by This is a non-comprehensive list of fun things to do to encourage others. Prayerfully it will get the brain thinking of creative ways to encourage and add a little cheer to someone’s life. For a more comprehensive overview about exhortation and encouraging, please see “Be a Sonbeam not a Stormcloud I.”
- Tell someone you appreciate them.
- Be slow to speak and quick to listen. I mean “really listen.” For people who live alone, going to church may be the only time of the week they get to talk to people.
- When talking, be aware of how much you have talked. Occasionally, stop and ask the listener a question about themselves to get the focus on them. Then listen. Resist the urge to go back to yourself in the conversation. Listen and ask questions to persuade people to talk further about themselves. People find it encouraging when someone really listens.
- Drop a card in someone’s letterbox, stick it by their front door, or on their church seat.
- Leave a little gift at someone’s door or church seat. It can be as simple as a tiny houseplant.
- Send a get-well card. People who are going through surgery or other illnesses, need encouragement. They cannot get out easily. This is a great way to lift someone’s spirit. They can look on a shelf in their recovery room and see cards people have cared enough to send.
- Take time to talk to someone not in your “social” group.
- Next time your visit someone, complement their apartment or house. Their decorating style may be different than yours, but it is their home. People work hard to make their apartment or house their home. Say something nice about it and watch their faces light up with cheer.
- Take time to help a senior person, especially those who live alone and in their own houses. Discuss it with them and tell them you would like to come visit and help with something around their house.
- Give someone a phone call. Maybe someone you have not talked to in a while or someone you know who lives alone.
- There is an old saying, “If you cannot say something nice, then do not say it.” Give complements to people. Do not be a Stormcloud. Example, if someone got a haircut, say, “Your hair looks nice.” Do not say, “Oh, you got your hair cut.” Notice there was nothing encouraging in the last comment. Be encouraging. Say something nice.
- Tell someone you are proud of them. It could be about what they have accomplished in school, on the job, or at church. Many people do not hear this lovely encouraging phrase. So, tell someone, “I am proud of you for ________.”
Now the fun challenge begins. Go encourage someone, cheer someone up, put a smile on someone’s face. In return, one will get a smile on their face.
Heb. 10:25 “…exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
If someone has other ideas for encouraging people, please leave a comment so everyone can enjoy different ideas for exhorting one another.
