Who doesn’t love a good surprise? A movie with a twist ending. A birthday party with all of your loved ones.
A larger than expected tax refund. Selling your home in the first week for more than you were asking. Or the Grand Daddy of all surprises… “I’m pregnant!”
At the end of every year I create a list with the top 10 books I read and found most helpful. This post is always one of the most popular of the year.
We just finished the half-way point of 2016 and some of you have been asking for a sneak peak. Above is a picture of the 18 books I’ve read so far in 2016. Below you’ll find the books that I have really loved so far. Most of these will make it on my Top 10 List for 2016, but I have some other books in the cue that might bump one or two of these to the Honorable Mentions.
What if the bad thing which recently happened to you was really a good thing? What if that setback was really a set up for something better you can’t see yet?
What if the good thing that recently happened is actually the beginning of a nightmare? What if that step up is really a step back in every possible way?
When you think about the future are you scared or hopeful? Have you ever noticed how most movies about the future make it out to be a terrible place?
Madmax…we are all out of water in a world filled with violence. Terminator…our technology has turned on us and is trying to annihilate us. Even Disney got in on the doom and gloom with Wall-E…we have become an obese society living in outer space on a cruise ship because our planet is destroyed.
Everyone has great ideas. I bet you have some pretty inspiring goals and dreams you hope to accomplish one day.
The difficult part is not having a great goal or idea, it’s taking actual steps toward making it happen.
You have a default playlist that you listen to everyday. I’m not talking about rocking out to your favorite jam. I’m talking about what you say to yourself. Your internal dialogue.
The things you are saying to yourself every day are either reinforcing your negative outlook or are pushing you to become all that God has created you to be.
Chances are you are more creative than you give yourself credit for. In fact, most creative people I know don’t think they are creative. Could that be you?
I think we all have a little bit of creativity in us because we are made in the image of God, and God is creative! Just looking at the world around us shows us his love of diversity and beauty. We each live out that creativity differently. Some of us express it through song, art, cooking, writing, landscaping, sewing, fashion, business deals, problem solving, photography, decorating, designing…lots of ways.
Have you ever felt judged before? It’s the worst feeling in the world, especially when you feel like the crusader for morality doesn’t know the whole story.
My wife drives a suburban. It takes some backbone to admit that here in New York. I know some of you are already judging my family. 🙂 “How could you drive such an environmentally destructive vehicle? Don’t you care for God’s creation?”
Forgiveness is hard, but what if you are making it even harder than it has to be?
What if the way you’ve been practicing forgiveness is harmful to you and others?
What if all of the stress you have right now is a good thing? Or what if at the very least it is preparing you for something greater?
We often look at stressful situations as God being angry with us or we have somehow lost “favor” with God. Sometimes we even think our stress proves that God doesn’t care about us or isn’t paying attention. But what if that stress is actually God’s blessing?
