Tag: hope

Categories
motivation

Who’s Going to Bring Good News?

Cartoon of a coach and teachers

There is no shortage of good news. Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of bad news either and media seems more and more enthusiastic about the latter. I’ve noticed more headlines that have this format: Such and such happened. Here’s why you should be terrified!

It doesn’t take much courage or imagination to find bad news. People will be more than glad to share theirs. The media loves to share the latest tragedy locally, nationally and internationally. It’s not hard to find. And it is easy to find someone that agrees with how bad things are.

It takes much more courage to share the good news… especially to preschoolers!

Cartoon of a coach and teachers

In the last two days, I’ve heard a lot of moaning, bemoaning, and groaning. I’ve heard that things aren’t the way they used to be, not will they ever be again.

It takes a lot to say, “Maybe things aren’t that great, but there is hope and there is faith.” It takes even more courage to say the obstacles and challenges are actually the way to a brighter, better future.

So who is going to bring good news? Do you have the courage to make a positive difference instead of chiming in with the prophets of doom choir?

The bad news is plentiful. Who needs to search for that? The good news is more precious than gold and sweeter than honey. It reminds me of Psalm 119. I think I’ll read up on that and take some good news!

Categories
motivation

Certainty Versus Infinity

Cartoon of two boys walking. One says, "Today at school I discovered there are an infinite number of ways to annoy a girl."

As a boy, I learned there were infinite ways to annoy a girl. Many times, my discovery would be purely unintentional.

One afternoon, I was riding the bus home from school. There was a girl in front of me with golden curls. At the time, my sister was too young to have curls that big. For some reason, I was fascinated by them. My second-grade, male mind had no idea the time it to create those perfect curls. I found them fascinating. I was like a moth to a flame.

Cartoon of two boys walking. One says, "Today at school I discovered there are an infinite number of ways to annoy a girl."

I found myself wanting to touch them as if I wanted to confirm they were real. I thought I could do so without her noticing. I was wrong! She turned around, glared at me, and scolded me for being so rude.

Part of me was crushed. I had no intention of pestering her. But the other part was satisfied with my scientific experiment. Yes, they were real. Those golden curls somehow defied gravity and spiraled into infinity, but they were real.

I like to think I live in a certain world. If I do A, B will naturally follow.

  • If I keep my head down and do my work, I will never get laid off
  • If I am a safe driver, I will never be in an accident
  • If I eat my veggies and exercise, I will be the first nearly immortal guy to compete with Methuselah.
  • If I am good and never do rude things like touch the golden curls of that third-grader on the bus, my life will go smoothly

The truth is, we have far less control than we would like to believe. Life is uncertain. There are infinite ways our lives could go today.

There are infinite ways our day can go wrong today. However, there are also infinite ways our day can go right today.

Instead of attempting to control everything, I will do my best to live a life of faith, hope, and love today. It may not make things any more certain, but it can allow me to trust that things will turn out all right no matter what curveball may come my way today.

Categories
holiday

First Sunday of Advent

Single lit Advent Candle
Cartoon of a boy rejoicing because Christmas is coming
Christmas is Coming! ©2006Kevin Spear

I love this time of year because the anticipation is building. True, yesterday, I lamented how Christmas music in some areas has been playing for a month. but this is where the excitement of Christmas becomes real.

This morning, I get to teach the lesson to our elementary kids at Salem church. We will start with the prophecies in Isaiah 9, 53 and Micah 5. In churches across the world, the first candle of Advent will be lit.

In the darkness, a single candle of hope begins. After a few days of Thanksgiving and gratitude for the present, we can focus on hope and anticipation for the future.

Categories
motivation

Fangs of Fear

Cartoon of a man with vampire fangs

I marvel at people who take pride in instilling fear in others. Some have black pickups trucks with skulls and threatening slogans. Others go out of their way to make it clear they are worthy of fear. They may yell, swear and are more than ready for a fight.

While I have yet to see someone have their teeth surgically altered with vampire fangs, I’ve heard such stories over the years of people altering their appearance in order to look threatening. It can be a power play. They may think, “If you fear me, I gain power and respect.”

If that is their thing, so be it. Halloween will give them plenty of options to do that, if even for one evening this week. Instilling fear in others may work for a while, but it isn’t a good long term solution. Fear wears off. It forces the one instilling fear to raise the stakes (poor choice of words for a vampire!). When people call their bluff, they have to be more scarier to get the same result.

It is much better to attain respect by being encouraging and showing kindness. Fear motivation makes everyone feel worse, including the one dishing it out. Motivation through hope, encouragment and faith goes much further and inspires others to greater heights. 

Cartoon of a man with vampire fangs
Categories
love

What is Love?

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:6-7

The kind of love the Apostle Paul talked about in 1 Corinthians 13 is in short supply but so needed in the world. It reminds me of a Burt Bacharach song. It’s the kind of love every person hopes they find, but can be so difficult to show to others.

It’s the kind of love that is the only hope for humanity. It takes humility and a higher power to give. Every time I feel selfish, disgruntled and entitled, I know I have fallen short and need a heaping dose of it to I can give it out once again.

It is why I will be in a house of worship this morning. Because I need to feel it in order to give it away.