This is the day the Lord has made,

let us rejoice and be glad in it!! (Psalm 118:24)

There is always a noticeable difference in my attitude and my day when I start off with this scripture.  Even though we have had lots of gray and gloomy days lately, just saying this verse energizes me.  Does anyone else have one that really sets the mood for your whole day?  I would be interested to know.

For the past five weeks, I have been enjoying Beth Moore’s "Stepping Up" Bible study which takes an in-depth look at the Psalms of Ascension.  It has been a fascinating journey as we ascend to closer relationship with our Lord, and one that I will miss when we climb that last step next week.

In my opinion,  last week’s session was one of the best in the series.  Beth talked about (and read some excerpts from books authored by others) how with all our opportunities for instant socializing (email, IMs, texting, etc.) many of us are still very lonely and starved for some depth. 

Can you relate?  I know I can.  I thoroughly miss the deep relationships and the face-to-face, sit-down-let’s-chat socializing that we used to engage in before we were inundated with so much technology.

So, although not completely surprising, but still eye opening, these authors went on to suggest that because we have ceased to practice deep relationship building, more and more of us are dealing with loneliness, depression, stress, and untimely health-related deaths.  Whoa!

One author stated (and none of this is verbatim) that having strong social support is a great stress buster.  The other suggested that if you have never engaged in a social group, by joining one you will have increased your chance of living another year by 50%.  50%, ladies!

We were made to be social creatures, and we were commanded to encourage and build up one another.  So might I suggest you grab your best friend or someone you would like to know better and go have a cup of coffee.  Then you can feel good that you just extended two lives :D

You never know when someone else needs this.  Your encouragement and support may be just what a weary sister traveler needs to get back up and get back on the road.  (This may be a quote; so just in case I’ll give credit to Beth Moore!)

Have a great weekend, ladies; and don't forget:

"Encourage one another and build up one another..." (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Iva