receiving encouragement

I'm a person who likes giving encouragement. I especially like encouraging people to stretch themselves, to try new things and to grow. This is especially true when it comes to their relationship with God and the way that they serve Him. I guess that's part of why I like my job so much. I get to do this a lot. I get to help people think through topics and ideas. I get to be on their journey with them as the mature and grow.

Sometimes the shoe is on the other foot, which is what I want to talk about today. In the mail a couple of weeks ago I received a lovely letter from the lovely women in ES (Evangelical Students, ES, is the IFES group at universities in Adelaide). It was such a surprise to be recieving a letter with the sender address as Flinders ES. I had no idea what it was, and was so touched to read what was written. It's such a blessing to know that people back in Aus are thinking of me and praying not only for me, but also for the ministry that I'm doing here in NL. Almost any time is a great time for encouragement, but for me it was really great timing, and just what I wanted to hear, so thanks girls!

How are you going to encourage the people in your life this week?

Thankful?

I believe that in every day life we tend to do a mixture of 3 things:
1. We take for granted our lives and the things that are in them
2. We complain about the things that we wish we had in life
3. We are thankful for the things that we have

I also believe that every day life is usually dominated by the first two reactions. They seem so much easier to do than to be thankful. It's easier to just go about life and not think about what's actually in it. To not think about what we spend our time doing, or who we spend our time with. We don't realise what we've got...until it's not there any more.


It's also so easy to dwell on the things that aren't going right in life. The things that your life is missing or that you've lost. We are trained to look for better things, for upgrades and the things that we 'deserve' in life. But what is it that we really deserve? What do we really have a 'right' to have in our life? Isn't it enough to be thankful for the things that we have in our life right now, and not to dwell on the things we don't have?

I'm at a point in my life right now. I'm stick in a spiral of dwelling on what I'm missing in life- what I don't have. The friends I can't be with, the things that are going on without me, the times I spend alone when all I want is to have someone here with me. But it needs to stop. I'm so thankful for the times that I've had people around me, that I've had friends who love me and care for me. I still have that- it's just changed. I need to be thankful.

As I said, it's easy to dwell on the things that you don't have in your life. What about all the things that we do have? Friends and family that love us no matter where in the world we are. A God who loves us and is with us all the time. The joy of being able to tell people about this God who loves us. A beautiful world created for us to enjoy.

Father, please help me to be thankful

Church is family

Please don't take your church family for granted. I hope you go to a church where you feel at home. You know people there and they know you. I don't mean that they know about you, but that they really KNOW you and they care about and for you. I had a church famliy like this in Adelaide. I loved seeing them every week, spending time with them and worshipping God together. Just like my 'real' family, I took them for granted. I took for granted the fact that they'd be there for me no matter how I was feeling. I took for granted the love that they shared with me when they invited me to their homes; as they prayed for things going on in my life; as we read the Bible together. Mostly I miss the love they conveyed in such simple ways as smiles and hugs.

'Church shopping' isn't fun. It's like going to live with a long-lost sister that you only just found out you had. You know there's a connection between the two of you, but you don't know the first thing about her. You aren't comfortable around her and you don't know what to say. I hope this is making some sort of sense. There's a comfort to family (church or not) that you don't realise is there until it's not there- or you're not there. That said, there's things you can do to grow the relationship, but it's not easy. The best thing to do is persevere. Persevere with going, with talking to people, with getting involved, with taking up invitations etc. That said, I guess it's the same with your church family too. Sometimes you won't feel like seeing them, or going to church at all (for whatever reasons). You just have to. 

The thing I need to remember is that church is about worshipping God. It's not about how I feel, but about having the chance to gather with others to sing praises to our most wonderful creator. It's about reading the Bible together and listening to what God is saying through the songs, Bible, preacher, and other people around us. It's not about us at all- it's about God.