Encouragement

Wow, so someone said I should start a blog. Here goes!
These are mostly my incoherant and strangely odd ramblings and thoughts from my days.

"Today, I have mostly been..." thinking about encouragement. How can one small word feel like such a huge knife to your chest? Why do we find it so easy to put down and mock, rather than build up and encourage?

In Proverbs 16 it talks about some key qualities of a leader:

"A good leader motivates, doesn't mislead, doesn't exploit."
"Good leaders cultivate honest speech; they love advisors who tell them the truth."
"Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives; they're like spring rain and sunshine."
"Gracious speech is like clover honey— good taste to the soul, quick energy for the body."

Why are we not developing gracious speech? Words are powerful, they cut right into the heart of something. When we speak truth to people, we are impacting their lives in ways bigger than we know. When we speak negative and sharp words, we cut down who they are as a person.

They say that you remember negative words much more than positive ones...so much so, that it takes 5 positive words to outweigh just 1 negative one!

More than anything I want to build people up. I want to take the time to notice their hopes, dreams, gifts and passions, and see their self worth increase by telling them how amazing they are. I want to tell friends that they are beautiful and inspiring without feeling embarassed. I want to listen well to God so that I can speak just the right words into someones life who really needs them. I want to be a builder and not a destroyer.