Tag Archives: #hope

Spirituality

Doubting Thomas

Do you have doubts? Of course you do, and that is a loaded question. We doubt eyewitness accounts, the news (rightfully so), and we doubt ourselves. Defense attorneys try to establish reasonable doubt. This doesn’t mean we doubt everything.

A “doubting Thomas” is a skeptic who needs to see things for themselves before they believe it. That’s okay. It’s not a threat to your character to be doubted. It is a wise decision to be doubtful about what you hear on the news. They have a story to tell and they aren’t always concerned with the truth.

When you live your life with integrity and tell the truth, you will build a solid reputation. Then even the full-time doubters will believe you.

And there is one who never doubts you or your abilities. His name is God. Get to know Him and you won’t doubt Him, either…

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Spirituality

Going It Alone

All of us have changes to make in our lives. Perhaps we want to get up earlier, lose some weight, eliminate judgment or start reading more. What stops us? We stop ourselves.

Will power alone won’t do the trick. We need something more. Or perhaps we need someone to help us. God can and will help us. All we have to do is ask and believe. Pretty simple, huh? So why do we make it more difficult than it has to be?

Pride stands in the way. We have this warped belief that if we can’t change ourselves without outside intervention, we must be weak. Here’s some truth: when it comes to changing a habit that stops us from fulfilling our purpose, we are weak. We are battling an invisible enemy who is much more powerful than us. We need God’s intervention to win this fight.

Accept the things you can’t change by yourself. Ask for help. He will answer. That’s not my promise. That’s God’s promise…

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Spirituality

You Gotta Do It

I love inspiring stories. The underdog is the one I root for. Doing the work to get yourself through the rough times builds resilience, strength and confidence.

We find ourselves in the stories of those who came before us. We think, “if they made it, then maybe I can, too.” We have so many lives to study from history.

Write your own story. Keep a journal. Writing helps you sort your thoughts. In a way it simplifies life. As you live your life, you are creating your own history.

Keep on creating memories. The world is watching and learning…

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Spirituality

With Honor

We admire those who do the right things when others might be tempted to do wrong or take a shortcut. Those people handle their lives and decisions with honor and integrity. A lot of good happens in the dark, out of sight, too.

During most of Jesus’ time on earth, he didn’t call attention to himself. There are many miracles he performed, yet instructed the recipient to not tell anyone. He wasn’t trying to bring honor to himself. Weird, huh?

When your eyesight has been restored from a supernatural experience, human nature is to tell everyone by shouting it out! I probably would. In fact, I know I couldn’t keep quiet.

Every day we have decisions to make. We all make some left turns when we should have gone right. But hopefully we get more correct than incorrect. When we make a mistake, or we treat others wrong, make an apology unless it might cause more harm than good.

Handle your business quietly, and with honor. Allow God to guide you. He sees everything, including the heart of man…

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Spirituality

Performance Review

Everyone is accountable to someone. Even the president of a company has to answer to his or her Board of Directors. You can’t escape the responsibilities of life or work.

Who does God answer to? The shortest answer is no one. He’s in control of everything. So let’s examine how He has performed.

God tells the truth. Always. Check the box for honesty. God gets us out of the stupid messes we create. Adaptability? Check. God is with us during our worst times. He’s a compassionate God. He cares. God celebrates our victories. He’s not a selfish God. And God gave us a guidebook for how we should lead our lives. All we have to do is read it and apply it.

As human beings, we can fall into the trap of praying for something, but we don’t get the answer we want so we get frustrated. Or we don’t get an answer at all. Those are the times we give God a less than stellar review. And it is in these moments where trust and faith intersect. No matter what you are going through, always believe. He will come through. The supernatural realm works with a set of rules and circumstances that we cannot fully understand. Don’t give up.

From my observation, God gets a 100 on His Performance Review. Every single reporting period…

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Spirituality

The Power to Change

If someone is described as being graceful, it’s believed they show elegance and grace. That is quite the compliment!

Elegant people are stylish, beautiful even. But being full of grace can mean the person shows compassion in situations where some might respond in anger. Compassion is needed now like never before.

Our world is struggling. People are worried, living beyond their means and they are spending more time disengaging than meeting life head-on. This must change.

We need God and we need each other. We must take the time to encourage others. We must be honest, and we can encourage people without sacrificing our integrity.

If you are one of the struggling people, you aren’t alone. Reach out to your friends and family. Go do something for someone who can never repay you. Act, don’t just accept life as it comes to you.

You have the power to change the world. It begins with changing yourself…

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Spirituality

What’s Happening?

Life is busy. Theres work to do, phone calls and emails to return, kids activities, and sleep when you can get it. The treadmill slows down sometimes but never stops.

We have morphed into a society that says your value comes from being the busiest person around. Being busy doesn’t increase or decrease your worth. There is great value in being able to find some peace in your life. You aren’t required to be on the move all the time.

Contentment brings peace. When you take a moment to consider all the good in your life, you will find a different level of fulfillment. Instead of chasing, you are appreciating.

Make a commitment to turn the treadmill off for a period of time regularly. Find contentment in the quiet. The treadmill can always be restarted…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

Who Do You Love?

I have read multiple studies that say over 85% of adults in the United States don’t like themselves. They look in the mirror and want to turn away from their own image. This goes beyond just physical appearance.

Self-acceptance is something you must work on if this is a struggle for you. I’m not suggesting an inflated ego or false confidence. Merely accepting yourself and who you were created to be is a good first step.

The challenges life has thrown your way can become obstacles to a healthy self image. When you were a child, you couldn’t wait to make your mark on the world. Then life threw you some curves and perhaps you allowed them to shake your confidence.

No more. This is the dividing line of your life. There is nothing random about your life. You aren’t here as the result of a whimsical, careless Creator. There is a great purpose attached to your existence. Don’t quit until you find it. Then act on it.

You might have been knocked around in life. Most of us have been. But you are still in the game unless you decide you don’t want to be.

Keep going…

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Uncategorized

Vanished!

We clean our homes when we want the dust and dirt to be gone. Make it vanish, so to speak.

Magicians and illusionists cause things to disappear before our eyes. We do our best to figure out how they do it, but we aren’t successful in our efforts.

Why can’t we make bad things go away?? Sometimes things happen and we just can’t get our heads around why. Upon occasion, things occur because we made a regretful decision. There are no do overs in life.

Bad things and awful people won’t go away on their own. But we can get the process started…

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Spirituality

Clairvoyant

A clairvoyant is someone who claims to be able to predict future events. While there have been some people who have been successful at this, occasionally, their long term track record is suspect.

Charlatans have taken advantage of people ever since the beginning of time as we know it. I’m not talking about the prophets. They never missed the mark. I mean the palm readers and the people who hold seances. These types are using people.

If you want to know your future, here’s some bad news. You won’t. Think back ten years ago. Did your life change in ways you couldn’t have predicted? Of course it did. If our future was revealed to us by a supernatural force, we wouldn’t understand it.

God holds our futures in His hands. Let’s leave it to Him who already has everything figured out. God doesn’t need our help, nor does He share His plans with the clairvoyants…

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