In The Rear View Mirror

In The Rear View Mirror 

Well, now the A to Z Blogging Challenge is in the rear view mirror. It's kind of like when you are pressing to get somewhere on time. You have an appointment and you know your destination, yet you don't really know the area and you have to find your way around. You find yourself on quite an adventure. 

That is what I feel like I have been through ~ an adventure. Adventures can be fun, we get excited to get out of our routine and look forward to the experience. You plan and prepare, getting everything in order ~ ready to experience something different. You are off on your way and the planning pays off, it's smooth sailing for the first week then it happened and you realize that once you leave town and get out in unfamiliar territory it can be challenging. Not too sure if you really like this place, you can hurry on pressing through, burning the midnight oil, (or up to midnight) to get that post out on time. 

Whew, that was a close call... You realize  getting back on track. Then, you find yourself cresting the top of a mountain and the view below is on an open road. One of those rare places where it is wide and flat. A highway with no other cars in sight and you can really put the metal down. You have hit your zone. The place where your talent, passion and a need come together and you find your voice to inspire others. (Did you read post Z?) You cruise on into your destination... or is it your destiny?

A few days after your adventure, you are still riding that runner's high, (or actually writer's high). You look back in the rear view mirror to the last month and realize that you have met some really great people along the way, jaunted around the world actually, visiting other blogs, where you will go again. So, carry on my fellow bloggers, and followers... keep fueling your passion of adventure with your talents and filling the need that is yours alone to fill. Cruise on to your destiny.  Inspire with your words and give your voice to encourage others!

Encourage Someone Today!

Z is for Zest

Z is Zest

What is your zest in life? Are you in that place where your talents and gifts, (the natural God given abilities and strengths), a need, (a cause or niche in your area of expertise), and your passion, (the things that motivate. excite and inspire you), come together and you find your voice and that you have something worthwhile to say. I can't say that I've ever been in this spot before. But this is where I find myself. The zest that you find IN life, (as opposed to zest FOR life), allows you to find your voice and inspire others.

In the book "The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness," by Stephen R. Covey explores in depth this place where all these elements come together. I hope that many of you who took on the challenge of the last 30 days find yourself in this place. It is where talent, passion and a need come together and you find your voice to inspire others. It is a good place to be. Give a big thank you to the author of all creation for this powerful zest! 

So, carry on my fellow bloggers, and followers... keep fueling your passion with your talents and filling the need that is yours alone to fill. Inspire, with your words and give your voice to encourage others!

Encourage Someone Today!

Y is for Young

This verse has always been a favorite of mine, as it is a great encouragement from God's Word to be an example by the way you live. I think it is really hard to be a kid who has faith and shows it in the hallways of our public schools today. This is a great reminder that it is okay to stay strong in your faith and beliefs. You don't have to experience the bad choices that are out there to know that there is a better choice. You can choose to make the better choice to be true to who you are. It is okay to be kind in an unkind world. It is okay to walk in love. It is okay to have a strong faith. It is okay to stay pure.

I think it also means that just because you don't have the years of walking in faith as adults do, it doesn't mean that you faith is less because of that. If you live your life with a strong belief, are pure in heart, speak kindness, and love then there is power in that. And aren't we suppose to have the faith of a child?

"Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12


Stay pure. It's okay to not follow the crowd! In fact, that is what He wants us to do. Encourage those kids who are out there trying to live their faith. Help them to be an example to others.

Encourage Someone Today!
Send me a self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) 2804 8th St., Columbus, NE 68601, I will send you three Encouragement Cards. Day 25

X is for Xerox Copies (Which We Are Not!)

 X is for Xerox Copies

One of my daughters friends is a ginger. She has not really liked her red hair for most of her childhood. Personally, I have always liked her ginger coloring. It suits her. She kind of has a fiery personality at times and she gets the most beautiful tan every summer. Her red hair gets natural blond streaks when she has been out in the sun. She is quite the beauty with her blue eyes. Although she would be the first to disagree with me.

 Have you ever seen one of those photos on FaceBook where there must have been a convention somewhere, that you were only invited to it if you had red hair? Okay, so after some research, they are ginger conventions, and I guess Ireland has them too. It is so cool to see so many people with the same color of hair.The people gathered there are far from carbon copies of each other! With their hair the same color, I think their uniqueness shows even more!

Why do so many kids try so hard to be and do the same as their peers? They say that copying someone is a form of flattery, but why would you want to look just like every other girl in school? Why do they try so hard to fit in, when it is so abundantly clear that you were made to stand out? That is what girls need to hear. They need to know how wonderfully they are made. Each with their own unique characteristics that make them shine. "For everything created by God is good," 1 Timothy 4:4


Encourage Someone Today!

W is for Well Mannered Teens!

W is for Well Mannered Teens!

"We are raising young ladies in the is house not pigs." I heard myself say to the teen age girls that were lounging about the living room. Oinking sounds followed by laughter is the response I got as I realized that my mother's words somehow came out of my mouth the other day... Have I turned into my mom? When did that happen? And what's worse, when did I become so prim, proper and preachy?

Well, I guess it all started with my mom teaching me to have manners. I heard a smart retort from one of the teen age girls. "My mom doesn't care if I do that at my house", "Well, I do care and this is my house. I want you to be respected when you go out in public." I replied. 

Using common sense, having manners and not using profanity are qualities found in well mannered individuals. It is sad to say, but yes, kids today need to be told what is expected of them. Using profanity is one of the things that even girls need to be reminded to NOT do. Walk down the hall in any given school and prove me wrong. Swearing not only is a curse, it makes you sound uneducated. I don't know about you, but I like to look smart, and I don't want to go around cursing people. Yes, cursing, that is what the Bible says about it. "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” Romans 3:14.  To me, it's a no brainer. 

Lift people up with your words, that includes yourself. "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." So parents don't be afraid to sound preachy or sound like your mom. Whether they show it or not...Your kids and their friends are listening, looking to you to set a good example and set them on the righteous path. 

Encourage Someone Today!

V is for Valued

V is for VALUED

Parents...make sure your kids know how valued they are...Valued in God's eye's!

It never ceases to amaze me how I can suggest something to my teenager like, "Oh, you look great!" When the same thing is said to her by someone else, a teacher, an adult friend, another mom... she believes them. I'm like, "Didn't I just say the same thing?!" I get a response of, "Oh mom, you have to say that, you're my mom." I shake my head, but am glad that she gets the message. It sinks in that she is pretty, a valued member of our family and she matters.

What I don't understand is this, when some kid at school, makes a mean comment, she also believes that too. Kids can be so mean. When through those middle school and even high school years, kids are so busy trying to fit in or not stand out in a way that brings them negative attention that they point the finger at someone else to try to get the attention off themselves. This can be really hurtful, but If you know how God feels about you, you know what is the truth and you don't have to accept or believe what is not true.

Here are some truths that every child should know:

• I have been chosen of God, and I am holy and beloved, Colossians 3:12. 
• As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ. Romans 8:17, 
• I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me, Isaiah 54:14, 
• I am His elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and long suffering Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12, 
• I am firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith and overflowing with gratitude, Colossians 2:7. 
• I am greatly loved by God, Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4.

So parents, make sure your child knows who they are in Christ and they will be strong in knowing how they are valued!

Encourage Someone Today!

U is for - Know Who YOU are!

Okay, so I am stretching it here just a bit with the title, but this is something that I feel really strong about so here goes! Something that my husband has always told my daughter that holds much truth is "Know who you are." Knowing who you are is something that will help keep you out of trouble, or help you to make the better choice than following the crowd.

At our house, we serve the Lord, which means we have certain things that we live by, we attend church on Sunday. Again no discussion needed. I was raised this way, and as I had a child we are raising her to believe also."Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it" Proverbs 22:6

When some one asks you to do something that you know is wrong that isn't to the standards that you've set for yourself...it just isn't something that is who you are, it is easier to say no. When you are unsure of what to say when you are faced with a decision that is questionable, ask yourself, "Is that who I am?" If you find that the answer is way out of your comfort zone, well, then I think you have your answer. When you are grounded in knowing who God made you to be, there is comfort in being that person. You have the knowledge that your God is there giving you the strength, perseverance and ability to be that person. If you are not sure who you are, then ask Him. He will tell you how wonderfully he made you to be complete with the standards for who you are!

T is for - Troubled Teens

How do you help a troubled teen? I ask you this question because that is the question that is at the heart of Encourage Me Kids. What can I do to make a difference in a kids life?

It is hard to be a teen today. I can't hardly believe some of the tragic things that I have seen some teens in our area do like cutting themselves, in trouble with drugs, an endless line of boy friends/girl friends relationships -- one right after another.

I sometimes think back to my own teen years. Remembering what it was like when I was in high school in the 1980's. (Can it really be that long ago?) If only we could have the wisdom that you have in your 40's when you are a teen, maybe I wouldn't have made some of the not so great choices that I did. But is that really it? I always have strived to be a good kid. I went to church and tried to do what was right. Yet, it wasn't enough.

If I believe that God's Word is the truth. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17. Then how do you help kids to hear the good words of hope and restoration, freedom and love? By seeing these truths, feeding on them, remembering them--they eventually accept them and put them in hearts. The Word becomes part of them. along with encouragement from parents, teachers and other adults maybe, just maybe, teens will make a different choice. A better choice and become the individuals that God so wonderfully and fearfully made them to be. "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.

So I ask you again, what can you do to make a difference in a kids life?

Encourage Someone Today!

S is for - You are STRONGER than You Think!

 

You are STRONGER Than You Think~

Pooh Bear knew what he was talking about Christopher Robbin! You might be little Piglet, but you are stronger than you think! Whatever you are going through, whether it is the last few weeks of school and you are just so ready for school to be over with. With all the pressures of studying and keeping those grades at the level you are at, when a few more new concepts are thrown at you and you were struggling to get the last one understood. Or maybe its time for fourth quarter testing or finals week is staring you in the face and you can't wait until all you HAVE to do is behind you, (so you can do what you WANT to do). You are stronger than you think! An illness and recovery time period, a breakup or big change in your life... You can get through this, whatever this is. Look up and say a prayer! (ASAP - Always Say A Prayer, did you read day 1?) Help is just a prayer away. 

God never gives you more than you can handle baby. Truly, if you are overwhelmed with life's obstacles; help, strength, courage, a way out... the answer is to ask Jesus and He will give you the strength to endure the challenge, (Even the A - to - Z Challenge). :)

“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” Psalm 138:3

Encourage Someone Today!
Send me a self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) 2804 8th St., Columbus, NE 68601, I will send you three Encouragement Cards. Day 19

R is for- Do What You Know Is RIGHT!

 
Do What You Know Is RIGHT!

Have you found when you are watching a movie, it is sometimes easy to see when a character makes a wrong choice that you can predict what will happen next. You just know what will happen to him. You can see the trouble coming a mile away and can call out his next move before he does it. Yet the character stumbles on into the trouble. Sometimes it is hard to watch someone make a fool of themselves. Although it is just a movie and not real life, it makes for some great laughs through the character's bumbling situation.

Take for instance, one of my favorite 80's classic movies, “Farris Buehler's Day Off.”  You just know that something terrible is going to happen to the little red sports car. Even though it makes for a funny scene, you know that if they would have made a better decision or had done what they know was right, the red Ferrari wouldn't have crashed through the glass wall and sped wide open into the lake. Farris and his friend wouldn't be in such dire straits! Of course movie drama is hilarious, but when it it real life drama, well that's another story.

The other day my daughter told me about something her teacher tells all her students in class. “DWYKIR”, (dwicker) is an acronym for Do What You Know Is Right. I thought, wow, what a great way to help kids think about making a good choice before they need to! Kuddo's to that teacher!

In 1 Timothy 1:19 the apostle Paul tells us, “Cling tightly to your faith in Christ and always keep your conscience clear, doing what you know is right.” Isn't is funny how so many times in scripture the end justifies the means...Such common sense advice as do what you know is right, keeps your conscience clear. I can't think of better advice to send my kid out the door with to empower them to make good decisions that will ultimately keep them safe and out of trouble in a trouble filled world. It's even a good reminder for an adult.

Encourage Someone Today!