Tag Archives: #hope

#inspiration

Necessities

Basic needs are food, clothing and shelter, right? If we have those we are set. But there’s something else we need: other people.

It’s easy to get caught up in chasing status and stuff. The greedy side of us says if one’s good, then two is better and three is best. Yet we ignore our relationships in our driven pursuit of materialism.

Let’s slow down and take inventory of the good people God has placed in our lives. They are there for a purpose, and the good people aren’t there to help us acquire more stuff. They are in our lives to fulfill a need…

Standard
#inspiration

Awaken

This morning I have the privilege of speaking with a group of high school students about how to create safer, better connected schools. But first, allow me to awaken you to some chilling statistics.

Over 160,000 students skip school every day for fear of being bullied. 840,000 teenagers skip school at least once per month for fear of their own safety. The percentage of high school students who said they often felt lonely increased from 26% in 2012 to 39% in 2017. And finally, 100,000 kids carry a gun to school every day.

Rachel’s Challenge creates safer, better connected schools. The organization receives hundreds of messages from kids every year saying, “I was going to kill myself until I heard Rachel’s story. Thank you.”

We can change this, if we are willing. Let’s be willing…

Standard
#inspiration

Faithfulness

It’s easy to have faith when things are going well in our lives. But how strong is our faith when the shit hits the fan? I’m guessing that for most of us our faith gets shaken.

Jesus told the disciples their faith would be shaken, and it was. I believe Jesus was saying that message for our benefit, too. It’s hard to believe when it seems that life is falling apart. We are humans, and all we can see is this side of eternity. But there’s more to the story.

Worry is a sign that we don’t believe that God is in control, nor do we believe He can fix our situation. He can, and He does. Just believe…

Standard
#inspiration

The Limelight

We experience great, even phenomenal performances by gifted athletes, musicians, actors and speakers. Their God-given talents appear to be effortless.

Behind every great performance lies hours and hours of preparation. Many lonely times and frustrating setbacks are part of their journey. Yet they press on.

Everything we see in the limelight was prepared in the dark, sometimes in the darkest of times…

Standard
#inspiration

Painful

Pain is a tool, and pain has a purpose. No one escapes life on this side of eternity without experiencing pain.

Oftentimes we hide our pain from the world. We want everyone to believe we “have it all together.” But when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and openly share what we are going through, it creates intimacy with others. Our challenges in life can be used to encourage and inspire others.

So whatever you are experiencing or have experienced in the past, let go of your pride and share it with the world. You never know who you might help…

Standard
#inspiration

Reach Out

The pandemic shredded mental health. People’s lives have been altered in ways no one could have predicted. Anxiety, which was already high, is soaring.

We need human connection. People need to be seen and heard. Take the lead and reach out to your friends, family and acquaintances. They will feel appreciated and valued, and you will benefit as well.

Be the one…

Standard