Be More Encouraging

The Monday of Holy Week is usually set aside at St Michael's for a service of wholeness and healing. As we begin to immerse ourselves in the events of Holy Week this encourages us to embrace our brokenness.
Sometimes, for us to be truly whole, and embrace the abundant life and perfect wholeness we can find on Easter Sunday, we must be broken apart.
Encouraging people to embrace their brokenness can be an incredibly painful experience, it's very much part of the discernment process before C of E ministry selection and a thread which runs through the training. Gaining that self awareness helps us to draw closer to God but also helps us to be better servants. Embracing what is broken in us helps us to be more aware of others struggling and hopefully walk alongside them.

Be more encouraging/Live more simply

Two in one blog as I forgot on Saturday! It is really hard work to write the blog when I've worked a 14 hour day, and not achieved the task! I do have a box of stuff to take to the charity shop, so hopefully I can get it there this week. I'm always trying and failing to declutter, but I suspect most of our clutter would be of little use to anyone else.
Today's task was to be more encouraging. It's the first day of the Easter hols for us and I let the kids have a onesie day whilst I tidied up, so not much opportunity for encouragement. It's also the first day of Holy Week and to mark this at St Michael's we had a Tenebrae service.
At this service candles are slowly extinguished so the service ends in near darkness apart from the paschal candle. I was reading at the service (& extinguishing candles!) and Faith decided she wanted to come- I try to encourage her with services that are different to what she's used to. She did a fab job of welcoming- for which Vicki and I gave her praise and encouragement. It was an incredibly moving service.
As far as Jacob was concerned today I tried to encourage him to eat his evening meal. I was not successful!