Courage

You are not alone
You have a faithful few around you
Realize it or not
Few or minuscule
There are people in this world that only want your life to come to ruin
And your soul, to harm
But there are SOME people, people that you've never met, that you may never meet
That want good for you
That want you to succeed, to do well in your pursuits
And it sounds cheesy but it's gosh damn true
There is so much darkness that it's hard to see the good in people
But there is good
And I know it's hard to see
And I know that sometimes good people are few and far between
I know that the darkness, Satan's power, has corrupted the human race to a pitiful remnant of its former glory
But
Think
About the person that smiles when they check you out at Wal-Mart
Think about the friend who stops their homework to hear about your day
Or if you don't have that, if there is no one around you that seems to give a care about you or your life or your problems
Think about the teachers at Sandy Hook who DIED to save their students
There was no logical reason for their courage
There was only an undying human spirit that wanted to help, to continue those children's lives by sacrificing their own
That inspires me
To think that just PEOPLE
Catholic, Atheist, Baptist, CofC, Muslim, Buddhist
No matter their background
Have caring hearts and willing spirits
If it doesn't you, that's okay
But maybe it should make you reconsider your view of the human race
To know that, when it comes down to the wire, when "the tough gets going," some HUMAN will
ALWAYS
rise up
And fight for Life
It may not be obvious in your life, it's not always obvious in mine
But
There is a courage out there, that we mortals possess, that cannot be squashed
No power of evil, karma, spirits, demons, Satan, Mara, or even other people
Can keep each person on Earth from doing what is Right
In the moment of pain, of tragedy, of despair
There will always be a hero, unsung or lauded, that will rise up and Do
Do Right
In the face of whatever
I just hope I can do what I need to when the time comes
Courage is such a complex thought
But in its simplest form
Its a choice
To stand up and move forward in hope
Or to let the Earth keep unraveling itself
And fall into ruin
Keep your thoughts on track with this blog, I know there are a lot of cliches in it
I know it's been said before
I know that your current situation may be in total opposition to everything that I've just said
But if you ever want encouragement to stand up
If you want something to come back to later, when your crap stops happening
Think about the sacrifices that countless military men and women have made to keep you in your pajamas on a Saturday morning, watching cartoons and eating poptarts
Think about the sun going black when the Son of God went limp
Think about your parents giving up their freedom to have you
I don't know
But it seems to me that we were meant to live for So Much More
Do you have the courage to do it?
                                                                  Always Hope, Love Regardless, and Peace Out- JH
P.S. Listen to Hello Hurricane as well. It's good :)

Hope

I've always been in love with the idea of Hope
"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13)
I know it says Love is the greatest.
But Hope
Is among the three greatest
I just can't imagine anything having any purpose without Hope
You know what I mean?
In everything, there is Hope
In a basketball game, there is hope that the other team will have a flaw, that your own teammates will hit a fluke and play really good, that the ref will be on your side
And none of these things can be counted on, none can be mapped out
But all these things will make you play better, give you more purpose
There is hope in a business endeavor, that the CEO's hearing your idea will be having a good idea and that they will be kind, that they will see what you're trying to say, in the way that you're meaning to say it.
Now, again, none of these are really "scientific" things, none can really be expectations
But they give a light-heartedness, a sense of well being that preparation can never give
I think that is my favorite bit about Hope
There's no explanation for it, it just is
And, of course, it is made sweeter because it is not compulsory
It's voluntary
You don't HAVE to be hopeful
But as with anything else that is as potent, the option makes the choice sweeter yet more difficult to make
Take love
If Love was compulsory, and sometimes it it, it wouldn't exist
Love is intentionally looking past people's faults, ignoring their annoying factors and looking out for their UTTER well being, no matter what they or anyone else says
If it were forced, we would do it like robots, to check our names off a list
But it isn't
And that's why it is such a great force, so powerful a thing
Hope is like that
You can choose to look past today's rain-clouds to see tomorrow's sun
And no, it is not the same sun that rose today
It is always a new one, always different, ready to shine down on new circumstances, and a new day
Doesn't that just sound, great?
Hopeful?
You could say " John, you are way too optimistic. Life is a lot more grim than sunshine and butterflies. Grow up."
But I would reply this
Why, with all the obvious terror, fear and despair, roll around in the muck of the world?
Why focus on the terrible?
It's not changing
So why think about it?
Why not, instead of being "realistic" and worrying about things you cannot change, look at what could be?
And I'm not talking unrealistic, foolish, pipedreams that are never going to happen
But I'm talking
A promotion at work
A glance from your lover
A letter from your friend across the world
A skype call from your parents
An A on your heartfelt, but poorly defended final paper
None are certain
None can be planned
But they all can happen
And things like these happen all the time, to people all over the world, in all different walks of life and social statuses
And it's good
Hope is like God's gift to a hurting world
He may have banished us from His presence, because of our brokenness, and taken eternal life from us
But He left us Hope
In the form of Joshua Messiah
That's the literal Hebrew
Just a regular guy, albeit of divine birth, without special facial features or big biceps
Just a guy who Hoped
Hoped for his return to his father's side
And for the reunion, someday, between humans and his Dad
And with this life that he lived, the death that he died, and the resurrection that he achieved
He obtained Hope for all people to come after him
A Hope of rebirth, renewal, and an unending life in paradise in the presence of the All-Everything God and Father
So when life is getting you into a rut, when Satan is playing his cards real well in your life
Hope
:)
Simplicity is beautiful, aye?
Just think about tomorrow
And if tomorrow holds nothing, think about next week
or next month
You see what I mean?
It isn't easy
But, heck, it is so worth it :)

ALWAYS Hope, Love Regardless and Peace Out
                                                                                           JH