Announcing The Birth of an Upbeat Blog

In his latest book, “Chase The Lion”, Mark Batterson writes, “One word of encouragement has to potential to change a person’s perspective on life, a person’s plot line for all eternity.”

I couldn’t agree more!  And that’s what you can expect to find in every post on this blog… encouragement, motivation, inspiration.

There is more than enough gloom and doom in this world:

• Watch the news… “If it bleeds, it leads.”
• Listen to the side effects on medicine commercials… some of them sound worse than the condition they are designed to correct or cure.
• Ask the clerk at the local big box store how their day is going… “I get off in ??-minutes and maybe then things will be better.”

By the end of the day, you could be nearly depressed if you took in all that negativity with no remedy.  But I have a worldview that I believe offers hope and joy in the midst of chaos and confusion.  Therefore, on this blog I plan to offer it to you in daily doses.

Half-Empty or Half-Full?

You need to know that I am an eternal optimist.  And I’m an idealist.  As far as I am concerned, the glass is most certainly not half-empty.  And it is better than half-full. I’m just happy to have a glass.  And I am overjoyed that my glass has enough liquid in it to soothe my parched throat.

Lemons or Lemonade?

What kind of liquid does my glass have in it?  Lemonade, of course!  (I’m from the South, so I suppose it could be sweet tea. But for the purpose of this post, we’ll go with lemonade.)  Hey listen, life has surely dealt me a few lemons along the way.  And yet somehow, instead of seeing lemons, the Lord has helped me see myself being handed the primary ingredient for that delicious, refreshing southern drink which, with a little sugar and a lot of water, can be sipped with a smile while sitting on the front porch watching the sunset.

Sunglasses And The Smokies

Several years ago, my wife and I took a terrific fall vacation to the Smokies with my amazing in-laws.  I kept seeing all the beautiful colors of leaves that were undergoing their annual change from green to gorgeous.  Everything was so  vibrant.  And yet, the other three folks in the vehicle didn’t seem to be that impressed.

At one point, I took off my sunglasses and noticed things didn’t seem so brilliant and majestic to me.  That’s when it hit us all that the reason I was seeing the same sites so differently was because my sunglasses were tinted a certain way that caused all those leaves to look more beautiful to me than the naked eye.

So, you know what I did?  Instead of being discouraged that the views weren’t actually as stunning as I had envisioned, I simply put my sunglasses back on and enjoyed the rest of the trip immensely.

Blame It On My Mom

I mean, really, it’s all her fault.  She is the one who put me onto the likes of Robert H. Shuller, Chuck Swindoll and Max Lucado as a young person.  And while I was inspired by those early investors in my optimism, I’ve since discovered my own supply of positive input, but what my mom tried to point out to me early on is that we really can choose to have a positive outlook on life’s situations.

Could It Really Be A Choice?

I used to think that maybe it’s just because I’m a positive person… that maybe some of us are just blessed enough to be born with an “optimism gene.” But I’m pretty sure that assumption went out the door about a year ago after reading “The 4:8 Principle” by Tommy Newberry. (Side Note: I also recommend his online, video-driven 40-Day Joy Challenge.)  Apparently, it seems that God actually gives us the ability to choose how we view what happens to us in life and how we will respond.

Each day, we get to choose how we will think about our life.  I choose faith, joy, hope and encouragement.  It’s my desire through this blog to share some uplifting story, some inspiring thought, some crazy joke one of my kids told me, some ridiculously funny happening in my life or maybe just an encouraging quote to remind us that there are better days ahead…. that life is good and getting better.

Are You With Me?

So, here it is… the birth of my upbeat, uplifting, encouraging, motivational, inspiring, faith-building conversation with you.  Would you celebrate the birth of this blossoming blog by sharing your favorite positive, faith-filled, optimistic quote, or your quick story of how you are choosing to look at life through rose-colored glasses?

Thanks.  And I hope you’ll go on this journey with me… because we’re only going “Up” from here!