A Word of Encouragement

I would like to share with you a word today about ENCOURAGEMENT. I was thinking about this word alot yesterday. The card and the gift that I am showing you today are for someone who has been a great encourgement to me for many years, and whom I have been trying to encourage this past semester. You see, I’m in a ladies’ singing group at church called Joyful Sound. We have secret pals each semester, only we call the “Barnabas Pals” because Barnabas was an encourager in the Bible. In fact, his name itself was defined as Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36).

I pondered some other scriptures last night on encouragement, and I hope you’ll read them and be encouraged this day.

Hebrews 3:13 says, “But encourage on another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

These are just two examples, but I love thinking about how God shows me encouragement in the Bible and tells me to be like this here on the Earth. I’ve always thought I was pretty good at encouraging others, but I can always do better. One way I try to encourage is with cards and hand-made gifts. It is amazing how such a small thing as a card in the mailbox will affect the loved one you addressed it to. The next time God whispers someones name to you and you start thinking of them, why don’t you go the extra mile and send them a card or pick up the phone. They might need your ENCOURAGEMENT. I’d hate to miss an opportunity because I didn’t listen to God’s voice!

So, here is what I decided to give to my Barnabas Pal. We are going to “reveal” who we were tonight at a get-together. We were told to spend no more than $5, so this is perfect! You might remember seeing the teatowel before — I showed you some of the embroidery. So, here is the finished product.

I added the fabric panel in the corner and used the Blanket Stitch on my machine to go around the fabric as well as the entire tea towel. The pattern recommended going around it by hand, with embroidery floss, but I decided that was too time consuming for me.

And here is the card that I made for my Barnabas Pal. It is simple, and not exactly what I thought I was making when I started, but it will do. I’ve been super busy trying to make the projects for January’s club classes, so I had to settle for this look and move on.