Category: Encouragement

Yesterday, I was with a friend.  We drank coffee together and my friend really encouraged me.  It was not a planned meeting.  It was unexpected.  I received it as a gift from God.  The time together was encouraging.   Henri Nouwen tells the story of a sculptor whose studio was next door to the home… Continue reading Do You Need Encouragment?

  Do you know the feeling?  You would just like a place to hide.  This life can be exhausting.  Yes, the busyness.  Yes, the work.  Yes, the responsibilities of being a spouse, parent, friend, son/daughter, etc.  Oh yea and a category five hurricane is coming (Hurricane Rita).   For he will hide me in his… Continue reading Looking for a Place to Hide?

Two notes came today.  Both were from friends.  Both were notes of encouragement that I received like a gift to be held on to for as long as possible. I have been impacted in such a positive way by great encouragers.  You know these kind of people.  They have a way of coming alongside and… Continue reading Need Some Encouragement?

On Sunday mornings, I am preaching some messages entitled, "What to Do When Life is Hard".  Some of this comes from years of talking with people who were experiencing very difficult times.  Some of this comes from my own difficult moments.  One thing is for sure, life is often very hard.  Life is sometimes hard… Continue reading What to Do When Life is Hard

This has been a long and demanding week.  I am not complaining.  I am just  acknowledging the way life has been this week.  Preparation for messages.  Conversations with people.  Planning for future projects.  Communicating with others.  It was just a very full week in many respects.  I was thinking today about things that I do… Continue reading The Pause that Refreshes

What makes a person attractive?  On one level one might  immediately speak of physical beauty.  And–on a certain level–that is a kind of attractiveness that is very real. However, I want to suggest that we might want to pay attention to another kind of attractiveness.  What causes us to be drawn to certain people?  What… Continue reading Are You Becoming an Attractive Person?

I suppose that I can always find reasons to feel discouraged.  I know that one of the tools that Satan has used with me through the years is discouragement.  This has been a battle for me more often than I would like to think.  (And of course it impacts Charlotte as well).  Occasionally, there will… Continue reading From Discouragement to Encouragement