Category Archives: Encouragement

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes

Changes. Everything changes. Always.

Over the last few weeks there have been quite a few changes.

My oldest son has graduated from high school. Son number two spent a couple of days in the hospital and was separated from his appendix. In a couple of days he’ll turn 16 (huge changes for him). My wife received her official acceptance into grad school. And for me, the company I work for changed owners.

All of those changes are significant, but they also reflect stability and “sameness”.

The oldest son will continue his schooling, but it will be at the next level.

Son number two is all healed up and back to normal. He’ll turn 16 and get his driver’s license soon. Daily life will continue.

My wife will continue to be a nurse. She will also be going to grad school, but not much will change. She’ll be working during the day and studying in the evening and on the weekend.

I’ll still be performing the same duties and tasks at my day job. New logo. New shirts. Answer the phone in a different manner. But still the same.

You can do it by Kelsey Humphreys

We all go through changes. No matter what, change will happen. Stress tends to come with change. We worry about new people, new experiences, new ways of going about our daily tasks. But we adjust.

How do we adjust? When things are changing, what do you hold on to? Is there something in your life keeping you stabilized during changes?

 

A Prayer

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Father in Heaven,
I am so over it.
I’m done.
Finished.
I don’t think I can do it anymore.
What is happening?
Why is this happening?
I’m not blaming you.
I’m lost. Searching. Trying to find my way. Trying to find your way for me.
I haven’t asked you about it though.
I’ve been sinking and searching.
I’ve been floating along without a direction.
I’m at the mercy of the wind. No rudder. No sail. No compass.
I know you are my compass. Why haven’t I been using it?
What the heck is my problem?
At one moment I desperately want to know where to go, and at another I could care less.
Where?
Why?
Confusion.
Depression.
Apathy.
Help me Lord. Help me out of this funk.
Bring me back to you.
I want to desire you.
I want to grow our relationship.
Help me Lord. Please.
Crack open my heart.
Flow into me and fill me up.
Amen

I’m A Seed Planter

“I can’t ever fill anybody’s cup, but I can be responsible for emptying mine.” – Andy Stanley

Pouring out needs to be about emptying my own cup. No matter what is happening, the objective of encouragement should be to pour out into others. Whatever they may need, my action should be to pour myself into them.

Pour encouragement into them. Lift them up. Give them hope.

Pouring out is about emptying my own cup. Don’t pick the people to fill. Simply work on emptying my own cup.

How do I know if what I am pouring out is helpful?

I may never know.

Encouragement, many times, includes planting seeds you may not see grow to maturity. The point of emptying yourself isn’t to see what great and glorious results come from it. The point is to be willing to REFRESH, ENCOURAGE, and INSPIRE others.

Plant seeds of encouragement. Don’t worry about the results. Continue to encourage, and the results will be handled by God.

I am called to pour out. I am not called to celebrate the results.

-I can't ever fill anybody's cup, but I (2)

Does this mean if I’m made aware of the results, if someone thanks me and tells me of their own success, I shouldn’t rejoice? No. Not at all.

The point I’m trying to make is to not expect and wait for the results. Continue to encourage. Continue to inspire.

As I read through Mark Batterson’s The Circle Maker for the second time, the idea of “think long” came upon me in a different manner.

Thinking long now includes thinking of the impact of my life far into the future. What exactly am I doing today to impact the lives of the generations to come after me? From the standpoint of immediate family, the prayers I offer for my sons will most certainly impact their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren. I may not be physically present to experience the lives of those future generations, but I can certainly do something right now to have an impact on their lives.

The more I pour into my boys, the more I am intentional about encouraging them, the bigger impact it may have on those future generations. It is not for me to determine what happens in the future. It is simply to fulfill God’s calling on me to the current generation. God will take care of the future. My duty, my calling, is to plant seeds.

Are you pouring out? Are you planting seeds?