I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
(Philemon 1.7 NRSV)

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Writer Norman Mailer entered Harvard as an engineering student because his mother, who had been through the Great Depression, wanted her son to have a marketable degree. But in his freshman year, Mailer took English A, a basic course in which students were expected to learn how to write well. A number of well-known writers taught at Harvard at the time. Mailer found the atmosphere stimulating. Although he was an engineering student, he spent many hours reading and writing fiction.

For the final exam in English A that semester, the students had to write a novella, and Mailer received an A+, a grade seldom given and one that made his name known all over campus. That one grade was the real beginning of his career as a writer, giving him both the self-confidence and the recognition that he needed. To please his mother, Mailer finished his degree in engineering, but from his freshman days Mailer pursued a life of writing.

Sometimes one positive word of encouragement can make all the difference. And the whole purpose of Christianity is to lead others to spiritual success.

Give a word of encouragement.

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Dear Jesus, you have encouraged me with many words of love. May I share those words of encouragement to those who need it today. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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