Happy, Happy Day!

Today is DOUBLY blessed...happy, happy day!...for today is not only Grandparents' Day (see post below) but also the National Day of Encouragement!  Double yay!!!  :0)

The Bible tells us that encouragement comes from God:

"For everything that was written in the past

was written to teach us,

so that through endurance and the ENCOURAGEMENT of the Scriptures

we might have hope.  May the 

GOD WHO GIVES endurance and ENCOURAGEMENT

give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,

so that with one heart and mouth

you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

--Romans 15:4-5

and tells us that encouraging others is one of the gifts God gives us with His grace:

"We have different gifts,

according to the grace given us...

if it is encouraging, let him encourage..."

--Romans 12:6-8

Thank You, Father, for Your amazing grace!!!  Here are some more encouraging verses on ENCOURAGING!  :0) 

"My purpose is that they may be 

ENCOURAGED in heart

and united in love,

so that they may...know...Christ"

--Colossians 2:2

"We believe that Jesus died and rose again

and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

Therefore ENCOURAGE each other with these words."

--1 Thessalonians 4:14, 18

"ENCOURAGE one another daily"

--Hebrews 3:13a

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus... let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith...

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess...

let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds...

let us ENCOURAGE one another"

--Hebrews 10:19-25

What a WONDERFUL day today...to have a day dedicated to encouraging one another in Christ Jesus!  Yay!!!

As I've posted previously, I LOVE the website (In)Courage.  Every piece of the website, every post on the blog, and every woman who shares her words / her life / her soul, is absolutely a gift of daily Godly strength, encouragement, example, and love.  I said it privately in the comments section of one of their surveys once, but I'll say it again, that even though I don't comment very often on their blog, I wanted them to know that I was ALWAYS there.  (You know, like in the movie "Julie & Julia" where Julie wonders if anyone was out there "listening" to her blog.  I wanted them to know that I was ALWAYS there and ALWAYS inspired, encouraged, and ever-grateful.)  And the women of (In)Courage did it again...as part of their celebration of the National Day of Encouragement and their one year anniversary celebration, they offered up ten free encouraging cards for us to use in bringing Godly encouragement to those in our lives.  What a sweet, sweet gift!  My ten-pack of cards just came on Friday, and I LOVE them!!!  Each one is more beautiful, more inspiring, and more wonderful than the one before.  Here is a pic of all the amazing cards:

I immediately knew the perfect person to send a few to.  And while they are just now in the mail and I don't want to ruin the surprise, I am sending a bit of beautiful encouragement to: 

• my wonderful twin sister who is an absolutely amazing new mom to precious 4-month old J
• my adorably sweet and strong and wonderful younger sister, K
• to my "bestest" friend from high school, N, who is a wonderful new mom to precious 9-month old A
• to my dear co-worker and Godly friend, W, for her Godly wisdom and encouragement this past Friday
• to my sweet and Godly co-worker, W, for her Godly words of encouragement each morning
• to my best friend in the big city, L

These ladies are so wonderful to me.  I am SO BLESSED to have them in my life and THRILLED to send them such a BEAUTIFUL card of encouragement.  Thank you (In)Courage!!!

And to continue the encouragement on, this week I plan to blog a different Bible verse from inside one of the cards each day...a little daily dose of Godly encouragement every day!  Woo hoo!!!  (Trust me...with this being my busy season at work, I DEFINITELY need it!  Thank you again, (In)Courage!)

So Happy Sunday, Happy Grandparents' Day, Happy Church Picnic Day to my family down home, and Happy Encouragement Day!  Go out, hug a grandparent, eat a yummy kolache, and give some encouragement today! 

Love up on others, for GOD LOVES YOU!!!  :0)