TOOLS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

"The Lord who delivered me from the

paw of the lion and from the paw of

the bear, He will deliver me from the

hand of this Philistine."

(1 Samuel 17: 37)

My memory does not always serve me well, especially when I'm unexpectedly hit with scary symptoms, or when I'm in a funk, and so several years ago I came up with some tools to help me through these difficult times.

The first tool is a notebook in which I keep track of answered prayers, special blessings, and miracles. I decorated the cover to read Memories to Ponder on Difficult Days, and added the Awesome God chorus to remind me that that's exactly who He is.

Then I divided the notebook into sections, and added tabs so that I could quickly find everything related to a certain topic or name of God all in one place.

For instance, under the God's Grace tab, I have put dates and descriptions of times when the Lord rescued me from very close calls, or intervened to turn a negative situation around for good; under Jehovan Jireh, My Provider, I have written about awesome financial miracles; under Jehovah Rapha, My Healer, I have recorded miracles of healing; and so on. I even have a tab, Lessons Learned, to remind me of the times I missed out on God's very best for me because I let pride or fear keep me from making the right choice.

Under each tab I have also included a few relevant scripture verses and choruses, and I must say, no matter how deep into the doldrums I might be, I can't stay there long if I start leafing through this notebook. Before I know it, the darkness has lifted, I find myself praising the Lord and giving Him thanks for all He has done, and wondering why I was depressed in the first place. Amazing what a change of perspective can do.

The second tool is a little fat notebook which has become sort of a mini reference Bible to help me out when I'm trying to think of a particular Scripture and where to find it, but my mind draws a blank.

I have divided it into tabbed sections so that I can easily find what the Word has to say about a specific issue all in one place.

For instance, I have tabs for Attitudes, Fear, Health, Discouragement, Fear, Running the Race, Spiritual Warfare, Food and Exercise, and so on, and whenever I come across a new verse that speaks to my heart, I just add it under the appropriate tab.

This little reference book has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion, and I have copied everything in it to my computer so I can share it with anyone who would like a copy. So if you want one, just send me your e-mail and I'll be happy to send it to you. These are such good reminders of the promises of God.