As a young woman Mother Theresa, who was suffering from tuberculosis, heard the “call within the call” and knew she was to leave the convent in Calcutta and work with the poor living among them. With only 5 Rupees in her hand, she started a school in the slums to teach the children of the poor. Mother Theresa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and India’s highest Civilian Award, Bharat Ratnanow, set up nearly 570 homes for the poor in 125 countries.
Like Mother Theresa – ONE IDEA – ONE THOUGHT from God can bring significant change, not only to your life but to the lives of those you know in your community and in your nation!
When we are facing life’s deepest tragedies and our most serious personal problems, often the thing we need the most is to hear the voice of someone else who is asking for help! Have you heard that voice?
Ask yourself this question: Who needs help in my community? YOU can become a modern day missionary of Good News! You can overcome the hardships of life! You can rise above poverty like Mother Theresa who had only 5 Rupees and was sick with tuberculosis, yet made a better life for millions of people!
Scripture: Romans 10:15
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Quote: I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.
~Maya Angelou
Have you ever had the question arise in your heart of why something happened to you that you did not want or expect? Does God want our hearts to be broken or our energy diminished? No, He does not! He said that in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, He has overcome this world. It is clear that in this world circumstances and people can throw unexpected curve balls at you, but be of good cheer!
All that you are is NOT based on all that you have. Your value is based on the image God has of you as His righteous, holy, empowered son or daughter. The great apostle Paul went through shipwreck, near drowning, and two weeks of being tossed like a ball on the ocean before he was finally delivered and made it to land. You would think angels would have started a chorus of praise as their main man survived, but instead he gets a snake bite! What does he do? Should he get mad at God for adding insult to injury? No, He just shakes it off. He has places to go and people to meet!
Whatever happens to you, SHAKE IT OFF!
Scripture: John 16:33
What standard or values have you set for your life? Have you considered how unique you are? When you stop comparing yourself to others you can rise above average and become truly exceptional!
Remember, comparison limits your expression to what you have seen in others. Identifying YOUR uniqueness will allow you to shine with ease.
A life lived with dignity is not a life where we measure ourselves by the standard of others. A life of dignity is where we measure ourselves according to the values that we have set for ourselves. You may adopt the values of your faith, your family or your country. Choose a standard and live by it. Young people often determine to measure themselves by the value of the group around them and drift with the whims of the crowd. You were not created as a crowd! You were created unique! And to live with those unique qualities!
Your uniqueness can be as simple as the thing you love to do. No one is just like you! And no one is truly an enemy to your future except you! Dignity is the discovery that you have power to live your dreams not because of your parents, or education or even your possessions. Dignity is the realization that I have personal value today right where I am. I was created to experience greatness in life regardless of my station in life.
Right now, consider your own unique qualities and write down one of these qualities! Consider what door of opportunity this uniqueness could provide for you. You have been created for divine purpose! God is for you and NOT against you so I challenge you today to search out your dignity! Romans 8:31 http://bit.ly/1E0ePso
“Today, people have the means to live, but nothing to live for.” – Victor E. Frankl
Human dignity is an internal characteristic that allows us to draw an image of self not dependent upon what others say or what others do, but dependent upon an inner source of spiritual strength. Have you found this source of inner strength?
Victor Frankl connected with this strength, and in his mind found the true meaning of life. Yet, as many would observe, this spiritual strength comes from a living “God” connection with the true spiritual self. This “God” connection as some would say, has little to no meaning if the word “God” is meant to include everything or all things worshipped. But, this “God” source that penetrates throughout eternity has a name and a purpose: to restore humanity to the “true” dignity for which we were created.
Scripture: Psalm 8:4-6,9
Have you ever heard of the “Tall Poppy Syndrome”? Really, this just means that anytime anyone raises their head higher than others, they are cut down. Essentially, the purpose is to keep everyone running at the same pace.
God does not see you as a tall poppy, He sees you as a crown of splendor! Regardless of missed or failed opportunities, we can take courage and recognize that if God lifts your head no one can put it down! Today allow God to be the lifter of your head. Reach out and receive the true dignity He offers to those who call upon His name!
Scriptures: Isaiah 62:3, Psalm 3:3
Quote: “Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard
Martin Luther King said, “In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
Nothing is more deafening than silence when people turn an apathetic eye towards humanity. But you and I can make a difference in our world. Your actions count! Today let’s make a decision to help someone we know, someone trapped by tragedy, poverty or hopelessness without life.
APATHY is THE SUCCESS NEUTRALIZER, the inhibitor of dreams, the limiter of realization, and the thief of progress or life.
Apathy comes for many reasons – an expectation of failure, insensitivity to injustice, and a sense of helplessness. Where apathy exists we find low expectation because initiative is lost, inhibiting our relationships and our opportunity in life.
Ask yourself some simple questions: Where have I set the standard for my life? Is failure my expectation, or is overcoming the impossible where I set my goal in life?
Did you know that apathy has a song made famous by the American singer Doris Day? “Que Sera, Sera… whatever will be, will be…” You can kill motivation by surrendering your emotions, your will, and your expectation to a fatalistic philosophy of whatever, whenever, or whoever.
The Psalmist said, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God…”
Scripture: Psalm 42:11
At 11 years old, Kevin McNulty imagined himself playing on the tennis courts of WIMBLEDON. His dream sustained him through physical impairments, poverty and an environment where no one believed in him. All the ODDS were AGAINST HIM! Eventually Kevin won several university scholarships, became a junior’s tennis champion, captain of the university’s tennis team, and was recently recognized as one of the top 25 players in the 100 year history of the Michigan State University tennis program! Although he never played Wimbledon, HIS DREAM allowed him to soar to heights that no one believed he could reach!
Imagination is unique to humanity…to every individual who dares to dream!
Dare to Dream! Dare to soar with your imagination!
Quote: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” – Albert Einstein
How do you and I overcome apathy? First we have to understand it! What is apathy?
They observe but do not act.
They know but they do not care.
They hear but they do not respond.
They think of themselves rather than thinking of others.
Are YOU a part of the collective ‘THEY?’ Helen Keller said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings”.
How many destinies can be changed when you and I emerge from apathy to action? Consider it: wherever you are today, you and I have power to initiate change! It does not matter your sex, age, or culture!
Just as Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Helen Keller overcame apathetic concern for their causes, you and I can discover renewed hope and expectation! Why wait? Let’s do it now!
There are qualities in humans that override every obstacle faced in this earth. The key to overcoming is not perfection but perseverance.
Recently, I was profoundly impacted as I watched a video of the famous swimmer, Michael Phelps, in his quest for the new Olympic gold record. During the 7th race he was behind the Croatian swimmer the entire time, but a photo finish moment would determine his destiny. With 6 inches left to go, his opponent lifted his head and reached out for the wall. But Phelps kept his head down, allowing for one more stroke. Stretching his right hand out, he touched the wall 1\100 of a second before the hand of his opponent, and history was made. One extra stroke and that little extra stretch was the difference between victory and defeat!
Paul had this attitude as He reached for his best life. He said:
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me… I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which area head, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)
