It Is Well

God put a phrase on my mind the other day: Be an Encourager

I have been planning a few different ways to encourage people in my life, and I wanted to spread the idea on social media.  As an encouragement to be an encourager, I posted on the Creative Faith Instagram and Facebook a challenge:

What can you do today to encourage someone else? Text a Bible verse? Invite someone over for dinner? Send a random gift? DO something today to encourage someone. Write what you do in a comment below and DM me your email to receive something special you can print and use! Let’s encourage one another this week!

It has been awesome to see people’s ideas.  Spoiler:  The freebie you receive is this “It is well…” card!  The freebie has a large size and a smaller 3×4 ish size to use in your Bible and prayer journaling.

It’s not too late to participate in the challenge!  Log onto Facebook, Instagram, or just send me an email telling me how you encouraged someone.

I printed it on vellum paper to create this page in my Bible.

I have been looking into favorite hymns to learn the story behind them.  I grew up and still attend a conservative Lutheran church.  Hymns are a big part of the worship service.  Growing up, I did not like this part of church.  Hymns were boring and old.  Now, I realize what a twisted way of thinking I had in my head.  Worship is not a time for me to listen to songs I love, it is a time to lift our voices to Jesus and praise Him.

“It is well with my soul…”

These lyrics come from a song by Horatio G. Spafford.  He was married and had five wonderful children.  His son died when he was young of an illness.  Then, his wife and remaining four daughters got on a ship going from the United States to Europe in 1873.  The ship crashed with another ship, sending all the passengers into the ocean.  Miraculously, his wife survived, but his daughters did not make it.

Spafford had to take the same route on ship from the United States to meet with his wife in Europe.  The ship captain pointed out when they were over the spot of the collision, which is where he wrote this song.