Sometimes we use the words as a fall-back when we feel helpless . . . as a last resort way to offer comfort. But it can be a powerful act of kindness, especially if we follow through.
"I'm praying for you."
Recently, I blogged about a woman who emailed out of the blue to tell me that God has suddenly placed me on her heart and she was praying for me, although she didn't know why. I suspect she worried she would sound a bit silly - especially if there were no special needs in my life.
But what she didn't realize at the time was that she emailed me on a very crucial morning. You can read the whole story here.
Have you ever been praying and felt the Holy Spirit bring a specific person to mind with special emphasis? Have you called or emailed to tell that friend, "I'm praying for you."?
Let's add that idea to our arsenal of kind acts.
We can wait for someone to share a problem and then offer to pray.
But we can ALSO actively ask God to bring to mind someone He wants us to support through our prayers. With or without their knowing, we can do kingdom work through that kind act.
Please share your comments about times when the prayers of others supported you, or ways that you've prayed for friends!
Blessings,
Sharon
Showing posts with label Win a notebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Win a notebook. Show all posts
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
How Can I Help?
What precious words!
Lately I've had the gift of that question offered to me by several friends.
I was talking about some discouragement . . . okay, I'll be honest, more of a feeling of hopelessness about some things that matter deeply to me.
Several friends, via email, phone, or in person, listened, cared, and said those precious words. How can I help?
Today, when someone across from us is angry, hurt, hopeless, or weary, let's offer a shoulder, a hand, a hug. And before giving suggestions, let's first meet their eyes and ask, "How can I help?"
Sometimes a person is too lost in the dark valley to KNOW what to ask for, or what they need. They may not be able to answer that question. Then we can get creative and offer a few ideas.
Sixteen years ago, I was seriously ill for several months. I was so sick that when people asked how they could help, I was too muddle-headed to think of an answer. So friends came up with their own ideas and shared love in a zillion ways.
One of the most unique was a woman from church that I didn't know too well at the time. She called up and said, "Can I please come over and clean your bathroom for you? I'm good at cleaning, and I want to help, and that's something I could do for you."
What a wonderful, specific, humble, beautiful offer!
I still remember how great it felt, after so many weeks of not being able to keep up on housework, to have a sparkling clean bathroom.
Has anyone asked you this wonderful question lately?
And have you had an opportunity to ask it of anyone?
Leave a comment and you'll be entered in my next drawing for a Penny's Project notebook (beautifully hand-crafted by a friend of mine...another of those women who ask, "How can I help?".)
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
Lately I've had the gift of that question offered to me by several friends.
I was talking about some discouragement . . . okay, I'll be honest, more of a feeling of hopelessness about some things that matter deeply to me.
Several friends, via email, phone, or in person, listened, cared, and said those precious words. How can I help?
Today, when someone across from us is angry, hurt, hopeless, or weary, let's offer a shoulder, a hand, a hug. And before giving suggestions, let's first meet their eyes and ask, "How can I help?"
Sometimes a person is too lost in the dark valley to KNOW what to ask for, or what they need. They may not be able to answer that question. Then we can get creative and offer a few ideas.
Sixteen years ago, I was seriously ill for several months. I was so sick that when people asked how they could help, I was too muddle-headed to think of an answer. So friends came up with their own ideas and shared love in a zillion ways.
One of the most unique was a woman from church that I didn't know too well at the time. She called up and said, "Can I please come over and clean your bathroom for you? I'm good at cleaning, and I want to help, and that's something I could do for you."
What a wonderful, specific, humble, beautiful offer!
I still remember how great it felt, after so many weeks of not being able to keep up on housework, to have a sparkling clean bathroom.
Has anyone asked you this wonderful question lately?
And have you had an opportunity to ask it of anyone?
Leave a comment and you'll be entered in my next drawing for a Penny's Project notebook (beautifully hand-crafted by a friend of mine...another of those women who ask, "How can I help?".)
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Servanthood
Coming out of a movie theater after a family outing, my youngest daughter picked up something from the ground. I looked over, thinking she'd dropped something.
"What's that?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Something for me to throw away later."
Litter? She was picking up litter in a big old public parking lot?
When we got home, I sidled close to her and said, "Hey, thanks for doing that. But what made you think of it?"
She explained that on her recent mission trip, where she worked to clean and paint a community center, they discussed the issue of being a servant. It was easy during the parameters of the mission trip to think about giving their labor to others each day, but could be easy to forget about once they got home. My daughter didn't want to revert to the way most of us function - avoiding the dirty jobs. She wanted to bring the attitude of humble service into every day.
Cool, isn't it?
And other than this time when I caught her at it, it's the sort of quiet service that no one will ever see or praise or reward.
I once spent a week at a retreat center, and a nun who was also on the retreat wiped down the public restroom's sink and counter after getting ready in the morning. I never would have thought of doing that...leaving the space nicer than it was for the stranger who would use it next.
Can you think of other "invisible" acts of servanthood?
Remember, everyone who posts comments before August 1st will be entered in a drawing for a Penny's Project Notebook (to keep track of your small steps of kindness)
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
"What's that?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Something for me to throw away later."
Litter? She was picking up litter in a big old public parking lot?
When we got home, I sidled close to her and said, "Hey, thanks for doing that. But what made you think of it?"
She explained that on her recent mission trip, where she worked to clean and paint a community center, they discussed the issue of being a servant. It was easy during the parameters of the mission trip to think about giving their labor to others each day, but could be easy to forget about once they got home. My daughter didn't want to revert to the way most of us function - avoiding the dirty jobs. She wanted to bring the attitude of humble service into every day.
Cool, isn't it?
And other than this time when I caught her at it, it's the sort of quiet service that no one will ever see or praise or reward.
I once spent a week at a retreat center, and a nun who was also on the retreat wiped down the public restroom's sink and counter after getting ready in the morning. I never would have thought of doing that...leaving the space nicer than it was for the stranger who would use it next.
Can you think of other "invisible" acts of servanthood?
Remember, everyone who posts comments before August 1st will be entered in a drawing for a Penny's Project Notebook (to keep track of your small steps of kindness)
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
Friday, July 18, 2008
Praising Someone - Behind Their Back
We all know the horrible feeling of finding out someone has said something mean about us behind our back.
But there is an equally powerful joy in learning someone shared a kind report about us to others.
I just returned from the International Christian Retail Show - an exhausting experience. One day, I got a call. A store manager had stopped by my publisher's booth and raved about my books. They told him I was at the conference, and called me to arrange for me to meet him. I was so encouraged by his enthusiasm. But it also felt amazing to think of someone "talking behind my back" in such a terrific way. He made me look good to my publishers.
In Stepping Into Sunlight, Penny tells a store manager about a clerk that has done a terrific job. The manager and clerk are both startled, but it makes the clerk's day, and raises her in the eyes of her rather cranky manager.
It's so much easier to whine and complain about people. I confess I slip into it far too often. But I've been concentrating on finding opportunities to genuinely talk up someone I like or admire behind his or her back. They may never find out, but it does raise their esteem. And if they do hear about it, it just might make their day.
Can you think of someone you could speak well of behind their back?
We've discussed the power of a kind word, but let's try the power of a covert kind word and see what happens. :-)
Feel free to share your stories here.
Everyone who comments will be entered in a drawing for a free Penny's Project Notebook.
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
But there is an equally powerful joy in learning someone shared a kind report about us to others.
I just returned from the International Christian Retail Show - an exhausting experience. One day, I got a call. A store manager had stopped by my publisher's booth and raved about my books. They told him I was at the conference, and called me to arrange for me to meet him. I was so encouraged by his enthusiasm. But it also felt amazing to think of someone "talking behind my back" in such a terrific way. He made me look good to my publishers.
In Stepping Into Sunlight, Penny tells a store manager about a clerk that has done a terrific job. The manager and clerk are both startled, but it makes the clerk's day, and raises her in the eyes of her rather cranky manager.
It's so much easier to whine and complain about people. I confess I slip into it far too often. But I've been concentrating on finding opportunities to genuinely talk up someone I like or admire behind his or her back. They may never find out, but it does raise their esteem. And if they do hear about it, it just might make their day.
Can you think of someone you could speak well of behind their back?
We've discussed the power of a kind word, but let's try the power of a covert kind word and see what happens. :-)
Feel free to share your stories here.
Everyone who comments will be entered in a drawing for a free Penny's Project Notebook.
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Follow-up
After posting the story about the kind clerk in the grocery store, I received this email from Judy and she gave me permission to share:
---
Last week I read your Book Buddies update and your account of the "kindness" in the grocery store. I turn off the computer and head to the grocery store to do my weekly shopping. I was looking through a display stack of tortillas, checking the expiration dates on the packages.
I pulled one off the stack, and the entire display fell and packages of tortillas splattered at my feet. Honest! This really happened!
My first impulse was to run out of the store. Then I thought of you and the Buddy update. I bent down to pick up the packages of tortillas and restack the display. Before I could pick up even one package, a clerk was bending down next to me. "That's okay," he said. "This happens all the time. I'll pick them up. You go ahead and finish your shopping."
I pushed my cart up and down the remaining aisles with a huge silly grin on my face--thinking of you. :-)
---
Thanks for sharing, Judy! Isn't it fun to notice the small kindnesses given to us each day? It gets me excited to find ways to make someone else's day.
Has someone blessed you with a gracious word, a kind gesture, a small gift? Post a comment about it between now and August 1st, and I'll draw a name to win a free Penny's Project notebook!
Sharon Hinck
---
Last week I read your Book Buddies update and your account of the "kindness" in the grocery store. I turn off the computer and head to the grocery store to do my weekly shopping. I was looking through a display stack of tortillas, checking the expiration dates on the packages.
I pulled one off the stack, and the entire display fell and packages of tortillas splattered at my feet. Honest! This really happened!
My first impulse was to run out of the store. Then I thought of you and the Buddy update. I bent down to pick up the packages of tortillas and restack the display. Before I could pick up even one package, a clerk was bending down next to me. "That's okay," he said. "This happens all the time. I'll pick them up. You go ahead and finish your shopping."
I pushed my cart up and down the remaining aisles with a huge silly grin on my face--thinking of you. :-)
---
Thanks for sharing, Judy! Isn't it fun to notice the small kindnesses given to us each day? It gets me excited to find ways to make someone else's day.
Has someone blessed you with a gracious word, a kind gesture, a small gift? Post a comment about it between now and August 1st, and I'll draw a name to win a free Penny's Project notebook!
Sharon Hinck
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