#inspiration, #spirituality

Breaking Out

Breaking out sounds like a plan a prisoner might have. And in some ways we are all prisoners. We are also able to grant ourselves parole.

Life is full of routine. We go through the same thing every day. But I encourage you to free yourself of routine. Take some time away from your phone. Instead of watching and posting on social media, call someone and have a conversation. Attend a seminar on something you know nothing about. Start a blog!

It’s time to stop fitting in and start standing out. Conformity is the breeding ground of mediocrity…

Standard
#inspiration, #spirituality

Trust

The foundation of every relationship is trust. Trust must be earned, and that takes time. Trusting someone else, as well as being trustworthy yourself is a high honor.

How do you know you can trust someone? We trust that the airline pilot knows how to fly the plane. We trust other drivers to obey the law. We give those types of trust without question.

So why don’t we trust God fully? I believe it’s partially because we humanize God. Not everyone we encounter has honest intentions. We can’t see God and that makes it even harder.

Here’s where faith intersects logic. We trust the promises of God, and we trust that He only wants good for our lives. Believe in Him, and when you are in doubt, talk to God. He’s always listening, and that’s a promise…

Standard
#inspiration, #spirituality

Biology

Biology is the study of life. In a way we are all biologists.

Spending time watching others and how they live is what many people do. We see the lives of celebrities and want to live the way they do. People observe their scripted, filtered, perfect-looking photo shoots and believe they must not have any problems in life. This is simply untrue.

Everyone faces challenges. Everyone. No one escapes difficulty on this side of eternity. This world is imperfect and always will be.

Find hope in your life. Don’t wish for the life of someone else. You were given this one opportunity to make a difference. You can make history. You might not get your name in lights, but you will be remembered by the One who matters. God is a biologist, too…

Standard
#inspiration, #spirituality

The Heart of Mankind

We see posts on Facebook and instagram encouraging us to “follow our hearts,” but that’s bad advice. The heart is deceptive. Therein lies the issue.

Our emotions are reflected by our hearts. Emotions can be tricky, wouldn’t you agree? Perhaps instead of following our feelings we pay attention to our instincts. Our instincts are there for a purpose. They give us pause when danger is near. Our instincts work for good, too.

I encourage you to work on your heart. Are you reacting or responding?

When you get your heart right, worthwhile actions follow…

Standard
#inspiration, #spirituality

Playing It Safe

Do you like criticism? I believe most of us would say no. But the only way to avoid criticism is to hide from the world.

Playing it safe might sound appealing. You never ruffle anyone’s feathers. But you never achieve anything, either.

In today’s world people get criticized for doing what’s right. Our world has turned upside down, and that’s not progress. But I say, stand up and speak up for goodness. You might get some pushback, but keep doing what’s good and right…

Standard
#inspiration

Leaps and Bounds

Progress is slow, sometimes painfully slow. Other times we grow by leaps and bounds. It’s never just one way or the other. Progress is a mixture of both.

I know this to be true: if you keep working on what you are trying to accomplish, you will succeed. Don’t give up when things go slowly. Your next breakthrough is just around the corner…

Standard
#inspiration, #spirituality

Originality

We are made in the image of God, the one who creates everything. We are given the gift of creativity which can, and should be used for good. We can lift others or bring them down.

I read that someone in Hollywood has plans to remake “The Wizard of Oz” and “It’s A Wonderful Life,” two great movies. They plan to make the stories about people of color. No problem here, but why bastardize these classic works of art? Create something new, something unique. Most of the storylines are the same common theme. Come up with your own story.

I encourage you to tap into your creative talents. The world is waiting…

Standard
#inspiration

Informed

It’s vital to keep informed about important events. It’s equally important to question who is giving you information, and whether or not they report accurately. We should not believe everything we hear.

In 1963, the Warren Commission was formed to investigate the assassination of President John Kennedy. After months of testimonies and interviews, the commission determined Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin and that he acted alone. What is interesting about the commission is, one of the investigators was Allen Dulles, the former CIA Director. Kennedy had fired Dulles after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and said he “wanted to break the CIA into a thousand splinters and throw them in the wind.” Does it sound like Dulles had a conflict of interest? He did, and it makes one wonder why he was on the commission. I’ll leave the reason up to you to investigate for yourself.

Question everything. And I mean everything…

Standard