Tag Archives: #challenges

#inspiration, #spirituality

But Everyone is Doing It!

Peer pressure is huge when you are a child. Kids desperately want to “fit in” and be included in the group. This is especially true during the period when boys and girls bodies are changing, and teenage rebellion kicks in. Things might not be great at home, so kids go looking for acceptance elsewhere.

This carries over into adulthood, too. If you have ever worked in a team environment, there is usually one person who wants the others to see things their way. Unity isn’t always the best option. Thinking differently brings different results.

You were created as one unique individual. There is no one like you, and there never will be. Don’t be concerned about fitting in, especially if groupthink goes against your values and beliefs.

Make your life count. Use your unique gifts and talents to leave the world better than you found it…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Difficult Relationships

With the divorce rate of 50% for first marriages, someone isn’t getting along with someone else! But that’s not the difficult relationship I want to address today. I’m talking about my relationship with the unseen.

God doesn’t want more religion from me. He wants a relationship with me. It’s a challenge for me because of a variety of reasons. I can’t see God, yet when I talk to Him he listens. Every time. He has an interest in my life, but I’m not always aware of His presence. And there’s a lot of noise in the world which gets my attention. Man, is there a lot of noise.

God thought of us before the earth was formed. And there’s a great purpose attached to me being here. I wish He would just tell me what my purpose is and I would do it. Or would I?

Moses talked to God and said “you’ve got the wrong guy for the job!” Jonah ran the opposite direction God told him to go. What makes me any different?

My willingness to believe and trust will get me farther in life than I can get on my own. I’m willing…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Deceit

To deceive someone means you intentionally withhold information or you just plain lie to them. In today’s soft culture, we have replaced the word lie with the words untruth or disinformation. A lie is a lie. Don’t sugarcoat it.

We are living in a world where we must question everything. The news media makes more twists and turns than a pretzel factory assembly line. Politicians inflate the truth and create problems where there weren’t any. Over the course of my life I have learned that people will believe what they want to believe, whether it makes sense or not.

Let’s bring decency and unfiltered truth back into our society. People can handle the truth. It’s the lies and deceit that we have trouble with…

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#inspiration

Fortunate

I wake up every day believing I am the most fortunate man alive. Either I wake up in Texas or in Heaven. Either way I win!

If you are feeling down and out, take heart in what you already possess. You are reading this so you have the gift of sight along with a working mind. There’s two in the positive column! And those are big pluses.

Do you have food and a little money in your pocket? If your answer is yes, then you are better off than 95% of the world. Seriously. Many people wake up and are hungry, yet have no resources to satisfy their aching stomachs.

The simple truth is, if you can walk, talk, and think, then you can do. It’s the thinking and doing that stops most people.

Don’t be most people. Use your mind and get after it…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

It’s Overwhelming. But Together We Can Make A Difference

Our world is facing many challenges. They are really overwhelming when you consider the scale of our problems. Hunger, mental health, illness, homelessness and many other societal issues are everywhere. What can we do?

It would be easy to just give up before even starting to tackle the problems. But giving up is not inside of us. We aren’t quitters. We have an inner desire to move the bar in the right direction.

When we combine our efforts we are making a difference. Together we are a force to be reckoned with. Even if it feels like the floodgates are open and we are swimming against the current, we keep going forward. People need us, and we must continue to meet the challenge.

We are serving more than just society. Jesus told us that “what we do for the least among us, we do for him.”

Let’s get started…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Strongholds

A stronghold is defined as “a place that has been fortified so as to protect it against attack.” Strongholds have spiritual significance, too.

Strongholds are mentioned dozens of times in the Bible. For this short blog, let’s look at our ways of thinking. If there is any area of your life that you need to rethink, please consider the following.

Paul encourages us to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” In other words, change our thought patterns. Any self-destructive behavior begins in the mind. When we act on our thoughts, a stronghold is established or fortified. Satan wants us to believe we can’t change our ways, but he is wrong. Way wrong. We aren’t able to break strongholds on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit which is inside of us to take over. Nothing can stand up to the Spirit.

We can change. I’ve seen alcoholics return to sanity. Miracles happen. Lives are restored. The power of God is unlimited and unstoppable when we align ourselves with Him. Jesus can break any stronghold in our lives. There is hope.

Light wins. Darkness ends…

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#inspiration

It Begins

Many of our favorite movies involve adventure. Everything from “The Chronicles of Narnia” to “Indiana Jones” keeps us interested from the moment their venture into the unknown begins. We feel our hearts beat faster while we anticipate the next turn.

Life can be the same way. Every moment of every day is an unknown. You might even call it an adventure. Yet, many are living in fear of the future rather than feeling enthralled. The fact that we don’t know what’s around the corner should excite us, not paralyze us. It truly is our perspective.

Treat each moment as an opportunity to live, to really live. In the words of Willy Wonka, “The suspense is terrible. I hope it lasts…”

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#inspiration

Principles

Principles are defined as “a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.” For example, we have laws in the United States. If you disregard the law, you are held accountable. It doesn’t matter if you agree with it or not. The laws apply to all of us.

Our individual principles might be demonstrated through our ethical and moral behaviors. Telling the truth is a good way to live. If you always tell the truth, you don’t have to be concerned about what you told someone. If you are known to lie, people won’t trust you.

We live in an age where people regularly try to flout cultural norms. It’s perfectly fine to be counterculture as long as you aren’t breaking any laws.

Just be a good person…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Ask

What do you really want from life? Have you asked God for it?

This is everywhere in the Bible. Jesus himself told us that “whatever we ask for in prayer, believe you have already received it.” Faith is ignited by our belief. But remember, our motives must be pure, not selfish.

In The Book of James, the author reminds us that when we ask and don’t receive, it’s because we asked with the wrong motives.

There’s no ambiguity here. Proper motives aligned under God’s will have power. We just need to ask and keep asking. Does God need a reminder? Of course not. He wants to see how badly we want what we are asking for.

And if you are unsure, ask God to align your request under His will. He will take care of the rest…

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#inspiration

Twisted

Truth is truth. There’s no denying it. There is no “your truth” that stands out from the rest. We are living in an age where people twist the truth to fit their agenda.

Look at the pro-Hamas riots that are happening on college campuses and in cities. Here’s some truth for you: Hamas is an evil Iranian proxy whose own charter states that they stand for the “annihilation of every Jewish person worldwide.” You can’t twist that into something good.

Here’s another: The 1619 Project wants to rewrite United States history. History is what it was. Not all of it is pretty, but rewriting it is wrong.

If you want to know the untwisted truth, read…

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