Imagine writing a note to encourage someone ... and changing a life.

There are many ways to encourage someone--talking to them face-to-face, calling, e-mailing, and helping them in any way you can. Then there's writing. We have each been encouraged in some or all of these ways, but our hearts respond most readily when we receive a personal, handwritten note. Words are shared differently in a note. People express things in ways they wouldn't or couldn't if they were talking, and a handwritten note can be a treasured possession, a remembrance to be read again and again.

In "The Ministry of Note Writing, " author Carol Ann Mc Giffin offers guidance in the basics of note writing and provides practical advice on the types of notes to consider writing. She offers examples that will aid even a novice in developing strong note-writing skills.

There's just something special about a handwritten note that expresses God's love and directs your focus to His care over you. Encouraging through note writing is a ministry that can change lives. Whether you're writing notes of sympathy, congratulations, or thanks, when you take the time to write a note, you are opening your heart.