Tag: hope

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motivation

The Most Important Career Advice

The most important career advice

What happens when rejection comes? If you go for an interview or try something new that you are not perfect at, how do you persist to the breakthrough and to success?

This Forbes article by Jack Kelly nails what most of us know but when negative feelings come, is so hard to put into practice. Push past the feelings and believe in yourself.

“When these things happen, you need to have hope. You must rewire your brain to think positively.”

Jack Kelly

It comes back to faith and hope. That’s easier said than done, isn’t it? When the past and present evidence seems stacked against you, it’s tempting to believe this slump will always be this way.

Five years ago, I needed to hear this. A business venture failed, A move to another state didn’t pan out. Just when I thought I found my niche in one state, we had to head back to another because my wife had a job that paid more and was a better fit for her. It was a very trying time as I attempted to find my place after living in three states in three years.

We tend to believe that the past dictates the future. It does not. Sure the emotional baggage is strong. We tend to see past misfortune as evidence. And the evidence is indisputable, right?

Wrong! The past happened. Your future hasn’t. It is just as likely your future is positive and full of blessing as it is to be negative and barren. Have the hope that your future will be brighter. And have the faith to take positive steps to make that hope a reality.

I eventually found work in what I had hoped for all the time. Today, I am so glad I held on. If you’re going through a tough time. Keep your hope and faith alive!

It will get you through those times when disappointment comes. Short-term, you may have setbacks. But long-term, you will make it through this!

Categories
motivation

The Difference Between Hope and Faith

Difference between Faith and Hope

I’ve often thought these two words were two aspects of the same concept. I thought it was redundant when I heard, “These three remain: faith, hope, and love.” It’s easy to tell the difference between hope and despair, but faith and hope?

Faith involves the past and present. It provokes action. Faith without works is dead, after all! If you really have faith in something or someone, you will take actions that prove your trust. Faith gives the courage to face tough circumstances. Someone is faithful because they trust what they put faith in will come through.

Hope looks to the future. When you put faith to work, hope allows you to see what will happen in the future. Hope feeds into faith. Zig Ziglar had a great quote about hope.

“When there is hope in the future, there is power in the present.”

Zig Ziglar

Faith and hope work together. Hope says change is possible. Faith says you can do something today to influence that hope and fulfill a vision.

May you be filled with hope and faith today. They make each day better and more powerful.

Categories
writing

Is there healing with COVID-19?

As I write this, it has been a year since everything went into lockdown. As a result, we began to realize a virus was going to dominate our lives for the rest of the year. We’ve heard quite a few stories of lives lost, families struggling with finances, and squabbles about how to bring a pandemic under control.

But I had the opportunity to interview a friend who went through a very nasty bout of COVID in December and January. It was published it in early March.

Through the Watches of the Night: A COVID-19 Testimony

It is both an article about the serious effects of this disease and an inspirational story about hope and a very special Christmas morning.

About the time this happened. A dear uncle and aunt of my wife had the disease. Our aunt didn’t make it. The uncle continues to deal with the devastating effects of this disease. It’s been a continual reminder to me that this virus is nothing to be trifled with.

Do miracles happen even today? Yes, they can happen even with COVID-19. Therefore, if someone you know, or you are struggling with this disease, keep fighting and keep hope alive. This scourge can be overcome.

However, I didn’t write this to downplay the severity of the pandemic. I know people are suffering. After all, my interviewee didn’t have a smooth ride through the ordeal. She was challenged like she never had been before. But she made it!

In conclusion, I had a Zoom call with her and her husband the other day. She continues to heal; she is on the mend. I pray that others that have faced the physical and financial challenges of COVID-19 will experience similar inspirational stories of miracles, hope, and recovery.

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Encouragement motivation

Can anything good come of 2020?

Cartoon of a guy with a calendar. He says to a woman, "This year looked so promising, until I realized I was looking at last year's calendar."

No matter how you slice it, 2020 was a rough year. We had two promising months in the beginning before we realized we were facing a global crisis. Can anything good come of such a trying year? Yes, it can!

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19 (KJV)

This verse reminds me that all is not lost. When it seems there is nothing but wilderness and desert, we can know that things will get better. Good things are coming.

If you are reading this, congratulations! You made it through 2020! A new year means there is potential for a new beginning. It’s fun for me to look back through my posts talking about a new year. Each one sounded hopeful. And yes, we have reasons to be hopeful. We’ve learned some important lessons about perseverance, patience, and about pivoting during trying circumstances. These lessons can be very good for us in the future.

Like you, I am glad to see 2020 in the rearview mirror. But let’s also look forward. We will see a way in the wilderness. We will see rivers form in the desert. This year was not wasted. It can set up for success in 2021.

Cartoon of a guy with a calendar. He says to a woman, "This year looked so promising, until I realized I was looking at last year's calendar."
Categories
motivation

I blew it this weekend…and you probably did too!

"I blew it this weekend...and you probably did too!"

This was a rough weekend. It was difficult to see the riots, the anger and hatred play out in the news. Cities were burning. Both sides were pointing fingers. In the midst of this are the warnings this could make the coronavirus pandemic worse because of the mass gatherings.

Racism is ugly. It can cause pain and death. I have to admit I don’t know much about what it feels like to be on the receiving end of racism, nor do I understand how hate can dominate one’s life. The issues are much too complex for simple solutions. It can give everyone a sense of hopelessness and despair.

I let it get to me.

You probably let it get to you as well. Who couldn’t? And yet, there were some things I had to be grateful for.

  • The weather was perfect where I live
  • I have the love of a beautiful, devoted wife
  • I am alive, healthy and active
  • I witnessed the first manned launch spaceflight from US soil in nine years

But this time, I didn’t count my blessings. I let the news get me down. I let the narrative of the news sour me. It was a mistake. But it was a mistake that I’m sure a lot of us made.

We cannot ignore the hurt and pain. Yet, we cannot let it put us in a place of hopelessness. How can anything be repaired if we believe it is hopeless?

As we start a new month and a new week, let’s pick up the pieces, count our blessings, and remember there is always something to be grateful for. Then let’s fix what we can. There are plenty of things to be fixed. But let us remember to give ourselves and others grace for the things we can’t fix.