Tag: encourage

Posted on in Journey of Grace, Miscellaneous, Wisdom, Words

Sharing Our Stories

Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement around the three year anniversary of Dave’s death! My mom and aunt visited for a few days to celebrate Dave and comfort me.

I kept their visit as a surprise from Lydia, but the joke was on me. My sister also came…to surprise ME! We had a wonderful visit: shopping, eating yummy food, and sharing stories.

I love how each of our lives interconnect. I’m thankful we encourage and support each other through the ups and downs of Life. I also love a good cup of coffee. 🙂

I don’t need anything fancy! I’ll drink coffee at home with milk, most days. Even better, I enjoy coffee with a friend, sharing stories and experiences, learning from each other.

coffee

What’s more, I love how each of us can impact those around us with the stories of our personal lives. Never underestimate the power or significance of your story.

Whether you enjoy coffee or not, don’t be afraid to share your story with those around you. Even total strangers can benefit!

The night before my visitors arrived, my mom had an interesting conversation with the cashier at a certain store. She was picking up some snacks and a little trinket for Lydia.

“Oh you must be going on a trip!” said the cashier, an older woman.

My mom mentioned the reason for her trip, and told the cashier a little of my story. The lady grew quiet, and said, “My daughter is a younger widow, too. She doesn’t have small children now, but she is having a difficult time.” (Her husband died in a sudden accident.)

My mom is compassionate and understanding in these types of moments. Through the course of their conversation, Mom shared about my blog, and that God has taken such good care of us. We are not angry with God, and keep moving forward.

This prompted the cashier to say, “I don’t really know how to get ahold of God.” So, Mom explained the basic gospel message to her. They chatted a little more. Then, the lady wrote a few things down, and squeezed my mom’s hand as she left.

2 Corinthians 1_3-4

Isn’t God good?! He meets us right where we are, and longs to comfort us. After all, our personal life stories are just a small part of the greater one He is writing.

We overcome by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus!) and the word of our testimony (see Revelation 12:11). As we share our stories, we are healed. But it doesn’t stop there. It is not all about us. Our redemptive stories also bring God glory and bless others. Knowing this makes my pain more bearable!

We have the ability to affirm and speak God’s truth to one another! Once we have worked through our own mess, we become His messengers to others. When infused with His grace and wisdom, our words bring His power to set people free.

Please note: I am not suggesting to “spill your guts” or share other people’s secrets (gossip). If you need help processing your pain, please consider professional input.

latte with heart

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).

Did you catch that? What was meant for evil—to hurt or stop us—God is working for good. Our pain does not go wasted. God collects each and every tear we cry. If we let Him, God will redeem our experiences and help someone else grow closer to Him, too.

Yes, grief and other emotions are normal. But we cannot stay there. Instead of dwelling on the loss, the anger, the negativity… Take it to Jesus. His love never fails. Let Him walk you through to Victory, and then share what He has done in your life with others.

At the end of you life, the only thing that will matter is your relationship with Jesus Christ, followed by how you treated other people. We can’t take our stuff with us!

Ultimately, the coffee won’t matter, but our stories will.

So speak up. Tell your story. See God heal your heart and touch the lives of others. Our stories (and lessons learned) can change lives—even to the point of eternity.

Isn’t that worth it?

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God of all comfort, thank You for healing our hearts. Give us courage to share the deep parts of our lives with others. Give us wisdom and grace as we encourage and learn from each other. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Questions: If you like coffee, how do you like it best? What part of your personal story (testimony) could be shared to encourage or comfort someone else?

 

Posted on in Being Gracious, Food and Nutrition, Miscellaneous

On Honeybees and Hope

Honeybees are fascinating creatures. Many years ago, I chose beekeeping as an FFA project in high school. Yes, through high school and part of college, I was a beekeeper!

Worldwide, honeybee survival is a serious issue (one I dealt with too). There are many factors involved, yet, honeybees are vital; they pollinate most of our crops!

bee on white flower

Believe it or not, after ordering them, my honeybees arrived in the mail! They were packed in a small, wooden container covered with mesh screen. There was enough sugar water for the trip, and they clustered inside around the queen.

Every year, at 6 am, on the second Tuesday in April, I would get a phone call from someone at the post office. “Come and get your bees!!” One of the post office workers was allergic to bees and obviously wanted to avoid getting stung.

My dad or I would go pick up the containers, each filled with nearly 12,000 honeybees. I usually had three hives, but at one point, I had five. I didn’t get stung often, but once I got stung nine times—even through my bee suit! I must’ve been tinkering too long!

With my smoker and hive tool, I removed beeswax-covered frames from the hives. Then, I extracted the honey by hand in a ‘spinner’ (using centrifugal force). I sold the resulting jars of honey around my hometown. I also sold chunk honey and comb honey, too, both of which come with some of the beeswax.

The first time I tried my wildflower honey, I thought it was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted. I did a side-by-side comparison with the store-bought honey from the kitchen cupboard. It was awful—like cough syrup!

bees-on-frame

Honeybee Facts

A typical honeybee colony has around 60,000-80,000 workers during its active season (summer). Worker honeybees take on many specialized roles during their brief six-week lifespan. Some ‘jobs’ only last for a couple days.

These include cleaning the hive, feeding larvae to form new honeybees, and tending to the queen. Older honeybee tasks include hive ventilation, defending the hive from intruders, and foraging for nectar and pollen. Cue the famous ‘waggle dance’ (see cool video here)!

Honeybees live longer in the cold months, so they can maintain the hive until spring. Still, the temperature in the hive remains around 93 degrees at all times. In winter, honeybees form a cluster inside the hive to stay warm and conserve energy.

Honeybees never sleep!

bee colony

A colony of honeybees consumes about 60 pounds of honey during winter, but they make much more (up to 400 pounds of honey!). Beekeepers harvest the excess.

A single honeybee can travel several miles from the hive to collect nectar, which eventually becomes honey. They can fly at speeds of 15 mph (pretty slow for an insect) and their wings beat about 200 beats per second!

A honeybee can visit ten flowers a minute, up to two hundred flowers on an average foraging journey. Yet, a single honeybee will only produce 1/12 teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. Thus, it takes 768 honeybees visiting approximately two million flowers to make one pound of honey.

It would take about 1 ounce of honey to fuel a honeybee’s flight around the world.

Honey never spoils. The color of the honey varies depends on the plants where the nectar was collected. Honey contains vitamins, antibacterial enzymes, and is about 20% water.

Sources: http://www2.phy.ilstu.edu/~wenning/HIBA/bkcourse/amazing.pdf

http://www.honey.com/  http://northdakotahoney.com/honeyvalue.htm

chunk honey

A hive in action is amazing to watch—tens of thousands of honeybees working toward a common goal. Like the inner workings of a beehive, Life is better when we work together.

Seasons change, and our roles do too. We may not always fathom our contribution in God’s larger plan. But don’t let that stop you. Take heart. Trust God and keep serving others. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

Like little honeybees, we have a lot of work to do each day. As we move from one task or person to the next, let’s encourage one another. Sometimes Life stings! But, gracious words are like honey and bring messages of hope, sweet to the soul (Proverbs 16:24).

How refreshing!

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God, thanks for honeybees and honey! Thanks for the sweet grace and hope You bring. Help us remain patient and steadfast in difficult seasons. Give us joy as we trust in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Questions: If you eat honey, what is your favorite way to eat it? Have you ever been stung by a honeybee? How can you encourage someone today?

Posted on in Being Gracious, Miscellaneous, Wisdom, Words

Telephone Lines and Grace Connections

Do you remember the game, Telephone? I whisper a message to someone who tells it to the next person. And on it goes until the last person repeats the message. Generally, what happens is the message gets all mixed-up and comes out funny. Or rude!

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. Telephones then became instrumental in connecting people via technology innovation. Do you think Mr. Bell envisioned all of our communication and technological advancements since then?

I wonder if we have really made all that much progress…

You see, our communication can still be shaky. I’ll speak only for myself—I don’t always say the right thing. I can lose my temper and say things I regret. Then I catch myself, apologize, and do better. But that’s no excuse for my poor behavior.

Ephesians 4:29 says, “ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (my emphasis added).

Can you hear me now?

Telephone lines

People are like telephone poles, and grace is sent between the poles. Standing alone—not connected—they’re useless. Telephone poles need to be linked together, one after another, until the message gets transmitted.

What is the message we need to share? Good News! Pass it on!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

If a telephone pole or line goes down, the connection is lost. So it is with the message of God’s grace. Our words have potential to disconnect the very people God wants to reach. Or, we can speak with loving grace—connect others to Jesus!

No, I’m not going to make you eat soap, nor will I provide a list of “appropriate” words. Instead, let us simply extend a line of grace and carry the loving message of Jesus Christ!

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Grace can come in many forms and kind deeds, but our words carry special weight (see Proverbs 18:21). We’ve probably all had something negative said to us or about us. That hurts, and the impact can be devastating. Often, those in close proximity can do the worse damage. Yet, the effect doesn’t remain localized. It influences the whole pathway.

The words we speak to ourselves are just as important as words spoken to each other.

Have you experienced the power of an encouraging word when you needed it the most? I’ve had several moments in the last few years where the path was unclear. It has been difficult at times to see progress or know if I need to make changes.

Over time, I’ve had the opportunity to share my story with new people at church. I also invite them to a class I facilitate, which helps volunteers get involved. Once, during a prolonged period of uncertainty, someone introduced me like this:

“This is Natalie. She does a great job in her role, and we are so thankful for her.”

It was not fancy or elaborate, but I was encouraged to know I was making a difference! Before that, I wasn’t even aware of the effect of my effort.

Even six months later, I remembered those empowering words. In fact, my whole outlook changed as I suddenly had more clarity in my vision and purpose.

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“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”   Proverbs 16:24

Let nothing interrupt the flow of grace in your life.

 Do not miss an opportunity to be an ENCOURAGER to someone else. Look for the inherent value in others. Use your words to speak Life with a well-timed word!