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Hello everyone and welcome to episode 41. Last week, we waved good bye and said see you next year, to October, the month that makes me smile. This week, we welcome in November, the month that makes me thankful. It\u2019s the month we remind ourselves of blessings in our life we often have the tendency to forget.

November is like our favorite-out-of-state relative who arrives once a year on our doorstep, smiling ear-to-ear, with arms wide open with hugs for everyone. Her very presence reminds us what it\u2019s like to slow down, and take pleasure in enjoying the life we already have, rather than the one we want.

November is about our thankfulness for what is, that exceeds our hope for what isn\u2019t in our lives. It\u2019s the month to remind ourselves that at the end of the day, nothing enriches our life more than relationships. Not things, not experiences, not even good health.

So starting today, and for the four Wednesdays in this November, 2019, we\u2019ll be looking at Four different kind of relationships we can be thankful for, some of which may surprise you. Four relationships that add rich meaning and purpose to our life. To start things off, in this episode I\u2019d like us to consider the cheerleaders in our life.

I\u2019ve been blessed with a number of cheerleaders in my life. 3 in particular standout:

• Jennifer - She was born in November, November 11 to be exact. She wrote a 4 page email to me a year and a half ago, encouraging me to get the training I needed to start this podcast. I am so thankful for her cheering me on to get started with it.
• Vern - Mentioned him in episode 4, The Gift of Even Though. I\u2019ll have a link to that episode at the end of the show notes, along with links to other resources I mentioned. He said something very brief and to the point\u201cI think you\u2019d be good at that.\u201d Sadly, by the time this airs we\u2019ll have attended his wife Lorraine\u2019s Memorial service. She was 94. As she said in our phone call to her and Vern almost a year ago, \u201cWe\u2019ve had such a good life.\u201d
• Debi\xa0 - The \u201cTHEM\u201d shadow box. In my trips to Florida to lead a mission organization\u2019s member care week, It\u2019s where I first met Debi. She\u2019d ask about the book. It was a work in progress. She asked to see a rough draft of the manuscript.

Brought one the next time I came down.

On the way to the dinning hall she caught up with me, pulled out the dog eared part of the manuscript and told me how much she liked it. In great detail she described it.

Eventually the book was published and I sent her a copy. She wrote a really great review for iTunes.

And then months after the book came out I received a shadow box. Meticulously wrapped and packaged. 17 x 21 x1\xbd . All the major elements to the book.

Janet and I later took a brief vacation trip to Poland with her and her husband Bob after a conference we were at in Holland.

Here\u2019s what I\u2019m taking away from today\u2019s episode, what I\u2019ve learned, and what I hope you picked up on as well

First of all, I have much to be thankful for because of these 3 cheerleaders, and others in my life. When I think of how they cheered me on, how they believed in me when I wasn\u2019t sure I believed in myself, it makes what I\u2019m lacking in life pale in comparison.

Secondly, everyone needs a cheerleader. But you just can\u2019t go looking for one.
You can\u2019t ask someone to be this for you. You have to get your cheerleader organically. You can certainly pray for one, but often times they\u2019re already around us, but we just don\u2019t know it yet.

Even when we don\u2019t have a cheerleader, Jesus is there to cheer us on. The Holy Spirit is there to gently move us forward to equip us to be the person God created us to be. He is our cheerleader.

Another thing I\u2019m reminded of by cheerleaders is that when you don\u2019t have one, it doesn\u2019t stop you from being one yourself for another person.

Example: Janet and I volunteering when our grandkids were in elementary school. Going around to work stations and cheering those little kids on.

Another example: You can be a cheerleader by one singular act. e.g., the large tip I left for the waitress at Appleby\u2019s in Eau Claire, and what I said to her about working on a Saturday night when her friends were out having a good time. I knew how hard it was to work P-T and go to college full-time.

The waitress came looking for me near the restroom, thinking I had made a mistake with the exceptionally large tip. Her eyes filled with tears.

Another thing, is that we don\u2019t have to prove our worth to be cheered for. Michael on HS basketball team. Usual group of parents would come. One dad missed a few games. I asked where he was. He said he didn\u2019t come because he knew his son wouldn\u2019t get in the game and that he\u2019d spend the night warming the bench.

Go anyway whether your kid gets to play or not. Hope with him in the stands, as he\u2019s hoping on the bench that he\u2019ll get it. Be there to watch him warm up and do layup drills before the 1st and 2nd half. Be there in case they get trounced and he\u2019ll get in the game. Be there to watch him be part of team.

Before I close, here\u2019s the he main take-away from today\u2019s episode, our show in a sentence

We can find great fulfillment when we become a cheerleader for someone, because it reflects the character of God who cheers us on to be all that we are capable of being.

Here\u2019s what you can do in response to today\u2019s show

A couple of things come to mind:

Think about the people who have been your cheerleaders. Then thank them, and model what they did for you, and pay it forward with someone else.

Pray, and look around asking Jesus to show you someone for whom you could be a cheerleader. You\u2019ll be amazed how fulfilling this can be.

You could also cheer someone on by writing an encouraging note that goes through the mail system (no texts or emails).

Closing

In closing, I\u2019d love to hear from you, either by your comments in the show notes/comment box below, or by email.

As always, you will find the show notes for this episode by going to johncertalic.com/podcast. I hope your thinking was stimulated by today\u2019s show, to both reflect and to act. Reflect with gratitude for the cheerleaders in your life. And then act by doing what they modeled for you.

You can do it, I know you can. You were made for this.

Our Relationship Quote of the Week

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. \xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 ~ Marcel Proust

That\u2019s all for today. May your souls blossom until we meet next week. Good-bye for now.

Resources mentioned in today\u2019s show

Episode 4, The Gift of Even Though

THEM - The Richer Life Found in Caring for Others