Fantastic Friday

'You are fantastic!'

How many times do we actually say that to those around us.  There are those people in our lives who are simply brilliant.  It may be their attitude or their ability or their sense of humour or their patience.  It could be a thousand different things that make them fantastic.  But do they know they are appreciated?



Some of the people in my life.

I had the privilege of hearing a talk by Bill Hybels recently.  In the talk he told how he and the leadership team in his church sat down and worked out who the fantastic people were in his organisation. Once they had done that he had a one-to-one meeting with each of them and told them they were fantastic.  He defined fantastic people by the feeling he got when he thought of them not being around anymore.  If he felt sick to the pit of his stomach he knew they were a fantastic person.

Who would you hate to lose?  Whether it be in work, at home, in school, in church... Who are those people that you really benefit from having them in your life.  Identify those people and encourage them by telling them - 'you are a fantastic person, thank you for being you.'



We have been called to encourage.  Some of us find it easier than others to do but we all benefit from encouragement and from being encouraged.  Barnabas was commended for it, it was his nickname for goodness sake. 

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says 'Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.'  So let's do that, let's encourage, let's build up, let's love out loud.

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I thought you would like this spectacular picture taken on Tuesday.  This guy had been trying to get this shot for 40 years.  That's dedication.