by wendy | Jul 30, 2020 | Encouragement, Godly Relationships, Hospitality, Prayer, Tips for Encouraging Others
Tuesday seemed like a day for everything bad to happen! All day long I received news of difficult things that people I know were going through. Several people fell and were seriously injured, a house burnt down, a friend began to notice signs of dementia in a loved one, several of my kids had stressful days, it seemed to go on and on. Even those who didn’t experience specific trauma seemed weary – the world seems weary.
I often have to remind myself that, while I want to be supportive, I need to not take on the weariness of others. Instead I must search for ways to encourage those that are weary. I need to pause, pray, and preach to myself so I can find my strength in the Lord and pass on that strength to those that need it.
“The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.”
Isaiah 50:4
Here are a few ideas for encouraging the weary:
1.Share the Word
God’s strength is available for each of us. His word gives us hope – and hope strengthens us! Share Scripture on your social media, write a verse in a card (or use one of the enclosure cards in the newsletter this week!), memorize Scripture so you can share it in the moment, post Scripture in your home, car, and office.
2. Give a gift
My Bible Study group once gave me a gift card for a massage when I was going through a very difficult time. A friend sent me a book of uplifting stories when I was down. Gifts are wonderful expressions of encouragement and can be practical and meaningful at the same time. An inspirational print, a gift card for coffee or a treat, a pretty scarf or t-shirt, a new mug – so many ideas!
3. Sit and Listen
Invite someone over to sit in your space and relax. Whether you offer a cup of coffee, breakfast or lunch, or a glass of ice water on the back porch – just providing someone a safe place to rest is key.
4. Say a Prayer
After listening to someone pour out their heart about their struggles and exhaustion, ask if you can pray with them. A simple prayer to ask God to give them rest and to thank Him for what He is doing is all that is needed. The best encouragement we can offer is to carry someone right into the presence of God!
5. Share Your Story
It is difficult to find hope in the midst of weariness. A tired and empty spirit is often dry and weak. When you share your experience of how God has lifted you out of those times, you share hope and give strength. Even if your experience is not identical (it never is!), just the reminder that God is able can be enough to pull someone out of the pit of despair and give them an anchor to hold on to.
“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”
Jeremiah 31:25
by wendy | Jul 9, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Godly Relationships, Prayer, Tips for Encouraging Others
As I was writing the post, “Prepare and Perfect – Encouragement for the Process” earlier this week, I was reminded of the clear sense of mission Jesus had when he met with the Woman at the Well. When John says that Jesus had to go through Samaria, he is suggesting that Jesus needed to go there to accomplish something – not that it was the only road to get to where He was going. It is this same passion for mission that I want to have in my life as well.
I wrote another post about a “A Mission of Encouragement” last month and this is becoming a theme for me. That most likely means that God is using it as a teaching moment for me – and perhaps you as well. As God continues to bring up the topic of a Mission of Encouragement, He seems to turn it ever so slightly so I can look at it from a different angle each time. This week the angle is intercession – the Encouragement of Prayer.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:18
Throughout Scripture, we are encouraged to pray for:
Each Other
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
James 5:16
Other Believers
“From the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”
Colossians 1:9
Our Country (towns, cities, counties, states)
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Jeremiah 29:7
Our Leaders
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
1 Timothy 2:1-2
Unbelievers
“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”
Romans 10:1
In order to be Intentional about our Mission of the Encouragement of Prayer, we need to have Intentional Strategies for Intercession.
Ideas for Intentional Intercession:
1.Planner Prayer
- Gather favorite verses from friends and family and write them on various days in your planner. Commit to pray for that person on that day when it arrives.
- Write a list of people to encourage and pray for as a part of your weekly planning.
- Assign a different day of the week to different groups to pray for.
2. Prayer Book
- Make a flip book of names and prayer needs on index cards.
- Create a prayer album using photos of people you want to pray for.
- Create a “book” from your Christmas Cards and pray through the families at regular intervals.
- Use the church directory or your address book to pray for others.
3. Prayer Device
- Use a prayer app like Echo.
- Keep a list of people to pray for in the notes on your phone.
- Use the photos on your phone to help you pray for others.
- Pray through your contact list or your followers on social media.
4. Traveling Prayer
- Pray for each house and business you pass as you travel to work each day.
- Pray for your neighbors as you walk, bike, or drive through the neighborhood.
- Pray for towns as you travel through.
- Pray for other passengers on your bus, train, or plane.
- Pray for the people you sit beside at stoplights.
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers.”
1 Thessalonians 1:2
by wendy | Jun 17, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Prayer
When Jerry and I married, I moved into his tiny house with my 2 boys, 2 cats, and a dog. Jerry already lived in that small space with his 2 children and all of their stuff. There was barely room for us – there was definitely not room for my belongings – so it all went into storage until we could find a larger house. That house never really felt like mine – and it certainly didn’t look like mine. I merely hung out there until we found a place where we could all dwell.
Scripture tells us that we should abide or remain with Jesus – I talked about this in last week’s post about pausing. The word he uses is “meno” in greek and it means to hang out just like I did at Jerry’s house. We are not meant to redecorate or make Jesus look more like us. Instead we should draw from His love, His strength, His ways.
Ephesians 3:14-21 discusses the power and strength that God gives us when we approach Him in prayer.
“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…”
Ephesians 3:17
Did you notice that word “dwell” – doesn’t it seem similar to abide and remain? I thought so too, until I discovered that it is not at all the same word in the original Greek. The word Paul used here is “katoikeó” and it means something entirely different from hanging out like “meno”. Paul is saying that Christ will inhabit – permanently move in – and make my heart His home.
When I pray, and Christ dwells in my heart, He renovates it to look like His own. Where I have anxiety, He replaces it with peace. When I display fear, He removes the fear and displays courage through me. He lights up my dark corners and cleans out my dirt. He makes my heart reflect His!
Friend, I hope you have experienced that kind of renovation as well! Let’s continue to remain (meno) in Him, and as we enter into prayer, may Jesus dwell (katoikeó) in us!
Here are some ideas for Praying to encourage yourself in the Lord:
Pray Scripture
Read the prayers of David and others in the Psalms. Make those prayers your own by praying the verses as they are written or writing them in your own words.
Journal your Prayers
Write out your prayers like a letter or journal entry. Read back over previous prayers to offer praise and thanksgiving for answered prayers!
Pray with a Partner
Join a prayer group or ask someone to partner with you in regular prayer. Pray for each other, for friends and family, for the church, and for our community, nation, and world.
Develop a Prayer Strategy
Create a list of things to prayer about and people to pray for. Use index cards or pieces of paper to keep a record of answered prayers and new requests. Follow Jesus’s model of prayer (The Lord’s Prayer) to guide your different types of prayer.
“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Ephesians 3:12
by wendy | Jun 15, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Prayer
There was a particular time in my life that I was significantly sad and depressed. I lived on a farm with a mile-long driveway and I was often compelled to take walks down that path when I was feeling low. I would begin my journey in tears – crying out to God from my broken heart and pouring out all of my sorrows. The driveway entered the woods and I often felt comforted by the branches covering me – the limbs surrounded me like a hug from God. I would turn at the end of the drive and start my way back and somehow, by the time I emerged from the woods into the field near my house, I would be praising God and singing instead of crying. All that I poured out to Him was poured back into me with love – and that love filled me with hope, joy, and strength for another day. I cannot explain how it happened – I don’t understand it – and it never ceased to amaze me.
“I pray that you … know this love that surpasses knowledge …”
Ephesians 3:19
Just a few verses back in Ephesians 3:12, Paul reminds us that we have the ability to approach God through faith. When we pray, we are actually entering the presence of God, and according to the language Paul uses here, it is an interactive experience. We approach Him, we commune with Him, we communicate with Him.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
God’s love to us when we come to Him in prayer is like the comfort of a baby being held by its mother or a child receiving a kiss on a wound. Who can understand the magic of a mother’s kiss? Who can fathom the healing of a father’s love?
“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”
Isaiah 66:13
Science has proven that feeling loved and having a positive bond or connection with someone has positive and lasting effects on our health. Should it come as a surprise to us that experiencing the love of God would encourage us, strengthen us, and fill us with joy?
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
Take a walk today – enter His presence in prayer. Pour out all that you feel and then listen to Him – let Him love on you. May He pour back into you with love that sustains and strengthens you for another day. Amen
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
by wendy | Jun 2, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Godly Relationships, Prayer
I met this lady on a playground in the projects where we were serving on our youth mission trip several years ago. She came over to thank us for ministering to the children and she shared how she has been praying for her community. When I asked her how I could pray for her, she poured her heart out for her neighbors. It was a precious time of sharing and though I was hoping to encourage her, she encouraged me!
In recent years, I have worked to establish a habit of encouraging others intentionally. As a part of that, I sometimes ask people that “happen” across my path, “How can I pray for you specifically?” It could be a server in a restaurant, a worker in the grocery store, or someone I notice that needs specific encouragement for a season in their life. I have been surprised that several of those people have responded by saying that no one has ever asked them that before. I have also noticed the pause and deep thought many people give to the question before responding. There seems no better way to get to the heart of a person – to uncover the struggle that weighs on most of their minds – to say to someone, “I truly care about the things you care about.” – than to ask, “How can I pray for you specifically?”
My friend, Becky, shared a post the other day about a small gesture of kindness she made towards a drive-thru employee. She simply said Hello and thanked him for serving her. The boy’s response was one of surprise and gratitude. Please, pause here to reflect on what made him grateful – she saw him and she spoke to him. It was that simple.
This is not so different from the reaction the Woman at the Well had when Jesus took the time to do the same (John 4). Jesus could have followed the social norms of the day to ignore the Samaritan woman – she was not considered worthy of being spoken to. Instead, He made it His mission to speak to her heart. The result of this conversation was encouragement of an entire village!
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony … And because of His words many more became believers.”
John 4: 39,41
I wonder – what was the result of Becky’s kindness? Could all of the employees have been encouraged that day? Could the worker have forwarded that courtesy to each of his customers? Could he have possibly gone home to encourage his family? We don’t know – but God does – and this is exactly the mission He has for us each and every day!
What is our mission?
Jesus lived His life here on mission, and that is what we are called to do as well. What is our mission? To declare His praises (1 Peter 2:9), to do good works (Ephesians 2:10), and to comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we have received from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). In short – we are to be on a mission of encouragement!
Spend some time today reflecting on ways that you can live on a mission of encouragement. Resolve to be intentional in that effort each day as you see people, speak to people, pray for people, love people, serve people. Shift your perspective from all the worldly things you must be and do to one who truly knows who she is and what she is called to do!
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.”
1 John 4:16-17
by wendy | May 28, 2020 | Encouragement, Godly Relationships, Hospitality, Prayer, Tips for Encouraging Others
As I said in in the previous post, “the key to growing and maintaining a successful community is encouragement.” Here are several ideas for encouraging your people:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:5
Encouragement of Words
- Send notes of encouragement.
- Send a text or message of a verse that speaks to you.
- Call to say, “I am thinking of you.”
Encouragement of Hospitality
- Invite someone over for coffee, lunch, or just a visit.
- Pack a picnic lunch or snack and deliver it to eat on a friend’s porch.
- Plan a “tea” or coffee party and invite several friends to join you.
Encouragement of Prayer
- Choose several people in your circle to add to your prayer strategy.
- Send a message to ask how you can specifically pray for someone.
- Invite a few people in your circle to meet together for prayer.
Encouragement of Giving
- Purchase a gift card to send to someone who needs a special treat.
- Make a batch of homemade cookies or a loaf of bread and deliver to a friend. Don’t forget to include a note!
- Plant a set of teacups with herbs and tie a verse to the handle of each.
Encouragement in Action
- Offer to help with a big project – planting, painting, packing to move.
- Pick up coffee or bagels and deliver to a friend who is swamped with work.
- Babysit for a mom so she can have an afternoon of relaxing fun.
Encouragement of Presence
- Sit with a friend who is waiting – for doctor’s results, for a job opportunity, for a baby or a surgery.
- Offer to drive around with a coworker or neighbor who has just moved to the area.
- Offer to shop with a mom of young kids – entertain the little one while she runs errands.
Encouragement of Experience
- Offer to take a younger woman to lunch and ask her about her dreams. Share a little of your story with her.
- Join a group of women at church – invite a woman from a different generation to join you.
- Invite some friends to join you in your hobby. Gather the supplies and be ready to teach them. Send them home with a kit and something finished.
