BY: Sir Godfrey Gregg

Theme: Speaking Life into the Hearts of Your Family

There is a power in the spoken word that is often underestimated. With our words we can wound or we can heal; we can tear down or we can build up. In the family, where words are exchanged most often and most casually, the power of encouragement is especially vital. This November 2026, I call each member of every household to become an encourager. Let your words be a gift to your family, not a weapon against them.

The Scriptures are filled with encouragement. The Lord spoke and the heavens were made. Joshua was encouraged by Moses, and Timothy by Paul. Barnabas was so known for encouragement that he was given the name “Son of Encouragement.” Encouragement is not flattery; it is the deliberate act of speaking courage into another person’s heart. It is noticing the good and naming it. It is affirming the effort, not only the result. It is believing in someone even when they have trouble believing in themselves. And it is the birthright of every family member.

How often do we offer criticism when a word of praise would have done more good? How often do we assume that our family knows how we feel, and so we say nothing? The truth is that no one grows weary of being encouraged, and no one is beyond the need of it. The child who hears “I am proud of you” blossoms. The spouse who hears “You are a gift to me” is strengthened. The parent who hears “Thank you for all you have done” is honored. The teenager who hears “I believe in you” is given courage for the road ahead. A family that encourages one another becomes a greenhouse where each person grows toward the light.

I charge you, therefore, to make encouragement a discipline of your home. Speak a blessing over your children each week. Write a note of appreciation and leave it where it will be found. Send a text of encouragement to your spouse in the middle of the day. Call your parents and tell them what their example has meant to you. And encourage the discouraged—the one who is struggling in school, in work, in health, in faith. Let your home be a place where no one is left without a kind word. The tongue has the power of life and death, and the family that chooses life will thrive.

Finally, remember that encouragement extends to the way you speak about your family to others. Do not air your family’s faults to the world, nor speak of them with contempt. Celebrate them. Defend them. Build them up in your words, and let your words be a blessing and not a curse. This November, be an encourager, and you will be used by God to heal, to strengthen, and to unite the family He has given you.