Words of Encouragement

Today the sermon at church really touched me on many different levels. For those of you who know me well, my love language and personality language is "Words of Affirmation". For those of you who have no idea what I am referring to, if you're married or in a relationship I recommend you reading "The Five Love Languages". It's a great book that focuses on communication in a relationship. My point is that God has called us to encourage others, to use kind words and to not have a destructive tongue. That can have many interpretations but he clearly lines out in his scripture what he has called us to do. I just wanted to share with you all some of these scriptures.

Proverbs 12:25
"Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up."

Proverbs 15:1,3,4
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger... The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good. Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

I Thessalonians 5:11
"So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing."

I Timothy 5:12
"Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

I love that verse because I can think of people in my life who exemplify each of those aspects with grace and dignity. I am sure we all have people who have made an impact on our lives by the way they teach, they way they live, they way they love, their faith, and purity. God has called us to act this way, and to some it honestly seems like an impossible calling. It is a bit overwhelming... because none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes and say things we shouldn't say to the important people in our lives. But I found these scriptures very encouraging... the man who led our sermon today made a good point that made the light go off in my head. He said that a simple word of encouragement we give someone may mean nothing to us, but could forever impact the life of another person. Which is so true, I can think of many times where I leave a conversation thinking "I really needed to hear that".

My prayer is to be an encouragement to all the important people in my life.

We are all doing well. I do want to say that this week has been a week of answered prayers. I found out that most of my clinical hours for the Fall will be spent with a PNP in Allen. That is huge considering it is 5 miles from my house. That helps tremendously with our scheduling crunch. My requirement for clinicals is more this fall, plus I am taking two classes. Thank you Lord. I also found out that I received an award for an Advanced Nursing Traineeship, which is basically a grant for graduate nursing students. The best part is I am not required to pay this back. This is a huge answered prayer for our family because I am only going to be able to work one day a week the rest of this year. This will fill in the gap for us and allow me to worry and stress a lot less!!!
Speaking of worrying. The scripture above speaking to how worrying weighs your heart down really spoke to me. That is so true and such a simple statement. I spend so much of my time worrying about everything. School, Finances, Spending time with my family, Work, Health, etc... I know we all do it... but I truly try to imagine every different scenario possible for each problem that arises so I can make a plan as to what I will do if that happens. Rather than worrying about it if it truly does happen, I worry months in advance and then it never happens. If anyone has any great pointers how to make this go away, I will take any advice you can give me. But I know the true answer is to let go and let God worry about it. He proves to me time and time again that He is faithful and will assume all care of our lives. Yet, I have such a hard time letting go. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how much I worry or try to plan things out. God decided many years ago what my plan is and nothing I do can change this path. I just have to trust Him and know that He loves me and will lead me through. I have these scriptures marked in my bible that I need to make posters of and place them around my house. But they speak for themselves...

Matthew 11:28
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Proverbs 16:33
"We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they will fall."

Philippians 4:6
"Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything."

Philippians 4:13
"For I can do anything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need."

I hope you all find the importance in this as I have. I do ask that you remember the following prayers requests for our family this week:
1. Cory's grandfather (Lionel Duncan); he has been battling with bladder cancer for many years with it coming and going. This time it is back and has spread. He is having a CT & Bone scan this Wednesday (30th) to see if the cancer has spread anywhere else in his body. This will determine the course of treatment for him. He goes to the doctor on Friday to find out the results. He is also the full time caretaker of Cory's grandmother who has severe Alzheimer's. Please keep Cory's mother (this is her parents) in mind as well.

2. Cory's mother is having a procedure on Thursday.

3. I am having a sonogram on Thursday as well for some problems I've been having. I'll give details later.

Pray for our peace, healing and comfort. And to not WORRY about any of it, for it is in God's hands.
It's amazing the gentle reminders God gives us day to day. As Emma and I were leaving church, I was holding her hand and letting her walk out to the car and my eyes just filled with tears. I thought to myself, how wonderful is this moment. Right then, everything was perfect, just her and I walking together. Normally, I will carry her or try to hurry her to the car to make it to the next stop or just simply because it's hot. But she was merely taking her time to enjoy what she was doing. No rush, no place to be, but there we were just in the moment together. May seem silly to some, but meant the world to me. It's hard to imagine how a one year old could be such a strong witness in my life. Instances like this are God's gentle reminder to slow down and enjoy life.

Thank you all for checking on us. We love you and pray you have a blessed week.
The Tomlins