Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (4.11.14)

For our educators, parents, and students, I hope you've had a great spring break.  I'm so looking forward to sharing the last part of our series "How It All Went Down."  We'll be talking about the "Death of Jesus."  The message of Christ's death is central to our faith, and it's often misunderstood.  It's the best news ever.  I hope you'll be there to be a part of this special Worship Experience.

Thought for the Week
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."  1 Thessalonians 5:11

Have you ever thought about how some people make you feel versus how other people make you feel?  Have you ever thought about how you make other people feel?  The truth is, we send signals even beyond our language, and it is so important to encourage others.  A Yale University School of Management study found that "of all emotional signals, smiles are the most contagious."  I'm reading a book right now called Primal Leadership, and the authors talk about how important emotions are in relationships and organizations.  There are some lessons from this passage and line of thinking.  

1. Are you surrounding yourself with people who encourage you?  It's so crucial to surround ourselves with people who give us good emotions, inspire us, encourage us, and make us want to do and be our best.  Invest in people that smile and make you smile.  Spend time with people that build you up.
2. Are you building others up?  Sometimes, we're the ones that are dragging the party down.  I don't want to be that person.  I don't know about you, but I want to be a 'smile giver.'  I want to be an encourager.  Think about how you treat and speak to others.  This passage makes me want make sure that even my body language is sending encouraging signals.

God encourages us to be around people that bring out our best, but he commands us to be the kind of people that bring out others best.  What would it mean for you to be a 'smile giver.'

God Bless,

Carter