A man once wrote of this experience. As a small town prepared to be flooded before the building of a large dam, a unique thing happened. In the months before the flooding, all improvements and repairs stopped! Why paint a house if it will be destroyed in a few months? As week by week the town deteriorated, the man offered this conclusion, “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.”

Hope is the picture of the future. Without that picture there is no confidence to move forward and certainly no power by which to live!

If you need hope today, you’ll find inspiring resources at LeslieMcNulty.com—you will find stories of people just like you discovering hope for everyday life!  http://bit.ly/1EEHSMX

Recently a leading global medical research institute listed these benefits attributed to positive thinking:

• Longer life expectancy
• Increased resistance to the common cold
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower risk of heart disease and related death
• Better overall psychological health
• Lower stress levels
• Better stress management and coping skills
• Increased physical well-being

These facts alone should enthuse you about the real life benefits of thinking positively. One positive thought can indeed cultivate the dream that is in your heart!  http://bit.ly/1FcdCOj

What is hope? Is it a feeling? A force? Or could it be something as simple as the picture of a bright future?  From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire, Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Though located near the more affluent areas of New York City, East Harlem is notorious for its violent crime rates and poor education.

Mr. Lang was asked to speak to 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would surely drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him.

Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. “Stay in school, and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you.” In that moment, their lives changed. For the first time they had HOPE. One student said, “I had something to look forward to. It was a golden feeling.” Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school!

For these young students, the promise of an education provided a picture of a new outcome for their lives! Instead of facing the harsh reality that they would spend their lives on the NYC streets, struggling like most of their friends, they now had opportunity to break their financial and educational barriers and to rise to a new future!  http://bit.ly/1cufu9O

One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window and saw a small girl being swept along in a rain-flooded drainage ditch. Blankenship knew that farther downstream the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road, and then emptied into the main channel.

Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the floundering child.  He hurled himself into the deep, churning water, and when he surfaced, was able to grasp her arm. They tumbled over and over until within about three feet of the deep drain, Ray’s free hand felt something—possibly a rock—protruding from the bank. He clung desperately as the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. “If I can just hang on until help comes,” he thought.  He did better than that.  By the time the fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock.

On April 12, 1989, Ray was awarded the Lifesaving Silver Medal by the US Coast Guard. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew…Ray can’t swim!

Lao Tzu said, “From caring comes courage.” I challenge you today, BE COURAGEOUS—put on the hero’s courage! What is the hero’s courage? It is knowing that you have the power to help someone else—and you have the power, or the courage to care. It is the fuel that makes a hero!

What does offering help to someone else provide? Does it provide a sense of personal fulfillment? Or perhaps a reminder that your situation may not be all that bad?

I often tell people that when you help someone else, you sense the presence of God helping people, and this in turn is a reminder that God will help you.  I recently received a letter from someone who took this to heart.  She said:

“Thank you for your message about helping somebody else when you’re going through personal problems. My younger brother is dying of brain cancer. For much of his life he has been homeless and battling alcoholism. My other sister was too drunk to properly care for him or even to talk to the hospital about his needs.  But, today I went on visitations for my sidewalk Sunday school and I was able to pray with a mom that has been fighting depression. Seeing the kids excited about Sunday school tomorrow brought me true joy. It’s so true when you’re going through something, reach out to somebody else and that’s where you find God’s strength.”

What giants are you facing in life today? Remember that as you get busy helping others, you will find the strength to defeat seemingly insurmountable problems.  Maya Angelou said, “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”

Remember, helpers need wisdom, strength and resource.  God promises an abundant supply for those who are willing to go the extra mile. The scripture says, “Give and it shall be given back to you, good measure pressed down and shaken together! With the same measure you give it shall be given back to you!”

Let’s get busy helping someone today. When you add great value to someone else’s life, you will recognize just how valuable you really are!

Scripture: Luke 6:38

Four things happen when I solve problems for others:

First, I recognize that I have the ability to provide solutions.

Second, this instills a confidence which inspires me to resolve my own difficulties.

Third, I recognize that I can believe in myself because there is someone greater that also believes in me.

Lastly, my victories often open doors of victory for others.

Remember, when facing personal difficulties, you have a teammate. So, don’t be self-centered about the problems that others face.  Gordon Hinckley said, “…the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves…if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”

Thinking is central to creativity! Our mentor, Dr. TL Osborn, famous missionary statesmen, instilled in my husband and I the importance of deliberate thought! Most people drift through life allowing others to think for them. Some people wake up in the morning and resolve to think for the day, yet others awake and decide to think for the week. But the REAL WINNERS in life resolve to think for a whole month and even dare to target innovative and inventive ideas.

If we do not anticipate change or the potential limitation found in daily routine, the normalcy of life can limit our creative thought! You might be faced with unanticipated problems or crisis scenarios. Creative thinking allows us to anticipate future problems, resolve existing crises, and develop new solutions for life!

In my “10 Ideas for Creativity” workbook, which I encourage you to download today, we explore concepts to stimulate creative thought.

Do you realize that you have God implanted creativity sensors? Fundamental to creative thought is an awareness of the 5 senses – smell, sight, touch, hearing and taste!  Stimulation of the 5 senses is a powerful tool in developing creative thought!

Did you know that the sense of smell is located in the part of the brain that effects emotions, memory and creativity? Aromas such as vanilla and cinnamon are known to stimulate creativity. A trip to the market could open up a world of creative thought for you today!

Do you recognize that color can promote feelings of creativity, enhance the power of focus or stimulate a sense of urgency? Color has significant meaning in religious and meditative thought.

What about sound? Are you aware that ambient music can improve creativity? According to the Journal of Consumer Research, ambient sound levels ranging from 50 to 70 decibels can increase creative productivity. These moderate sound levels stimulate the mind to activity. This is not an exercise in turn-up-the-music-as-loud-as-possible, but rather an exercise in creating a mood that will cause your thoughts to flow.

Have you tapped into the spiritual aspect of your creativity? I am not simply talking about an awareness that God gave you 5 senses, I am referring to divine empowerment by God!

God is a partner in our labor working things together for us. What a pleasure it is to trust in HIM, knowing that He is working behind the scenes on our behalf!

Change surrounds each one of us because of difficulties in this natural world. However, in this time of transition we use our faith and our passion to latch on to God’s will, and connect to the wealth that is available for transfer into the hands of those in the kingdom of God.

We are not down and defeated without hope or alternatives, but we are UP…expectant and dreaming of new possibilities in changing times!

Scripture: Romans 8:28