Building One Another  

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

Reach Out and Touch!

Dear Friend -

What do you think of the phrase, “Out of sight, out of mind?”

When you consider your family and friends scattered around the world and the busyness of your own life where you are, how “out of mind” are the out of sight people in your life?

Back in 1970, Dianna Ross’s Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand) was a smash hit. Nearly ten years later, AT&T launched a very effective campaign, “Reach Out and Touch Someone.”  It encouraged long-distance calls in a day such calls were expensive.

Now we live in a day where technology makes calling and texting people very easy anytime, yet, our friendship circles are shrinking as is our touching of those who are “out of sight.”

Be both spontaneous and systematic about touching people to encourage them. Be spontaneous. If a person pops to mind, text or call them on the spot. If you put it off, it’s not likely to happen.

Be systematic too. Make a list of friends, near and far, using the mnemonic FRANC – Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors and Church friends.

Then reach out and touch some of them every week. Some you will want more frequent contact with, others, less so, but by touching people, you will encourage the hearts of many and bring them joy!

Joy to you – Stan  

© Copyright 2025 E. Stanley Ott

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1. Do you spontaneously contact people that pop to mind with the desire to encourage them - or do you intend to, but let busyness gets in the way?
2. Make a list of your friends usigthe mnemonic FRANC described in the letter above. You might list them by those you wish to contact more frequently and those you will connect with routinely.
3. What are ways that you will use to "touch" people - that fit who you are - by calls, texts, letters,, notes, gifts ands on.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash