If you have been in ministry for any length of time you have received those notes, and often anonymous notes, that are less than encouraging. Far less frequently we receive handwritten notes or email of encouragement. Those are the ones we need to file for future reference. Years ago I made a file and labeled it ‘affirmation,’ specifically a place to store the good notes. Labeling it ‘affirmation’ keeps it in the front of the file drawer. And in recent years I have added an email folder with the same name to keep the good emails.

The notes in both of these files have been great encouragement to me not just the first day I read them but the many times I have needed a lift and headed back to those folders.

Do you have a system for keeping notes of encouragement; if so I would love hear about it?

AND…for those notes that are less than encouraging and anonymous…get rid of them. If people are not willing to face you openly so you can dialog with them, the best filing system is the trash.