It doesn’t matter where you are in life today, you can move forward because life itself declares that potential always exists. God always loves you and believes in you, so love yourself! Believe in yourself and get started!

Jesus was born in a manger, but He did not stay there. You might have been born in a poor family in a poor neighborhood, with poor neighbors and a poor education, but you do not have to stay there! There is no one limiting you. You are not a prisoner of your past, your neighborhood, your status or lack of education.

When Christ comes to live in you there is a new power in operation. You no longer live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud: A new power is in operation!

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Even though you might be starting off in an obscure place, there is a place in the sun waiting for you! They said of Jesus, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” The answer is, Yes, the Savior of the world! A good thing is coming out of your city – YOU – because you and Jesus are a dynamic duo that can’t be defeated!

Scripture: Romans 8:2 (NKJV)

My husband, Kevin, shares his personal story on how he overcame adversity:

“When I was a young lad, an old Ford factory shift worker came to my grade school looking for boys who wanted to learn to play tennis. That idea jumped in me and I pursued it, despite having a bad case of pigeon-toed feet and starting the game with the racket in the wrong hand!

The coach made an instant determination that I would not make it. He devised a tournament to eliminate some of the boys whom he thought were hopeless and would not make the grade. I was scheduled to play the best player. I was facing immediate termination and it was assumed I would quietly disappear into the night.

However, the day before the tournament began, the star player was hit in the head by a baseball and knocked unconscious. The next day he couldn’t play, and I ended up winning the tournament, which turned the thinking of everyone upside down! Where they had seen no promise of success, they were now forced to acknowledge there was more than a promise of success!

That first tournament victory was followed by over 100 more! Those days of adversity prepared me for the challenges of today. I am confident that a living God can give an idea to every one of His chosen children, but it is critical what we do with it.

Follow your dream! Don’t let your pigeon-toed feet or lack of knowledge hinder your opportunity for victory!  “You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom.”

Scripture: Galatians 5:7-8 (NLT)

Have you ever been told you are not creative? Or has your creativity gone unrecognized? Take encouragement from these stories of people who persevered in the face of criticism and apathy:

Margaret Knight is remembered as “the female Edison.” She received 26 patents for a diversity of items such as a window frame and sash, machinery for cutting shoe soles, and even improvements to internal combustion engines! Her most significant patent was for machinery that would automatically fold and glue paper bags to create square bottoms, the results of which we still enjoy to this day. It is said that the workmen who were installing the equipment she invented refused her advice in the process because, “after all, what does a woman know about machines?”

In 1886 Josephine Cochran declared, “If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself!” She proceeded to do so, inventing the world’s first practical dish-cleaning dishwasher. She unveiled her invention at the 1893 World’s Fair, expecting the public to embrace it.  Unfortunately only the hotels and large restaurants were buying her ideas, and it was not until the 1950s that dishwashers became popular with the general public. Josephine Cochran’s machine was a hand-operated mechanical dishwasher, and she eventually founded a company to manufacture these washers. The company eventually became KitchenAid.

Marion Donovan was a young mother in the post-war baby boom era. She came from a family of inventors and had inherited their creativity. Unhappy with leaky, cloth diapers that had to be washed, she first invented the ‘Boater’, a plastic covering for cloth diapers she had made from a shower curtain.

A year later she carried her idea further, using disposable absorbent material and combining it with her Boater design. Marion Donovan had created the first disposable diaper.

Manufacturers were not interested in her design, saying her product would be too expensive to produce.  Unable to sell or license her diaper patent, Marion Donovan went into business for herself. A few years later, she was able to sell her company for $1 million.

Temperatures got to the upper 20’s recently in my hometown. As I looked out the window I could see a thick layer of frost on the grass outside my home.

These kind of temperatures and conditions are brutal on plant life and vegetation. However, bright little flowers line the front sidewalk of my home today, seemingly unaffected by the harshness of winter. Can you guess what they’re called? Pansies!

Pansies are one of very few flowers that can survive the harsh conditions of early winter. They can even stay alive buried under inches of snow. Which leads me to this thought-provoking question: Why, in America, do we associate the word ‘pansy’ with weakness and feebleness?

Armed with this knowledge about pansies, I think the next time someone calls me one I will say “Thank you” and take it as a compliment!  Get out there and don’t let the harshness of life get you down…be a pansy!

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season AND ITS LEAF DOES NOT WITHER; And in whatever he does, he prospers.   Psalm 1:1-3 (emphasis mine)

Scripture tells us that King David was not even considered by his family to be a prospect for anything other than being a shepherd. Yet the prophet Samuel chose him as the one whose destiny was to be King of Israel!

What did he do when he received this great announcement and anointing? He just went back to shepherding. The difference was that he now began to dream of himself as a king. The idea was birthed in his heart.

It was neither the prophet nor the dream that made David a king. It was the victory gained through the challenge of Goliath that put him on the path to kingship. Confronting this giant was a decision he had to make alone, but something within him rose up to move him to face Israel’s enemy. Again, where others only saw a young boy tending sheep, the Lord saw a mighty man leading Israel to greatness in the future!

Your challenges are your own, but God prepares you for them! What challenges are you facing today that you do not realize God has already equipped you to conquer? Search your heart, seize the moment, and be bold because of the Great One Who is within you!

Wesley Autrey, a 50-year-old construction worker and Navy veteran, was waiting for the downtown local train at 137th Street and Broadway in Manhattan.  It was lunchtime, and he was taking his two daughters, Syshe, 4, and Shuqui, 6, home before work.

Suddenly, a young man standing nearby collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing. Mr. Autrey and two women rushed to help.  The young man, Cameron Hollopeter, managed to get up, but then stumbled to the edge of the platform and fell onto the tracks between the two rails.

Within seconds the headlights of the No. 1 train could be seen approaching. Making a split second decision, Mr. Autrey leapt into the drainage trench on top of Mr. Hollopeter, pressing him down in a space roughly a foot deep.

The train’s brakes screeched but could not stop in time, and several cars rolled overhead within inches of Autrey’s blue knit hat, smudging it with grease. Mr. Autrey heard the onlooker’s screams. “We’re ok. down here,” he yelled, “but I’ve got two daughters up there. Let them know their father’s ok!”

Power to the tracks was cut, and crews worked quickly to get them out.  Mr. Hollopeter was taken to the hospital with only bumps and bruises, police saying it appeared that he had suffered a seizure.

Mr. Autrey refused medical help, because, he said, “nothing was wrong.” But he did visit Mr. Hollopeter in the hospital before heading to his night shift. “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help,” Mr. Autrey said. “I did what I felt was right.”

Act on your instinct to help! Don’t be a bystander in life when you can be a participator! You can find the courage to care and you can change your nation, your family and your life! Don’t ask what life can do for you, but rather ask, “What can I do to better the lives of others?”

Is pleasure the key to your happiness? As a child, one of my favorite experiences each fall was to go shopping for clothes! It was a special event. I grew up in a town of 1,100 people, so we had to drive to the city, spend the day shopping, and then we would eat at a restaurant! Wow!  We did this every school year, and it is one of the special yearly memories from my childhood.

Why? I was different as a child and choosing clothes made me feel special.  These clothes provided a confidence when everyone made fun of me for being so tall and lanky! I clearly recall each year as we headed out, Mother would say to me, “Leslie, as a child I only had one dress for school and church. Your father and I want you to have more than we did as children.”

Yet, more than shopping adventures and new clothes, my family gave me the meaning of life through a solid spiritual foundation—with a clear belief in God. They instilled in me a good education, a strong work ethic, and the importance of integrity. They guided my life with values by which I still live today!

I believe that without that spiritual foundation in my life, I would have been adrift in search of pleasure and happiness. Why? My generation, was (and still is) all about fast cars, big houses, high salaries, media toys and the right family! They are thrill seekers and money masters!

Face your problems head-on and employ these simple principles of problem-solving in order to cultivate the dream that is in your heart:

First, Get the Facts! Ask yourself the who, what, where, when and why questions. What is the problem? Where and when did it begin? Why? How can I find out more? And who cares about this situation?

Second, Be Open to New Ideas! Remove the phrase, “we don’t do it that way in our family, community or culture” from your vocabulary. Reprogram yourself—get someone else’s perspective. Get God’s perspective!  Do some simple research. It is likely that someone has solved your problem before!

Third, Employ Problem Solving Techniques!  Utilize the P.D.C.A Method – Plan: Identify and analyze the problem. “D,”Do: Develop and test a potential solution. “C,”Check: Measure how effective and how to improve your test solution. “A”, Act: Implement the improved solution.

Fourth, THINK! The importance of using your God-given brain cannot be over-emphasized. Regardless of your situation, God has empowered you to think! Divinely Inspired Ideas for Life is not just a catchy slogan. It is a principle I live by—and you can too!

Fifth, Be Proactive! Don’t spend your time reacting to problems. Reaction is the easiest emotional response! Power to prevail in life comes when we channel our emotions into true problem-solving. Harness your emotions! A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.  Seek God’s wisdom! “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you, for He is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask Him.

Scripture: James 1:5 (TLB)

Have you ever felt surrounded by chaos? Most people don’t realize that opposition, problems and chaos are often the seed bed for creativity! Why? Creativity flourishes when need arises and solutions are required.

Living in Russia in the early 90’s, I recall walking down the street and picking up a short piece of wire thinking, this is useful. I suddenly realized that someone else’s trash had become my potential solution. Lack had forced me to be constantly on the lookout for solutions, and that little piece of wire actually solved a minor plumbing problem we had!

What is a problem? It’s simply the difference between present and future. It is the gap between what you have and what you want.  Renowned psychiatrist Theodore Rubin said, “The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.”

How do we find true pleasure? In abundant possessions? From external factors? Or could there be something deeper that guides us to a true sense of pleasure in life? The ancient Proverb says, Happy is the person who finds wisdom and understanding. For its gain and profit is better than from silver or fine gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies: and nothing you can desire can compare. Long life is in her right hand; and in her left hand, riches and honor.

What is wisdom? It is the ability to see the end of a thing from the beginning. Wisdom provides answers, it does not simply provoke questions!  Wisdom is the ability to be a problem solver and not simply be one who is overcome by problems.

Scripture: Proverbs 3:13-16 (paraphrased)