Dear Friend,
Stanley Tam,
a successful businessman turned missionary, wrote these words: "
What you sow is what multiplies, not what you keep in the
barn."
Tam's words are a
good reminder of the importance of being in the seed sowing business.
One simple and easy
way we can do that is by starting each day with this short and simple prayer.
"Lord, please show me one thing I can do today to sow encouraging seeds in
someone's life.” I promise you that this is a prayer that God will love to
answer.
There are many ways
one can sow seeds of encouragement: words, listening, touch, hugs, service,
gifts, hospitality prayer, and notes and letters are just a few of
them. Please let me know if you think of others you might add.
Below is a list of
some of my favorite quotes on the subject that might encourage you to be an
encourager.
FAVORITE QUOTES ON
ENCOURAGEMENT
"Pass the
credit while the sweat is still on the brow."
"Be an
encourager: the world has plenty of critics already."
"A word of
encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after
success."
"Never get
tired of doing little things for others. For sometimes those little things
occupy the biggest part of their heart."
"Be somebody
who makes everybody feel like a somebody."
"God uses
broken people like you and me to rescue broken people like you and me."
"Don't push people
down. (it makes you smaller as you do it) but raise people up and as you do so,
you will raise yourself up." John Maxwell
"Put a 10
on the face of everyone you meet, or better yet, put the face of your mother on
everyone you greet."
"Envision that
everyone you meet has a sign hanging around their neck that says, please help
me feel important."
"Don't be a
tombstone encourager. Encourage them now, while they are still above
ground."
"Believing in
people before they prove themselves is the key to motivating people to reach
their full potential."
"Praise
publicly, criticize privately."
"Nothing
improves a man's hearing like a little praise."
"Be the wing
beneath the wind beneath another's wings, and not the anchor in their
boat."
"Treat people
as if they were the most important people in the world and you will communicate
that they are somebody to you."
"Don't let any
unwholesome words come out of your mouth, but that which is helpful and will
build others up according to their needs.( Ephesians 4:23)
"Kind words
are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (Proverbs 16:
24)
"Anxiety
weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up" (Proverbs 12:
25)
"A pat on the
back is only a few vertebrae from a kick in the pants, but it's miles ahead in
its results." Ella Wheeler, Wilcox
"Flatter me,
and I may not believe you, criticize me, and I may not like you, ignore me, and
I may never forgive you, but encourage me, and I will never forget you."
"Kind words
are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless. "Mother Teresa
"Touch a
person's heart before you ask them for their hand." John Maxwell
"You can't
make another person feel important if inwardly and secretly you think the
person is a nobody."
"Shout praise,
whisper criticism."
"Catch people
doing something good and reward them with a compliment."
"Treat a man
as he is, and you make him worse. Treat a man as if he was what he could be,
and you will make him what he should be." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"People will
go further than they think they can when someone else thinks they can."
"I have yet to
see a man, however exalted his situation who does not put forth greater effort
under the spirit of approval then under the spirit of criticism." Andrew
Carnegie
"There are
high spots in all our lives, and most of them have come about through
encouragement from someone else." George Adams.
"The greatest
good you can do for another is not share your riches, but reveal to him his
own." Benjamin Disraeli
Just a thought:
These might be a good resource for a sharing time with friends or a family,.
"Which of these quotes do you like the best and why?"
Yours in faith and
friendship,
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