Home Improvement...911

All of us will experience tough times in our lives. Are you ready when your world is rocked or you need to comfort a friend?

Whether I am searching for something to share with a friend who is grieving or I am needing to speak to my own soul, I need to be prepared.

This weekend, give some thought to how ready you are to walk along side a friend who is hurting.

1. Find Bible verses that bring comfort to you and mark them in your Bible so you can refer to them when needed. Ps 91:1 (911!) is a favorite of mine and how appropriate it was for me to call upon that verse this week: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I will trust.'"

2. Buy a few select books that you can share with others and re-read in times of sorrow. These are a few books I referred to this week:
Holding on to Hope by Nancy Guthrie
A Grace Disguised by Gerald Sittser
A Grief Observed by C.S.Lewis
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

3. Gather favorite quotes that bring healing to yourself and others that you can email or send in a card when your own words fail you.

4. Have a few meaningful cards on hand so you are without excuse when the time comes to send one off to a dear friend.

5. Find a recipe or two that is easy to make and take to a friend. If you know what you can make before you offer, you will be more generous in reaching out to others in their time of need.

Please share your ideas, books, recipes or quotes that you gather for this Home Improvement weekend. It is during the times of calm that we need to prepare ourselves for the storms that come our way.