A wise person once said: "Every life is a profession of faith, and exercises an inevitable and silent influence."

Have you considered how influential you are? As women, active in our homes, workplaces and community, we exert a tremendous amount of influence on others whether we realize it or not. We are being watched and others are learning from us - either positively or negatively.

January is National Mentoring Month so it seems appropriate to consider how we are doing with our influence. Whether we set out to purposely mentor another person or not, we are all mentors to some degree. When we encourage another person, when we put ourselves in a position to be a trusted listener to another person, without offering advice or opinion, if we can be counted on to be there in simple friendship, we are having an influence. The Apostle Paul spelled out his goal in influencing others very simply in 1 Corinthians 11:1 "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ." Paul continued in Philippians 4:9 "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put into practice." Let's pray that those we are influencing can see that we are following Christ.

This devotion was written by Kathy Paisley as a way to encourage women to know, love and serve God.