I once heard Walt Wiley share about encouragement.  (Walt works with Winning With Encouragement to do a number of great things.)  He spoke about how Barnabas in the New Testament was such an encourager.  He pointed out that there are 4 ways to be an encourager:

• What you say
• What you do
• What you give
• How you live

(That’s from memory, but I think it’s right.)

Today was a rough day.  Nothing specifically went wrong; I got a lot done, but it was really just a tough day.

The last thing I did today was setup an image on our web site for one of our affiliates.  It’s a basic task, but I got frustrated by it because I wasn’t given much to work with (as far as a logo from the affiliate).  I worked through it, got it to look as good as I could, and sent the reply email that it was online.

I left the office feeling completely exhausted and overwhelmed.  Stuff like that really shouldn’t take the wind out of me like that, but today it did.  Shortly after I left the office, I received a reply from the requester:  “This looks great! Thanks so much.”  That reply really made my day today.  It was a quick reply, but it was just what I needed.

For me, it was a “what you say” moment that made the difference.  Somebody around you today probably could use a kind word (or helping hand, generous gift, or an example of behavior).  Go out of your way to give that encouragement today.  You never know what impact a little bit of encouragement could have.