Encouragement.

First a quick history lesson from my world:
For the last 8 years or so I have been blessed with a unique opportunity to book and promote bands (bring in bands and have concerts) and call it ministry. Through this ministry, God has allowed me to reach out to kids (and several adults) and show them the love, grace and mercy of Jesus through practical ways. This ministry is challenging to say the least. One of the key factors that make this such a challenge is that when bringing these bands (who don't always follow and love my Jesus) in we encounter obstacles such as difference in beliefs, thoughts, opinions, values, and so on. This culture may curse the name of my God and completely disagree with my beliefs but yet I am called to love them regardless. Many of those who this ministry reach may never step foot inside a church. We in turn have an opportunity to shine a light into a dark culture. Through this ministry, I am blessed to call so many people friends (Christians and non-Christians).

Now fast forward to Thursday night:
Thursday night we had a tour come through and we had to use another building (we had a fire back in December at our church and suffered damage and the building is no longer usable). The situation was less than ideal for all involved and the most frustrating thing was how we were being treated by the Tour Manager that evening. It would have been nice for him to be a little understanding of our situation and yet he wasn't. It was a low turn out (which means we lost money). So the whole night was a super bummer and just simply sucked. You might be thinking "Courtnie you titled this post 'Encouragement' this in no way sounds encouraging."

Here comes the encouragement:
On this tour was a band who have come through many times and played for us. This band was the only band on this 4 band tour who were Christians. They weren't even aware of the situations happening between us and the tour manager. But they spoke so much love and encouragement upon us that night. Just the simple hug, smile, or telling us they love us and our city was HUGE! They served as a reminder of why we do what we do! They blessed my heart beyond measure that night.

Here comes the challenge:
Who needs your encouragement today? You may never know what someone is going through but a simple word or action may be what keeps that person moving forward today. Don't hold back. Listen to the spirit and move!

Enjoy your Saturday and be someones Barnabas (Son of Encouragement) today!