Encourage

Encourage

I confess February is not my favorite month. The holidays are over, and winter is in full swing. There isn’t much to look forward to for the next couple of months. Spring doesn’t come to Montana in earnest until May or June. Oh, there is Valentine’s Day, Lent, St. Patrick’s Day, April Fool’s Day, Easter and Tax Day! Not a whole lot of excitement there.

That’s why my favorite winter word is ENCOURAGE. You don’t hear this word a lot. No wonder our world is full of negative, polarizing and bleak commentaries on life. When warm, sunny days are nowhere to be found, an encouraging word is better than a sun lamp at the spa.

The word ENCOURAGE  comes from a combination of Greek and French meaning “fill with courage.” Whenever a kind word is spoken the heaviness of life is diluted. A smile while speaking encouragement can melt the coldest heart. That’s why an encouraging word is a tonic to the soul especially in February.

Unless you think I am blowing smoke, I want you to know that I purpose to put ENCOURAGE into practice this month wherever I go: home, hospital, church, Walmart (the hardest), the brew pub (the easiest). Yes, I have to push myself because encouraging others doesn’t come easy. I don’t want to fake it.

My February song is Home on the Range. Sometimes I have to hum it just to get in the mood. “ Home, home on the range where the deer and the antelope play. Seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.”

Put on that smile and find someone to ENCOURAGE today!