When it was almost time for the sun to break through the horizon, I open the front door and stepped outside to catch a glimpse of God painting the sky as the new day began. I heard our three Sandhill Cranes being very boisterous in our front yard. They were taking turns jumping over the fence from the driveway into the pasture. When one of them would jump over the fence the others would jump with joy. I stood there and had the biggest smile on my face as I watched them celebrate each others success. It was such a precious sight! This wasn’t a mating dance for the three Sandhill Cranes, but more of an excitement to see their friend or family member succeed in overcoming a situation. 
When I saw their excitement it made me think about how we need to celebrate others through their successes and encourage others along life’s way. Romans 12:15 came to mind:

When others are happy, you should be happy with them. And when others are sad, you should be sad too. Romans 12:15 ERV

Numerous situations occur throughout our day for the opportunity to be empathetic, compassionate, sympathetic, or rejoice with others. I want to encourage you to follow God‘s word and be an encourager to others today.
It’s your choice. Are you going to be someone who sees someone else succeed and become jealous or bitter? Or are you going to be like the sandhill crane and jumping with joy and excitement for your friend or family member? I sure hope that you choose the latter.  Be intentional in encouraging others through the successes in life, or be there to help pick someone up when life gets them down. Most importantly, encourage one another in your faith and become stronger in Christ. Remember, you just may be the only Bible that someone sees that day. 

So encourage each other and help each other grow stronger in faith, just as you are already doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 ERV

So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Romans 14:19 NASB

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV

Ahhh, here’s something you can celebrate with me on…our daughter, Holly, will graduated from college this coming Sunday!!  Oh I’m sure there will be photos to follow. Stay tuned. Woohoo!!!
Have a blessed day!
Blessings to you and yours, 
Stephanie
(The featured photo is NOT from our cranes.  I so wish I would have captured that moment.  I’m borrowing this from an image search.)

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