Consider this

 How to stop discouragement before discouragement stops you.  

                   Generalizations are helpful because they show a pattern that is normally true. However, they are also dangerous because they ignore the exceptions to the rule.                  Here is my generalization:   It is a quality of the strong to be able to forget the past and move on.   The apostle Paul summarizes this idea when he states, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Too often, we trip over things that are behind us.   We remember and nurse old hurts.   We rehearse mistakes that no one else recalls.   In doing so, we pull the past into the present and allow it to dictate how we feel right now.   In these cases, we would be better off “forgett

                 During the Toast to the Bride at a wedding this past weekend, a gentleman stood up and said, “When I was young, Rhonda looked after me.   When I was a teenager, Rhonda looked after me.   Even today, Rhonda continues to look after me.   Here’s to Rhonda!”   Those simple words, delivered with heartfelt emotion, were the most memorable words of the night.   They perfectly captured the spirit of the bride because everyone in that room had experienced her caring nature.                We are inundated with so many meaningless words from social media and other sources that is easy to forget that words can have a huge impact.   I have a file folder that is stuffed full of notes, cards, and letters of encouragement.   I never look at them, but I have kept some of those pieces of paper for decades.   The words mattered so much to m

 Thinking about high school graduation speeches made me wonder, "What would I say at a spiritual graduation ceremony? What would help us move to the next level?" Here is what I came up with from John 21.  

 A short prayer with big results.