The Optimist’s Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

It’s always good to laugh!! It’s good to be encouraged. It’s good to worship together.

Job 8:21 says that “God will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy”. Since God gives us the gift of laughter, I thought I would share some classic bulletin bloopers with you.

“The pancake breakfast will be next Sunday. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the church would lend him their electric girdles.” “ Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use the large double doors at the side entrance.”

Not only is it good to laugh, but it is also good to encourage each other. In I Thessalonians 5:11 it says,” Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

We all need the encouragement and the affirmation of our brothers and sisters in Christ. I can’t think of a better time to encourage someone than when someone is down in the dumps, or they’re going through a trying time in their life, or when they’ve lost a loved one.

Another thing we can do to show love for one another is by praying for each other. The community has lost several people in the last few weeks and some of them were very unexpected for the family. Such an important time for us to reach out to those we care about, especially when they are grieving. It never ceases to amaze me how our community supports each other when times are tough, when people are hurting, and when someone needs to see the love of Jesus through us.

Prayers matter, a phone call matters, and just sending a card matters. That’s what people do that means the world to somebody.

Rick Warren said something in the Purpose Driven Life that really registered with me. He says, “ The greatest gift. You can give someone as your time. Because you’re giving something you can never get back.” If you give someone an hour of your time to listen or do something for a friend or neighbor, you’re giving them the most valuable resource you have. That’s what it means to love one another to encourage one another and sometimes just to make someone laugh is a gift.

 

 

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