What encourages you?
I had the opportunity to ask someone this recently and they didn’t have an answer right off. Sometimes I think random questions are the best. They inspire us to think in different dimensions than we are used to.
So let me ask again, what encourages you? If you can name some things, great, and if you can’t, take some time and figure it out. And then do these things!
I truly believe that God wants us to be our best, and in order to be our best, we must be joy-filled and at peace. Encouraged so we can be an encouragement.
Hit Pause
Sometimes slowing down, hitting pause on life so to speak, is just what I need to refuel and find the enthusiasm for what I have to do.
Other times hitting pause can be me getting out of the daily grind and changing things up a bit. Just because you always do things one way doesn’t necessarily mean you have to always do them that way. Realizing this can be empowering!
Get out of your own way and consider what things you may want to change up in your life. A schedule and routine is great – really, I highly recommend them! – but also add a bit of spontaneous adventure by switching things around! If you don’t have time to do that now, you most likely will never have time – so learn to make the time.
Read Inspiring Books
Whether you’re a big reader or not, consider finding an inspiring book to read. Daily devotionals can help keep things brief but encouraging. I remember ages ago I started reading a bit of a Joel Osteen book every day and I was amazed at what a difference it made in my attitude and outlook. Small efforts can have enormous impacts!
Also consider buying a pack of pretty Scripture cards to encourage your day. Maybe you’ll want them for your bathroom counter to see when you get ready in the morning, or on your desk to inspire your day. There are so many lovely options available that you’re sure to find some to suit you!
Inspiration can be found in a myriad of books. I was sharing with someone just the other day how it amazed me how much one could apply from business books to life itself. How you should treat customers could be applied to how you treat those closest to you. The quality of the work you do could be compared to the quality of the efforts you make in your life, etc.
Biographies can be fascinating too! From our founding fathers to those we might consider our peers, biographies can really give us a glimpse at another person’s life.
When it comes to what you read, be it fiction or fact, remember Philippians 4:8:
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Simply put – garbage in, garbage out.; quality in, quality out. What you fill your mind and thoughts with is vitally important. Be prudent!
Bless Others
How can being a blessing to others possibly encourage us? Luke 6:38 gives a hint:
Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.
This doesn’t mean that we should seek to be a blessing just so that we will be blessed, but rather because it honors God.
I remember ages ago when we were staying with family, helping them move. Everyone was tired and we were all ready for the end of the day. But instead of being able to stop for the day just yet, my mother and I made a late night supper for everyone (there was quite a crowd!) and cleaned up afterwards. By the time we were winding down for the night, it was actually the wee hours of the next day. Instead of feeling even more exhausted, we were energized and delighted to have been able to meet a need and be a blessing!
Even now in my relationships and as I go about my day, when I begin to feel I have a real need in an area, I try to use that need as a trigger to look around me and see how I can meet that need in someone else. It is a powerful reminder to look past myself and bless another. And do you know, I end up feeling like my need was met and that I was blessed by helping another!
Your Turn
I pray these ideas have inspired you! Do you have ideas on how you encourage yourself? Please share them below!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
PS. Keep reading: https://www.theamericanlady.com/