This isn’t one specific thing Mom said over and over, but the manner in which she would always bring verbal encouragement to people…

The art of “gushing!”

Mom was a master at going beyond a simple compliment and knowing how to sincerely gush over something.   Somehow she knew just the thing to say to make friends, family, and strangers alike feel good.  Recently, my niece was reminiscing about how she loved to go show off her new school supplies to her Grandmama (my mom) because she could go on and on like no other about what nice selections were made, how organized everything was, how she loved the colors, etc.  Mom managed to carry this out without a hint of superficiality because it truly came from her sweet heart.  If Mom noticed a store clerk was kind, she would tell the person specifically what that meant to her or how much she appreciated it.  If she noticed beautiful curls on a lady in front of her in line, she’d tell her in such a lovely way that I’m sure the lady was on cloud nine the rest of the day.    I can’t say I’m as good at it as Mom was, but I’m trying.  When I think of an encouragement or compliment and am tempted to just let the moment pass, I remember Mom’s example and go ahead and start gushing…and am usually blessed by the effort!

To extend this to parenting, I know Mom’s sincere gushing did wonders for my self-esteem and character building.
So in parenting my children, I try to gush about as many positives as often as I can.

 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.   1 Thessalonians 5:11