Encouraging Words

I was reading Deacon's Awana book with him yesterday and helping him with his verses.  Yes, the kid can read but he is one who loves to be read to.  I mean, he will sit next to me for hours listening to me read.  Well, sometimes he is pacing and throwing a football into the air, but he is always listening.

He is a very social kid, so I don't know if reading with someone makes it a more enjoyable social thing or if it is just still so much work to read that he would rather listen.

Anyway, the book was talking about how we have so much power with words to make someone's day a little brighter or a little stormier.  We briefly talked about how true it is that words are powerful.

After every present that Berean opened, she came running over to me to ask, "did you give me these pants, Mom?"  I would say "yes" and she would hug me and say, "oh thank you, Mama, you are the best!"

She frequently will use those words, even when it is not Christmas.  Hearing her appreciation always makes me happy, and I find myself wanting to do things for her.

I have been trying to be better about being encouraging, especially at work.  You can not believe the smiles I get when I tell a coworker, "thanks for helping, you are the best!"

Today I got a facebook message from a coworker that thanked me for all the work I did the shift before she came in.  She indicated that my effort had made her shift much better.  Well, do you know what?  Her saying that to me on facebook- took her probably 30 seconds to write- made my day.

I got another email from somebody else indicating that they appreciated the extra effort that I put into a little task.  Not a big deal at all, but the fact that they noticed and took the time to commend me made me feel good.

This is something that I want to work on in 2014.  I want to be encouraging in my words, and not discouraging.  It is easier to do at work than at home,  but I am going to try!