Encourage-[en-kur-ij] to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
The enCourage Blog is weekly dose of encouragement in a world that is often filled with bad news. We offer life-giving entries each Monday and Thursday written by gifted women from across our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). You can subscribe below to have them delivered to your inbox. With hundreds of blog pieces, you can search on a variety of topics in the search bar above to read and share with friends. Christina Fox, a gifted author, serves as our enCourage General Editor. If you are interested in submitting a piece, you can contact her at cfox@pcanet.org.
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It’s the Little Things
SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR When I had emergency shoulder surgery from an accident while in Yellowstone, I was transported in a two-hour ambulance ride to a small hospital in Jackson. I was blessed with a fine orthopedic team there, very experienced from treating broken bones from all sorts of extreme sports accidents. When it came time to leave the hospital, the man who brought my meals each day presented me with a loaf of homemade pumpkin bread wrapped in cellophane with a note attached that said he hoped this would make my trip home a little sweeter. It was a little thing, but his kindness really lifted my spirits! Opportunities to Bless Others In the Thanksgiving season, we are provided with so many opportunities to practice being thankful by helping others. We give prayers of thanks for God’s grand plan for our redemption, but we also give thanks for His simple daily provisions. As the hands and feet of Jesus, we must be on the lookout for those opportunities where we can make life a little sweeter for someone else. It is the appropriate response for all our blessings. It is easy to overlook these possibilities. A neighbor you know is alone for the holiday. She might be included in yours. Those who must work at the grocery store on the holiday may appreciate a kind word of thanks. Not a day goes by that the mail does not contain a heart-warming request for donations. There are requests for holiday gifts for veterans and their families, meals for the homeless, and shoes for needy children. We might like to help them all, but it is easy to just pass. Paul gave practical advice to believers about living in grateful response to God’s blessings. “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). We are called to resemble God the Father and His Son, Jesus, in compassion for others, in humble service, in kindness to all, and with gratitude in our hearts. This includes all our daily actions, great and small. Fruits of our Faith...
The Art of Thankfulness
REBEKAH COCHELL | GUEST Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Thankful Poor,1894, Art Bridges Foundation currently exhibited at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 Art can reveal truth, beauty, and goodness by depicting the spiritual transcendence of everyday life. “The Thankful Poor” by Henry Ossawa Tanner reveals a humbling lesson in thankfulness instead of merely offering us a depiction of the harsh realities of the late 1800s. Thanksgiving Reflected in Art Henry Ossawa Tanner was an artist born in Philadelphia in 1859. His experiences as a Black artist, during the Reconstruction and the Industrial Revolution in America, and in France shaped him as a Christian and an artist. He was a follower of Christ and painted many biblical narratives. He didn’t limit his Christian lens to just biblical paintings. His everyday “genre” scenes were imbued with deep emotional and spiritual depth, as well. As we look at this painting, we see an elderly man with graying hair and a young boy sitting at a table. The table is set simply, white dishes, cups, and pitcher with a modest meal, on top of a creamy yellow cloth tablecloth. The walls are bare and plain white. But the light from the window filtered through white curtains fills the room and all in it with an ethereal glow. The elderly man’s hands are clasped, eyes closed, and head bowed in a posture of reverent prayer. The young boy’s eyes are closed and head bowed, resting on one hand. His posture is a little less formal, as his left hand rests on the edge of the table. Their clothing, simple yet sophisticated, depicting care. The scene is reminiscent of a Vermeer; quiet, still, a moment in time that is transcendent. The window light illuminates the interior space. The simple white jug, an essential everyday item, represents life giving properties. Like Vermeer, Tanner depicts those who labor, rather than those in positions of power. He is telling a story. But the story is not defined; we don’t know who the man and boy are other than what we can observe in the image and know from history. The title of the painting lets us know they are poor. The room, the table, and the meal confirm this. We know from history that the Reconstruction and the following Gilded Age, when this was painted, did not result in wealth for the Black community. It did not end racial discrimination. Tanner himself, though extremely talented, faced discrimination. His paintings would be shown in “separate” exhibits since he was not White. He left America to pursue his art career in Paris, where he was recognized and his talent celebrated. While we can and should lament the past, Tanner rose above it, and above those who mistreated him. He did not wallow in the injustice but used it to paint truth as in this painting where he depicts the dignity and worth of the old man and young boy, created in the Imago Dei...
Making Space for Others in Our Conversations
AMY SANTARELLI |GUEST I walk into church and spot a new person. I know I should go over and engage her, but such actions often end in stilted exchanges or awkward pauses. Making conversational space for people I don’t know well takes much more effort than the comfort of finding my seat or chatting easily with friends. Do I take the path of least resistance and avoid eye contact? Maybe I offer an acknowledging smile, but continue to my familiar chair? Or do I practice Christ-like hospitality and in love, make my way over to her? The Importance of Questions Proverbs 20:5 says, “The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.” Practicing hospitality in our conversations and becoming a person of understanding takes… practice. Each person we come across is a unique individual made in God’s image with varying interests, experiences, knowledge, and giftings. With the right question, we can tap into that well and the responses will begin to leak out. Even just a little response gives us more direction to continue the questions and soon that well can become a flow of water. Good conversation creates a connection, resulting in feeling seen and heard. It can make all the difference between being included or left on the outside. Why is that important? Because asking questions is a means to demonstrate Christ-like love. Ephesians 2:12 reminds us that we were separated, foreigners and strangers; we were outsiders until Christ initiated with us. The Importance of Good Questions...
The Antidote to Unmet Expectations this Thanksgiving
KERRY ANDERSON | GUEST So, it seems once again, just like all previous years, November follows October, and the holiday season is upon us. Let the planning and preparations begin—even though it was 80 degrees the other day where I live. In my current season of life, this preparation looks like coordinating dates and schedules with my married children and the teen still at home to see when we can be together. It also looks like starting the digital gift wish lists, making sure we have enough guest towels, and even revisiting traditions, recipes, and events to make sure they still suit everyone. My excitement grows with the planning, but so do my Hallmark movie-like expectations for every moment from now until New Year’s Day. Can’t you just see us all snuggled up in our matching pajamas? (Unmet) Expectations Because the holiday season often revolves around traditions, it’s good and reasonable to have certain expectations for how the days will go. If we’ve always run a Turkey Trot and eaten at 3 p.m. with chocolate pie for dessert, it makes sense our minds and hearts go there. If it’s been 30 years of the same prayer around the same table with Grandma Jane’s famous yeast rolls, of course we crave the delight and comfort in that. The Bible is full of examples of celebrations and feasts and remembrances that look the same each year (Lev. 23:33ff; Neh. 8:13ff; Job 1:4-5) so God’s people are stirred to fellowship, remember, and give thanks. This is good. However, life and the scriptures have also taught us that though we chart a course, the Lord is the one who determines our steps...
When You Feel Uncertain in Ministry
KATELYNN ROSS|GUEST Cognitive itch. Existential unease. The antsy-ness of feeling like you need to do something, but can’t figure out what you’re supposed to do is a familiar intrusive visitor in my mind. The Christian life is itchy for those of us who serve in ministry, wrapped up in a tug-of-war between our local community and the larger world. “Am I doing enough for God’s kingdom? Is any of this work making a difference,” I ask myself while I chug my second cup of coffee of the morning. The itchiness feels like some sort of spiritual allergy and somebody moved the holy Benadryl. I have learned over the last fourteen years in ministry, both from the Lord and from people much wiser than I, a few balms for healing this itch before I scar myself that I’d like to offer you in case you too are afflicted. More often than not, the Lord’s workers are burnt out, overworked, and overtired, and find themselves wondering “What is the next thing I should be doing?” Wouldn’t it be nice if God would let us in on the plan? If only we knew what He wanted us to do we’d obey Him perfectly. I think the Israelites of the Old Testament might prove that theory wrong! While we wait to understand what is next–living in the tension of working too much and never knowing if we’re doing enough–these three actions are supported by Scripture: meditate on the Word and character of God, pray for more than just direction, and obey where you are while you’re there. Meditate on the Word and Character of God...
Rejoicing in Our Adoption
JULIANNE ATKINSON |GUEST The summer before sixth grade, I came to faith in Christ at a sports camp. After I returned home, I gushed about God. It flowed out of my mouth how much I loved Him–His grace, love, and mercy in giving us His Son. One evening, I sat in the passenger seat of our family car, talking about these things I had learned of God to my mom, anticipating the worship and fun I would have when I arrived to youth group that night. I was taken aback by my mother’s response to my exuberance: “I wish I could believe that.” There are moments in life when you realize truths that change the way you think about your life. For me, this moment in the car was pivotal in teaching me that although my family is dear to me, though they are kind, moral, and emotionally healthy compared to most, celebrating Christmas didn’t make them Christians. Because my mother didn’t share my faith, she didn’t understand the spiritual joy I felt. Yet, even then, I knew my life had changed forever by knowing Christ and I’d never go back. Since then, I’ve reckoned with the fact that my spiritual parents have come from outside my birth family. Adoption into God’s Family When we think of the word “adoption” today, we often think of the heart that is moved with compassion to bring an orphan child into the family and raise the child as their own. In the New Testament, when the authors, and particularly the Apostle Paul, talk about adoption, they are describing a legal procedure. In Paul’s day, you could even adopt someone older than you. The point was that they were once in one family by nature, and following their adoption, they were then the legal representative and heir to the inheritance of a completely different family. When he writes in Romans 8:15, “You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” Paul distinguishes believers as heirs rather than servants. An heir wouldn’t lose their inheritance with old age. An heir would still be welcomed if they had an accident and grew physically unable to perform their daily household duties. In our status of being adopted as an heir of God, standing before Him as His children, in union with Christ, our relationship to our Triune God changes....
