Intentional Encouragement

A few days past Hurricane Irene, I'm mulling over a couple of things.  I thought I'd share them with you. I hope I've increased my ability to be thankful.  We lost power to our home like thousands of others.  Ours came back on after about a day and a half.  Others still don't have it.  I'm thankful to have electricity.  The sun is shining today.  A huge wildfire about 45 miles from where we live is extinguished. I hope I don't slip into the trap of frustration that "things weren't as bad as they had been predicted."  As I have listened to (and read) about people's comments, I am surprised at the critical spirit some have demonstrated toward the forecasters.  I have seen plenty of pictures showing the devastation that took place both south and north of where I live.  Regardless of that; the way some are talking, you'd think that it would have been better if a tree had fallen on their house.  At least that way, they would feel lik...

     I saw the title of this article on a Facebook post this morning as I was getting my day in gear.  Actually the whole phrase was "worrying is temporary atheism."      That really has me thinking.  All of us who claim belief in God would deny the charge of atheist.  But when we worry and get anxious over our circumstances or our tomorrows, aren't we acting like God is, at the very least, unaware or uninvolved?  Aren't we functioning at that moment like he either isn't there or at least doesn't matter?      That's pretty harsh, but the more I mull it over; the more accurate it seems to me.      As Jesus gave what we call the sermon on the mount (recorded in Matthew 6), he took a few minutes to remind the people of the importance of setting aside worry.  He challenges anxiety on several counts. It over emphasizes things that God says are less important (25-26) It is ineffective at acco...

     Things are gearing up at our church for the fall ministries.  Our school started yesterday.  Several other of our major ministries are slated to re-launch in the next couple of weeks.  Just in case you have a tendency (like lots of people) to evaluate your spiritual progress and effectiveness for God based on inaccurate standards, let me reproduce for you a 5 part recipe for disillusionment that I have borrowed from Patrick Morley of Man in the Mirror ministries.  It's reminder of how to keep things in proper perspective as we make our plans and preparations for the ministries ahead. Go with the natural flow of life.    Don’t give much thought to knowing Jesus more intimately on a  day-to-day basis.    Let life’s natural currents take you where they may.    Presume that spiritual growth will occur naturally.    Don’t expend too much time in reflection; it will give you a headache.   Immers...

             I saw that saying on a billboard and chuckled to myself as I thought about the incongruity of it.   But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it contains some element of truth pertinent to our lives.   I hear more and more people talking about how busy their lives are.   “I had two meetings this morning, a working lunch, and a mandatory division meeting after work...”   You know how it goes.   The pace of life seems to quicken with the passing of each year.             Sometimes it is just the nature of our day.   You’ve had those “busywork” days when you were active and constantly in motion but got to the end of the day without a lot of concrete results.   Even church life can get crazy.   D o you remember when summer was “down time?”   Those days are gone.   Summer camps, mission trips, squeezing in a family “vacation...

Who have you encouraged lately?   I mean really encouraged.   Can anyone look at you and say “they were a special blessing to me last week.”   Encouragement is more important than we often realize, and it is commonly simpler than we think. A lady named Ida Goldsmith Morris wrote the following poem.   I don’t know anything about her, but she says it well. It takes so little to make us sad; Just a slighting word or a doubting sneer; Just a scornful smile on some lips held dear; And our footsteps lag, though the goal seemed near; And we lose the courage and help we had... So little it takes to make us sad. It takes so little to make us glad; Just a cheering claps of a friendly hand; Just a word from one who can understand; And we finish the task we long had planned; And we lose the doubt and the fear we had... So little it takes to make us glad. Another writer of prose that is more familiar to us wrote words long ago that reaffirm this simple fact.   It doesn...

As Dr. Luke records the parable of the prodigal son, he tells us that the son took his share of the family inheritance, “set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”   I have friends who have experienced this.   They may not have gone away to a foreign land, but they definitely were in a different spiritual country.   None of them are proud of those times.   All of them wish it was different.   They each wish their testimony didn’t include some of what they became involved in. But, like the story in Luke 15, these friends “came to their senses” and returned to the Lord.   In some cases they had never been part of God’s family, but He reached out to them and brought them into His “home.”   Many times there is a sense of gratitude on the part of these folks that I admire. I am not at all sorry for the fact that God never permitted my life to include some of the situations others have been in.   I am grateful to God ...

Do you like transitions?   In one sense I’m talking about change.   To one degree or another, we all struggle with change.   Given enough change in life; even the most flexible and spontaneous of us will start to grimace. But when I use the word transition, I’m referring to those seasons in life where we are moving from one “expression” of who we are to another.   Yes, we are changing, but it’s not the details that I’m focusing on.   What I want to think about a little is the process that is taking place during that time. I suppose the difference could best be illustrated by the difference between changing jobs (from one company to another) and starting a new career that is different from the one we held previously.   In these times, the familiar is far less common than the unfamiliar.   We have to learn new ways of functioning that will make us effective in our new environment.   Change is in the details of life.   Transition is from one sta...