The church I have been called to serve is blessing us in abundance. Lots of people have spoken to us and made us feel really welcome; the teams I have joined are people of faith and joy; and I am getting lots of emails.

Any of you who are ministers will wonder what’s so amazing about getting lots of emails. Well, someone in the church had the idea of getting a different person to send us a welcoming email each day. Some include a verse from the Bible to encourage us, most include places that the senders love visiting in the area, and all of them are a delight to receive. It looks like these emails could continue for several months!

So each day I look forward to opening my emails, wondering who will have sent something and what it will contain.

And that got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone had the same experience as us? What if each day we each send someone in our contacts list, social media friends or phone an email, message or text with a word of encouragement? What difference might that make? How much joy would be spread?

Many times I have experienced a prompting to send a message, make a phone call or even visit someone that has turned out to be exactly what that person needed. It’s not because I have any special ability, I put it down to God’s Spirit giving me a nudge.

So, from tomorrow, I am going to see if I can put my closing sentence into practice in this way and send a daily message of encouragement to someone – I am being blessed, so I can be a blessing. Who knows, you might be the recipient one day!

Be blessed, be a blessing.