As the sand of the sea...

 "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee."

Psalm 139:17-18

At long last I return...

Hello friends! I don't know if any of you have noticed, but I have not posted on here in a very long time. Due to the fact that Bible Bee studying had been taking much of my free time. Now that Nationals is over, I hope to get back into posting regularly. It was so nice to meet several JOJ readers at Nationals...blessings, Christianna, Elanee, Elizabeth, Eden, and anyone else I missed! :) It was also wonderful to see many friends again. The whole event was amazing...even though I didn't make the Semi-finals I had a blast :) 

{watching the challenge rounds!} Christanna and I sat together for a couple of these...that was fun! It was exciting to have friends up there competing! :) 

{Late night visits with friends} I am third from the left. We had so much fun!

So I hope to get back into regular posting soon! I'm going to miss you Esther. :( 

We'd love to do some guest posts on JOJ in the future...if you're interested, drop us a line! :)

Rachel 

Criticism Vs. Encouragement

Hello everyone!

Recently I have had a very critical attitude towards one of my family members. God convicted me of it when I read in my Bible reading 1 Thessalonians 5:11 which says "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." I thought: Am I building up and encouraging that person? No! I'm tearing them down!
I asked the person who I was critical towards to forgive me and they did, and I have asked God to help me be encouraging and loving to each member of my family.

Why am I telling you this?

I think it's so important that we know how much harm our critical words can do. Here are some Bible verses that talk about critical words and the power of the tongue.


Proverbs 18:21
The power of the tongue is life and death— those who love to talk will eat what it produces.

Proverbs 15:1

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Matthew 12:36-37

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment


Because our tongues are powerful. They are extremely powerful, aren't they! What we say cannot be undone no matter how speedily we say "I didn't mean to say that." They leave a lasting impression.

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Let me encourage you to be encouraging towards those around you. It's so wonderful to be an encourager. 

Even if you think critical thoughts towards someone but don't voice them, it can still be picked up in your attitude. Think encouraging thoughts.

Acts 20:35
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Do you feel special when someone encourages you? Well, since it is more blessed to give than to receieve, imagine how much more awesome it is when you encourage others!

Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Let's all be encouragers!