Tag Archives: #hope

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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Spirituality

Who’s The Boss?

Have you ever known a control freak? During the course of my life I have known several. They can be difficult personalities to be around, especially when you’re trying to collaborate as a team.

We live our lives, make plans, and we believe we have a good bit of control about what happens. And we take a lot for granted. But things don’t simply happen because of our efforts. We have a mostly silent partner!

Today’s reminder is that God is in control of everything. Literally everything. He even allows the bad things that happen in life. God doesn’t cause evil, but He does allow it to happen. And only God can bring good from bad, no matter how bad things are.

Take a moment to acknowledge and thank your silent partner during the day. Thank Him for the good, and thank Him for what you learned from the bad.

And remember, our silent partner is on our side. Always…

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Spirituality

Distress

At sea, an S. O. S. call is issued when imminent danger exists. It stands for “Save Our Souls.” Mayday is an internationally recognized call which signals a life-threatening emergency situation.

What are the signs you put out to let people know you are distressed? Perhaps you isolate yourself and keep others away so they don’t see you in your weakness. Maybe you throw yourself into a bottle, thinking that by numbing yourself out you won’t feel the pain.

The best way to handle the times you feel stressed and at your wits end is to reach out to your friends. Let them know what’s going on with you. There’s no shame in going through a dark period. Everyone has. You don’t have to do it alone.

I encourage you to go outward when you feel like going within. Human connection is vital for mental health. We are wired to be in community with others.

Never be afraid to be yourself when in the company of others. You aren’t alone…

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Spirituality

Late Admissions

It’s believed that people who are dying speak the truth. Their time has run out so there’s no reason to lie.

The first words recorded that Jesus said from the cross were, “Father. Forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” Forgive them? Up until this moment, Jesus had been pretty quiet during his sham trials. Now, exhausted, beaten into a bloody mess, and dying he asks God to forgive the ones who were killing him.

The words of Jesus apply today as well. We usually don’t know what we are doing. We wander through life, trying to make it work out and find some meaning while we’re at it. God gave us a guide, The Bible, but we must read it and apply what it says for it to work. And it helps to talk to God during the day, asking for guidance and help when we screw up!

Don’t wait until it’s too late to find why you’re here. It’s not to make a bunch of money, retire and die. No. There’s more. Much more.

Find it. Start with the guide God gave us. He won’t steer you wrong. Ever…

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Spirituality

Through The Lens of a Miracle

“There are only two ways to live your life: One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” -Albert Einstein

There are miracles all around us. We can get so caught up in the busyness of our lives that we miss so much. Consider that the earth revolves at a speed of around 1,000 miles per hour, yet we don’t get flung off of it. I would consider gravity to be one miracle we take for granted.

Everything from the leaves growing on trees to the laughter of a child are miracles. Our hearts beat 36 million beats per year without any effort from us. We can see, hear and breathe. And we have the power to speak, a gift that no other creature has.

I encourage you to let the artist in you come out. See the world and everything good in it as miracles. Slow your life down and expand your worldview…

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