Tag Archives: #hope

Spirituality

The Least

A few years ago I was interviewing a Pastor for my podcast. I was gently challenging him on religious rules, which he answered in the most eloquent way I had ever witnessed. Then he started talking about where the faith communities fail. His words stuck.

“We get ourselves cleaned up for church, sit in our favorite pews, praise the Lord and move on,” he said. “But we walk by the drug addict on the street corner, never inviting him in. We don’t want to get our hands dirty.” His words stuck.

It’s important to remember that in God’s eyes, the addict is as important as we are. He created us equally. When you connect your head to your heart on this, you begin to see your fellow man through a different, bigger lens.

God cares about everyone. We won’t give an accounting of our net worth or our zip code when we arrive in eternity. No. God will ask us what we did with what He gave us. Did we use our gifts or squander them? It’s something we all must consider.

There are a lot of hurting people in this world. Help them when you can. Perhaps a prayer is called for. Everyone can help someone…

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Spirituality

A Gentle Reminder

I have spent the first three days of this week speaking in prisons. This is some of the volunteer work I do, and it’s very fulfilling.

This week has been all about the inmates. Most are living with pain they keep inside, in the dark places. Sometimes they will start talking about their struggles. Opening up about painful memories is the first step toward healing. I’m always encouraged when this happens.

Today’s message is a gentle reminder to be kind to everyone. We don’t know what lies beneath the surface. And while you’re being kind to others, be kind to yourself as well…

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Spirituality

The Thinking Game

We live in a meme culture. People see a headline they love and share it as dictum without investigating it. There’s so much stuff thrown our way that no working person has time to check it all out.

God gave us the greatest gift when He gave us our brains. Filled with 86 billion neurons, each with the ability to fire hundreds of times per second, our brains are more powerful than a nuclear reactor. Yet we only use a small part of it.

Thinking has almost become a lost art form. From what I’ve read, many colleges and universities have been teaching students what to think rather than how to think. The results are a mindless society.

Parents are our children’s first teachers. Solid families with strong values are more likely to engage in constructive dialogue. Communication is part of thought.

When you see a meme that piques your interest, stop and ask yourself if it really makes sense. Then ask yourself a better question: does it matter?

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Spirituality

Convenience

When United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was six years old, he and his mom and sibling moved into his grandparents home. Little Clarence would sit in the bathroom for hours flushing the toilet. He was amazed by it. You see, up until this time he had never experienced indoor plumbing. He didn’t even have an outhouse. Only a creek behind the shanty where they lived.

Entire industries have been created by the desire for convenience, to make life easier. Think about it. There’s an “easy chair,” fast food and 7-11 convenience stores. Henry Ford didn’t invent the assembly line. He perfected it. I immediately embraced the technology of a Keurig, and I don’t know what I would do without it!

The convenient or easy way isn’t always the route to take. Forgiveness isn’t automatic. It takes time. Healing from past trauma takes a lot of work. There’s no easy path to being made whole again. But God has given us a way through.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it did get built. Your life is built on a foundation of either substance or quicksand. Choose wisely…

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Spirituality

The Spirit of Christmas

I have a friend, Bert Simon, who goes all out for Christmas. He puts up a ton of lights and has two Christmas trees. There’s nothing unusual about this except that Bert is Jewish. In his words, “Christmas is a positive holiday, and I’ll celebrate anything positive.”

Bert gets it. During the holidays, people are nicer. They come together in a spirit of unity and togetherness. It’s a beautiful thing to witness. I’m curious why it isn’t this way all year long. It can be.

Many of us are extremely fortunate. It’s important to remember those who have not experienced the blessings we have received. The homeless, inmates in prison, and those who have experienced loss aren’t feeling the same sense of joy as the rest of us. Everyone is equally important in the eyes of the Creator. God cares about the poor, the marginalized and those in prison.

I’m grateful for a lot of things, and I’m thankful to have Bert as a friend. I have never seen him without a big smile on his face. By his actions, he is bringing light into the world every day. We can, too…

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Spirituality

Are You Talking to Me?

Great communication is one of the foundations of relationships. You build trust when the words of people align with their actions.

How are you talking to yourself? We spend a lot of time inside our heads. Too much, sometimes. We must be honest with ourselves while, at the same time, forgive ourselves for the things we wish we hadn’t said or done. All of us make mistakes. That’s how we learn. These are useful lessons but we don’t need to drag ourselves through the mud and mire repeatedly.

Focus on the good you have done. Keep those moments in the forefront of your mind. Mistakes from the past are always stored in the subconscious. Acknowledge them but don’t dwell on them.

Remember that the road less traveled is not the easy road. There are potholes and curves along the way. Find it in yourself to keep going when everything inside of you wants to turn back. Just keep going no matter what happens…

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Spirituality

Works

Do you enjoy your life’s work? I believe it’s important that we have a fulfilling career, the kind you would do for free if you could.

God has given us work to do on this side of eternity. In many cases this is different from our career. This is where service and action meet. It’s an intersection you can avoid if you want to. Or you can dig in, get your hands dirty and serve others. The choice is always yours.

People are important. All people. In Austin where I live, there are panhandlers on every street corner. It’s impossible to know who has a legitimate need and who is conning people. I’ve had experience with both. I don’t give out money, but I will buy people a sandwich. You can, too, if you feel compelled. Only give if you feel moved to from the heart. Never give out of guilt.

We are in the season of giving. There are endless opportunities to help. In The Book of James we are reminded that “faith without works is dead.” God uses people to accomplish his will on earth.

Always stay in gratitude. If you have a few dollars in your pocket you are better off than 90% of the world. Focus on what you have, not what you lack…

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Spirituality

Echoes of the Past

Creating wonderful experiences with your friends and family turns into beautiful memories. They not only give us something to remember fondly, but we feel encouraged to create more of them.

Have you ever heard of triggers? Triggers are stimuli that cause a sudden, intense emotional reaction. The mind stores everything. Triggers are oftentimes a warning signal. The mind is trying to protect us from something even when we don’t understand what is going on.

The holidays can trigger me. From my observation there are many like me. Don’t misunderstand, I love the holidays but they evoke memories of disappointment. Perhaps the Christmas movies set a false expectation. On the other hand, those perfect holiday films give us something to strive for. We must keep believing.

I snap out of my funk by doing for others. Selecting thoughtful gifts for my children brings me great joy. I believe that when we are giving of ourselves we reflect the light of our Creator. Thinking of others removes our selfish nature.

Unresolved traumas can bring ugly echoes of the past. I encourage you to work through them. It’s not easy, but anything worthwhile never is. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, and you’ll get there…

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Spirituality

Curves

Farm-to-Market Road 1431 connects north Austin to a small town called Marble Falls. The drive is beautiful, filled with hills, curves and a lot of greenery. It’s hard to keep your eyes on the road because it’s so pretty.

Life itself has its own share of curves. Much of life can be routine, boring even, Then you have a curveball thrown at you. Something out of the ordinary disrupts your flow, sometimes causing great stress. We must be able to hit the curveballs, too.

My encouragement to you is to expect the unexpected. Don’t fear or dread the disruptions. Welcome them. See difficulties as opportunities to grow and learn.

Life on this side of eternity is going to have challenges. When you are going through a dark time, always remember that resilience is built in the hard times, not when things are easy. Just keep going no matter what happens…

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Spirituality

What’s Your Vision?

In the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the character Mr. Hand was described as “thinking everyone was on dope.” I have an acquaintance in real life who believes everyone is racist and bigoted. They aren’t, but this is the limited lens he sees the world through.

I’m not denying that racism and bigotry exist. They do and always will. Our world is broken on this side of eternity. But the evidence doesn’t support that racism and bigotry dominate our society. Most people are good. We cannot allow a minority of the population to distort our vision of others.

When you allow gratitude to dominate your thinking, the lens you see the world through expands. You look for the art and beauty in others and in your surroundings. It’s always been there, but now you notice.

We, as human beings, cannot change the heart of man. That job belongs to God. He is always working on us, and that includes the racist and bigoted. Let’s get out of God’s way. He doesn’t need my help!

Create the vision you want for your life. Believe in your vision and believe in yourself. Ask God to come along for the ride. Visualize something outrageous and audacious. Pray about it. Then get to work on making it happen…

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