When there is no reason, have hope.
"Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping..." Romans 4:8
Hope.
Such a powerful four letter word that can change the course of your life. Hope can change your mood, or make you smile. Hope keeps your heart healthy. Hope can encourage you and strengthen you to endure hardship. Actions of character are guided by hope. Hope is what faith is made of. It's the vital ingredient to a bright future.
When all hope seems lost, you can still have hope.
This issue is all about hope. Hope in danger. Hope in tragedy. Hope in sickness. Hope when all hope seems lost.
Real Positive Vibes is a ministry of Church Builders Bible Training Center. Our mission is to help each person discover God's vision for life, helping them find their passion and focus their purpose in God's kingdom. We do this by engaging, equipping, and empowering each person within discipleship groups and civic engagement opportunities to influence our community and society at large. To find out more, go to our website.
When You Need Support
If you have every felt alone, or like your prayers are not heard, this testimony is for you.
Anita of Arlington, Texas experiences God's goodness moving on the heart of people like never before in one of her hardest life challenges. Her story is so moving and compelling, it will renew your hope and faith.
Read what she had to say:
I'm so thankful for the goodness of God in my life. Thoughout this process, God has truly taken care of me.
This testimony begins even before I knew I needed surgery. Last October, I received a raise in pay. Unknowingly, I would need the extra income to pay the patient portion of my procedure. God knew and provided beforehand.
Further, I needed to take several weeks off work to recover from the procedure. This was a challenge because we were already shorthanded at work because of a recent resignation. Thus, I was concerned my absence would put undue stress on my boss. Not on God's watch. My boss and I were able to hire the people we were down which filled the gap for me to be out for recovery. We hired them one week out from the surgery.
Again, God provided beforehand. When I told my spiritual family I needed to have this major surgery, they came to my side with overwhelming support. My spiritual mom encouraged me to recover at her house and to take me to the procedure. I am single, so I also asked a couple of spiritual brothers to come and support me and they did. Here's the overflow of God's goodness. I asked maybe 3 to 4 people to come, but 13 were there to support and pray for me! I had to report for surgery at 5:45 AM and they all were there when I arrived. A host of family, both natural relatives; my mom, brothers and sister in law, and spiritual family came to my support. When I saw them at 5:45 AM, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and faith swelled up in me. As I was going down for anesthesia, doctors and nurses continued to come into my room and comment: "Is this your group outside? They are having church out there!" Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Africans all praying, worshipping, and telling of the goodness of God together. I'm still overwhelmed when I think about it. It was amazing.
I share my story for two reasons. First, it is for those of you who think you are alone. You are not. The God of the universe has people praying for you and supporting you more than you know. Second, I share to encourage you to look at your own story and ask for the Holy Spirit to show you God’s goodness in your own life. His goodness in my life may look different from His goodness in yours. Be empowered by the unique, tailor-made goodness of God in your life. His goodness is faithful, kind, and often times unpredictable. When you search for God's goodness in your life, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to reveal. Go and look. Be of good courage. Fear not. Trust God.
Compliments Increase Contentment
Sticks and stones can break bones, but words are actually more powerful. We know the damage of hurtful words. But, what about the benefits of compliments? Psychology proves authentic kind words promote kind reciprocity and increased productivity.
bbc.com
Words are Seeds
Seeds are amazing things. They come in all different sizes and shapes. No matter how small, each seed contains the genetic code it needs to reproduce after its kind. Trees come from seeds, fruits and vegetables come from seeds. Even babies come of a combination of an egg and a seed. Think about that.
Words are seeds too. As a farmer plants seeds in the ground for a food harvest, you plant words and actions in the hearts of your friends and family for a life harvest. Words are seeds, and actions are the fertilizers of seeds. Without being fully aware of it, you plant something every time we speak and reinforce your words every time you act.
What words are you planting? What actions are you using to fertilize your words?
In hope and faith, plant words and do actions based on the harvest you want to reap. A harvest of peace is reaped from peaceful words and peaceful actions. A harvest of thankfulness is reaped from words and actions of thankfulness. A harvest of love and kindness is reaped from words and actions of love and kindness.
“Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heart deep in a person’s life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer and watch what happens…Sowing seeds of peace is like sowing beans. You don’t know why it works; you just know it does. Seeds are planted, and topsoils of hurt are shoved away” (Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment, pg. 33).
Real Positive Vibes
Big Brother Love
At only six years old, Bridger Walker jumped in front of his younger sister taking the brutal attack of a german shepherd. His face was mauled sustaining serious, though not permanent injuries. A year later he still has scars, but he prefers they do not go away. He wants to remember what happened, it reminds him his sister is safe. When the incident first occurred a year ago, Bridger's mom posted it on social media. It went viral, including the cast of the Avengers shouting out the brave courageous act of the six-year-old.
The bravery of Bridger Walker will be remembered for a lifetime by his family. He is a real life hero.
people.com
Babies Saved From Death
The depths of the love of this father cannot be measured. He came home from a leisure walk from the store to find his house on fire with his twin 18-month old babies trapped in the house! Without hesitation, he leaped into the house, grabbed his sleeping babies, and rushed out the house seconds before the house caved in. His story of selfless love is no less than superheroic.
cnn.com
Giving Seniors Hope in Isolation
Even before pandemic shutdowns, seniors living in care facilities experienced the challenge of isolation resulting in declining hope and health. With the blessing of technology, virtual reality may be the answer.
By using VR headsets and programming them with virtual tours and travel sites, seniors are able to experience places they have never been before and may have never gotten the opportunity to see any other way.
"It gives me a reason to get up in the morning," one of the seniors experiencing the technology stated.
Giving hope to our older Americans through VR is using technology in one of the best ways possible.
today.com
A Heart To Serve
First responders need time off, too. That does not mean however that their hearts are off duty. 24/7/365 their hearts serve people. So when Leslie, an off-duty border patrol officer, saw a car crash with the car in flames, he rushed in to see if there were any injured persons. Finding the driver pinned in the car. He moved quickly to remove the driver from the car only seconds before an explosion engulfed it into flames.
mlive.com
Made Up Words
Take five minutes to learn some new words like "whatchanotgonnado" and more! Trust us, you need this.
youtu.be