Do we really need this quote? - A Dose of Encouragement

Everywhere I am these days I see quotes.

Some are by famous writers - often ones whose work I have read.

Some are by famous people like Einstein or other people from recent history.

Some are by singers or songwriters

Some are by people who are in the news frequently.

Some are by people I have never heard of before.



But more and more my question is:

You see I find these quotes on my Facebook newsfeed or on GooglePlus posts.

Some are very artistically written in various fonts and colours and some are on beautiful backgrounds of mountains, rivers or lighthouses.


But again my question is:

My friends on facebook like these quotes and share these posts as do so many other people on facebook.

Acquaintances on GooglePlus  +1 these posts and share them and no-one needs to write anything themselves because it is just a quote.


But again my question is:

Then I see all the likes and shares and comments written on these quote posts and I realize that some of the posts that are shared the most throughout all Social Media are quotes.

People everywhere just seem to love quotes.

Now as I blogger I have even been instructed (by blogging experts and in blogging tips) that I should share quotes on various places because people love quotes.


But again my question is:

If we like them, +1 them, share them, even some of us make our own graphics with these quotes does that suddenly mean that they are the absolute truth?

Are we actually reading them and thinking about what they mean or do we just say

 "that sounds nice" 

and then pass it on for others to see without wondering what the meaning behind it is?

Now I like quotes and actually started my Friday Series off with my favourite quote and also wrote a previous post based on my favourite quote and enjoyed making a graphic for it

so I am not against all quotes.

But a quote is just a quote (or rather the correct word is quotation)

It is simply something that has already been written or said by someone else.

Because to quote is

One of the main concerns I have is that in some cases I see a picture with a nice sounding quote shared for everyone to see but the person sharing it has not realised that they are not just sharing a picture with a quote but actually a link to a website or blog post that is not so wholesome.

We need to actually click on these links ourselves 

and see all that is contained 

before we pass them on to others.

When we like or share something we are in a way endorsing it and that means endorsing all of it.

So we need to see what is under the tip of the iceberg - what does that person making the quote represent?


Today I want to make you think about what we are passing around for everyone to see and read.

Because I think we have a responsibility toward others that we do not pass on things that just sound nice but instead

 we should pass on good uplifting and encouraging words 

that do mean something substantial.

I look after a facebook page for our church and I made the decision that the only quotes we would have on that page would be from our Pastor and the sermons we hear in church.

Why?

Because our church has a responsibility not to lead others astray or to misquote others
 (which is another problem sometimes in the passing of quotes - they are not always accurately copied or not always written by the person they are claimed to be from).

So the main things that we actually share on the page are Bible verses.

Bible verses are the word of God so we can trust them and learn from them and we can say


Because this is a Bible Verse it is TRUTH!


And

much more than I need a quote.


So be encouraged when you see a Bible verse shared by a sound organisation or someone you trust, and know that it is spreading God's word.

And then be helpful towards others and share that verse to encourage them and direct them to the truth.

Let's be enthusiastic to share more Bible Verses 

within Social Media.

There is nothing so truthful, beautiful, enriching and uplifting as the Word of God

And if you want more Bible Verses to be able to share with others on Facebook then you might be interested in following my Blog Facebook Page where I share a bible verse each day and you can easily share that on your feed too.

Or for sharing on Twitter then follow me on Twitter  for verses I share there too.

Or follow me for verse on Instagram too.



Let's spread the truth - because we all need the truth.

It's God's Love #11

This Sunday Series is all about God's Love.


A simple, short post each week
consisting of a Bible Verse around the topic of
God's Love and I would be very pleased if you
would join me each Sunday.

God's Love to us

is such an intimate love.

How do we know this?

Because He calls us His Sons and Daughters.

Do you

know

this

intimate

love

of

God?

You are welcome to copy the Bible Verse Graphic above and any of the others that will be in this Sunday Series on God's Love.  Please use it as it is with no editing for your own personal use including on social media but not in any commercial way. 

With regards to any other pictures or graphics - please contact me. 

Thanks.

Nothing Kept That Boy Down! - A Dose of Encouragement

He was nearly 5 years old and loved going out on his bike.

Just in our little cul-de-sac with very few cars and of course he always stayed on the footpath.

Then there was the day that he didn't stay on the footpath and our little dare devil decided to go round the corner at the end of the cul de sac where a pile of sand was lying and he toppled his bike.

He wasn't on his own, his older brother was there on his bike and a couple of friends so they came running home with Daniel and the blood pouring from his top lip.

He had split his lip and needed to go to the hospital (which fortunately was only 5 mins drive away).

Okay I was rather sad that he was probably going to have a little scar above his lip but it didn't seem to bother Daniel at all.

He was quite used to falls and bumps and cuts and scrapes from he was very young and we have always laughed at the fact that even though we wanted to get a family picture taken when he was a year old we couldn't manage to get a time when his face didn't show some marks until he was almost two.

I often thought that people would look at him and then at me and say to themselves

What kind of a mother is she?   

Here he is at 3 years old in the spring and then in the summer.

But he didn't let any of those bumps and falls stop him doing anything he wanted to and with as much vigor and speed as possible.

Nothing kept that boy down.

This pic the following year shows how he just could not get on that slide quick enough.

Well  he healed reasonably well from that split lip not helped by the fact that this boy was an avid eater and also wanted those steri-strips off as soon as possible.

It was only a few weeks later on a Sunday afternoon just as we finished Sunday lunch that one of his friends arrived at the back door and Daniel was asking to go out to play in that cul-de-sac again.

He had not been outside much since the fall and we said ok but not on your bike and be careful.



We had a step,

                
                     just one step at the back door,

                                                    
                                                   but that was all it took.  



That one step where he tripped in his eagerness to get out to play and split the lip yet again.

This time the cut was at the opposite angle to the last one so in the end two crossing scars featured above that lip.

Here he is starting P1 at school just 2 weeks before his 5th birthday.

This time of course I was more worried but not Daniel.

Nothing kept that boy down.

As soon as it healed he was back to his normal self; going everywhere and doing everything at double the speed of everyone else.

He was full of energy and enthusiasm.

He bounced back!

Ready to do anything that was adventurous and full of fun.

The following years had him playing and racing with older kids and wanting to win at all costs.

As he grew to be a teenager and then into his twenties he has never been the one to let something stop him trying things out and being actively involved in sports and music and church work and friendships.

As for the bumps and cuts and scrapes they may have turned into other setbacks and hurts through the years but still

He is full of energy and enthusiasm.

He has always bounced back!

I look at Daniel and wonder why we can not all be like that.

Why do we not bounce back?

Why are we not full of energy and enthusiasm?


Some days the smallest of things can just knock us down and we don't bounce back or at least not for quite some time.

Sometime maybe you were so hurt by something you just can not let yourself be in the position to be hurt like that again.

Sometime maybe you have failed at something and decided that it was best not to try again.

Sometime maybe you have listened to the wrong words said by someone who just ended up deflating your spirit completely and you have never been able to get free of that feeling of worthlessness.

Sometime maybe you have been misunderstood and you have suffered from that and you don't want to be in a similar position again so you don't open up with people anymore.

It's time for us to be more like Daniel and the Bible Character he was named after.

We are not worthless or failures in God's eyes.

It's time to do what God wants us to do

                  and not to fear rejection,

                                    or attitudes of others

                                                      or decide we don't have the energy to fight a cause.


If God tells us to do something or has given us the ability to do something then we need to be obedient and put all our effort and enthusiasm into the task whether it is great or small.


How?


Let's believe His Word.

That's the energy and enthusiasm that God will give us if we trust and ask Him.

I am so thankful that we are not worthless or failures in God's eyes.

So let's bounce back from the things of the past.

Let's be able to say

Nothing kept me down.

It's God's Love #10

This Sunday Series is all about God's Love.


A simple, short post each week
consisting of a Bible Verse around the topic of
God's Love and I would be very pleased if you
would join me each Sunday.

What do we look for on a daily basis?

What is always important to each and every one of us?

What do we always need in our lives?


To Be LOVED

Always

It is just a plain fact

We are

loved

by

God

You are welcome to copy the Bible Verse Graphic above and any of the others that will be in this Sunday Series on God's Love.  
Please use it as it is with no editing for your own personal use including on social media but not in any commercial way. 

With regards to any other pictures or graphics - please contact me. 

Thanks.