Posts Tagged ‘people’

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 Today marks the beginning of Universal Letter Writing Week (January 8-14), one of my favorite “holidays.” It’s always such a good reminder to send someone love with a postmark. To kick off the week, I thought I’d link up the posts I shared last year.

Day 1 – A Short History of Stamps and Their Language

Day 2 – Who Do I Write To? What Do I Write About?

Day 3 – Letter Writing “Extras”

Day 4 – Read Someone Else’s Letters

Day 5 – Tell a story . . .

Day 6 – Write a Letter to a Stranger

Day 7 – The End of Universal Letter Writing Week

My sister recently watched The Help and posted her thoughts on her blog. I thought her post, Lessons from The Help, was so good, I wanted to share it with y’all. So click on over to her blog to read it!

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{photo by Smilebooth}

As I’ve been processing my recent journey to The Relevant Conference, I jotted down my most vivid highlights from the trip and thought I’d share them with y’all. So here they are, in no particular order.

• Attending and participating in the writing workshops.
• Spending time with my sister.
• Joining the OneVerse Blogger Team.
• Listening to Tsh Oxenreider’s opening keynote.
• Meeting amazing women like Anna R., Aurie, Crystal Paine, and SarahMae.
• Discovering Freeset.
• Hearing Sarah Shust tell their amazing testimony.
• Laughing with Maggie Hogan over technology glitches.
• Staying up late. Sometimes way too late.
• Being filled.

I was supposed to meet someone across town at 3:15. With one hour for lunch and half an hour to get to the meeting point, I would get there about 15 minutes early.

But that flex time was gone now.

Michael was late. Half an hour late, which meant not only was my flex time gone, but we were going to have to cut our lunch together short, or I was going to be late.

Frustration started to set in. My plans were being disrupted and I was going to have to call the lady I was meeting – someone I’d never met before – and tell her that I was getting ready to disrupt her plans as well, because I woudn’t be on time. It was 98 degrees outside and the air conditioning in our car was beginning to fail as I sat idling. I texted Michael, and asked how long he thought he’d be. His answer was a vague, “Dunno.”

Even more frustrated, I circled the parking lot for the fifth time, trying to find someplace to wait. On my sixth trip around, I finally found an empty space, pulled the car in, and blasted the air conditioning.

Only then did the reality of my bad attitude sink in. Ashamed and repentant, I began to pray against the selfishness that was causing these feelings, and I began to pray for my husband. I know Michael. More than anything in the world, he loves to be with me. And he’s rarely late for his lunch break when it means he gets to spend it with me. Obviously something at work was causing his tardiness. So I began to pray for him. That whatever situation he was in would be resolved quickly. I thanked the Lord for giving Michael a job that not only paid the bills, but allowed us a little bit of wiggle room for “extras.” And I prayed that I would be able to greet Michael cheerfully, without a “what took you so long?!,” but with a kiss and a smile, and a joyful heart.

Ten minutes later my husband came out to the parking lot and I smiled and kissed him. And as I did, I saw that there were tears forming in his eyes. He had spent the last hour on the phone with an irate customer, someone who swore at my husband, yelled at him, and threatened to have him fired. Michael knew he wasn’t going to be fired; the paperwork he had asked the customer for, which was the cause of the angry call, was something his department required. But, all the same, it was a very unpleasant experience. And it was only his third day in his new position.

Never had I been more relieved that I had gotten my attitude in check in time. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been for my sweet husband to have walked outside, away from that stress, only to have his wife greet him with frustration and a tap on the clock.

Unfortunately, I don’t always check my attitude soon enough. But I’m working on it. Hopefully this particular incident with stick with me for a long time and remind me to set “me” aside. Everyone comes out better in the end.

Oh, and my meeting across town? Well, we cut lunch a little short and I made it there with a few minutes to spare. But the lady I was meeting . . . she was late.

I am completely loving this simple but genius idea from Color Me Katie. If you like to document life in photos, you should definitely pop over to her blog and read this beautiful suggestion.

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I just bought my ticket to Relevant 2011! From everything I’ve heard, this should be an unforgettable, amazing weekend of fellowship, encouragement, inspiration, mentoring, and fun.

Now I’m praying my sister will get a sponsor before the tickets are sold out so that we’ll be able to go together.

{Day 2 of Universal Letter Writing Week 2011}

One of the biggest reasons people don’t write letters often is because they don’t have answers for these two questions:

Who do I write to? What should I write?

Below are some suggestions of people to write to, as well as specific ideas both for subject matter and for prayer. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but hopefully it will get your creative juices flowing.

{friends & siblings}

• Give them updates on your life. Your new furniture, failed recipes, funny stories from work.
• Ask them about their life. Be specific. “What have you read recently?” or “Have you hung up your wedding photos yet?” instead of the generic, “How are you?”.
• Share a favorite passage that you’ve particularly enjoyed recently – from the Bible or another book.
• Pray for their relationships.
• Ask the Lord to bless their dreams.
• Pray that they continue to walk in step with God, following where He leads.
• Ask the Lord to help you be a blessing to them.

{husband}

• Write him a love letter, as if you were courting again.
• Tell him about your day, and how you’re looking forward to seeing him. If you have kids, write down some of the funny or sweet things they said or did during the day.
• Thank your husband for all that he does for you, listing some specifics. Let him know that you appreciate who he is, and that you’re glad you’re his wife and his best friend.
• Short notes tucked into his lunchbox are wonderful, as are letters placed somewhere in the house where he’ll find them (his pillow, the computer desk, etc.), but don’t neglect actually mailing him a letter just because you live together. What a sweet surprise to find amidst the bills and the junk mail!
• Pray for him to be a witness for Christ while he’s at work. That his life will draw others to the Lord.
• Ask God to bless your husband’s dreams and give him the desires of his heart.
• Pray for his safety while he’s driving, and for his health.
• Pray that he continues drawing closer to the Lord, working on becoming a man after God’s own heart.
• Thank God for your husband!

{yourself}

• Send yourself a letter filled with notes from an entire week. Keep it sealed and wait to open it until the same day next year.
• Write a letter listing out some of your goals and dreams. Place it somewhere that you will see it frequently, to encourage you towards those goals.
• Pray for the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
• Ask God to help you seek Him more, turn to Him for every need, and love Him with a deeper love.

{children & grandchildren}

• Write about something they did that made you proud, or that you appreciated.
• Tell them you love them and are thankful for them.
• Ask about their life. “What do you like best about your history class?”, “What’s your favorite position to play in softball?”, or “Do you feel ready for your recital?”.
• Tell them about your life when you were their age, or about something you both have in common. (Such as a love of the violin.)
• Pray for their relationship with the Lord to be strengthened.
• Pray that they “walk with the wise,” and have healthy friendships.
• Pray for them to be bold for God, not afraid to share what they believe.
• Ask the Lord to keep them humble, honest, and obedient.

{grandparents}

• Ask them questions about what their lives were like when they were younger. “Did you go to the prom?”, “What was your favorite thing to eat?”, “What did you do for fun?”.
• Tell them about some of your day-to-day activities.
• Write about some of your favorite memories with them, or something that recently reminded you of them.
• Pray for their health.
• Ask the Lord to show you how you can be a blessing to them.

{missionaries}

• Tell them you’re praying for them. You can even write out your prayer in the letter.
• Tell them how you learned about their ministry.
• Write a little about yourself and your family.
• Pray for their safety.
• Pray that they would be effective tools for Christ. That their work would be blessed and the people they minister to would be receptive.
• Ask the Lord to give them comfort while they’re working far from home.

{soldiers}

• Send a thank-you note via Let’s Say Thanks. If you’re unsure of what to write, use one of their pre-written letters as a springboard. They print and mail the postcards, so it doesn’t cost anything but your time.
• Not all of our deployed troops have access to the internet and other news sources. Give them updates, but keep it light – nothing political or war-related. Tell them who you’re rooting for in the SuperBowl, or about the latest winning streak on Jeopardy.
• Be sure to tell them you’re praying for them. Include some Scripture verses if you’d like.
• Pray for their safety and for their spiritual well-being.
• Ask the Lord to give them comfort as they’re serving away from home, possibly in a war zone.
• Pray for their relationship with the Lord to be strengthened and for their relationships with family to be secure.
• Pray for their families.

{Remember to leave a comment on this post and then comment on my original ULWW post in order to gain an extra entry to the giveaway.}

{Photo copyright © Kostas Tsipos | Dreamstime.com}