For most of you, you may have never really got to experience how personal and wonderful it is to receive an actual letter in the mail. With technology it seems silly to mail a letter when you can just text, email, or facebook someone. But there is something about walking out to your mailbox and discovering that someone has taken the time to send you a handwritten letter in the mail. It’s a feeling of gratitude that they took the time and thought of you.

Reasons why you should write a handwritten letter:

• Personal—they contain your effort, your handwriting, and your thoughts.
•  Effort—it takes more effort to choose the supplies needed to write a letter. It is more effort to write out words, compared to typing.
• Cost efficient—you can pick up a package of stationary or cards and send out a multiple number of letters. This is cheaper in comparison to sending a one-time gift to someone.
• Enjoyed over and over— If you have sent a letter of encouragement to someone, the recipient is able to reread what you said and be encouraged over and over.
• Speaking positiveness—-In conversations and text messages where emotions can run high, when choosing to write out our words, it forces us to be careful in choosing what to say. It helps us consider what we are putting down and rechecking to make sure our words mean what we intend.
• Consideration—-it shows friends that you are taking the time to show them that you care. That they were on your mind. It leaves an open door for someone to respond back if they need someone to turn to.

Do you see all the benefits to writing a letter? I want you to keep a list of people that you can send encouragement to once or twice per month. These can be your friends that you don’t get to see often, leaders at your church, another mom that encourages you often, etc. Take the time and ask God to put into your mind someone whom you can encourage. He will give you ideas of people whom you can bless.

Take the time and find some pretty stationary. You can choose paper or even a pack of cards. I like to begin writing on a card and then inserting some pieces of stationary that I finish the letter on.

Begin your letter with some sort of encouraging scripture you have been reading. Explain how God spoke to you through that scripture. Go through and encourage them by thanking them for what they do for you. You can share what it going on in your life. Keep it positive. If they are going through a struggle, don’t let it be about you—keep it to encouragement and about them. Don’t ask a lot of questions—no pressure to respond. You want this to be a blessing, not something you demand in return. Yes it would be great if they responded, and hopefully they will, but don’t make pressure to expect it.

If you want to go the extra mile, include something small in the card.
It can be as simple as:

•  a piece of gum
•  a tea bag
•  a pressed flower
•  some stickers
•  a balloon—for a younger person
•  something you printed off the internet
•  a recipe you tried
•  scripture cards

Know that everyone enjoys receiving mail. Continue this year by being devoted to sending out letters a few times per month to people. Make it part of your routine. Hopefully, it will come full circle and you will enjoy the benefits by having someone write back to you.

I was reminded this week about the importance of increasing my faith in God.  I started thinking about how easily it is to put my “faith” in things other than Him.  How easily I can listen to others and put my “faith” in things that were heard.

This isn’t the faith that God wants us to have.

Taking offense towards someone produces bad faith.  The bible says:

….faith comes by hearing…

Romans 10:17

What is it that we are listening to and putting our faith into?  We do things  because we “hear” something.

Take heed what you hear.  You can get faith from the wrong thing.  If it is scriptural you should receive it.  It will make you :

 ….be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord….

1 Corinthians 15:58

If it is strife, it will create “faith: that is not a good faith.  It will create imaginations and thoughts that are not of the Lord and you will take offense at things.

All someone has to do is say, “watch out for that person.”  As soon as you see that person, immediately you put up a wall and your “faith” sets you back from them.  You don’t even give that person a chance to say 2 words to you.  But your “faith” spoke to you and this is what it produces.

Faith creates all the strife in the world.  But on the wrong side.

When you have God faith it will create light.  It will never speak evil, it will never become offended, it will never leave you, or forsake you.  Its added with love.  Love never fails.  Faith works by love.

Instead of blowing something up it creates something.  Love smooths out the wrongs.

Do you know why the bible says that God will never remember you sins?  How does He do that?  It isn’t by memory—because even we can remember people’s sins and probably remind them of that all of the time.  We judge people every time we look at them, even when they have been forgiven.  God’s faith is so powerful, it destroys your past.  That is the type of faith that we should want to live by.

Take heed…….to pay attention to where your “faith” is coming from.

We live by faith….not by sight

2 Corinthians 5:7