Wednesday’s Word

I found a new link-up and I am really excited about this one.  Frankly my Dear and Seasons with the Strattons are co-hosting a link-up called Wednesday’s Word.  You can read more about it here.  The first three Wednesday’s of the month do not have a topic to talk about while the last Wednesday does.  This week’s topic is:

 

What has God taught you about encouraging others in the blog world/real world?

Tough topic, don’t ya think?  But a good one  God has taught me a lot about sharing and encouraging on my blog.  Sometimes I can get scared to share what I am feeling, afraid that people are going to judge what I say.  God tells me to share it anyway.  When I write what is on my heart, when I write things that I have been feeling, when I am open and vulnerable on my blog I know that maybe I say something that someone else needs to hear.  Or maybe I share a Bible verse that someone else needs to read.  I don’t know exactly what is happening with what I share but I know God wants me to do it.  He puts the words on my heart and I just type them out and try to format them to look somewhat pretty.

For the real world I think it is a little harder.  In the blog world I am typing on my blog and people can comment if they want but I don’t have to read them if they are being mean.  In the real world everything is face to face which is why it is especially important to share and encourage others.  I have a tendency to be honest and I can’t hide my feelings. But as Christ Followers we are called to encourage others. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) states “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” and Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) “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.”. So not only has God laid it on my heart to encourage others with things that come up in my life and my experiences but also with the Words in His book.

I don’t always do the best job at it, actually I fail miserably sometimes but I know God is there keeping me going and pushing me.  I need to encourage because God encourages me.  There are so many verses telling us to encourage and no matter how I am feeling I need to work to encourage others.  I’ll let you know how it goes!  I think I find it much easier to encourage behind my computer screen than I do out in the real world and I need to work on that!