encouragement

Last Sunday, Mr. K. from church and I were talking about how there isn't much worthwhile on television any more. (Of course that doesn't stop me from watching it.) As I was thinking about why we don't find these shows worthwhile, I decided it was because they aren't encouraging. They don't "build us up" as people or as a community of people.

When you think of the "glory days" of television, you think of "Leave it to Beaver" and "Little House on the Prairie", shows that portrayed an ideal family. They were encouraging because they made us feel hopeful about humanity.

Content of today's shows can be summarized by their one-word titles: "Mistresses", "Betrayal", "Scandal", "Revenge". Not exactly the pinnacle of hope that television once was.

As I said, this doesn't prevent me from watching these shows. But it does make me want to be more intentional in my daily life about encouraging and building up the people I encounter, both online and in person.

For the last 30 days I have tried to encourage my friend Jacynda who is halfway through a 60-day journey to find joy and gratitude every day. In this case, encouragement comes from simply reading her daily blog posts, liking them on Facebook, and occasionally commenting on how wonderful it is to see God at work in her life.

Yesterday I wanted to encourage a new author, Ryan, who has just published his first novel. I did so by posting a short review on Amazon and recommending his book to my Facebook friends.

Last Sunday, 7 kids I had met at camp over the summer came to church. It was the first time I had seen them since June. I encouraged them by taking a "time out" at the beginning of my sermon to go hug them all (they were a few minutes late or I would have done this before we started). I continued to encourage one of them, Alex, by bragging about how good he is at encouraging others. I know because he was so encouraging to me during our 4 days together at camp, simply by showing an interest in what I was talking about, smiling and welcoming me each day I arrived, and telling me I had done a good job.

Encouragement comes in all forms. It can be taking time out of your busy day to listen to someone. It can mean seeing someone who is going through a trial that you too have struggled with and telling them that you understand. It can be a smile, a hug, a handwritten note.

Whatever form it takes, we need to be intentional about giving encouragement and building one another up. Because we certainly aren't going to get it by watching Primetime TV.

EMBRACE ENCOURAGEMENT.

And don't forget to thank the people in your life who encourage you!