Motivation Quotation: “Isn’t it possible that tradition, custom, a comfortable rut, a familiar lifestyle, may keep us from the greatest thing life offers? And if so, isn’t custom a deadly drug, tranquilizing us, preventing changes that will be wholly for the good?” –Clement of Alexandria

Move Into Motivation: Those are good questions. Perhaps we are being held back from a better life by custom and tradition.

It is easy to settle into a routine both in our behaviors and in our thinking. Then routine stretches into habit and habit keeps us doing and thinking the same things over and over again, even if those thing are producing bad results for us.

We often forget to evaluate outcomes in our life. Are our thoughts and behaviors producing the results that we want in our life? If not, we can step outside our comfort zone — think new thoughts, do new things, and quit our self-destructive, pain producing attitudes and actions. We don’t have to allow custom to keep us doing and thinking what isn’t producing a joyous, hope-filled life.

There is a way for everyone to find peace, contentment, satisfaction, fulfillment, encouragement, gratitude, and good cheer. All we have to do is leave our ruts and search till we find the thoughts and behaviors that will produce those outcomes!

Sixteen-year-old Stehpanie Hoffmeier felt led to start a pro-life club in her school, but the Stafford County, VA school system refused to allow it. So she prayed, persisted, and even filed a lawsuit until her voice was heard. The school system changed its mind and allowed one of the first pro-life clubs in an American high school.

Stephanie said: “We just wanted the same rights as other clubs. It’s not a radical thing to expect equal treatment.” She said that the club has three purposes: ”To educate people about the biggest holocaust that is going on right here in the United States. To come together and pray to end abortion. To be a voice for my generation and a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

Stephanie sometimes wears a T-shirt that reads: “Some choices are Wrong.” Through her concern, courage, and commitment she has proven that one voice, young or old, can be heard, if we will only speak up.

The popular belief that all lifestyles are equal is an obvious falsehood. Take the lifestyle of alcohol and drug abuse for example. It produces intense emotional pain, broken homes, slavery to compulsion, criminal activity, moral collapse, and jail or prison time. Ask an addict and he or she will tell you that his lifestyle is far worse than a lifestyle of sobriety.

How about the lifestyle of adultery? Is it equal to the lifestyle of faithfulness to your spouse? Let me ask you this: Would you rather your spouse be faithful to you or would you rather he or she commit adultery whenever the whim comes to mind? Obviously these two lifestyle choices are not equal!

The myth that “all lifestyles are equal” has yanked the meaning out of two important words — repent and righteousness. Repent means “to change your lifestyle.” If all lifestyles are equal repentance becomes meaningless because people falsely believe that there is no need for them to change the way they are living.

Righteousness means “right living.” If all lifestyles are equal, then there is no such thing as right living.

You may choose to accept the misery making myth that ”all lifestyes are equal.” But wouldn’t it be better to work hard to repent of every wrongful thought, word, and behavior; and to strive daily to live right?

What Made A Cabin In The Woods?

An earthquake?
Rolling rocks?
A tornado?
Falling trees?
A volcano?
Extreme heat and cold?
A glacier?
Wild animals?
A fire?
A strong breeze over millions of years?
Of course not!
It is an obvious fact to everyone . . .
An intelligent being assembled the cabin.
Now look at life on Earth,
Infinitely more complex than a simple cabin.
How did it come to be?

Sometimes apathy appears awfully appealing. The ole prayer that says; “Bless us, Lord — us four and no more,” can sound rather comforting.

It is so easy to be apathetic — to ignore the needs, struggles, and hardships of others — while heartfelt caring can be such a burden. To read the paper or watch the local news with concern and compassion is heart-rending. There is so much pain and misery right here in our city.

But what can we do? Well, not much can be done behind the veil of apathy. We’ll just give a little and let the government and charities do what they do.

But what could happen if we would break through the ease of apathy and begin to attack the pain and misery in our city with all the zeal and effort of Kyle Vandenbosh charging an NFL quarterback? Mucho!