{"id":3026,"date":"2017-07-22T00:01:30","date_gmt":"2017-07-22T07:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/?p=3026"},"modified":"2017-07-21T17:03:46","modified_gmt":"2017-07-22T00:03:46","slug":"sometimes-the-encourager-needs-encouragement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/sometimes-the-encourager-needs-encouragement\/","title":{"rendered":"Sometimes The Encourager Needs Encouragement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Sometimes-The-Encourager-Needs-Encouragement.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-474\" src=\"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio-300x86.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"86\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio-300x86.jpg 300w, https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/SEV-CampfireAudio.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Our God-Created World is perfectly balanced and continually in motion. <strong>Everything on and in the world in which we live is either growing or dying. Constant, unrelenting movement and change is always taking place, 24\/7.<\/strong> Nothing that is alive is ever just standing still. It is either moving forward, or it is moving backward. There is no such thing as just \u201cholding your own,\u201d just \u201ctreading water,\u201d just the \u201csame old, same old.\u201d Whether you and I like it or not, time waits for no man or woman and the only two scarce things on earth are (1) time and (2) good physical\/mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Remember, the Bible says that God came to this earth so that we (you and me) could have life, and have it more abundantly. <strong>The Good life is indeed yours and mine for the taking. But, as is always the case, you and I must make the first move. We must take the initiative. Success does not attack!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">You have heard me tell you many times before that you can have anything in life you truly do want,\u2026IF,\u2026you are willing to help enough other people get what they want first. <strong>To create long and lasting success for your life, the secret is to first help and assist other people to succeed in their lives.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">In order to accomplish that, you have to get involved in other people\u2019s lives. Consequently you have to learn and know how to establish and live out good people skills, social manners, good and acceptable behavior, and proper personal relationships. Those type things are not given to you at birth. You must come to know them on your own and then employ and perfect them as you grow. These are all learned skills and there are no known limitations to learning them except laziness and having an unmotivated negative mental attitude. The truth of the matter is that most people live out their entire lives without ever learning or employing (and thereby modeling them) these essential people skills and behaviors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">It is your own personal responsibility to learn and use these specific skills for yourself!<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Mental growth is the key that unlocks the door to all true success in your own life! And you must never forget that only you have control over your own brain\u2026(unless you have given such control away or allowed someone else to take it from you).<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">It is your own decisions and choices that will ultimately decide your own destiny.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">The greatest of all the successful people in the world are those who take it upon themselves to become \u201cLife Enrichers.\u201d These are people who spend their entire existence on earth uplifting, encouraging, assisting, and teaching other people how to really come to know who they really are, and what they are really trying to accomplish with the use of their own lives here on earth. In short, they are always encouraging and giving hope to other people. <strong>They are \u201cuplifters.\u201d They are good examples, and they are well-rooted in God\u2019s Truths. They always identify themselves because they are always enthusiastic about loving and serving their God by loving and serving their fellow man.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Do you qualify to be called an \u201cUplifter of other people?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Being a Life Enricher, an Uplifter of other people, takes lots of preparation, time, energy, mental growth, and personal resources. It ain\u2019t always so easy to be one.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Even Encouragers have some rough days and times come into their own lives. Being positive all the time takes lots of concentration and hard work. Positive means being positive all waking hours and in all possible events and circumstances. Doing that takes a Herculean effort and commitment.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Achieving all these attributes will not usually happen unless one has a long and deep \u201cspiritual root\u201d to their life and a well developed personal relationship with their own God. You must remember that you cannot order such things as these. They don\u2019t come in tablets, capsules, or liquid forms that a person can easily pop into their mouths and quickly swallow. Not so! These type things, these type talents and abilities, are all learned and painstakingly developed over long periods of time. The more you invite and include God to be part of your developments and efforts, the easier and quicker you will be able to master them. People skills and God\u2019s Truths are better and more easily learned through personal performance than they are any other way. \u201cLearn by doing\u201d is the preferred method of accomplishment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Now comes the rub and the very thing that keeps most people from achieving their personal dreams and goals in life: rejection, criticism, and discouragement. These are all tools of the devil! There are only overcome by continued on-going effort and perseverance. It is all right to not get to where it is that you really want to go in your desired time frame, but it is not all right to get frustrated because you are not getting there fast enough. <strong>Frustration is an overt sign that you don\u2019t know what you are doing. It is O.K. to be anxious; just don\u2019t be frustrated.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Knowledge over-comes ignorance; positive over-comes negative.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Just as \u201cLeadership is not taught as much as it is caught,\u201d so it goes with people skills and personal social behavior.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">You should know that the very best way to lead other people is by your own example. So as it is with modeled good personal behavior and social manners. It is the wise person who teaches others by his own good and proper example.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">God clearly tells us what were are to do in the <strong>Book of James, Chapter 1, verse 22 NKJV:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">(22) \u201cBut be a doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> yourselves.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">It is in the same spirit with the above godly command that I share, model, and give as an example of what I am discussing with you in this article. I share the following things, words, and actions that were taken on my behalf by one of my closest personal friends and business associates. It is my personal prayer that you \u201ccatch\u201d what it is that I am trying to communicate to you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I have been extremely ill for the past three years and more particularly in the past twelve months. I have not been as actively involved in my business as I have desired to be. My poor health would not permit me to continue the pace I have always kept. Life for me has been a rigorous and sometimes tortuous thing to endure and get through. I have not been able to travel and participate in business activities as I have desired. It seems like every time I get over a physical challenge of one form or another, along comes another problem as big or bigger than the one I just overcame.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Whenever these disappointments flow into my life, I have learned to go back to God\u2019s promises, as written in His word, and read one or two of them out loud directly back to God Himself. Not in a demanding way but in a grateful and gracious way for what He has promised to do for me under any and all circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Be that as it may, allow me to set the stage for the lesson of this article.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">At the beginning of this month, July 2017, I was all prepared to get back into my business saddle and begin creating new business once again. A large coliseum business function was being held in Portland, Oregon, and I was planning to attend and actively participate in it. One week before my scheduled leaving for Portland, I was rushed to the doctor and was diagnosed as needing surgery to remove a blockage in my organs. No operating room was available until July 24, 2017. The doctor told me to go home, stay down, and stay put until the operation could be performed. There was to be absolutely no traveling or exhausting movement on my part. Consequently I missed yet another business meeting and function. Nothing can be created or grown to a greater size and capacity if your health will not allow it or if your poor health would endanger you if you ignored the doctor\u2019s orders. As of this writing I am still at home waiting for the big day, now less than one week away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">It truly pained my heart to miss yet another business function. Alone, at home, and in bed, over the week end of the Portland meeting, I almost fell victim to a personal pity-party. I busily thumbed through the Bible and read and read promise after promise as I struggled through the ordeal of missing what I was so looking forward to enjoying in Portland.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">And then I turned to the <strong>Book of James, Chapter 1, verses 2\u20144 NKJV:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">(2) \u201cMy Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">(3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">(4) But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> perfect and complete lacking nothing.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Thanks God, I really needed that!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I received many telephone calls, voice messages, and other communications from people who attended the Portland function all of them wishing me well and offering prayers for a successful surgery. What a real blessing and uplift to my spirit it was to hear from those people who truly cared about me. That is precisely what Encouragers and Uplifters do\u2026they encourage and uplift other people who are hurting and need comfort.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Then in today\u2019s snail-mail comes a beautiful greeting card. A hand written greeting card (an almost lost art in today\u2019s society) sent directly to me from my beautiful friend. The sender was the wife of a fine man whom I have come to deeply love and completely respect. She and my bride were great and loving friends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">If you don\u2019t give up on God, rest assured that He will never give up on you!<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">A picture of a huge oak tree was on the front page of the card with the rising sun shinning through the branches of the tree. Off to the right side of the tree were the words <strong>\u201cThe Oak Tree\u201d A Message of Encouragement.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Then followed this wonderful poem out of the heart of the card.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u201cA mighty wind blew night and day.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> It stole the oak tree\u2019s leaves away,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Until the oak was tired and stark.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> But still the oak tree held its ground<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> While other trees fell all around.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The weary wind gave up and spoke,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> \u201cHow can you still be standing, Oak?\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> The oak tee said, \u201cI know that you<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Can break each branch of mine in two,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Carry every leaf away,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Shake my limbs, and make me sway.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> But I have roots stretched deep in the earth,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Growing stronger since my birth.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">You\u2019ll never touch them, for you see,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> They are the deepest part of me.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Until today, I wasn\u2019t sure<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Of just how much I could endure.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> But now I\u2019ve found with thanks to you,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> I\u2019m stronger than I ever knew.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Especially now,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Try to remember that your\u2019e stronger<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> than any problem you encounter<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> or any disappointment life will bring.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Thinking of you,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Believing in you,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> Caring for you,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> and always honoring you.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">The author, Anna, went on to write this hand written note directly to my heart\u2026it certainly reached into and through it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">\u201cI picked up this card and immediately knew that this poem would be the message of encouragement you need. A \u201cget well\u201d is unnecessary because I know you will be well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I also know that sometimes the encourager needs encouragement. David and I really missed seeing you at the Family Reunion. There isn\u2019t a day that we don\u2019t think about you. Your influence is felt in everything we do. We love you.\u201d David and Anna<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Just as they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so is an encouraging note, call, or card worth more than you will ever know or imagine. When you open and read such a beautiful card for any occasion, you immediately realize that this kindly gesture took extra time and money out of the giver\u2019s life just to say something nice and uplifting to you and your spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Real living is giving. Giving without condition and without restrictions or limitations. You must always remember God\u2019s promise to you: the more you give, the more you shall receive.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">When you think about someone whom you know is hurting. Take time out of your life and call, message, or send them a card with a hand written note\u2014 just to them personally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">You just never know what another person is going through and how much they need a little uplifting love shown them through encouraging words.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">You were put on this earth to love and serve your God by loving and serving your fellow man. It is always noticed, appreciated, and handsomely rewarded.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Peace and Love to All of You\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.Poppa Bear<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our God-Created World is perfectly balanced and continually in motion. Everything on and in the world in which we live is either growing or dying. Constant, unrelenting movement and change is always taking place, 24\/7. Nothing that is alive is &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/sometimes-the-encourager-needs-encouragement\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3026"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3028,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3026\/revisions\/3028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}