Encouraging YOU

     

Still living ?  You’ve got more to do ! 

Let these words here encourage you. . . 

Life is not an easy game we play;

There comes some surprises every day.

Unpredictable, it will come.

Problems ?  There will no doubt be some. 

Doing better = no easy chore,

But one idea comes, and then more !

Make a list: what can be done ?

Success could turn out to be fun !

Doing better ? You CAN learn how !

Think, pray, plan, you can start now. 

                     + + +

by Elaine Hardt ©2020

Unexpected Results

From frustration to confrontation . . . 

From irritation to discussion . . . 

From questions to repetition . . . 

    Whoa !  It’s time to stop. 

Give yourself some space.

Size up the matter,

Agree to disagree for now.

    Pray for the LORD’s help !

               We need wisdom !

Is this disagreement worth it right now ?

Is there a real solution ?

What lessons do we need to learn ?

    Meanwhile . . . tell yourself what to do better.

               There may be unexpected results. . .  

Encourage your own brain to think. . . 

Encourage the other person to explain. . . 

      Pray to seek God’s directions  

                          + + + 

by Elaine Hardt ©2020

An "IRRITATION" ? ? ?

Before you complain to God in prayer, thank Him for one thing that first comes to mind. 

As soon as you verbalize those words out loud — or quietly — then mention one more thing your brain remembers.  Give a smile to your Father in Heaven.

Now — just one more thing — say the third blessing of God you recall.

O K ?   D o n e   t h a t ?

Now go ahead and say what’s bothering you.

Your amazing brain will soon announce some details and then you might think of some acceptable ways to deal with that irritation.

No need to pout or cry, maybe just exhale with a thoughtful look.  God knows, He hears you, He loves you, and He provides a way through the muddle in your mind.

So, just before your smiling AMEN, you remember to send this request, “Help him (or them).  Thank You, Lord.”

                 + + + 

by Elaine Hardt ˙2020

       

This is About M E

Making a difference, yes ? 

Taking a new look at what helps and what hinders ?

Who is looking at what I'm doing ?

Who is affected by what I'm doing ?

What influence do I have on others:     family ?        friends ? 

employees on my job ?     people I hear about ?

Which matters most ?            

Having something to brag about ? 

Considering the others in my life . . . 
                     am I trying to just show off ?       

What can I do to help the whole situation 
as soon as possible ? 

What do I want to do today  ? 

                                         * * * 

by Elaine Hardt ©2020

Looking Way Up in the Sky

One small cloud was all I could see

looking from one side to the other, 

the sky was so nice and blue.

So why am I telling this to you?

It might be lonely up there today, 

but it didn’t have to share the sky

So I smiled at that one little cloud,

“Enjoy being there,” though not knowing why.

I gave all this more thought that night.  

God created such stuff, give Him praise !

Don’t be totally full of yourself,

so like some people I know these days.

God gave each of us a body and brain;

we can experience using our mind.

Think about our wonderful Creator,

Pray and ask wisdom and blessing to find. 

There’s lots to know when you ask and seek,

Add on some contemplation.

Learning sometimes takes some time ! 

Exercise your imagination.

Enjoy the changing views of the sky,

At night you’ll see many a star.

Be thankful you are ready to learn.

Maybe you don’t know it all so far.

                              + + + 

by Elaine Hardt ©2019

Hey ! You’re Still Alive TODAY.

Today is a NEW day.

Something different is on the way. 

What you choose to do and say,

     “Could be important to me.” 

Could improve what you see; 

could improve what will be. 

There’s something you can learn
as you choose which way to turn — 

     something interesting you’lI discern. 

Your Father in Heaven sees it all. 

Pray to Him so you don’t fall.
He hears your every call. 

It’s time now to think and do ! 

Be thankful for today’s view ! 

     See what really matters to you ! 

                    +++ 

by Elaine Hardt @ 2019 

Right on Time !

Ever been in a rush, but then slowed down to see

    something unexpected that happened on the way ?

Life can be a lot like that sometimes . . . 

    Give it some thought now:  what do you say ?

How often does everything go just perfect

    and you get something important done just in time ?

It is so helpful to pause in your daily rush;

    consider what’s most important, so you’re right on time.

Your ideas and plans might not be God’s timing or plan;

    Consider your eternal life now, before you die some day.

Take a new look at the Bible — how about today ?

    Now talk to your Maker as you honestly pray.

                                   #  #  # 

by Elaine Hardt ©2018

Two More for YOU

      "A Happy Anniversary" is booklet #103 -- and "Thinking About Tomorrow" is booklet #104.  We've found how handy it is to self-publish booklets and give them away FREE.  Some of these are 12 pages, some are quite a bit longer than that.  With BlueSquirrel's ClickBook program they're easy to format and print at home.  We like to encourage people . . . and this is one way to do it.

Hear the News? See the News? What Are YOU Doing to Help?

The TV news, the radio news, the Internet news, the newspapers . . . we seem to be overloaded with reports of bad news, scary news,  unacceptable behavior of all sorts, and more and more terrible disasters. 

What are we nice, normal people supposed to do?  Let’s not just flip it off and ignore what’s happening.  

• Let’s pray for the victims and their families. 
• Let’s pray for the criminals, the gangs, the hateful people.      
• Let’s pray for the police, the firefighters, the rescue groups.  
• Ask God’s blessing on our Armed Forces, the Congress, the President,  the judges, the local elected politicians.  
• Certainly, pray for your own protection, for help that you need, for your neighborhood and town.  Pray for wisdom for what to say and what to do.

Each of us needs a serious outlook on how to improve these situations.  If we care, we do something.                  Y E S !

by Elaine Hardt @2018

Making a Difference

This or that?  What makes the difference ?

What will boost my confidence ?

What fixes or helps or improves it

a whole lot or a little bit ? 

What can make me better in my life ?

Do I cause irritation, confusion, strife ?

Can I ever solve my problems so old ?

Is it time to be quiet…or bold ?

Have I prayed about this enough today ?

Wonder what help the Bible might say . . . 

I must settle down and think it through.

Has this ever happened to you ?

by Elaine Hardt ©2018

Improving Today

Joyous Considerations, 

   thoughtful deliberations,

      prayerful conversations: 

         learning to trust God and obey.

Improving is not automatic for me,

   and truly I know I need more energy,

      and wisdom seems kinda hard, you see;

         that’s why I do pray every day.

And I’ll share these words with you,

   Open the Bible, take a careful view,

      What a relief to know that it’s true.

         So, I remind you to pray. 

Open your eyes to view the earth,

   You are a person of great worth,

      It’s time for your spiritual birth,

         Talk to your Maker today. 

by Elaine Hardt ©2017

A Certain Day THIS Week

       “I’m curious about a certain day that comes THIS week,” was the first thing Rocky announced after he was introduced by Randy.

That got everyone’s attention since today was the first weekend before the 4th of July.  The newspaper was full of articles and ads for the Independence Day celebration and the start of the Rodeo. What do you suppose Rocky was going to speak about today? 

This was the monthly meeting of the Older Kids Corral at Mama’s Yummy Cafe. Ten couples sat around the big table with their coffee and donuts in the back room.  They expected some interesting info, as this definitely piqued everyone’s attention.

“What month is it?  What day is Friday? What year is it?” Rocky challenged them.

“It’s July, and here comes Friday, the seventh, and this is 2017,” Pauline spoke up first.      

        The rest nodded in agreement. 

“So, what’s the big deal?  Well, you’d figure it out, but I’ll give you the scoop,” smiled Rocky.  “The numbers are 7, 7, 17.  And we read about that number ‘seven’ in the Bible.”

“Oh, I know,” answered Allen.  “The first mention of seven in the Bible is in Genesis.  After the six days of creation it says God rested on the seventh day. In the second chapter,  ‘On the seventh day God ended His work which He had done.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.’”  

“And how important was the seventh day?”

Rita found it first, “It says this in Exodus: remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy….”  

Here Rocky spoke up again, “It’s interesting to do a search on biblegateway.com  for the word ‘seven.’  It’s a total of 607, which is 523 in the Old Testament, and 64 in the New Testament.  And ‘seven’ is 36 times in Revelation.”  

       He went on to say,  “So, here’s what I’m curious about. This coming Friday will be 7-7-17.  Is something important or really bad going to happen somewhere in the world?”

A lot of frowns greeted that statement.  

Ginger offered this, “I think we’ll have to wait and see.  So, what’s your point, Rocky?”

“That’s my point, but I’m going to add this . . . 

Stop! Remember!

Did you know you’re setting an example for others to see?  

When you’re frustrated . . . when you’re confused . . . 

                        and 

When you’re happy and smiling . . .when you say nice words to somebody . . .

when you’re being helpful . . . 

Stop speaking up before you’re thinking!  Remember Who loves you.

You can be a blessing:   encouraging . . .  reminding . . . doing good . . .

living for the LORD . . . keeping Eternity in mind!

+ + + 

by Elaine Hardt ©2017  

Have YOU Said Anything Like This Lately? Who? When?

I’m sorry that . . . 

What I meant was . . . 

I don’t quite understand . . . 

I need some help with . . . 

I didn’t realize that . . . 

Congratulations on your . . . 

You did a good job . . . 

I appreciate how you . . . 

Thanks for your help with . . . 

Your idea was so . . . 

Anything I can do to help with . . . ?

Anything I’m forgetting here . . . ?

Anything I need to clarify with . . . ?

Anything I can improve with this . . . ? 

Anything like this you should — and can — say today or tomorrow? 

by Elaine Hardt ©2017

Someone's Getting on Your Nerves ? ? ?

All of a sudden when the day was going well

Someone opened their mouth and snapped at you,

Or perhaps you heard about it second hand.

What’s a successful person like you to do? 

Maybe it was their long-standing habit

for someone to exaggerate or lie,

and you patiently ignored the problem,

So, now what strategy will you try?

Will you lose your temper like a little kid?

I’d like to encourage you to do better than that.

And maybe that is what you could tell that person,

“I’d like to encourage you to do better than that.”

by Elaine Hardt ©2017

Those Four Words

     A real accomplishment for Antonio at the age of seven!  Looking back on it these years later he explained his grown-up understanding to the teen boys in the class he taught.

     “Our assignment in second grade Sunday School class was to memorize and then one at a time recite the Lord’s Prayer in front of the whole congregation at a Sunday morning service.  Standing alone on that stage in front of all those people was scary.  But mom and dad had drilled me for days, and now I had a little bit of confidence.”  

     He continued, “Maybe that’s how you feel when you’re about to take a test at school, but at least you were sitting down, just writing answers on a piece of paper.”  

     The boys smiled and nodded as Antonio went on, “We all thought we knew what we were saying, but now I have lots more in my head and in my heart.  The one biggie I’m going to tell you about today is four words there next to the end. ‘Deliver us from evil.’  Jesus brought it up in the 68 words of the prayer that He taught His disciples one day. 

     “Those four words and especially the word ‘evil’ informs us that evil is real. What is evil?”

     Antonio paused and the boys spoke up . . .

Your Busy Brain at Work

Your brain makes labels

for the challenges you had;

Was it an invitation to learn?

Did it turn out good or bad?

Did you appreciate this

learning opportunity?

Can you smile, at least inside,

these lessons that you see?

At Just the Right Time at the Hospital

        The hospital waiting room was busy all day, but now at 10 p.m. it was quiet and nearly empty.  At opposite ends of the room two men were sitting, both with some kind of smartphone or that sort of an internet device.  At the Welcome receptionist desk an older woman was on the phone.

The younger man stretched and stood up.  He crossed the room to where the other man was sitting.  “Excuse me, got a minute to talk?”

Gerald looked up with a sad look on his face.  He nodded, so Randy introduced himself.  Gerald noticed the name tag this stranger had on his shirt,  “Listening and Praying.” 

Randy explained, “I’m a volunteer here at Good Samaritan Hospital for the night shift on Mondays, and I walk the halls and pray for who’s in each room.  Don’t know what ails him or her, but I pray God’s love and God’s healing for each one.”

“Well, I’m a working man and I’m usually at home snoring.  But Betta had a seizure, so she’s in there, and I’m out here.”  

“OK if I pray for her healing and for your peace of mind?”

“Sure, but I guess I should own up:  I don’t know about God.  Never found out enough to believe.”

“Any particular irritation?”

“Nah,” was Gerald’s reply. 

  A long silence followed, then Randy spoke in a kindly tone of voice,

What I Want To Tell You

It was nice — or helpful

It was requested — or unexpected

It was lengthy  — or short and to the point

I’m describing those words you said to me,  

— or  you wrote down and sent to me

Thanks for thinking of me.

By Elaine Hardt ©2016

Did You Hear This Song?

Have you heard any 12 year-old kid sing a solo in church recently?  When I sang there was no applause, no standing ovation, no hugs at the door.  I don’t remember any compliments, either, although there might have been.  But I will not forget the words of that tremendous song.  

I hope hearing those words was a blessing to everyone that day, and I’m sure that over the years many singers have lent their voices to share the words and melody of “The Love of God.”  

The writer of two of the verses and the chorus was Frederick M. Lehman in 1917.  http://www.tanbible.com/tol_sng/sng_theloveofgod.htm   He writes about that mysterious third verse as being written nearly one thousand years earlier by a Jewish songwriter.  The website says that the 3^rd stanza had been found penciled on the wall of a patient’s room in an insane asylum. Does that ever stretch the mind to try to comprehend!

Listen to the song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEi463LcxxA   Maybe you’ve heard other singers perform this song.  Did it speak to your heart?  Have you considered the love of God?

Since it was 67 years ago when I sang that first solo I’m sure that now my voice cannot do it justice.  But the words are in my heart, and what I now share with other people are words I write,  not sung with a sweet soprano voice in a church in Phoenix, Arizona.