Word of Encouragement

Word of Encouragement

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A Word of Encouragement - Faith

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A Word of Encouragement

A Word of Encouragement - Big

A Word of Encouragement

A Word of Encouragement

A Word of Encouragement

Courage

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.
~Ambrose Redmoon

Sometimes the biggest act of courage is a small one.
~Lauren Raffo

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
I Corinthians 16:13

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ~C.S. Lewis

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. ~Raymond Lindquist

It is easy to be brave from a safe distance. ~Aesop

Mother

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
~Tenneva Jordan

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Proverbs 1:8

A mother understands what a child does not say.
~Author Unknown

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.

~Abraham Lincoln

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.
~Irish Proverb

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.

~Oprah Winfrey

Most mothers are instinctive philosophers.
~Harriet Beecher Stowe

Joy

When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Psalm 94:18-19

Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic.
Rosalind Russell

A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son grief to his mother.
Proverbs 10:1

Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.
Floyd W. Tomkins

When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.
Proverbs 21:15

It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet.
Kojiro Tomita

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."
Luke 10:21

Perseverance

 
Perseverance- continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering : steadfastness
Mirriam-Webster Dictionary
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers
I Timothy 4:16

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.

~Henry Ward Beecher

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12

The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. 

~Author Unknown

As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
James 5:11

Fall seven times, stand up eight. 
~Japanese Proverb

Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before. 
~Jacob A. Riis

Wisdom

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
   but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

Proverbs 1:7 

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." 

-Aristotle

My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
   preserve sound judgment and discretion;
 they will be life for you,
   an ornament to grace your neck. 

Proverbs 3:21-22

Patience is the companion of wisdom.  

-St. Augustine

How much better to get wisdom than gold,
   to get insight rather than silver! 

Proverbs 16:16

No man was ever wise by chance.  

-Seneca

The words of the mouth are deep waters,
   but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream. 

Proverbs 18:4

Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
I Corinthians 13:4-7

'nuff said.

 

Sleeplessness

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;  in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;
II Corinthians 6:4-7

Exhaustion is a part of parenting.  In those first days, when newborns need to eat every few hours, around the clock.   Later when fevers boil all the night through or when a nightmares or thunderstorm break into a peaceful slumber.  Science tells us the tired people do not perform well mentally or physically.  Experience tell us that tired people are grouchy, irritable, and quick tempered. Not great qualities for a parent.

Nobody is perfect, but we do want to be commendable to our children even as Paul is commendable to the Corinthians.  It is our job, our duty, as parents to train up our children.  As Proverbs 22:6 says " Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it."  And Ephesians 6:4 says "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." 

It was the word "sleeplessness" that caught my eye in this passage (I was actually studying a verse on the opposite page in my Bible). In all honesty, I have not been sleeping well for a few weeks.  Little Dude's sleep schedule is off and we are having a hard time re-establishing it.  If he does not sleep, I do not sleep.  I grumbled, complained and griped at my daughter because I was tired, but when I read these verses I was humbled.  If Paul could endure not only sleepless nights, but also beatings, hunger, riots, imprisionments for the Lord's calling, then I had a responsibility to try to be a commendable witness in my calling as mother to my children.  It is only by the Grace of God that I will succeed.

Whatever

 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.

Philippians 4:8

Have you ever had one of those days?  You know, the kind where you wake up late, to the baby who wet through the diaper is screaming his head off.Burning the bacon at breakfast, breaking your favorite glass getting cut off in traffic, and it just goes downhill from there. What is on your mind, on those days?  What is your mind today? 

What we think about sits in the center of our attitude.  Our attitude is what sets the tone for the day.  It fuels our words and sparks our actions.  So…what should we think about?

Whatever:  any amount, to any extent, all encompassing.  Those things, all those things, all parts of all those things that are

• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute or admirable
• excellent
• worthy of praise.   

But not just thinking, dwelling.  Other versions say think or meditate, but dwell gives the picture of setting up camp, pitching a tent, or building a house.  Dwelling is a permanent state of being.  This isn’t something that we just do first thing in the morning or the last thing at night; this is something that we should always be doing.  

Pray that in this week that God will help you call to mind and dwell on those true, lovely, honorable, right, pure, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy things.  See if it doesn’t make a difference in your attitude, words and actions.