More on Encouragement

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT)

We should be encouraged because of the hope we have in God's promise to us - forgiveness and eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.  God kept his promise to send a Savior - His Son Jesus Christ.  And Christ has promised to return - we can count on it!  In turn, we should be living testamonies of Christ's love to others - motivating other believers towards acts of love and encouraging one another.  How?

By choosing to be a blessing.  Choosing to be a blessing to others can be challenging.  To be a blessing to others means setting yourself aside.  Being a blessing to others means considering the welfare and interests of others before yourself.  It means sacrificing yourself, your wants, your needs, your desires.  It means placing concern for someone else ahead of yourself!!! It means getting to know others so that you can discern their needs. It means to SERVE someone else through your words and actions.  It means making yourself number 2 (3, 4, 5...) on the priority list.  It may require acts of kindness - random or not. It may require our time and resources.  Choosing to be a blessing requires more than mere words - it requires action.

By choosing to be a genuine friend.  Genuine friendships are important.  Genuine friends are treasures in this life.  To have genuine friends, you must be a genuine friend. Friends are vital for our walk in Christ.  Friends are there for you when family can't be.  Though I love my family, we are scattered across the U.S.  We can't always be there for each other.  But my friends have been with me through thick and thin.  We have built authentic relationships in which we can be honest and transparent with each other.  We've weathered some very tough storms in our lives on a daily basis - cancer, surgeries, financial issues, etc...  Proverbs 27:10 says this about our friends, "Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance.    It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away."    I can vouch for just how true this is!


By choosing to show genuine care and concern.  Authentic care and concern is important in any relationship.  In order to encourage others, we must have genuine interest and concern in them.  Genuine care and concern requires us to get involved with others beyond our comfort zone.  Sometimes that can be messy business. 


In Philippians 2:1-5, Paul describes what an attitude of genuine care and concern for others looks like:

     "     Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the    

     Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? ² Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each 

     other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

     ³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out      
     only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
     ⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."  




By choosing our words carefully.  Our words should bring healing not hurt.  Though we should speak truth, there are ways to speak truth in love.  We should use discernment in choosing our words and how we communicate with others.  Some people pride themselves on speaking the truth.  Yet they do so with little concern for those on the receiving end.  Our words should bring spiritual healing for others.  Our words may have to be tough at times, but they should always be chosen wisely, out of sincere concern for the person and motivated by love.  Our words - whether spoken or written - should heal, not wound.  Our words are like a tube of toothpaste, once out they are impossible to put back in.  We must choose our words carefully.






Our purpose in motivating and encouraging others is to point them to Christ - strengthening the faith of believers and giving us a platform to share the Gospel with nonbelievers.  


"Today will never come again. Be a blessing. Be a friend. Encourage someone. Take time to care. Let your words heal not wound." - Anonymous


Peace!
In His Love, Cathy

More DIY on a Dime

Brittany put the final touches on her room redo today.  My mother gave Brittany two ornate, wood chairs that needed reupholstering.

So today after church, Brittany and I headed to our favorite place to shop for vintage accessories - Alyssa's Antique Depot.  Though we did not find any vintage fabric or pillows for Brittany's new chairs, we did find several other little knick knacks for Mama;)  I never leave Alyssa's empty handed:)

So we then headed to Joanne's Fabrics.  I must say that I have been direlect in the education of my daughter.  She had NEVER been to Joanne's Fabrics before.  As we walked into the store, Brittany grabbed my arm and gasped, "Mom, I'm in love with this place!!!!  Why haven't you brought me here before?"  I still cannot believe I deprived my daughter the joy of Joanne's...shame on me!

After spending quite some time in the fabric section, we found the PERFECT upholstery fabric for her chairs and discovered it was 40% off!!! SCORE!!!!  We then spent the rest of our time there exploring.  I made sure my daughter was exposed to every nook and cranny of this crafting paradise:)  As we perused each aisle, our inner crafter flowed freely.  We were in crafting heaven!!!

But back to our chair DIY!!!  Once we got our prized bargain fabric (regular $10.99 a sq/yrd reduced to $6.59 sq yrd), we raced straight home and had her chair seats reupholstered in less than one hour.  Oh yes, and we did it while watching Soul Surfer:)  Total cost for these chair remakes was $26.19 - $13.19 for fabric and $12.99 for an upholstery/wood stapler.

With all of our recent remodeling projects, Brittany and I have decided that we need to open up a booth at Alyssa's next summer:)

In His Love, Cathy

Deployment

Please pray for our oldest son, Mathew.  He will be deploying overseas in August.  I cannot say where only that prayers are needed and appreciated.  Thank you sweet friends!


In His Love, Cathy

Humility

"Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers.  They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.  They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling.  Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone."  Titus 3:1-2


Humility is something that I struggle with.  Humility is a key quality that, as a believer, we are supposed to possess.  However, true humility can be difficult to achieve and maintain in my daily walk with Christ.  Though I am more than familiar with what humility for a believer means, in my quest for it my attitude tends to swing between two extremes - devaluing my worth and over inflating my worth.

Quite frankly, for most of my life I always felt that I never quite measured up.  I was always comparing myself to others and never felt smart enough, pretty enough, kind enough, good enough...Christian enough!  And then there are times in my life, though much fewer, that I felt that I was better than others - smarter, more mature, more hard working, more 'together' than others - more mature in the faith.  Both contributed toward a false sense of myself in Christ. Both contributed toward a controlling, perfectionistic attitude.  Both contributed to pride in their own way - either a pride that I was so unworthy or a  pride that I was a better person!

Humility and my worth in Christ is something that I still struggle with today.  It is a struggle that I must lay at the feet of the cross on a daily basis!  I look to God's Word to help me with this struggle.

Jesus was the ultimate model of humility.  In Philippians 2, Paul writes,

   "Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.  
   "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."


    Though he was God,
        he did not think of equality with God 
        as something to cling to.
   Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
        he took the humble position of a slave
        and was born as a human being.
   When he appeared in human form,
        he humbled himself in obedience to God
        and died a criminal's death on a cross."  Philippians 2:3-8 (NLT)


Though Jesus was God, a full member of the Trinity, He did not consider Himself equal to God.  He HUMBLED himself, enslaving Himself in human form - to bring Truth, to Rescue, to Redeem.  He gave Himself as a humble sacrifice - paying the penalty for OUR sins though He was without sin!!!!  Jesus was the perfect model of humility - He put our best interest above His own as He hung on that cross!!!!

Paul further defines humility for us in Romans 12:3, "Don't think you are better than you really are.  Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us."


Humility isn't about how you compare to others.  Humility isn't belittling yourself based on your shortcomings.  Nor does a humble heart put others down, either.  The commentary for my NLT for Titus 3:2 says this about humility, "We show false humility when we project negative self worth on our abilities and efforts.  We show pride when we inflate the value of our efforts or look down on others.  True humility seeks to view our character and accomplishments honestly.  Recognizing that we have succeeded in an effort need not be pride."


So there it is.  Humility is having an honest prospective of our worth and value before God.  It is how God sees us - valued and dearly loved.  We are worthy, because He made us worthy.  We are valued because He first loved us.  A heart of humility is a heart that is gentle, that considers others before ourselves, and harbors no pride.  Humility has no superiority complex. Humility propels us to serve unselfishly.  Humility promotes love and unity within the church body.  Humility is accepting our successes in a manor that produces a thankful heart, celebrating His glory without the crippling affects of negative self worth.

Humility in us is an important attribute.  Why? Because a humble attitude reflects our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in us.



In His Love, Cathy