30 Ways to Encourage Others

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For years, when I've prayed for someone who's going through a rough time, I would ask God to encourage them. I was perfectly happy praying for people and feeling like I was helping them by putting it all in God's hands while continuing in my comfortable life.

But then one day, while I was praying for encouragement for a friend of mine who was struggling with some health problems, I heard that still, small voice.

"That's your job."

Um, what? You mean I was supposed to get up and actually do something about what I was praying for? Okaaaaay...let's see how this goes.

I sent my friend a quick text and let her know that I was praying for her. She responded quickly with heartfelt appreciation and we ended up chatting for a while which left us both feeling more prepared to meet the day we each had in front of us.

After that, I decided to add encouragement to my daily devotion routine. Every day, I choose someone from my rotating prayer app, PrayerMate, and send them a text, call them, mail them a card, or help them out in some way such as dropping off a meal, helping with errands, watching kids, etc. Most of the time, it only takes me a few minutes from my day to show someone that I'm thinking of and praying for them. Not only does it encourage them, but it blesses me as well.

Sometimes, one of the things that stops us from getting out of our comfort zone and encouraging someone else in their walk with Christ or their daily life, is not knowing how to do so. Another thing may be the fear of being rejected after putting ourselves "out there." That was a big deal for me and it still scares me sometimes, but in over a year of being purposeful with encouragement, no one has ever not been appreciative of it.

To help you get started, here are some ideas of people in your life that you can encourage and ways to do it.

1. Give unsolicited compliments and not just on appearance.

2. Send flowers.

3. Instead of asking, "how can I help?" be specific on ways you can help. 

4. Send a note or card.

5. Ask if they would like to get coffee together.

6. Use Bible verses specific to someone's situation to encourage them.

7. Listen to a friend talk instead of just talking about yourself.

8. Write a letter of appreciation or drop off a treat like a cookie tray at police stations, hospitals, teachers, etc.

9. Write a quick note of appreciation on a napkin to your waitress/waiter and leave it with a generous tip.

10. Let people know how they've encouraged you.

11. Drop a meal off. Bonus points if you use a disposable aluminum pan that they don't have to worry about returning! I like to keep a few on hand just in case.

12. Help a young mother or elderly neighbor with some chores or yardwork.

13. When you're talking to someone who's struggling in some way, take a moment to pray with them right then and there.

14. Use post-its to leave notes for family, friends, etc.

15. Give hugs often.

16. Pick up an extra coffee for a friend.

17. Call someone just to talk.

18. Tell people when you think they're doing a good job.

19. Pay for the meal or coffee of the person behind you in the drive through and ask the employee to give them a note with a Bible verse and one or two sentences like, "I hope you have a great day!" These cards make it easy to do that. 

20. Babysit for a friend so she can go to the store alone or on a date with her husband.

21. Say thank you often and show kindness, even when the cashier is taking forever or the waitress seems grouchy.

22. Send a care package to a loved one far away.

23. Share a book you loved with a friend.

24. Visit a nursing home and ask if there's a resident you could sit with for a while.

25. Send a text message letting someone know you're thinking of them and praying for them. Ask them how you can pray for them.

26. Send a note and stickers to a child you know.

27. Bake cookies for a friend, family member, or neighbor.

28. Tell your pastor and his family how much you appreciate them.

29. Gift something handmade.

30. Buy a $5 gift card when checking out at a store and give it to the person behind you in line.

31. Tell your kids and spouse how much you appreciate them. 

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30 ways to encourage others: https://bit.ly/36bThga

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I'd love to hear who and how you're encouraging others! Please share your stories with me in the comments.

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10 Things Not to Say to an Apraxia Parent

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Before Davy was even two years old, I noticed that while he babbled and made noises, he wasn't really saying understandable words which struck me as odd since my three older kids were talking up a storm by the time they were 18 months old. No worries though! With the rocky start he got on life, I figured he was too focused on other things, like living, to learn how to talk.

But, then he turned two and then three. But that time, he was talking more, but it still wasn't understandable. I had to translate what he said for other people, his siblings had to translate what he said to me, and there was a lot of stuff he said that none of us could understand. He started speech therapy and I assumed that within a few months, his speech would take off. But while we saw some progress, it wasn't the big change I was hoping for. 

Davy's geneticist suggested that he may have Apraxia and referred him to a Speech Language Pathologist or SLP for an evaluation.  When we left that appointment, he had another diagnosis to add to his list...Childhood Apraxia of Speech.    

I pored over the Apraxia Kids website and realized that this wasn't going to just resolve itself with a little speech therapy. Apraxia is a motor speech disorder where the brain and the mouth don't quite know how to communicate with each other to form sounds and words properly. While kids with Apraxia may struggle to talk, they generally understand everything that is being said to them.

Davy is now six years old and still struggles to communicate, but it's finally getting easier for people to understand him when he talks. We still get a lot of comments, questions, and stares though. And as any parent of a child with special needs will tell you, everyone from close friends and family to complete strangers, thinks they know how to fix your kid and tell you where you went wrong. I put together a list of comments that parents of children with Apraxia often receive and give some suggestions of what to say instead.       

1. Einstein didn't talk until he was four.
While I am flattered that you compared my kid to Einstein, their situations really aren't the same. My son did not just start magically talking in full understandable sentences when he turned four.  

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2. He'll outgrow it and catch up to the other kids. 

No one "outgrows" Apraxia. It will take a LOT of work from my son and our whole family for him to ever be able to speak as well as his peers.

3. He'd talk more if you didn't talk for him.  Stop babying him.

There's a difference between talking for my child and interpreting for him. I encourage him to talk, but know that other people may not be able to understand him so I interpret for him so that he can communicate with others.

4. He'll talk when he's ready.
He's ready right now! His brain and mouth just aren't cooperating with him.

5. Teaching him sign language will just hold him back.
Giving a child a means of communication is essential to their development and cuts down on frustration. While I do use some sign language with my son, we always make sure to say the word out loud while signing it and encourage him to do the same. 

6. He's just waiting until he has it perfect before he talks.
Ha! No, he's not. Perfection is not as important as the ability to communicate to him.

7. What's wrong with him?
Nothing. We all have struggles in life and this is one of his. He's a pretty awesome kid. Oh, and by the way, he understood what you just said so maybe don't tell him that he's broken in some way just because he can't speak well. 

8. You need to talk to, interact and work with him more.

When we're out in public, I may not push him as much as I do at home to repeat his words, work on adding more sounds to them, and add more words to his sentences because it's not always the best time or place to do so. At home, speech therapy is a constant part of our day and Davy works incredibly hard. 

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9. You're so lucky! I wish my kid didn't talk all the time!
First of all, just because he's not understandable doesn't mean that he's quiet. He talks. A LOT. And it's exhausting because every time he wants to tell me something, we have to play 20 questions and use a lot of gestures to figure out what he's saying.

10. What did you do wrong while you were pregnant?

Why does anyone think it's okay to blame the mom for the kid's medical issues? Not cool. Special needs moms deal with an immense amount of guilt on a daily basis, constantly questioning if they're doing things right, if they're doing enough, and how this could possibly be their fault. Let's not add to that, please.

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10 things not to say to an Apraxia parent: https://bit.ly/362MmWm

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What a parent of a child from Apraxia really needs to hear from you is that they're doing a good job. While you're at it, maybe spend a few minutes learning more about what Apraxia is (Apraxia Kids has some great resources for that!) and how it affects children, often their whole lives.  

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