One Anothering

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV, Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Well, what can I say about this word?  Encouragement is vital to living day to day.  Everyday we are bombarded with images that discourage and worry us.  Life situations can make anyone overwhelmed sometimes.  Encouraging and building is essential.  There was a song that says "Christians, they will know us by our love".  When we encourage and build we allow us to have something to give to that person that may be discouraging and tearing down.  Frederick Douglas said its easier to build strong children than to repair a broken man.  I add that it is easier to build one another by speaking life/truth regularly than to repair a broken relationship from offense and tearing down.

This week adds no media to our fast - so now we are at No Sweets, No Meats, No Media.  I am going to be intentional about fellowshipping and encouraging face to face or over the phone with an actual telephone conversation instead of a text!  I am going to be intentional about getting to know someone better this week instead of just relying on their FB posts and tweets to keep up with them.  I am going to have some people over to the house with some meatless, sugarfree fellowship!  I am going to work on my blog notes and do some reading and research so my encouragement can have substance.  Who can you call today just to build up?  How can we turn our "hotline" into a "hopeline"?  Who do you not already know at your church, at your job, at your school that you can get to know?  Let us step outside of our circle & encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.  You never know who might need it! That's what I heard! Be ENCOURAGED Beloved!