There are so many days I realize I could love better. If you are like me, you work hard to love the people in your life – family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and even someone you meet as you run errands. But we know deep down we need to grow in love – for God and for one another. We are aware that He loves perfectly; we can love better.
You’ve heard of wash ‘n’ wear. Those are the garments you throw in the washer, then the dryer, and even if you miss the dryer buzzer, they don’t wrinkle. You pull them out, put them on, and off you go! They look great. We like to think of ourselves as wash ‘n’ wear. But many days, it’s more like wear ‘n’ tear! We start a day as wash ‘n’ wear . . . and end up as wear ‘n’ tear.
If I asked you what your 3 most important keys are – what would you say? Maybe the keys to your house, your car, and your _____________ . (fill in the blank: safe, diary, yard barn, motorcycle, locked snack box, or ?)
These days, you don’t always use a metal key to get into locked places. There are new, super-cool, technology keys – like a key fob, access ID card, device password, dual authentication, retinal scan, DNA match, fingerprint access, etc. (No modern snack box locks that I’m aware of!)
Hope is a critical component to being vibrant and healthy. When hope wanes, everything cycles downward. You need to renew hope. Do you know how to renew hope? How is your hope doing today?
Did You Know Hope Can Erode?I’ll be transparent here. Sometimes my hope gets beat up a bit. I’m guessing you might have the same happen to your hope occasionally. Hope goes through an erosion process when you have to stand alone in some issue. Or when you have been plodding for a very long time and there is no end in sight. It may be a tragedy has invaded your life. Sometimes you feel helpless to hold things together and go forward. Have your resources run out? Is someone making your life really challenging? Perhaps a person has literally broken your heart. You need steps to renew hope. Read More …
Have you ever been stuck? You want to break free and make progress, but a helpless feeling pervades. Still, part of you knows there has to be an option to get unstuck. What a miserable place: feeling suspended, unable to maneuver, paralyzed to come up with a plan. Yet, in your heart, and with God’s help, you suspect you are able to get unstuck – somehow! You just don’t know how.
So many people struggle with this human condition. It affects everyone, from individuals who have no one to count on, to those who have suffered a terrible loss, to those who have been mistreated. However, loneliness also affects people who have a life partner, a dear friend, or a group they’ve been welcomed into. The condition of loneliness grabs hold of all hearts at some time or other.
Loneliness seems to have mushroomed during this pandemic. From the initial lock-downs to continued social distancing. Even just “masking” seems to interfere with connecting. It’s as if we can’t really “see” one another. Read More …
Everyone goes through a time of feeling, “I can’t see You, God. They may feel discouraged, tired, and even disillusioned. This world, in its fallen state, is a place where it’s not only possible to feel these things at some point. It’s very likely! The human spirit cries out – “Where are You, God? I’ve lost sight of You, and I need You.”
Have you ever been tempted to think you are no good? Less than? Not worth as much as someone else? Do you know who is planting those ideas in your head? Your enemy. And it just so happens your enemy is also God’s enemy. That puts you in good company. Did you know you can decide who is the voice in your head? If you choose to, you can side with God and hear His voice. After all, He IS on the right side – the winning side. The voice in your head doesn’t need to be the enemy. It can be Jesus.
Intentions! We all have them. Sometimes we keep them and sometimes we don’t. I have come to realize success in keeping intentions somewhat depends on how you define the word – “intention.”
I remember as a young adult thinking that somewhere along the way, I’d figure out how this life works. Several decades have passed. I figured some things out, but there is still so much I don’t know or understand – even more than when I was a young adult. Yet, I have learned to identify and go after some critical pieces I can manage to make life good.
