Be an Encourager and share hope

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11 

You might remember (or not!) the old Dr. Pepper commercial: "I'm a Pepper, she's a Pepper, he's a Pepper, we're a Pepper, wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?" (HA! Now that song will be in your head all day long!)  

I would like to change the words: "I'm an encourager, she's an encourager, he's an encourager, we're encouragers, wouldn't you like to be an encourager too?" 

Encourager many not be a real word, and it may not fit the old tune as well, but it does remind us we should ALL be encouraging each other every day, instead of arguing and trying to get our own way and claiming we are right all the time. We all need encouragement from time to time. I know I do. I am lucky to have very loving and caring friends and family who do encourage me every day. Do you ever think about how many people in this world don't have ANYONE in their lives to encourage them? No wonder there are so many sad, angry and discouraged people in the world!

Being an encourager comes easily to me, but sometimes my own issues makes lifting other people up much harder. I look for inspiration on how to encourage others in many places, including the Bible.

In Timothy 1:3-13, Paul, who is in prison with little hope of being released, writes a letter to his friend Timothy. It is a letter of hope and encouragement. Paul does a few things in this letter that we can use as examples of how to encourage others. (The person being encouraged is the encouragee, which is another word I just made up, but it fits the bill.)

1. Give God the glory and give a compliment
First, Paul thanks God for his own life (even though he is in prison!) and then compliments Timothy on his work. It's a good place to start. Put God first. Then, the compliments. What person doesn't like a good compliment? Make the encouragee feel confident about their skills. This will help them realize they have the strength to walk through this situation. 

2. Boost their confidence
Paul then goes on to give Timothy instructions - to go fan the flame of God's word by telling others about God's plan through Jesus Christ. This is a big job, and an important one. Paul reminds Timothy of the gifts that God has given him: a spirit of power, love, and self control. In order to get through the hard stuff, the enouragee needs to know they are not alone and they have what it takes to do the work. Fortify their courage.

3. Let them know you understand it's hard  
Paul then tells Timothy he should join in "suffering for the gospel." I believe Paul knew Timothy would face jeers, disbelief, anger, prejudice and probably danger by telling the good news of the gospel. Paul knew some people would not understand the message of blessings that Jesus had to offer. Misunderstanding can lead to anger, prejudice, hatred and other dangerous acts, as we see today. Paul had already experienced this. He was preparing Timothy. A little empathy can go a long way to producing hope.

That is why Paul's message to Timothy holds so much meaning and promise for us today. There is so much going on right now in our world that is DISCOURAGING. People are angry, divided, frustrated, stressed, and scared. People are suffering. It is easy for us to feel sad, depressed, and overwhelmed in our own situations. Encouragement from a friend reminds us we are not alone, and when that friend walks with us in these hard times, we can hold on to the strength, courage, and hope they are showing us and get THROUGH the suffering. 

So, sometimes we are the encouragee and other times we are the encourager. There are benefits from both, reducing a little bit of suffering in the world.

Who can YOU encourage today? It's not that hard. Give a smile. Talk to a stranger. Talk with a friend who is struggling. Send an encouraging text. Not only will you be lifting them up, you will be lifting your mood as well. Wouldn't YOU like to be an encourager too?

What we have here is a failure...to PLAN

I have heard it said, usually by those who don't like to plan, "You can't plan your life away." While there is some truth to that, and there needs to be some spontaneity to life, there is room for planning as well.  I am a relatively good planner, but I plan to be even better.

Each year, I buy a good planner and work on scheduling my time so I can get all my things done. I make lists, keep track of my progress, and I LOVE to cross things off that list. However, am I putting the right things on my list? Am I planning the right things that will get me closer to my goals?

Today I was reminded failing to plan can be detrimental to your future. I work with college students. Not only am I an academic librarian, but I also advise and coach first year students and some students who are struggling academically. I had a light bulb moment this afternoon while meeting with one young man. He showed up on time, sat down respectfully and looked ready to talk and work through some stuff. When I asked him for the success plan worksheet he was to put lots of thought into and bring with him today, he looked at me blankly and said, "I totally forgot about that!"  (Signal the facepalm that was happening in my brain.)

I smiled, and sweetly said that was the reason for our meeting today, so we could work through his concerns and create a success plan for the semester. He apologized. Then we spent some time talking about how this was one of his problems last semester. He didn't do well, not because he couldn't do the work, but because he didn't turn things in. We talked about putting assignments in a planner. He said he did that. Hmmm. He has this problem in all his classes. He then seemed pretty frustrated at himself and huffed out, "These assignments aren't that hard. I just can't seem to remember what to do and I wait too long to get s*%# done!" Forgiving him for the language, that was when the light bulb went off above my head!

He was never taught how to manage projects or how to PLAN ahead! Many of my students struggle with the exact same thing. In the testing culture of today’s public schools, students aren’t prepared to PLAN.

I am meeting with this student later this week and I am going help him use an online calendar to input all his due dates and tests, and then PLAN how long it will take to write the papers, study for the tests, and do the reading assignments. I’ll show him how scheduling time for those things on his calendar and setting it up to send him reminders on his phone can help to keep him on track.

I tell you all this because it has been a good lesson for me as well. I have been struggling to keep motivation going on dream board and healthy-living goals. The reason I'm having trouble...I'm failing to PLAN.

Putting time in MY online calendar for yoga and walking is a good idea so I get those annoying reminders popping up on my phone. I want the reminders so stop, so I go DO the thing. Thinking ahead to possible reasons for not being able to do the thing is also important. What if I am too sore to do yoga one morning? I could ALREADY have another lighter, less strenuous workout planned for those times. Then, I am still doing SOMETHING in that time slot, but I'm not doing something that will cause me more pain. Forget "no pain, no gain!" Ain't nobody got time for that! That will make me quit on my goals faster than anything.

What about healthy eating? I need to think through those situations that cause me to eat badly and come up with alternatives and strategies for dealing with those temptations ahead of time. This will help me have the tools I need to avoid those circumstances or make better choices during them. Looking at restaurant menus ahead of time will help me PLAN what I will eat when going out with friends instead of leaving it to my willpower alone in the heat of the moment. 

Speaking of willpower...mine is very weak. I know that. That is why I am working on taking some of the curve off my curves. My willpower, or lack thereof, has allowed the curves to get a little wider than I would like.  Willpower alone is not going to get me to my goals. I need to plan and give it a little strategic help.

The Bible is full of verses about planning. In my life, experience has shown me that when I get the Lord involved in my plans and pray about them, I am more able to stick to them. Obviously, prayer doesn't always result in me reaching my goals, but it keeps me connected to God and I think that is THE goal, right? Including God in my daily life and plans helps me remember that He loves me. 

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." ~ Psalms 37:4

I don't believe this means that praying will give you exactly what you want. My experiences are evidence of that. However, delighting in prayer and a higher power blesses my heart every time, even in times of stress and pain. 

So, building prayer into my plans is important to me.

I am thankful for those times when coaching my students reminds me and teaches me as much as it does them. Perhaps someone is PLANNING situations on my behalf...

Change --> Joy

Happy New Year friends! This has been the first week of a brand new year. This is the time when people around the world make resolutions and are excited about starting over with a clean slate. I have been there too. The problem is keeping that new year excitement going. In the past, I found myself giving up on riding my stationary bike every morning about 4 weeks into that hopeful resolution. Giving up leads me to feel bad about myself and adds to the cycle of disappointment and depression.

Last year I did better. Instead of making resolutions, I made a dream board. I cut out pictures of things I wanted to happen in 2019 and pasted them on a board. I put a picture of that dream board as the wallpaper on my phone so I would see it all the time. Honestly, I made almost everything on that board happen and I was pretty happy with myself. Can you guess what the only thing on my dream board that is still a dream and not a reality? You got it! Losing weight! Even though I made other good things in my life happen, I still found myself unhappy.

Friends, in the last several months and even years, I had lost my joy. I could hold it for a few moments, but it slipped through my fingers quickly and I found myself struggling with sadness and mild depression. Whatever the reasons for this circumstance, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to DO something about it!

So, this year, I am building on the success and failure of last year. I made another dream board. I pasted WORDS relating to the things I want to make happen this year. There are things on that board about writing, staying connected to God through daily devotion and meditation, traveling, and spending time with the people that mean the most to me. Instead of making a goal to lose a certain number of pounds, I am going to work toward leading a healthier lifestyle. Being active, and being mindful of what I put into my body, including more water and less sugar, are the things I am going to focus on. I need to change habits that have been with me my whole life. So I am also focusing on two words, one that leads to the other: CHANGE --> JOY.

CHANGE --> JOY

I created my dream board last Sunday and began thinking of action steps to make these things happen. Monday morning I began a 30 day yoga challenge. I found an online video and jumped right into it. I completed day 5 yesterday. There are several poses this big, out of shape body just cannot do, so today I went back to day 1 and began again. So what if I can't go directly from downward facing dog to rag doll? I want to get stronger...and I am beginning to be!

CHANGE -->JOY

It's working! The endorphins that are released during the yoga are making me feel better. I haven't cried in almost a week and that is a BIG improvement! I have been journaling every morning as well which is helping me put my feelings into words. This is all improving my joy quotient and making me feel like Linda again.

Renew my strength.
My daily devotional verse today was from Isaiah 40:31 "...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." 

My knees may crackle and hurt and my lower back may ache. I may get shaky and wobbly when trying to hold onto half moon pose and not want ANYONE to see my downward facing dog, but I feel myself growing stronger!

This is the YEAR the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it. Come rejoice in it with me! There is SO much to be worried about these days! Let's focus on the things we CAN change. I'm just at the beginning of my CHANGE -->JOY journey. Want to join me? Message me and we can do this together! We can compare notes, encourage each other and hold each other accountable. I promise I won't laugh at your downward facing dog if you don't laugh at mine! ;-)

Peace and joy my friends!