan and ask them to check up with you regularly to encourage you.
  Maybe you can do the same for them.











A Place for Everything and Everything in It's Place! - A Dose of Encouragement



  Where is it?

      Where did you leave it?

          Where did you last see it?

              Where did you last have it?

                  When did you last have it?

                      What did you last use it for?



I need

A Place for Everything!



   





All these questions and more are regularly asked in our house.


So the simple solution to all of this is my favourite quote



A Place for Everything and Everything in it's Place



But even though I have loved this saying for many years

                              I have never yet got to this ideal position in my home or life.


One of the reasons

                       is simply that there are







I often have to overhaul my Study and even there I pick a place to keep something and then later I change my mind and decide to keep in in a different part of that room and then the next time I want that item I go back to the original place and wonder why I can't find it there!



I have forgotten that I changed my mind!




This is especially so with my craft items.

One time I think that one box or container suits my stamps best and then I get some more and decide that the original container was not big enough to hold all that I now have 

or I have my embellishments in segmented containers and then I decide to sort them by a different criterion and find that the sizes of the compartments don't suit or the number of compartments don't suit.

So I rearrange them and then later when I want a certain item I have to go through all my containers again because I can't remember how I rearranged them.


I have forgotten that I changed my mind!


When we lived in America (many years ago) we bought a lovely piece of furniture.

It was a Computer Armoire.






While we were in America and also for some years after we had returned to Northern Ireland, we used it for our computer but then when we all had computers we stopped using it for this purpose and I claimed it as a Craft Armoire.


BUT this is what it can get like when I let it get out of control.

When I don't take the time to put things in their proper place inside it.






Unfortunately other things can get out of control in our lives too.

We start to order our finances with a nice little budget but then forget about or don't write everything down.

We start to be more careful about our eating habits and exercise habits and then after a few weeks we get lazy again.

We plan to do things but just keep putting them off.

What we could be tempted to say then is

I need a

Place for everything and Time for everything!



When what we really need is to get rid of the things that take up space and time in our lives and say

I need to

Concentrate on the good and sensible things that give meaning to my life.


by asking ourselves what God would have us do and going back to the reason we are on this earth


What is Man's Chief End?

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.


Or in other words


What should we be concentrating on?



We should be concentrating on living our lives so that
 we bring
 glory and honour to God
 and
 draw others to God


Then we will know the fullness of joy that the Bible talks about because we will be in the right place.







Then we will be content with our life because we will be in the right place with God.


Then we won't have perfect homes or perfect memories or be perfect but we will be in good relationship with  our heavenly father.


Let's Put the RIGHT things FIRST in our Lives and Homes.


Let's not keep changing what we think, what we do, what we hold on to.

Let's follow God and stick with what He leads us to.

Let's not keep forgetting or changing our minds.

I'ts time to be consistent in our faith.


God is an unchanging God

Can we be an unchanging people who stick to God's Word and obey all of it.









How to Keep in Touch & Encourage Others When We Have To Be Apart - A Dose of Encouragement


We are in lockdown in Northern Ireland just like many are in lockdown all over the world during this month of April in 2020 and may be like this for many weeks or months to come.

We are confined to our homes or as many of us would say - we are stuck at home.

Many of us want to keep in touch and encourage our family, friends and church family.

What can we do to encourage others when we cannot go out to visit, talk in person face to face, or meet together in our different churches?







Yes I'm sure it is in your mind right now that there is one obvious thing we can do - PRAY!

I agree the first thing we should do is pray for
  •  our situation 
  •  our families
  •  our friends
  •  our neighbours
  •  our church community
  •  the lonely, vulnerable and anxious people we know
  •  those who are ill
  •  doctors, nurses, other hospital workers
  •  home carers
  •  foodbank workers
  •  key workers

BUT

What else can we do to keep in touch?

What else can we do to encourage each other?


Yes here I am sitting at the computer as I do for at least a little while each day - okay much more than a little while most days - and in this day and age most people do spend time each day on computers, mobiles, tablets etc.


My computer is where I do most of my blogging, online shopping, work on kids resources,  playing with graphics, storing photographs and filing Home info.

My iPad is where I do most of my emailing, make lists and notes, facetime our kids, go on facebook, play a few games' and browse Ebay and Amazon.

My mobile is where I text, message, whatsApp, take pictures & videos


Now on each of these things I do have contact with other people but everything via these things is in a kind of shortened form.


However in the situation we are at this moment I need to change my ways and add something that is not so much in shortened form - I need to start using my phone as a phone.
I hate talking on the phone and will do almost anything else so as not to have to do it.
Partly because I don't feel that I hear these so clearly on the phone even though my hearing is fine.
Partly because I talk with my hands, and you can't do that while holding a phone and of course there is no-one to see it.
And
Partly because I can't see the person to see how they actually feel as they are talking to me.


So I'm going to have to get out of my comfort Zone and actually phone people because it is just not enough to ask Fred how each person is after he has called them.


That sort of brings me to what our church is doing in this time of Lockdown.



What our Church is Doing

  • Live online service each Sunday morning.
  • Online Prayer Meeting on Zoom midweek
  • Bible Study online midweek
  • Milk Note*
  • Leadership Phone contact rota
  • WhatsApp group for prayer requests and encouraging news and uplifting videos etc.
  • Videos of some of the congregation singing (individual videos put together)

*A little note put in the door (one day in the week) of people who may need some extra help during the week to get some extra groceries or something else from a shop and then collected another day and the items delivered as soon as possible.







Types / Groups of People within the Church Family

  • Elderly
  • People who live alone
  • People who do not have any family living locally
  • People suffering from Chronic illnesses
  • Couples
  • Families with teenagers
  • Families with young children

All of these people need to know that others are thinking about them, praying for them and care about them.



How can different people within the church family encourage each other?



What We can Do as Individuals

  • Phone calls - Just ring someone to encourage and check up on them.
  • Text Messages - a little check-in text is quick & easy & maybe a conversation will ensue.
  • Send Cards - it doesn't take long to write a greeting on a cheery card or postcard.
  • Write letters - it takes more time than to write a card but some of us are better at letters.
  • Support Foodbanks
  • Buy a special treat or make a tasty treat for someone on their own
  • Use our Hobbies - to support other organisations or people*
  • Use our Abilities - to support other organisations or people**
  • People living in the same area can take their daily walk some days to go past homes of others - wave to them or stop and have a brief chat or take a picture from a proper distance.
  • Encourage Each Other to Exercise - easy things together on facetime or phone & have a laugh  
  • Encourage Each Other to Listen to Good Hymns & Songs - send YouTube links* 
  • Encourage Each Other to Read the Bible - decide to read a certain passage and then chat on the phone about it or on facetime**
  • Encourage Each Other to Memorize Scripture - decide to learn a particular verse and then test each other on facetime or a phone call***
  • Use our Hobbies - to support other organisations or people****
  • Use our Abilities - to support other organisations or people*****

*Take turns to choose a song from your own play lists or decide to find new songs

I have some recommendations here:
  Looking for Good Songs 


**All you need is to pick a book of the Bible or chose a reading plan 

Here are some posts to help you:
  

***All you need is to determine you want to memorize a verse of the Bible and follow my tips 


****Remember that if you have any hobbies like card making, knitting, crocheting, quilting, cross stitching you can use them to encourage and show love and care for others.


*****Remember that if you have any knowledge of computers you can be of help to get other people online when there are church services and prayer meetings and Bible Studies available there. 


SOME EXAMPLES:

Help them set up a Zoom account for prayer meetings, Bible Studies or even ladies meetings - yes this is how I had to speak to ladies from another church a week ago.  Quite awkward when you have too many people for one screen as we did as you feel you aren't interacting so much because you can't see them.






Help them to get a facebook account set up so that they can access the live streams.


Help them  to find good facebook pages.


Help them  to get unto WhatsApp to be in a group of people for contact and prayer requests.


They may even want to come join others on my Facebook page which was primarily set up to encourage others as is this Blog.
  Just click on the pic below.

Sandra's Ark








IDEAS for Children to be Involved within the Church Family


Children can make cards for the older people on their own.
Our grandchildren made cards for us and because they know what they like to play with in our house and they know the things we like they customized them for us.
My card had a large heart and some butterflies because you will find hearts and butterflies all over my house.
Fred's card had a guitar on the front because he loves guitars.
Both of our cards had pirate stickers on them because our grandson Matthew loves to play with a pirate ship we bought him which stays in our house.







Parents can share little videos of the children

Families could take a little video of them all saying hello and waving to people.




Children can dictate little messages for their parents to send to others.

Our daughter-in-law wrote a postcard to me for our granddaughter who is not quite 3 years old yet and she wrote it by asking Ruby questions to help her think what she might like to say.
I can tell you now that we are going to have sausages and pasta the first time we get back to see them in their house after Lockdown, partly because she likes pasta and I like sausages.







People who know the children well can facetime the children to chat with them, read a story, sing a song with them, or play a little game.


We sing songs
with our grandchildren and find out if they have learnt any new songs recently that they can teach us.


We do a hide and seek over facetime where we get the grandkids to close their eyes and count while we hide a cuddly toy bear in different places in our house and they then have to tell us where to go in the house to look in the places they think we may have hidden it.







We can do a jigsaw together with them over facetime.
This was one that their mum got us for Christmas and it was rather special because it was made from a picture of Fred and I and the three grandchildren the day the youngest was born.






Here are some links to other blog posts for tested Facetime ideas:






The Church can produce simple materials for the children

The Church can choose themes or topics and produce a
  •  little prayer,
  •  story idea,
  •  colouring page
  •  simple memory verse
  •  and maybe a simple craft idea for the parents to use with the children.
for each one.

Having been a Sunday School Curriculum Writer and A Kid's Club leader for many years those kinds of things come more naturally to me and every church will have someone who can develop a little system like this.




WHAT CAN WE ALL DO TO KEEP IN TOUCH?

WHAT CAN WE ALL DO TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS?


Can you encourage someone?
Yes you can.

Can you do any of the things mentioned above?
Yes you can.

No matter who you are, you can do at least one of the things mentioned here in this blog post.



Do you think that one thing you are able to do can make a difference?

If you said no then you are wrong.

Every little thing we do out of love and concern and compassion for another person can make a difference to a day for them.

In times of loneliness, vulnerability, anxiety or stress one thing in the day can help to brighten someone's life - that's what encouragement is all about.

People always need to be reminded of God's Love

People always need to be reminded that:





I actually received that poem above many years ago after an extremely sad time in my life and I was very thankful for some encouragement.




Can you encourage someone?

YES!

To encourage someone means to leave them seeing their day, week, life, changed even in a very simple way so that they are lifted out of any discouragement, loneliness, dismay, they may be feeling.

With the added advantage we have of turning their eyes toward Jesus to know He still cares for them.



And what about the person doing the encouragement?

Well if you step out and do some act of kindness to encourage another I tell you it will also encourage you.



Let me encourage you from my own experience how simple acts of kindness encourage others.

I know how a little letter can help someone   -   See  Tears over a Little Letter

I know how receiving a handmade card can encourage someone.   -  just look above to the cards we got from the grandkids.

I know how a phone call can help someone   -   I'm not good at making them but I do appreciate them.

I know how keeping in touch on facebook messenger regularly can help someone.

I know how checking in with someone on WhatsApp helps them.

I know how thankful people are for little cards sent out to them to show your love and concern.

Here are examples of some of the lovely Postcards I found that I am sending out to people within our church who are on their own.






I picked them because of the attractive, encouraging Bible Verses they display.

I bought them from a company called "10 of Those" who are a UK company and sell lots of books as well with everything being at really good prices.

There are two packs of the postcards and they each have 5 different designs, the picture above show three from each pack.






I get no commission from "10 of Those" - I just wanted to give you an example of what you can get for a good price but I'm sure other Bible Book shops online will have similar products.



I also know how providing that bag of pasta or flour or toilet rolls or other essential items to a foodbank will not only help the people who receive gifts from the foodbank but will also help to relieve the pressure on the foodbank organisers.  -  Our son is in that position.


I also know that just being the person someone else can turn to at any time for prayer is a great encouragement.


I also know that being the person who is inviting you wot pray online with them, or read the Bible or sing the Psalms together online is a great help to others.  -  Our other son is in that position.


I also know that having someone just to remember you live far from your homeland and in a different culture and to make you laugh at times can be a great gift.  -  Our daughter is in that position.


So why not think how you feel and how you would like someone to encourage and help you and then do that for someone else.





You may also find the following blog posts to be of help for phone calls, letters and cards and even for encouragement on social media.

  BIBLE VERSES OF ENCOURAGEMENT IN TIMES OF ANXIETY WORRY & STRESS

  BIBLE VERSES OF ENCOURAGEMENT IN TIMES OF BEREAVEMENT

  BIBLE VERSES OF ENCOURAGEMENT IN TIMES OF COMFORT






Or you can click on ENCOURAGEMENT in the Menu Bar at the top of this post for other blog posts on Encouragement.


There are also many FREE PRINTABLES available on this blog which may encourage you or others and these can be found in  SANDRA'A ARK RESOURCE LIBRARY