Sunday, January 11, 2015

Encouragement Challenge #2: "Thinking of You" Cards


For this week's challenge, I am using the same verse as last week because, well... I like it! And, I'll probably end up using it again before this series is over. It just fits well with the topic. But, before I mention challenge #2, how did you do with challenge #1? Did you accomplish the task? Was it easy to do, or difficult for you? Do you have anything to share about how God answered a specific prayer? I would love to hear from you!

I chose three people to specifically pray for. One was a family member, one was an old friend, and one was a lady from church. I contacted the first two in a Facebook message. The third one, I directly talked to after church last Sunday. That was a challenge for me because I'm not much of a talker and would rather just send an e-mail or a private message, but I'm so glad I did it because it gave me a chance to see her reaction. When I asked her if there was anything specific I could pray about for her through the week, she seemed a bit surprised. She looked away and said just one word: "Wow." I'm guessing things like that don't happen to her very often. It's sad, isn't it? How many of us are out there asking for prayer requests from others? If I hadn't brought up this challenge, would YOU have asked someone how you could pray for them during the week? Honestly, I'm really not sure I would have done it without the prompt, but I want that to change. As Christians, we are meant to "encourage one another and build up one another," just like it says in the verse above. That's what these challenges are all about - to open our eyes to different ways we can and should be encouraging others, and to spur us on to DO the things we have been called to do.

After my chosen people told me their prayer requests, I wrote them down so I wouldn't forget them, and made sure to follow through with praying for them every day this past week. I know at least one request was answered; and it was a good feeling to know, even if I couldn't change someone's circumstances, I could at least pray for them and ask God to give them the strength to make it through their difficult days. I want to keep doing this, and I hope you do too.

Now, on to Challenge #2. It is simple to do, but it can also bring a lot of encouragement to someone's day...

ENCOURAGEMENT CHALLENGE #2
Go buy one or two "Thinking of you" cards, or make your own, and send them in the mail. Everyone enjoys getting mail that is not a bill or an advertisement. So, make someone smile with a simple card. You might also add a Bible verse or two to encourage them in their Christian walk.

4 comments:

  1. These are such good challenges. I really need to start and I think I'll start tomorrow.

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    Replies
    1. Any day is a good day to encourage others. It is such a blessing to both the giver and the receiver.

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  2. I just love how the Lord is leading people to do this...it happened to me this week from a lady who lives 8 hrs. away. PtL

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