{"id":5544,"date":"2020-11-29T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-29T15:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5544"},"modified":"2020-07-05T21:13:12","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T02:13:12","slug":"the-gift-of-encouragement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5544","title":{"rendered":"The Gift of Encouragement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>A Journal of Joy: Things that make my heart smile\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Encourage-Build-Up-churchartpro-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5549\" width=\"435\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Encourage-Build-Up-churchartpro-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Encourage-Build-Up-churchartpro-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Encourage-Build-Up-churchartpro-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Encourage-Build-Up-churchartpro-2-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Encourage-Build-Up-churchartpro-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Encourage-Build-Up-churchartpro-2-1320x880.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Encourage-Build-Up-churchartpro-2.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 435px) 100vw, 435px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When I first started writing, about a hundred years ago, I learned quickly that the writer\u2019s life was full of rejections. Of course, I was in good company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Zane Gray was told, \u201cYou have no business being a writer and you should give up.\u201d He has sold over 250 million books.<\/li><li>Louis L\u2019Amour received 200 rejections before he was published. He has sold over 330 million books.<\/li><li>Agatha Christie\u2019s books were rejected for five years. Her book sales are now over $2 billion. Only William Shakespeare has sold more.<\/li><li>Chicken Soup for the Soul books were rejected 140 times. Now they have sold over 125 million books. .<\/li><li>The Tales of Peter Rabbit was rejected so many times that Beatrice Potter decided to self-publish 250 books. It has sold over 45 million.<\/li><li>Margaret Mitchell received 38 rejections for Gone with the Wind.<\/li><li>A Wrinkle in Time received 26 rejections.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>J. K. Rowling, Dr. Suess, C.S. Lewis, and H. G. Wells all experienced major rejection. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Now I don\u2019t list these names in the hopes I, too, will one day be a rich and famous author. I\u2019m just illustrating rejection comes with the territory. So early on I realized I would get plenty of rejection. Therefore, from the beginning, when I received a positive comment about anything I wrote, I put it into a folder. It\u2019s my \u201cencouragement\u201d folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A writer\u2019s life can be a lonely one\u2014just you, your computer, and a thesaurus. Most people do not take the time to write a note when they like what you\u2019ve written. So you don\u2019t know if anyone is reading it or if it has impacted a person in some way. So these precious notes and letters boost my spirits when I\u2019m feeling low. I also have another \u201cencouragement\u201d file with meaningful, thoughtful notes from friends, family, and associates. It\u2019s not a vanity thing. It just reaffirms that my efforts are not a total loss. We all need a little encouragement from time to time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Life is full of rejection and negativity. God accepts and appreciates us, but others may not. I think that\u2019s why the Bible says a lot about edifying and encouraging others (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Edify means to build up or encourage. The Message Bible puts it this way: \u201cWatch the way you talk\u2026Say only what helps, each word a gift\u201d (Ephesians 4:29). Encouragement is a gift we give to one another. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Encouragement is important because it goes straight to the heart of a person. In fact, in Latin \u201cen\u201d means \u201cput into\u201d and \u201ccor\u201d means \u201cthe heart.\u201d Put into the heart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We live in an ultra-busy society. Giving encouragement to others falls way down at the bottom of our to-do list. Yet, God himself is the great encourager (Psalm 10:17; Romans 15:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). The Bible is the most encouraging book ever written. God comforts, exhorts, and encourages us. He wants us to do that for others (I Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11; Hebrews 3:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Encouragement should not be confused with idle flattery. Not everyone is the greatest, best, or most fantastic person in the whole wide world. False praise can produce rivalry or competition, be judgmental, foster selfishness, or give a deceptive sense of evaluation. Encouragement, on the other hand, stimulates cooperation or contribution for the good of all, focuses on effort, makes a person feel accepted, and gives comfort or joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Encouragement is a two-way street, a win-win scenario as they say in the corporate world. It not only encourages the recipient but the giver as well (Romans 1:11-12). An old adage says, \u201cOne word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than a hundred words of praise during a success.\u201d I think that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We live in a pressure-filled world filled with unrealistic expectations. Satan uses this to tear us down, make us feel unimportant and unappreciated, or like we don\u2019t belong. Sometimes we feel like Jesus doesn\u2019t even care, even though deep in our hearts we know differently. Encouragers are Christ\u2019s representatives here on earth. Their mission is to \u201cput into the heart\u201d of people the thought that they are appreciated and someone cares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">*****<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dear heavenly Father, thank You for sending encouragers my way. Put in my heart words of encouragement for others. When someone does a kind deed, let me praise them. When people exhibit any of the fruits of Your Spirit, let me commend them. When others have me go first, let me thank them. When friends make progress, let me congratulate them. Let me never miss an opportunity to acknowledge others. You want people to feel valued, appreciated, and loved. What You\u2019ve given me, let me gladly pass on to others. To YOU be the glory!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Journal of Joy: Things that make my heart smile\u2026 When I first started writing, about a hundred years ago, I learned quickly that the writer\u2019s life was full of rejections. Of course, I was in good company. Zane Gray &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5544\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5544"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5544\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}