"The Power of Encouragement", what a topic!!!!  This is the topic for our (in)courage link up today.  (in)Courage has already encouraged me to not be “a bad blogger”.  I've done more blogs this year than in the last two—combined.  (Read below if you can’t relate to the "bad blogger" image.)

Can I just say that I have never thought of myself as an encourager or even a “positive” thinker.  I know the power of God and the power of trusting in His word, but God did not make me a natural born encourager. 

As a matter of fact, I’m the girl that can find that cloud with a rainstorm that will turn into a hurricane before I’m the girl that finds the silver lining any day.   Some may call that “negative thinking” but I call it reality.

That’s just the way I roll.  

I have that snarky, curt, quick, in your face sense of humor and as a comedian, it has served me well.  As an encourager, not so much!

But I struggle with the positives.   I struggle with encouragement. 

It is not my spiritual gift.  

Yet I find myself in middle of “encouragement”.  Lately others have been so encouraging to me.  Encouraging me about things I never thought I was very good at.  And I have tried to encourage others.  If I see something I like, such as a purse, a book, a haircut, or accessory; I have been complementing people.  I found myself in the emergency room last week and I found myself “encouraging” every nurse that stuck me with a needle and didn't make me cry.  (I have “bad” veins, the kind the roll, hide and collapse and I don’t cry easily so the “snarky” in me resisted that a bit.)  But one nurse told me, “Thanks, I’m kind of new at this.  I try not to hurt people.”  I replied, “Well, you are in the right job sister”.  It was nice to see her smile, even if it was 4:30 in the am.

There is power in encouragement. 

Something I am learning to do better.  Don’t worry, I’m sure there will still be a part of the snarky, in your face, bad blogger in me from time to time.  But hopefully it will be followed by an encouraging word or two.

 

Romans 12:8a in the NIV says “if it is to encourage, then give encouragement…”  I say, if it’s not your gift, and it is SO NOT MINE, try anyway.   It is powerful just the same.

About 18 months ago, I joined an on-line community called (in)courage. http://www.incourage.me/

I’m not sure how I found them or how I actually got involved.  I just know that I did and that I am so glad that I did.  At first, I just received their blogs by email.  Now, you may know, I am a bad blogger.  I completely envy those who can seem to accomplish this task with ease and grace.  To be honest, after reading their blogs, I know that there is nothing easy about accomplishing this task and that it is only because of God’s grace that they (or we or I) ever get anything worthwhile done.  Being part of this community has been a wonderful experience. 

Last year I was an “emergency host” for their (in)Real Life Conference and this year I was a “real” host.  (I guess if I were to stick with the theme, I would be an (in)Real Host.)  I so enjoyed hearing the stories from the keynote leaders and from the ladies that attended this year’s retreat at my host site.  http://www.incourage.me/inrl-conference

I also have done the (in)Bloom Book club http://www.incourage.me/channel/bloom and two sessions ago joined a community group for single women.  What an amazing and unexpected blessing these ladies have become to me.  That group has done a book study and a “single” topics study.   But I found a safe, encouraging, joyful, community of women that love to laugh and cry with each other no matter how far across the globe. 

I am supper excited to be leading a community group for the summer session of 2014.  I can’t wait.  My co-leader is Michelle Krajecki and you are going to love her.  Our group is called (in)Word.  (See I can stick with a theme.)  http://www.incourage.me/inword

(in)Word is a group for women who love words.  A group for women who love The Word and love the words that make up other’s story.  The word “inward” means in the mind or soul; mentally or spiritually. This group will be reading a book that help us look inward so that we can make a difference in our outward world.  For the summer session 2014 the (in)Word group will be looking at the words of Holley Gerth in her book “You’re Already Amazing”.  http://www.dayspring.com/holley_gerth_you_re_already_amazing/

Registration for these groups begins today.  

Michelle and I would love to have you join us.  So click on this link and register today.  http://www.incourage.me/inword

Confessions of a Bad Blogger (Part 2)

I am a bad blogger. There, I said it, yet again. (See post from July 2013, it shouldn’t be hard to find, there were only two in 2013.  I told you I was a bad blogger.)  I started 2014 off well, with my January blog being done by January 7^th.  February 28^th rolled around and no blog.  I blamed it on having three less days that month to accomplish this task.  Then March 31^st rolled around.  I blamed that one on the pollen.  It’s April 30^th and I still haven’t written that creative, funny, entertaining, life changing blog.  Well, let’s be honest, there is still a lot of pollen in the air. 

I have even recommended to several of my artist friends (comedians, musicians, photographers, actresses -okay more like “Drama Queens”) to do one simple thing.  Take a weekend and write twelve blogs, one for each month.  All those ideas you have, just run with it, do nothing else and all you have to do from there is copy, paste and post.  Done!!! 

*Sigh*

I am a bad blogger. 

To be honest, I have a hard time journaling.  Whatever made me think I could do a blog? 

I used to journal all the time.  From age 16 to age 26, I was faithful to write in my journal daily.  At 26 years of age life changed for me.  And I mean changed.  Life had just gotten so hard the last thing I wanted to do was remember every single last detail.  So I made the decisions to stop writing in my journal.  When I was a child we called it a diary.  I guess journal sounds a little more spiritual and mature but for me it was allowing me to hang onto anger and resentment and hurt and distrust.  I had to walk away from my journal.    That was over 23 years ago.  I haven’t picked one up since then.  Well, not in the traditional meaning of the word.   I have a journal that has all my comedy routines in them.  (It’s always a good to write that down.)  I have a journal that I use for sermon notes.  I have a scripture and quotes journal, where I write down verses and sayings that mean a lot to me and encourage me.  (I have a LOT of the same scripture written down repeatedly by the way.)  And I have a journal that I write in when I do a book study or a word study in scripture and I have a prayer journal.  I guess my prayer journal is more like a daily journal than the others I use.  The prayer journal has more personal prayers and maybe some events, but not like it used to. 

Not writing in a daily journal made me wonder, have a lost part of my story?  I don’t think so.  I help host and (in)Real Women’s Conference last weekend and I loved hearing everyone stories.  Our stories do matter, but my take away from the weekend is that “God wants to be the hero of our story.”  And I believe he has done just that for me.  By my not “writing” down all those things that have happening, I don’t have a clear memory of them, but the memory of that time period will always be clear to me.  Why?  Because I don’t remember EVERY detail, but I remember what God did.  I remember what He held me through, how He turned something I never thought I would get over into 20 years of laughter.  I remember that God my hero.  I don’t have to try and be my own. I don’t need to journal that to know that.   He has proven it over and over.  He also wants to be the author of my story.  Hebrews says is the “author and finisher of our faith.”  We need to let him write and BE the hero of our story. 

Scripture also say in Habakkuk 2:2-“Then the Lord replied:  “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald my run with it.”  Deuteronomy 3:19 also says “Now down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.”

Our stories are worth re-telling.  They are designed to be a witness and to teach. 

So, now I am convicted…I can’ t promise that I can undo this “bad blogger” thing, but I can promise that I can share about my Hero.  The one who died on the cross so I didn’t have to.  The one who loved me to the point of death and the one whose story is the thread that ties all our stories together. 

May this bad blogger always remember that.