John Harrell's Blog, page 50

Deceit

To deceive someone means you intentionally withhold information or you just plain lie to them. In today’s soft culture, we have replaced the word lie with the words untruth or disinformation. A lie is a lie. Don’t sugarcoat it.

We are living in a world where we must question everything. The news media makes more twists and turns than a pretzel factory assembly line. Politicians inflate the truth and create problems where there weren’t any. Over the course of my life I have learned that people will believe what they want to believe, whether it makes sense or not.

Let’s bring decency and unfiltered truth back into our society. People can handle the truth. It’s the lies and deceit that we have trouble with…

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend we commemorate Memorial Day in the United States. The true meaning behind this meaningful day gets overshadowed by sales and cookouts.

On Memorial Day we take time to remember those brave men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. Freedom is worth fighting for, and they made the ultimate sacrifice. They are true heroes and we honor them.

Take a moment this weekend and say a short prayer for the fallen and their families. They deserve our attention…

Cheating

To cheat is to “act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination.” Society has always looked down on cheaters, placing them in the same category as lying or stealing.

Some in today’s society look the other way when people cheat. Allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports is a prime example. Winning truly isn’t everything. Sports are a great teaching tool. Kids learn accountability, responsibility and love of their fellow teammates. By allowing this to happen, you are robbing the young women who worked hard and sacrificed of their ability to compete fairly against their peers. There is no rational explanation for the destruction of Title IX.

I hope common sense returns to culture. People who switch genders to unfairly compete have missed the whole point of sports and competition.

Okay. My rant is over. It’s time to get onto more important stuff…

People Magazine

People Magazine, The National Enquirer, Star Magazine and many others publish “in the know” stories about celebrities lives. Over 80 million people read People Magazine alone every month!

I have this theory that people who are bored with their own lives read about celebrities and sorta live vicariously through them. The truth is, celebrities are no different than us. They have to go to the grocery store, pay bills, and take the dog to the vet. Those mundane tasks aren’t newsworthy, though. Only their relationships and red carpet appearances get featured.

Make your life fascinating. Treat every moment as a miracle to be in awe of. Spend time serving others. Then you won’t have the time or desire to read about other people.

Your life matters. Always remember that…

Fortunate

I wake up every day believing I am the most fortunate man alive. Either I wake up in Texas or in Heaven. Either way I win!

If you are feeling down and out, take heart in what you already possess. You are reading this so you have the gift of sight along with a working mind. There’s two in the positive column! And those are big pluses.

Do you have food and a little money in your pocket? If your answer is yes, then you are better off than 95% of the world. Seriously. Many people wake up and are hungry, yet have no resources to satisfy their aching stomachs.

The simple truth is, if you can walk, talk, and think, then you can do. It’s the thinking and doing that stops most people.

Don’t be most people. Use your mind and get after it…

It’s Overwhelming. But Together We Can Make A Difference

Our world is facing many challenges. They are really overwhelming when you consider the scale of our problems. Hunger, mental health, illness, homelessness and many other societal issues are everywhere. What can we do?

It would be easy to just give up before even starting to tackle the problems. But giving up is not inside of us. We aren’t quitters. We have an inner desire to move the bar in the right direction.

When we combine our efforts we are making a difference. Together we are a force to be reckoned with. Even if it feels like the floodgates are open and we are swimming against the current, we keep going forward. People need us, and we must continue to meet the challenge.

We are serving more than just society. Jesus told us that “what we do for the least among us, we do for him.”

Let’s get started…

Everything Seen

Look around. Take in everything you see. Enjoy the colors, the sounds and the smells. Engaging the senses is refreshing, isn’t it.

We can get so caught up in our busyness that we miss much of life. Slow down just a little. Take time for others and take time for yourself.

The busyness of life will still be there when you return to it. You haven’t missed a single thing…

Strongholds

A stronghold is defined as “a place that has been fortified so as to protect it against attack.” Strongholds have spiritual significance, too.

Strongholds are mentioned dozens of times in the Bible. For this short blog, let’s look at our ways of thinking. If there is any area of your life that you need to rethink, please consider the following.

Paul encourages us to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” In other words, change our thought patterns. Any self-destructive behavior begins in the mind. When we act on our thoughts, a stronghold is established or fortified. Satan wants us to believe we can’t change our ways, but he is wrong. Way wrong. We aren’t able to break strongholds on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit which is inside of us to take over. Nothing can stand up to the Spirit.

We can change. I’ve seen alcoholics return to sanity. Miracles happen. Lives are restored. The power of God is unlimited and unstoppable when we align ourselves with Him. Jesus can break any stronghold in our lives. There is hope.

Light wins. Darkness ends…

If I Had A Superpower

When I was a child, I loved Superman comic books. I thought, how cool it would be to fly, have x-ray vision, and to be faster than a speeding bullet. Let’s not forget that Superman was built like a bodybuilder and he got all the girls!

Humans don’t get to have superpowers, but if we did, I would want mine to be the ability to take away people’s pain. It troubles me when I see people struggle or in deep pain and despair.

Fortunately, I don’t have that superpower. Pain is a tool which can bring growth and resilience. If I could take away pain, I would be denying others the ability to grow through the pain and become who they are.

Pain is part of everyone’s life. Don’t waste it by wishing it away. By getting through it, fighting through it, you are being prepared for something greater.

Keep going…

Underestimation

People like to brag. I have been one of those people in the past. Bragging or “one-upping” someone are prime displays of insecurity.

Confidence in yourself means you don’t have anything to prove. Your results speak for themselves. People notice because they are always watching.

When you receive a compliment, take it in stride and say thank you. Don’t allow it to inflate your ego or sense of self. Just keep doing the work!

Allow people to underestimate you. Set the expectations correctly, and then work to exceed their expectations.

Confidence is attractive. Ego is not…