I have a dear friend who’s very difficult to encourage. Nothing I say, nothing I do has any lasting effect on her. I send her an encouraging note about what a great mom she is, and her response is self-deprecating. I send her a care package, and her thank you is flat. Our communication tends…
“Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.” (1 Peter 2:17 NLT) It was a rainy winter afternoon. Our youngest son was in middle school, and I was walking down the school hallway after a meeting. As I opened my umbrella to ward off the chilly shower, I heard…
Encouraging others and building them up gets a kick start with the Golden Rule: treating others the way we want to be treated (see Matt. 7:12). But Philippians 4:8 gives us a deeper and more nuanced understanding of how we can encourage friends, family, and even strangers who need building up: “Whatever is true, whatever…
Have you ever been listening to a sermon when a phrase suddenly overtook your mind? It’s as though it holds your thoughts hostage momentarily and says, “Remember me always.” Then your body pulls back a bit from the sudden focus, until the phrase grabs you again and says, “No, really. I need you to remember…
Julie is a Christ follower and a loyal friend whose greatest desire is to glorify God. But Julie has a blind spot. She belittles her husband and makes snide remarks about him. She doesn’t see the impact her words have on her marriage or her testimony. Two of Julie’s friends are alarmed by her loose…
“We are like a snowflake, all different in our own beautiful way.” ~Unknown Every week, I meet with a group of ladies for Bible study. Last week we did a group activity in which we attempted to tell the group something about ourselves that could help them love us better, help us grow more, and…