Get Encouraged

Tag: Christian

  • Thanks Mama!

    The hand that rocks the cradle moves the world.

    Somebody said that a child is carried in his or her mother’s womb for nine months. Somebody does not know that a child is carried in his or her mother’s heart for a lifetime.

    Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you have had a baby. Somebody does not know that once you are a mother, normal is history.

    Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct. Somebody never took a 3-year-old shopping.

    Somebody said being a mother is boring. Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a learner’s permit.

    Somebody said good mothers never raise their voices. Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her son hit a golf ball through the neighbor’s window.

    Somebody said you do not need an education to be a mother. Somebody never helped her daughter with distance learning.

    Somebody said you cannot love all your kids the same. Somebody does not have kids.

    Somebody said a mother can find all the answers in books. Somebody has never had a child stuff beans up his nose.

    Somebody said the hardest part of motherhood is giving birth. Somebody never watched her child get on the bus for the first day of Kindergarten.

    Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married. Somebody does not know marriage only adds a child to the mother’s family.

    Somebody said a mother’s job is finished when her last child leaves home. Somebody never had grandchildren.

    Somebody said you never need to tell your mother you love her. Somebody is not a mother.

    To mothers everywhere, we say thank you!

    For the sleepless nights, thank you.

    For the stressful days, thank you.

    For everything you do day after day, thank you.

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  • A Mother’s Influence

    A lasting influence.

    Mrs. Jones relaxed each evening by reading her Bible. After seeing this practice for several months, her 4-year-old daughter asked, “Are you ever going to finish that book?”

    A mother’s influence is powerful. Her children are observing and absorbing everything she does. The life she is molding is greatly influenced by her.

    Timothy is an illustration of someone who was influenced by his grandmother and mother. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:5, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”

    A Godly mother and grandmother were an influential part of Timothy’s life. They provided Timothy with wisdom, love, and grace. Their influence helped him find his way in life.

    Theodore Roosevelt once remarked, “Praying mothers are one of America’s greatest assets.” Mothers, thank you for your influence and impact on our lives.

     

  • A Mother’s Love

    “All that I am my mother made me,” remarked John Quincy Adams.

    An angel was sent down from Heaven with the assignment to bring back earth’s 3 most beautiful gifts. The angel picked a rose as one. The second was a baby’s smile. The angel was searching for the third, and he was so impressed by a mother’s sacrificial love for her son, he chose it as number three.

    When the angel returned to Heaven, he discovered the rose had withered, the baby’s smile went away, but the mother’s love was still there.

    There is nothing more beautiful than a mother’s love. The sacrifice, the enduring love which never fades is beautiful. As the old song says, “Thank God for mothers.”

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  • Faithful in Prayer

    Never stop praying.

    Two ladies were discussing their lives as they were at the laundry mat. They were both married, and they had much in common.

    While they were waiting on clothes to wash, they were both mending a pair of their husbands’ pants. “Things at home are stressful. My husband is grouchy and always a ball of stress,” the first lady said as she mended the butt of her husband’s pants.

    As she mended the knees of her husband’s pants, the second lady said, “My guy is usually in a good mood. Things are going really well.”

    It has been said the biggest fear of the devil is our prayers. He fears nothing from prayerless efforts, and trembles at prayer. The Bible encourages Christians to never stop praying.

    “Be joyful in hope. Patient in affliction.” Romans 12:12 encourages, “Faithful in prayer.”

    Faithful in prayer.

    Jesus illustrated the power of prayer. He spends a great deal of time praying. The disciples admired his prayer life and hoped they could model it. Jesus prayed about everything.

    How do we do? Jesus encourages us to pray and never give up. Remember, the Lord does hear our prayers, and praying is just a conversation with him. Spend some time talking with him today.

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  • Patient in Affliction

    Impatient Reaction vs. Patient Response

    Billy, a young potato farmer, was having a conversation with Satan. Billy was harvesting his potatoes, and each one seemed smaller than expected. The crop was small, and the potatoes were little.

    Satan offered to Billy, “Follow me, and I promise you big potatoes every year.”

    Billy responded, “If I follow you, you will not give me any potatoes.”

    Billy patiently responded in a rough moment in life. Satan was hoping Billy impatiently reacted. How do we handle those moments in life?

    Romans 12:12 encourages Christians to patiently respond. “Be joyful in hope. Patient in affliction. Faithful in prayer,” encourages Paul.

    Patient in affliction.

    You and I are being encouraged to be patient during adversity. 1 Peter reminds us it is these seasons in life which help our faith develop.

    As adversity comes, here is encouragement.

     

    • James encourages us to consider trials pure joy because they are developing Godly character in us.
    • The adverse seasons may be leading to a better place then we have been thus far. A wise man once said, “Waiting on God is worth the delay.”
    • “Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance,” says Hebrews 6:12.
    • We can look ahead to what is coming for us.

    Trials will come, and we can follow Billy’s example to navigate the season. It is better to have small potatoes than no potatoes.

     

  • Joy in Hope

    “Joy is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the king is in residence there,” said Robert Rainey.

    In a Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown was having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit, so Linus said, “Charlie Brown, you are the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.”

    Are we like Charlie Brown? It is easy to become wrapped up in circumstances and loose sight of our hope. As Christians though, we are encouraged to always be joyful for our hope.

    “Be joyful in hope. Patient in affliction. Faithful in prayer,” encourages Romans 12:12.

    Be joyful in hope.

    Life certainly has its difficulties, but we can always look ahead to the hope we have in Christ.

    1 Peter describes this hope as…

    • A living and eternal hope. Time will not take our hope away.
    • A hope which will not perish or spoil. Our hope will always be the same. It is not going away.
    • A hope which will withstand trouble. We may be enduring afflictions, but they are not powerful enough to rob us of the hope we have in Christ.

    No matter what we are going through or where we are right now, we can look ahead to the joyful promise we have been given.

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  • What is on your grateful list?

    Psalm 103 encourages gratefulness.

    In the hustle of life, it is easy to forget the ways in which we are blessed. Good things might even become commonplace, so it is easy to forget to be grateful.

    Not always, but sometimes in the busyness, you and I forget to be thankful for the good things in our lives.

    Amid a storm, we also may forget. Everything around us is crumbling and falling, so it is hard to focus on what is good.

    Psalm 103 encourages us to always be grateful.

    David opens and closes the Psalm with this encouragement.

    “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me,” writes David in verses 1-2.

    He says in verse 22, “Praise the Lord everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord.”

    Psalm 103 gives us some reasons to always be grateful.

    We can all make a list of good things in our lives, and David offers a few suggestions for the list.

    1. The Lord’s forgiveness.
    2. The Lord’s help.
    3. The Lord’s dependable track record.
    4. The Lord’s character. Verses 8-11 say, “The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins. He does not deal harshly with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.”

    Acting

    What is on your list? Try making a list and giving thanks for it daily.

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  • Feeling overwhelmed by change?

    Blessed are the flexible, for they are not bent out of shape.

    “Everything changes but change,” John F. Kennedy said. As we grow older, we realize how much life really changes. It is easy to be overwhelmed as things change.

    If you are feeling overwhelmed by change, here are a couple points to remember.

    1. Do not fight the unavoidable.

    You and I may be able to delay change, but eventually, it must happen. There is no need to fight what is unavoidable. Blessed are the flexible, for they are not bent out of shape.

    2. God does not change even though life changes.

    While everything else in life will change, God will remain the same. Psalm 102:27 says of God, “But you are always the same. You will live forever.”

    Isaiah 33:6 says, “In that day, he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.”

    Jobs may come and end with a pink slip. Friends may come and go quickly. A health crisis may cause life to screech to a halt. But God remains the same.

    • “He never changes as a shifting shadow does,” according to James 1:17.
    • Numbers 23:19 states, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

    Acting

    When change overwhelms us, we do not have to endure it alone. We can ask the Lord to help us. When we are overwhelmed, we can pour out our thoughts to the Lord, and he will help us sort through them.

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  • When everything falls apart

    Stability may crumble. People may turn away, but God will stay.

    He found himself thrust out of the king’s liking. Saul was annoyed and jealous of David, so he wanted him killed. David fled to Gath hoping to find refuge, but they chased him out of town. He ends up in a cave hiding from Saul, and David finds his refuge in the Lord.

    Psalm 56 and 57 record David’s thoughts during this time.

    They will not leave me alone.

    “O God have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me,” David writes in Psalm 56:1-2.

    Can you relate? It seems everyone is against you. They constantly pick at the work you are doing. They continually criticize and never encourage. You feel no matter what you do, it will never be enough. Their ideas and agenda do not include you, so the quicker you are cut off the better.

    Where will you go? What will you do? David had the same kind of questions and found refuge in the Lord.

    David turned to the Lord for refuge.

    “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you,” David writes in Psalm 56:3.

    David says in Psalm 57 he will hide in the Lord’s refuge until the calamity passes. “My heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises,” he writes in verse 7.

    David’s stability was shaken. He had nowhere to turn until he remembered he could trust the Lord.

    Our stability may be shaken, and we may feel as if we have no where to turn. But we can trust the Lord. He will be with us while we are the topic of office gossip. He will be with us as others may toss us aside. Those slandering us may treat us like garbage, but the Lord will treat us like a treasure. He will be with us until the calamity passes.

    Like David, you and I can confidently say, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”

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  • Overcoming

    Overcoming

    We can conquer barriers.

    In May 2001, Erik Weihenmayer accomplished something only about 150 people a year do. He climbed to the top of Mt. Everest. The thing that made Erik’s achievement unusual is he was the first person who is blind to scale the world’s tallest mountain. Born with Retinoschisis, Erik was completely blind by age 13. Rather than focus on what he could not do, he made the choice to focus on what he could do and went much farther than many expected.

    Many times, you and I are faced with a choice: continue or quit. It would be nice if following God always meant smooth sailing; however, that is not the case. There will be people who do not like us and obstacles to cross in doing what is right. We should not allow the people and obstacles we face to cause us to quit.

    Psalm 92 reminds us we will be overcomers with the Lord. The Psalmist writes in verse 11, “My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries. My ears have heard the route of my wicked foes.”

    The Lord will be with us as we fulfill our God-ordained purpose. The Lord will help us in this life, and at the end of our journey, we, in Christ, will be able to overcome this world. So, hang on and keep climbing.

    Touch the Top of the World is Erik’s autobiography, and it is available at Amazon.

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