Browsing Tag

encouragement

What people need

 

What People Need . . .

Love. Forgiveness. Encouragement.

There’s so much sadness, so much sorrow. There’s so much controversy, so much contention.

In all the noise of news reports and journalism and everything social media, there are hard things. And so much rawness in all the words. And in so many ways we speak to and treat others.

What people need most to cover all this rawness is the softness of words of love and forgiveness and encouragement. How we speak, how we treat others – it matters. In all relationships.

In this softness, we become stronger.

That’s what people need most — words that make them stronger. We can overcome the noise, the loud. We can choose how we treat others; we can choose words that encourage, words that build up, and words that bring together.

Our words can either bring together or tear apart, and here in this space, and on this Facebook Page, I want to purpose my words for bringing together. For building up. Words that point the way to what people need:  Love. Forgiveness. Encouragement.

Let’s start thinking more about how we speak, how we treat people … in all our encounters, in all our relationships:

…forgiving others and moving forward

…showing kindness and respect to others

…accepting others just the way they are

…encouraging others and cheering for them

…doing something little (or big) for others every day

…letting love be our compass

 

So here are my soft strong words for April, my thoughts, the tweets, which were liked and an echo of those things that people need most…..

  • The strongest, healthiest relationships are made up of two forgivers.The strongest, healthiest relationships are made up of two forgivers.
  • Let’s tip the scale to being more positive, more encouraging, more loving.
  • Thinking good thoughts about someone isn’t enough. We need to say the encouraging words.
  • You will be amazed how much of a difference you can make by just smiling every time you talk to someone.
  • Choose encouragement, lifting others up, not putting them down.
  • Let’s offer friendships that are generous and forgiving and guilt-free.
  • Treat all the people you meet that there is something worthwhile in them.
  • Let’s allow God’s goodness to flow through us and nourish all who cross our paths. ‪
  • Love the hard people, at the hardest times, in the kindest ways.
  • The gift of pure love allows us to bless others and accept them without condition
  • Let our love for others be sincere and active, without hypocrisy.‪
  • Make intentional time to tell others specifically how they bless you.
  • Let’s be less judgmental and cultivate a sense of wonder at each person’s uniqueness. We’re all a wee bit crazy in our own way. 
  • There is powerful freedom in admitting our weakness because it allows others to love us as we truly are.
  • Make allowances for and be patient with each other, and forgive without punishing.
  • We can either harm by the selfishness of our silence or diminished praise, or we can heal by the selflessness of our encouraging words.
  • Today give others precisely what you may think they deserve least. Grace.
  • If you really fulfill this royal law: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you’re doing well.
  • The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
  • Let our gratitude be awakened; let our love be quickened.‪
  • We all need to learn to communicate without blaming.

Above all, let’s keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. ‪

 

Happy Day Moment Echoes: 9.14

For today, lean toward Pooh and away from Eeyore.

Eeyore

As Winnie the Pooh has taught us, there is power in encouragement. There is power in a positive word, a kind gesture, a quiet gift that can change someone’s day. It’s in the small moments when we choose to listen to our hearts, to tell someone we’re thinking of them, that we believe in them, and that we’re praying for them, for their hearts and spirits to be lifted.

Here are some more encouraging words from the Happy Day Moments Facebook Page, Echoes from September 2014:

  • Letting go quickly of negative stuff is the healthiest way to live.
  • Focus on what you can do, not on what you could have done.
  • Choose love as your lifestyle. Love fearlessly and without limits.
  • Respect others for who they are. Not for who we want them to be.
  • Those people you appreciate, those you love – tell them. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
  • winnie-the-pooh-quoteSift all your decisions through love.
  • Understand and embrace the idea that God has a plan for your life.
  • Refocus your vision to see grace in your present situation.
  • What would life be like if we considered others more important than ourselves? If we truly placed others’ needs before our own?
  • Love and forgive more. Regret less.
  • When you put your best foot forward, you’re on your way to starting the hokey-pokey.
  • Treat others with love, dignity, and respect and you’ll build stronger relationships.
  • Remind yourself of the gifts God has given. Bear them in mind as you go through your day.
  • Difficulties are part of every success story.
  • When you are weary and can’t find strength to stand, let God carry you.
  • Fill your day with love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control.
  • Nurture and guard your friendships, because they matter.
  • Always go beyond what is required.
  • If you feel abandoned by those who were once close, shift your focus to those who remain faithful.
  • A beautiful day begins with a beautiful attitude.
  • Let your words bring out the best in others, not put them down.
  • Smile as often as possible.
  • In moments of great darkness, God continues to love us with an everlasting love. Again and again.
  • You are brave enough, smart enough, kind enough, and loved enough to move forward.

4e63d83c46f1d741f467981fb4d3da73Thanks for reading, and as usual I love hearing from you. Take a moment to comment on my post with your thoughts.

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Happy Day Moment Echoes: 2.14

We can never give enough encouragement.

365.177We can never give enough happy moments to others. That’s one reason why I post “Happy Day Moments” daily on my Facebook page (and on  my personal Facebook page … I’m up to #1463!) – to live intentionally with a grateful heart, to plant words and messages of love, hope, confidence, faith and encouragement. We all need to take time to say kind words, to give encouragement and hope, to be bold and generous with our encouragement – no matter what others might think or how they will respond. Such words can bring light and just may shape and change the way they behave, and build their faith. Withholding good when it’s in our capacity to give good is careless, ungracious, and unfaithful. When we live in fear of what others may think, we are narrow and self-centered.  When we focus powerful words of love on others — whatever their response — we extend hope and help. Don’t ever ever believe you can give too much encouragement.

Today, jot down the names of those who may need your encouragement.
Today, give words of happy moments in your relationships – give the gift of words that bring comfort, affirmation and courage.

 

Here are the Echoes of my Happy Day Moment Facebook Page for February. … living with gratitude …

  • Fence in Gisborne South - Antique Light versionWe should all make sure there’s a gate in our fence.
  • Healthy relationships are not possible without communication.
  • Adjust to what is, don’t worry what isn’t, but believe better is ahead.
  • If there’s a choice between being right and being kind, choose to be kind.
  • Be kinder and more compassionate than necessary because everyone you meet faces some kind of struggle.
  • Make empathy a priority. Before acting or speaking, recognize how someone else may feel and what pain may be inflicted.
  • Fill your thoughts with graciousness — the best, not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
  • In all things, do to others what you’d have then do to you. That sums it up.
  • Don’t withdraw from loving when loving gets hard, and don’t let hard things make a large and silent wedge.
  • We can do much more than we believe when we let God give us the strength.
  • Don’t throw in the towel. Wipe your brow. And don’t give up.
  • All you need is love. And maybe some chocolate.
  • Don’t focus on how stressed you are; remember how blessed you are.
  • Every day find room to create. A story. A connection. A memory. A moment of love.
  • Every day that you wake up healthy, be grateful.
  • We are blessed no matter what happens to us because God promises to be with us every step of the way.
  • We all have the power to love others. Let’s use it.
  • We have the opportunity, every day, to bless others with the gifts God has given us.
  • Be an attentive listener, setting aside your own voice and focusing on the other person with a full presence, undistracted and unhurried.
  • It’s possible to live with strength and resilience and joy no matter what life brings.
  • Honesty without grace can be heartbreaking.
  • Being happy doesn’t mean you have everything; it means you appreciate what you have.
  • Live with your eyes on the possibilities, not on the problems.
  • Healthy people strive to be kind and fair in their human interactions.
  • Forgive others. Forgive yourself. Move on and try to do better next time.
  • Today isn’t too late to live life with a full heart.
  • The mystery of grace is that it will arrive in time.