Encouraging Words

Encouragement.  Isn’t that a great word? I love it. I love what it stands for and how it makes you feel. I love how it can change a person’s outlook with just a couple of words. I love how when you hear the word, your mood instantly goes more positive.

Well, encouragement is what I have been receiving lately and man do I feel good. I have been encouraged in small, subtle ways, with simple words. With words that are meant to encourage and lift up. It has been really nice to hear and be reminded, because I have let myself believe otherwise. I have been so tired and discouraged that I found it hard to believe that I am good and useful and that I am a blessing to my family and to those around me. But through kind words from my family, friends and my church family, I have been encouraged again.

The best encouragement came this morning as I was reading my devotions. I read Proverbs chapter 31, and God showed me through that passage how much like her I really am. I Love Proverbs 31 and I think every woman should read it. The first time I read it I was very intimidated, I thought “I can never be that good”, but then slowly, I’m starting to understand that passage and how God turns us regular, everyday women into women like that. When were willing, God changes us into noble women. Women who bring Him glory, women who are a blessing to our families, women who are praised by our husbands. Women who are strong in our faith and ready to do anything in the name of Christ.

Read Proverbs 31 again today, and be encouraged. For “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Prov. 31:30)

 

*Andrea*

Domestic Engineers

        Lately, I’ve been in a bit of a slump. You see, I’m just a stay-at-home mom and sometimes I just don’t feel that my job is all that important (at least according to what other women do for a living). But God has been reminding me how very important my job really is. So, I thought I’d share a bit of encouragement for those of you who are in the same spot as me.       

The other day I received a phone call from a telemarketer. When he asked what I did for a living I told him that I was a homemaker. He was from the United States and he said that down there they call them ‘Domestic Engineers’. I like the sound of that. In reality we don’t just ‘keep the home’, we keep our families.  Keeping the family is a big job and it’s not for the faint at heart. We are called to be teachers, nurses, housekeepers, head chefs, bakers, sales people, exterminators, gardeners, accountants, etc. We get to do, not just one specific job, but every job. We need to meet every need our homes and families have. It’s not an easy task, but God has made it so that it’s not too hard either. I love to read Proverbs 31:10-31. That is such an inspiring and encouraging passage, it really shows how much we women do for our families, and how important we are to our household. It also shows how our hard work pays off. We may sometimes feel that it goes unnoticed, but there is one who always knows how hard we work for our families and he will reward our hard work. Maybe not in this lifetime, but definitely in the next! 

So, lets remember that the work that we do is very important. Who knows, maybe your raising the next prime minister?

Proverbs 31:10 “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies”

Have a Wonderful Day!!

 Andrea

Real Beauty

What makes a woman beautiful? Is it her hair? Her skin? Her clothes (or lack of)? Maybe it’s how much make up she has on that day. Or how much Jewellery she’s wearing?  Whatever the world thinks of beauty is the opposite of what God thinks. The world has made beauty out to be something totally fake. Plastic surgery, LOTS of cosmetics, extreme dieting, all those awful things that women do to themselves to be ‘perfect’(?). Really, what is perfection? There is nothing (and no one) on earth that is perfect. So we can stop trying. How about we just be Real instead? Let’s be ourselves, children of Christ, loving in our attitudes and actions and giving of our time to serving others in his name. In doing those things which he calls us to do, we will be Beautiful women, women with gentle and quiet spirits, blessings to our husbands and children, and a joy to meet. Let’s show this world exactly what the CREATOR defines beauty as. Purity, Gentleness, Self-control, Love, Patience, Kindness, Faithfulness, Joy, Goodness, just to name a few.  In 1 Peter 3 Beauty is defined by: “Beauty is something internal that can’t be destroyed. Beauty expresses itself in a gentle and quiet attitude which God considers precious (vs.4).” No where in that passage does it say anything about the physical appearance. Huh, just goes to show how very unimportant our looks are to the one who made us. So let’s show him how beautiful we really are on the inside.

I want to dedicate this post to all the women in my life. You all are very beautiful!

“Labels”

  OK, so with the beautiful sunny weather that we’ve been having, I’ve been outside a lot enjoying it. So as you may have noticed, I haven’t been posting as much.

   I have been thinking lately though about what kind of person I am. I’m trying to ‘label’(?) myself and I think I found the one that fits. I would label myself as a ‘servant’. The reason I give myself this label is because I’m happiest when I can serve someone. I just think about the jobs that I had in my past and I have the fondest memories of jobs where I could help others. I really enjoyed being a cashier, but I had even more fun when I got to help a customer find something. When the item was found, it was so exciting for me. Also as a hairstylist, I really enjoy cutting and coloring hair to help people feel better about their appearance. My current (and most important) job right now is mom & wife. I get to serve people all the time! Sometimes however, when it comes to every day household chores, I need to remember that this is another way to serve and not just ‘housework’. And I’m not serving only my family, I’m also serving God. Everything that we do for one another in Christ, we are doing for Christ.

What about you? What’s your ‘label’?

Ephesians 6:7 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.”

Have a great day!!

1 can equal 64,000

     Yesterday morning we had a guest speaker in church. He is a missionary that currently attends our church.  He had a really good message about discipleship. He said that if you were to disciple 1 unbeliever a year and that person was to also disciple 1 person a year and if the trend continued, after 16 years 64,000 people would know about Christ. Isn't that amazing? That is one crazy (but awesome) stat if you ask me.
He also went on to share a story about a man in Africa. I can't remember all the details that well so I'll just tell you what I do remember. This man, his wife and child were looking for a place to stay. All that they were able to get was a 10x12' room. But they had faith and he wanted to do more to get the word of God out so he prayed for god to send him someone to disciple. The next day there was a knock on the door,and standing there was a man who said " I don't know why I'm here, I just am". From that one disciple, 70,000 lives have been changed so far. I don't know when this story begins but that's a really big number! 1 person can have that kind of an impact!
   If your ready to have that kind of an impact and change lives, just tell God that your ready and willing and ask him to send you someone to disciple. It's really that simple. It takes a lot of courage, but if you have faith, Christ will help you.

Are you ready to be the 1 that can equal 64,000?



* Andrea *

Amazing Grace?

       What exactly is grace? That is something that I have struggled with for a while now. I hear a lot of talk about it: how God shows us grace, how we should show grace to others, how we should parent with grace, and on and on. So to understand more about grace, I've decided to read the book "The Grace Awakening" by Charles Swindoll. I've just started it but I wanted to share a bit with you.
    One of the definitions he gave about grace is: " To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn't deserve it and can never earn it". That is very clear for me. That's exactly what God does for us. He freely gives us the gift of salvation and we don't deserve it and we can't do anything EVER to earn it. But yet, in his grace he just gives it to us because he loves us. That is so awesome to me. When you really think about it, none of us can or will, ever deserve to be with him in heaven. There is nothing that we can do that will get us there. It bothers me to think that some people believe that the only way they'll get there, is if they work hard enough or are nice enough to others.We can only go if we accept his grace and his Gift of salvation. That's all we need to do. It's a free gift. No strings attached.  Ephesians 2:8 "For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" Isn't that a wonderful gift? Have you chosen to receive it?

So yes, Grace is amazing, because of who extended grace to us first. 

* Andrea *

Good Things

   "He gave himself for us to set us free from every sin and to cleanse us so that we can be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good things". Titus 2:14
 
Those are the words from this mornings devotions that really struck out at me.
Read them over a few times. Break them down.
Doesn't that make you feel amazing? And special?

So much love in that sentence. Love that only Jesus could have for us.

So let's return that love. Let's get enthusiastic about doing good things and then let's do good things. We have been cleansed, were free, and were his special people. Let's act like it.

I have been reading in other blog posts lately about sponsor children who don't receive letters from their sponsors. That breaks my heart. I have read of children who have NEVER received a letter but yet 3 times a year they are expected to write one back. What do you write to someone who you have never heard from? You only know their name and nothing else. I can only try to imagine what that must be like, to write a letter out of obligation, not because your excited to. So, if your a sponsor and it's been a while since you wrote, why don't you sit down and write a few lines? Something as simple as talking about your devotions that morning, or about the weather. What is spring like where you live? Tell them. They want to know. They want to know the most basic things about you. They want to know that you love them, and they feel that when you send a letter. You could even just write " I was thinking about you today, so I wanted to tell you I love you and I'm praying for you". It doesn't have to be an essay. My letters are usually about half a page ( a little less), single spaced. That way the translator still has room to translate the letter. Share a bible verse with them. Something that really encourages you. If you are like me and love to send things to them, check out your nearest dollar store. There are millions of treasures there to send. As long as it's paper and 1/4 " or less in thickness and 8 1/2" x 11" in size. Also, if it's a book it can't be spiral bound. Just think "Document". 
We send stuff like:
-Stickers
-Sticker book
-Gift bag (without the handles)
-Band aids
-Thin scribblers
-Stationary - blank cards, nice paper, index cards, anything that falls under that heading.
-Thin coloring books
-Rainbow art - the pictures where you scratch the black stuff off to reveal colors underneath
-Word searches
-Bible verses
That's what we've sent so far but I'm still new at this. I've heard of people sending a lot of other things like: bookmarks, story books, postcards, sport cards, small thin calendars, etc,just use your imagination. You probably wouldn't even have to go shopping for stuff. You probably have things to send lying around your house and you didn't even know!

So, how about you "send some love" today!



* Andrea *

Small Things Count

 So, last night I went for coffee with a wonderful woman that I met through my church. We had a great time! She borrowed me a book called "Diapers, Pacifiers, And Other Holy Things" by Lorraine Pintus. I have only read a small portion of it but it is a really good book for women, especially mothers who feel: too busy for God but want a relationship with him, taken for granted, invaluable, or who just need a bit more inspiration.
  Today I was reading about how the small things that you do for people really do count. You know, bringing someone supper when their sick, a wave to a stranger, a smile to the cashier who is having a rough day, all these things that are so easy (and painless) to do. She says that " God entrusts you with little things to teach you faithfulness in big things. Also, God wants you to see that each little thing you do can have eternal impact". Really? How? Show me. Then she goes on to say that each little thing that we do for others as long as we have the right motive, we are doing it for God. Matthew 25:40 says "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me". So when we do something that seems small and insignificant to us, as long as we have the right heart about it, we are doing it for Jesus. Wiping noses, patching clothes, sweeping floors, laundry, all that little everyday stuff that we do constantly and get nowhere with, it all counts! Huh, who would have thought? I mean, I do it (or try to) everyday but I never think of it that way. So really, when we work no matter what we do, it's an act of worship. That's a much nicer way to look at things, to do it for Jesus. Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ that you are serving".
So, before doing anything, ask yourself why your doing it and for whom? Then you will know if your doing it for God or for man. If we want to serve Christ fully, Motive is Everything. 

Who do you do it for?


* Andrea *

Some Encouragement...

  What a nice weekend it was! The weather wasn't too bad either. It could have been a bit warmer but this is Manitoba after all. Spring is always unpredictable here!
  I also had a chance to go back to the book fair by myself on Saturday. It was such a good time! I spent 45 minutes there and I only looked at one section! I came home with an armful of books and it only cost me 5 bucks! I didn't know this ahead of time but the last day is always half price day. So lucky for me, every book was half price! That makes shopping (especially when your on a budget) a lot more exciting! I was able to find some neat books for my sponsor boys as well. I found a couple on animals, one on hockey (the great Canadian sport), and one on northern Canada. Now, I just need to figure out which book to send to each boy.
   I also found some great christian books for my husband and myself. The one that I'm reading now is called " Witness The Passion" by Richard Exley. It's such a great book. The author uses Biblical truth and his own imagination to create eyewitness accounts of the people present at the Crucifixion of Christ. This book really opens your eyes and makes you feel as if you were there. The way he describes it, has made me shed a tear or two a couple of times. It's really good to see the Crucifixion with a different angle, it makes you understand better what Jesus was willing to go through to save us. It also helps you to experience God's amazing grace. This book helps you to see that when things in your own life are difficult, Jesus had it a lot worse and yet he never once complained. It's encouraging for me to remember this passage: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12).
It just helps me to remember why we continue to strive forward in our faith, even when things are tough. I hope this passage encourages you like it does me.

What's your encouragement verse?

Have a great day!



* Andrea *