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Week 36: Affirming & Enjoying Each Other | Express Simple Appreciation
Appreciation creates safety. Encouragement builds trust. Honor strengthens connection.
QUESTION
When was the last time you clearly encouraged a friend or told him what you appreciate about him?
Do your core friendships mostly revolve around problems and responsibilities, or do you also express enjoyment, gratitude, and encouragement?
STORY
While huddling one week, one friend admitted to his two core friends that he was discouraged and doubting if he was making any positive impact at home, work, or as a friend.
One friend looked him in the eye and said:
“I see you differently than you see yourself right now. You care deeply. You keep showing up. Your sincerity and honesty help the rest of us open up too.”
The other friend added:
“You’ve helped me more than you know, especially your steady perseverance.”
The discouraged friend quietly soaked it in. Later he admitted those simple words lifted him.
Most guys rarely hear sincere affirmation. We assume people know, but unspoken encouragement reinforces the deficit men feel.
Brotherhood grows when men openly affirm and appreciate one another.
SCRIPTURE
“Encourage one another and build each other up.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 12:10
“Gracious words are like honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”
Proverbs 16:24
EXAMINE SELF
– Do I regularly encourage my friends?
– Do I assume they already know I appreciate them?
– Am I quicker with advice and critique than affirmation and appreciation?
– Do I struggle to receive encouragement?
QUOTE
“Simple encouragement strengthens a man more than we often realize.” — Jeff Kemp
TIP
Don’t hold back on affirmation. It can be:
“I appreciate your honesty.”
“As a friend, you’re consistent and dependable.”
“You helped me often…and more than you know.”
“I respect how you handled that situation.”
“Your faith and solid friendship bless me.”
Short. Real. Specific.
COACHING
Men bond around activities, work, sports, or solving problems. But deeper core friendships also include openly appreciating and affirming each other.
Appreciation creates safety. Encouragement builds trust. Honor strengthens connection.
Don’t wait for funerals, crises, or major accomplishments to tell a core friend what he means to you.
Say it in the huddle.
ACTION STEP
Tell two core friends specifically what you appreciate about them this week.
COMMITMENT
I will openly encourage and appreciate key friends in my life instead of assuming they already know.
HABIT
Be on the lookout for the positives in your core friends that you can affirm.
TALK & PRAY WITH FRIENDS
Tell each core friend one thing you really appreciate about him.
Thank God for each other with a Man Prayer. (Brevity will keep it from moving into the uncomfortable zone!)
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