Day 339 - Having a Grief Night

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Having a Grief Night Day 339 There is great strength in community, the coming together in Christ and building up of one another to love and good deeds. And there are times when a person needs community more than ever. Dr. Larry Crabb shares how his Sunday school class has responded to this need by implementing a practice called a grief night. "We're there basically to pour something of the reality of Christ into the one who is bereaved," says Dr. Crabb. Here are the steps to holding a grief night for a person who is grieving: Plan a time to meet together as a group. To begin the grief night, light a candle to symbolize the one who is not there. Have others ask the grieving person random questions about the loved one who has died to get to know the deceased individual better. "What do you miss the most about your loved one?" "What places or smells bring back special memories?" Also ask tough questions such as, "Did your lost loved one make financial and other preparations for those they would leave behind?" Let the person talk. After about an hour of questions, tears, and sharing, take time to respond to the grieving person. This is not a time for platitudes and advice, but for a pouring out of love and connectedness from one heart to another. Next is prayer time. Have the grieving person sit in the center of the group, and people who want to can lay their hands on the bereaved person. Then come before God in worship and in pleading and petition for the bereaved. Last is song time. Sing favorites of the one who died or of the one who is grieving. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25). Loving Father, healing is possible in the community of believers. Lead me to meet together regularly with other people who believe in You. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 338 - Helping Another Person in Grief

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Helping Another Person in Grief Day 338 Not everyone reacts to loss the same. Some may pursue help. Others may avoid it. That can be a sign they are not doing well. You may need to gently and tactfully go after them. You might be tempted to say, "Oh, someone else will help him. I hardly know him anyway." Or you might think, She really doesn't want my help. In grief, the rules have changed. Step in and help. Worrying about discomfort or embarrassment is not relevant in grief. People need other people to intervene regardless of societal conventions. "He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene" (Isaiah 59:16). Lord, I need to get over my uncertainty about how to help others or whether to help. Help me to step out in faith and gently bring comfort to another person in grief. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 337 - Words of Comfort

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Words of Comfort Day 337 When sharing with someone else who is grieving, words often fail you. Do talk. That person needs to hear from you, but let your words be few and specific. Emy, who lost her husband, advises, "People shouldn't say, 'How are you?' They should ask about a specific area: 'Is your health better?' or 'Are you getting out more?', something like that rather than making an open-ended question." Don't just offer empty words of encouragement. Find out what is really going on in another person's life, and keep track of how he or she is progressing through the struggle. Comforting another person with the love of Christ is necessary for your own healing as you begin to better understand the strength and peace found in a life lived for Jesus. "For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows" (2 Corinthians 1:5). Holy Jesus, may my words be few, but focused and sincere, as I seek to comfort another grieving person with Your love. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 336 - Give Permission to Grieve

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Give Permission to Grieve Day 336 An important ministry you have to other people is to validate their individual losses. You will not tend to trivialize their losses by giving quick, easy answers. Rather, you know it is better to stand alongside them and feel what they are going through. By doing this, you give them permission to grieve. Dr. Robert Jeffress states, "Christians need to be given permission to grieve. They do not need to feel like they've fallen if they are grieving. They need to be reminded that what they are experiencing is normal. "I believe the Bible, the Word of God is alive; it's active; it's sharper than any two-edged sword. But grieving people do not need to be bombarded with Bible verses. I think sometimes the best thing to do for grieving Christians is just to be there, to be silent, and when the time is right, to share a truth that might help them." You have suffered and are still suffering. Many people around you are suffering as well. Sometimes it is hard to notice because in today's culture, hiding true feelings is common and often expected. The Bible tells you to share in your sufferings. It also says to share in your comfort. "Our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort" (2 Corinthians 1:7). Lord God, someone around me needs to grieve. He or she may be holding it back and suffering even more because of that. I want to help that person understand it is okay and necessary to grieve. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 335 - Everyone Has a Ministry

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Everyone Has a Ministry Day 335 The Bible often compares the church to the human body with many members and many parts. Each part is needed for the body to function properly. In the church there are many members, and each one has something important to give. "From him [Jesus] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:16). The church is called the body of Christ. There is a definite, life-giving connection between everyone in the church body. Life flows from one person to another and back again. "Somebody who has experienced the comfort of God knows that he or she has something to pour," says Dr. Larry Crabb. "I love the word pour. It's a metaphor that doesn't feel clinical; it feels alive. There's something within the person who has been comforted that can actually pour into the other and bathe his or her soul." Lord Jesus Christ, I am part of Your body. Help me pour Your comfort into another person who needs it. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 334 - The Courage to Listen

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here The Courage to Listen Day 334 Dr. Larry Crabb describes this scenario: "You're sitting next to somebody in church or maybe in a small-group setting. It's coffee break time and the person obviously is distressed. Your initial inclination is 'Let me see if I can't go have coffee with somebody else, because if I stay with this person who is hurting, I won't know what to do. Let me go chat with some buddies and some friends where I feel very adequate.'" He continues, "We tend to underestimate the profound power of listening. We think of that as anemic: 'Well, at least I listened, but what good does that do?' I think the biggest lesson I've learned as a friend or as a husband or as a counselor is this: It isn't what I know or my competence that makes the difference; it's when I find the courage to be there in the presence of God, that's where the difference is found." Be courageous; do not stay where you feel comfortable and safe. Take a chance for someone else today and listen. Listen to God urging you forward and listen attentively to someone who is hurting. When a person sees that you are truly listening, that person feels valued. This validation brings deep healing. "He who answers before listening—that is his folly and his shame" (Proverbs 18:13). God, I feel very inadequate sometimes. Teach me that with You in my life, I am complete, and my presence is needed to help others who are hurting. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 333 - Be Available to Help Others

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Be Available to Help Others Day 333 Elisabeth Elliot says, "My advice would certainly be quit thinking about yourself. Don't look around the room and wonder why nobody wants to pay attention to you, thinking to yourself, Are the people not remembering that I'm a widow? "Forget all that and look for someone who looks a little lonely and go and try to encourage that person. Isaiah 58:10 has been a great watchword for me: If you pour yourself out for the hungry, then the Lord is going to satisfy your needs and you will become like a watered garden." You may think you have nothing to offer right now. But, remember, when people are in the midst of a deep struggle, they need someone who cares, someone who will just be with them. "If you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail" (Isaiah 58:10-11 nasb). Lord, today I will change my focus from myself to others. I am going to look for someone who needs encouragement or company. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755