Deborah Spooner
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So...

finals.

Yeah.

It's pretty stressful for us students.
That pressure... well, maybe you've resorted to screaming as those late nights just keep turning into early mornings, gotten lost in your sea of notes, or maybe even tearfully considered moving to a different country and starting life over again.
Reality can seem pretty harsh.
Something good still remains for us, though; we have hope because we still have Jesus, and God's word can offer us more hope during this intense time.

Here's three things that you should know about finals' week:

1.  Don't ask why; ask why not. 
"...and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith..." (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Why am I doing this?  Is all my effort even worth it?  Why is it so hard? 
Sometimes, these questions can be helpful. At other times, they're just not.  They can get us focused on all the negatives.
Instead of asking why we have to keep going, maybe we should ask why not? 
Why not throw your heart into this thing?  Why not see it as a challenge you get to rise to? 
Why not see it as an opportunity to see Him more?
The reason that should be driving what we do, anyhow, is centered on Him - centered on knowing Jesus more and making Him known through whatever He puts in our path.
This is obviously part of His plan right now; what more motivation should we need?

2. Look up.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." (Hebrews 12:1).

It looks like those receiving the letter of Hebrews needed a little inspiration, too.  They need to throw off sin and to persevere, yet what is given as an impetus for them to do this?  
The cloud of witnesses.
Other people had gone before them, and the example of those before could give inspiration.
Maybe we need to get and give inspiration, too - especially when we are feeling terrible.
First, we need to look to who we want to become. 
I've heard it said that when the going gets tough, we should look at where we want to go.  That can be great, but maybe that seems a little too far off, sometimes.  Maybe we should focus more on who we want to become because that will enable us to get where we want to go.  Gain inspiration from looking at the lives of people who model what you want to become.
Second, we need to look to what we can do for others.
Maybe we can provide the inspiration someone needs today.  We can give the smile, provide the laugh, or simply just do the being of life with someone.
That could be the pick-me up they need, and so often I've found it gives the pick me up I need myself.

3. Hey, it's not gotten bloody.
"Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.  In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood" (Hebrews 12:3-4).

Finals could be making it feel like life's going pretty badly.
Our sin of {ahem, occasional} laziness is a struggle.
Our sin of {ahem, also occasional} anger can feel like a never ending war.
Things haven't really gotten that bad, though.
We are still "suffering" - as we so often seem to treat it - under the "burden" of so much education.
Shouldn't we view this as being privileged to have such a gift of learning that so many people have fought and sacrificed to have?
There are so many harder things we could be doing - running for our lives because our nation is war-torn, being present as an underground church service is invaded, or living a life of forced human-trafficking, to name a few.
Ultimately, our sacrifices for our education - sacrifices of free time, other activities, etc - haven't brought us to the place of shedding blood.
Jesus did that for us. 
That alone should give us reason to be thankful no matter how terrible finals' week is seeming.

So...

Hang in there champ.
It will all be over before you know it,
and - really - maybe it's not as bad as it seems sometimes.

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining




 When’s the last time you stopped doing and thought about being - thought about being with?

We’re all with a lot of the time.

We’re with family, with friends, with co-workers, with schoolwork, or we’re surrounded with people, with images, with thoughts, with feelings, with ideas.

We can get so caught up in doing that we forget how to do the being; we forget to look around us.  We forget to see who and what we are with and how that’s influencing us.

We communicate with our family because that’s just what we’re supposed to do, yet how often do we think about enjoying being with them?

We do our school or go to work because we need to do it, but do we think of how we’re influenced by what we’re being surrounded with – the lyrics in the restaurant or that overheard conversation?

What about God?

My pastor posed an interesting question this last Sunday: “Are we so caught up in doing for God that we forget to be with God?”

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

“…to walk humbly with your God”  Yes, our God wants us to do right things.  He wants us to love kindness.  He just doesn’t want us to do those actions, though; He wants a walk with us.

Let it sink in.
God doesn’t just want what we do; He wants to be with us.

The God of the Universe loves us enough to not only want our holiness, but to want our heart; He wants to walk with us through life.

If we choose to walk with God, are we going to benefit?

“… with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26, emphasis added).

When we choose to come to God, listen to Him, and seek Him, we are going to have benefits!  Anything is possible for the Lord, and walking with Him shows us new possibilities.  We’ll see new opportunities.  We’ll see opportunities to love; maybe we’ll see that our mom just needs a hug.  We’ll see opportunities to help people; maybe our brother needs someone to challenge him to become who he can be.  When we are walking with God, He’s not only going to show us what other things are possible for us to do with our lives, but He will, also, make things that seemed impossible become possible.

If we don’t choose to walk with God, who else might we be walking with and what does that mean for our lives?
  
“… don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?  Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4, emphasis added).

Being friends with the world means that we’ve got enmity against God.  Enmity is “the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.”  When you find yourself forsaking God and pursuing the world, stop and ask yourself this question: do I want to be opposed to the Almighty?  We can learn even from this verse’s specific phrasing: we are the ones who actively choose to be a friend with the world.  With this choice are going to come consequences; we become enemies of God.  I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be an enemy of the Creator.

Ultimately, here’s what it comes down to: Who are you going to choose to be with?

Who you’re choosing to be with is going to affect who you are.
Who you are is going to affect what you do.
What you do is going to affect what kind of life you have.

If you choose to walk with God by seeking Him and obeying His word, new possibilities are going to be found and impossibilities are going to become possible.

If you choose to be friends with the world, you’re going to be God’s enemy.


Choose wisely.

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining

It all started when a too full environmental science class
led me to register for none other than... Ethics.

I'm not sure if you've taken an ethics class, but I have a tip:
don't take it in as your fifth of four college course in your first semester of collegiate work at age sixteen.
This, my friends, is not recommended
but is precisely where I found myself a few weeks ago.

The class intros clued me in; out of the sixteen participates, I am the youngest by two years to one guy, and younger than the rest by basically 7+ years.

Yeah.

I'm determined to step up and conquer this challenge (so far so good!), but one response to a discussion forum regarding moral relativism made the discussion real as it ventured deeper than others had dared.

The other posts still in my mind, this one pushed some thoughts to the forefront of my brain:

People make sweeping claims and do not back up them up.
People function from assumptions they've never analyzed before.
People don't often put themselves in the shoes of "the other side" of what they're considering.
Sometimes, I wonder if people are even capable of reading the question and actually answering according to what the question asks.

I wonder this because I can see it in myself, too.

How do we make issues get real?
How do we express our opinions with grace?
Should we even try to think more deeply?

Here's some lessons I'm learning from this class that's so good for me it hurts.

1.  Do not be afraid to disagree (and don't be timid about it).

You have a unique brain.
Your brain thinks in a unique way.
People need these thoughts in your brain because they are not exactly like anyone else's.
Use your brain, then.  Really think about issues, but if you disagree, don't sugar coat it and be all insecure.  Say what you mean and mean what you say - even if it's not what others are saying.  Be firm in your convictions, yet a truth seeker who is willing to hear others and willing to change if different truth become apparent.
World changers, though, weren't afraid to speak up as they fought against the current.

2.  Do not be afraid of being different.

You've got something to say, and maybe your thoughts seem to be going to places that people don't even know are there to explore.  Maybe being different means you are going to write little longer, talk a little more, or ask different questions.  Maybe you are going to use longer words and have sentences that are jam-packed with information.
Sometimes, you just. gotta. do. it.
So be different in your writing - write what's on your heart in the way that's on your heart to write it.  Speak what's nagging at your mind to whom you know it needs to be spoken. 
Cause I think the world could use a little more of different. 

3. For the sake of everybody, please just use your brain!

This has been hitting me in the face lately:
my concentration has gone out of the window.
I mean, Twitter gives you 140 characters and sometimes that feels like the length of my attention span.
Tests require more than a 140 character brain.  Conversations require more than a quick check in and check out whenever you feel like it.
Life requires us to show up for more than a 140 character window,
but it's up to us whether we are going to engage or not.
Amazing things can happen if we really use our brains and engage with the problems that are around us if we'll only look,
so why not do it?

Here's to not being afraid to speak what's on our hearts...
for the sake of others.
© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining



I want to
get out and see the world.
I want to
experience what it's like to get lost in a big city and
lose track of time on spontaneous adventures.
I want to
feel the excitement and exhilarating frustration
of stepping on ground where few people step and
of entering lands where the melodic words are foreign to my ears.

I want to
feel people's pain,
hear their stories,
see the mud caked on their feet that's reflecting the mud caked on their soul from living.
I want to
hear how people think,
see how they face adversary and rise to moral dilemmas.
I want to see people
become something
they didn't know they could be 
as they create something
that wasn't before.

I want to see the sunrise and feel the ocean at my feet
as I dance all my days and sing through the stormy nights.
I want to
run faster
than I knew I could,
sing louder
than what's allowed
and be the change in the places where people don't even know it's needed.

I want to be immersed in life,
for Christ is my goal, my strength, my purpose, my fuel.

for now
i need to be diligent until
more of that is realized
as character is built
and tested before
the fulfillment
of dreams



© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining

Hello there!

A few months ago, I submitted a blog post that I'd written here on HopeShining to "The Rebelution" - a blog started by Alex and Brett Harris, the authors of "Do Hard Things."  Well, I heard back from Brett and was blessed to be asked to regularly contribute to the Rebelution Blog.  I am so excited to be a part of what God is doing through their blog!  Their site really is an incredible place to be challenged and encouraged, and it is specifically geared towards young people (which I really love!) although it is definitely applicable to many different people at many different ages.

Earlier this month an article I originally posted here (<<<click that word "here" to see the original post) was posted on their site.  You can see it - "3 Things You Should Know: From One Teenager to Another" - on The Rebelution by clicking here!

In August my first article was published on their blog.  You can see the original Hope Shining post by clicking here.  To see it - "College Applications: If God is For Us, Who Can Be Against" - on The Rebelution Blog, click here!

Please keep the readers of The Rebelution in your prayers; it is such a birthplace of amazing works for the Kingdom! 

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining

Photo credit to Sarah Helen Photography and Design


Have you ever wondered if you're just missing God's plan?
The frantic hope that you are doing right-
The incessant trying, trying to do right to find right to be right to have right to want right-
I've been there. (Actually, I am there now).
It's a mess, right?

Have you questioned whether you're making the right decisions about... well,  basically anything?
The nagging guilt that you should be doing something else-
The constant worry that you are messing something up big time-
The hatred toward your weakness as, even though you're not exactly sure what right always looks like, you know what your doing for sure isn't even related (nope, not even a second cousin twice removed).
I've been there.  (Actually, I am there now).

The trying.
The self-put pressure.
The exhaustion.
The dread of having to try to do it all right another day-
The dread of knowing that you should stop your crazy trying to do it right 
And trying your hardest to try to stop trying.

Yeah.
Not so good. 

I have one word for you, reader, on the other side of this screen here where my fingers, tired after another day of trying, type on this teal-silicone covered keyboard:

doubt.

We're fearing - fearing that we're messing up, fearing that we shouldn't be fearing but fearing that we actually are.  We fear that we are weak and that we'll never be strong.  We fear that we'll always be striving and never arriving.  We fear that we will only fall and be incapable of getting up.  We fear that we are missing where we are supposed to be walking in the first place.

What is that fear?

It's a doubting - a doubting that God really is who He said He is and that He. is. enough.

He says that there is just no fear in love and that perfect love drives that fear straight outta here (1 John 4:18).  
Our weakness is actually beautiful, for He says that when we are weak, (oh yeah!), then, we are strong because His power is made perfect in that weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Where does this strength come from, anyway?  From Him who gives us all the strength we need (Philippians 4:13).

Maybe what's really at the root of our issues, of our trying, of our fear is this:

We need more of Jesus.

Maybe it's not more full-force trying in our own strength that we need;
maybe we really need more of falling into His faithful arms even as we fail.  

For He. is. God.

 Maybe we should be still and remember that more often (Psalm 46:10).

Maybe we need less of the details and more of Him.

Maybe we need to have more faith - faith not only in the promises God has for us but faith in who He Himself is.

He is faithful (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
He is a Might Warrior (Zephaniah 3:17).
He is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24).
He is unchangeable (Numbers 23:19).

What more could we need?

Just give us more of Jesus.

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining



I once knew a dream chaser.
There was no mountain that was too high to climb. 
There was no valley that didn't hold within it the spark of light. 
There was no storm that wouldn't let the rain touch her face and wash her soul. 

The was no dream she would not dream, 
and there was not a space she went that did not see dreams become a little more of reality. 

But dreams get buried, sometimes. 
Dreams get loaded down with fear that suffocates the life from us.
Dreams drown in doubt that takes the ignitable spark straight out of our eyes.

Reality is hostile to our dreams. 
Maybe that's because our dreams are hostile to reality. 

Dreams won't let the past not give fuel for the future. 
Dreams won't let the present not be the stage for change. 
Dreams won't let the current reality remain for the future, even when reality wished we only dreamed in our sleep. 

Dreams demand to give life- 
Life to you. 
Life to those you touch. 

Dreams demand to give life, or suck away life;
The spark in your eye,
The laughter bubbling from within,
The determination like fire in your soul.  

Dreaming is not just meant for sleeping. 
Dreaming is meant for giving you wings and setting you leaping. 

The dreams are waiting to be chased while urging you to not let go of the beauty in each moment. 

Dream-filled thoughts are waiting to be discovered while warning you to not get lost in your thoughts. 

Dreams let you aim at greatness for this world while urging you to not miss the greatness of everyday moments of love, laughter, and sharing life with others.

Dreams won't let you lose sight of their vision but need you to choose to step away from the big sometimes
and delight in God in the here.  in the now.

Dreams need your biggest dream to be living out His dreams. 

Here's to dreaming while we're awake.    

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining

He stands.
The mountain is tearing apart.
The rocks are breaking into pieces.
The ground is being split by an earthquake.
A fire is blazing.
He stands,
and a whisper drifts through.

Only then, does He put his shirt over his face and leave.

The whisper.

Elijah had waited.  
He had known God's presence was not in any of the previous things,
so he had waited. 
Only the whisper caused Him to move.

The whisper.

We stand.
The big, powerful, prominent is staring us in the face.
The flashy is so appealing.
Surely, God must be leading by what's "so big and important"
Surely, God is at least leading to what's "so big and important"
Surely, God is leading through what is appealing to us,
what makes sense, 
what seems to give us the most happiness and opportunities.
Surely, God wants what we find appealing.

Yet, the whisper.

Maybe it's sometimes that through the whispers 
resonating deep in our heart
that we are being led.

Maybe we more often need to be more concerned with where God's presence is that we are willing to wait till we know it's Him - 

willing to wait through the big, the flashy, the prominent, the seemingly perfect opportunities
willing to wait until we know it's Him, until we know He's telling us to move.

For I would rather have the power of the presence in the place I know He's whispering for me to be in than to have the power of my own self-will forcing me into places I know He's not bringing me.

We may have to wait through the excessive displays of power that seem so right (but where God isn't).
We may have to wait through this continually, doubting whether He is ever going to show up and lead at all.
We may have to wade through our own tendencies to get stuck on seeking "the big,"
yet in the process may we learn 
to turn from our own will and understanding 
to seeking the whisper He planted within us
and acknowledge where He is wanting us to go.

May we be so humble to lose our control of our grip on where our lives are headed
and to stop pursuing the places where we know He is not,
but instead be
be found while finding Him.

May we not ignore the voice of the Almighty,
for He is the Great I AM. 

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining

School started for me this week.

I'm doing online college classes this year, and I have a confession:

I.  love.  it.

Seriously.  I'm only two and a half days into school, and I feel so excited, so alive, so happy, and so ready to use my energy to make a difference in the world.

That's not always the case with school (or with life, either).

In fact, just yesterday I was dangling my feet in a friend's pool while talking with my sister.  I finally was expressing things turmoil-ing within me to another human.  For one, I realized I don't do that very often, and two, I realized how life can just be so... big.  overwhelming.  hopeless.

I felt like I have no one in my life,
like I am no one,
and that I do nothing.

Sure, that all I know deep down is not true, but, let's just be real, feelings are still there even if they aren't true.

Yet, here I am, sitting at my kitchen table with my computer put in the middle of my school mess as my sister works across from me, and I am hit by simple truths.

Some days are just gonna be tough days.
Some moments are just gonna feel hopeless.
Some questions are just gonna feel too big.

But...

Some days are gonna have ways to make you smile that you can't even imagine.
Some moments are going to be filled with sprinting outside, text singing to your friend, and sitting just working alongside another human, and you are gonna feel a fullness that feels so encompassing and so undeserved.
And some answers are going to work there way through, just you wait.

So, don't give up.
Don't give in to the hopelessness. 

Just take a deep breath, and learn to roll with it.
Bad days are gonna come,
but just hold on.
The sunrise is coming.

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining


"I'm sorry; I just can't this week.  I'm too busy."

"If only I had more time, then I could finally get around to doing that.  I'm just too busy."

We've all said such words before.

We endlessly feel like we have no time to do anything as we rush around, complaining of our extreme busyness.

We explain that we'd go to the gym if we had more time, that we'd call our grandma if life ever slows down, or that we'd help a friend with a project if things would get less busy.

Years can pass, and we suddenly realize that we never got around to all these things we were going to do when our schedule cleared up.

Yet, each day of those years was filled.
We chose how to fill each day.

Maybe it's not that we "are so busy" and do not have the time to do certain things so much as that we do not make the time.

We all have twenty-four hours to fill each day.

Ultimately, from the time we get up to the time we go to bed, we choose what is going to fill those hours, fill our days, and thereby fill our lives.

What we choose shows what really matters to us - what's important.  It reveals our priorities.

We may decide that going to school to get an education or going to work to provide for ourselves and our families is important.
We may decide that talking to friends or co-workers is important.

But every choice we make comes at a sacrifice of another choice.

We may decide that "me-time" watching more of our favorite TV show is more important than talking with our family.
We may decide that meeting a friend for dinner is more important than learning how to play the piano as we've been meaning to for weeks.

Not all of the choices we make at the neglection of other choices are necessarily bad.
Some are simply personal preference.

We can face problems, however, when our priorities cause us to neglect our responsibilities - both our responsibilities to other people and to God.

Ultimately, what we choose to do with our time reveals where our heart is -
or, more so, it reveals who is in control of our heart, and therefore our actions and time.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23 NIV).

It's not that we don't have time to do the things we say we'll do "when we're less busy."
It's that we are choosing to not make time to do them.

We choose what we do.  Ultimately, we are showing by our actions what is important enough for us to make time for in our busy lives.

"Don't waste your breath proclaiming what's really important to you.  How you spend your time says it all ... There's no sense talking about priorities.  Priorities reveal themselves.  We're all transparent against the face of the clock" (Eric Zorn).

Our actions reveal what's important to us.  What's important comes from what has taken first place in our heart, from who is in control of our lives.

And He has asked to be King over us - over every part of us - which includes letting Him be Lord of our time.

We still face choices, though.

We can pick up our phones and check out, or we can tune in to the needs of people around us.

We can use our time to creep on other people's lives, or we can purpose to actually spend time with people.

We can keep choosing to procrastinate on that one task because this show is just so good, or we can buckle down and see our dreams come true.

If it's important enough to you, you will make time to do it.

If He's important enough to you, you're going to let Him be King and surrender your everything - time and all.

Our excuses of "I just don't have the time" and "I'm just too busy" seem so ridiculously flimsy.

We aren't doing some things not because we are too busy, but because something else is simply more important.

We make time for whatever is important to us.

It's time to stop using this excuse, and to face up to our choices.

It's time to take a look at our lives and see where our priorities lie.

It's time to see what we are willing to sacrifice and what we are willing to choose to make time for.

There is simply no such thing as "too busy."

We all are given 24 hours in a day to fill.

We don't simply "not have time."
We make time for what matters.

And the choices are up to us.
© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining

Summer.

The sun had soaked my skin as I went on runs.

The keyboard had newly settled in my room and emitted sweet music.

The to do's were forgotten in moments of spontaneity - us sisters breaking into car ride dance parties, running into friends, sudden dress shopping, long nights of Netflix episodes, and doing life together.

I thought over the moments of happiness, utter confusion, and frustration.
I felt overwhelmed by both the progress and hardness of life's growing pains.

It's been a summer of learning.

A summer where I've realized that
there's a point when we have to set aside the big questions and live
it's more easily said than done
it all can look & feel so much different in the moment
in the real world, there are very rarely clean-cut answers
some things cannot be understood until experienced.  

It's not been a summer of "I've learned" because I am not sure life really is that way.  It's been a summer of "I'm learning" because life seems to be a learning journey, not a learning arrival.

I'm learning this about life:

Life is so often what we make of it.

On one hand, my summer was a summer of bummers.

Bummers that
I did not pour the time into much that really needed my attention
I was seriously selfish and created some family tension
I felt lonely again yet did little to change it
I let some opportunities slip 

Life can so often be what we make of it, however.

What do we have in life if we refuse to make our focus on the One who made life?
What do we have in life if we refuse to receive grace, His grace?

 He has grace for our selfishness, for our wasted moments, and for our outbursts of anger.

Truth is: He knows that we are going to fail, sees the frailness of our humanness, and yet has chosen to love us and call us His children, anyway.

In a culture born and raised on grace, we shouldn't lose sight of the power of it.

His grace is divine, coming from the Maker of the stars, the Author of the universe, the Lord above all lords.

His grace is this every time,
no matter how many times we fall into it.

So why not make that of life?

Make it full of falls into His grace, into His love, and into His truth instead of into our own confusion, condemnation, and anger?  

What did He make of life?

He made a way for us.
He made us new.
He redeemed His people.
He gave purpose.
He lavished with joy.
He infused with hope.

What are we, then, going to make of what He has made for us?

For we are no exception.  

Life for us, too, will so often be what we make of it.

So why not make it a time
to choose to see the good in situations and in people?
to choose to focus on the lessons we are learning instead of counting the mistakes we are making?
to fall into His grace and accept His love? 
to realize that He has given his life in the making of ours, and to live to make much of our time: to throw ourselves into delighting in our savior and following His lead in each moment.

Life for us, too, will so often be what we make of it.

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining

Considering that I cannot talk face-to-face with some of you reading this,
I thought I would offer a little more information about
this person on the other end of the screen. 
.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

My name is Deborah.

I am taller than most girls.
I love polka-dots.
I could jump on the trampoline for hours.
I am addicted to physically pushing myself.
I eat Oreos by the sleeve (double stuff, naturally).
I have hair that will not make up its mind.
I love accents.
I adore Mary Poppins as my babysitting hero.
I love to run, but I hate getting in shape.

I spit out shrimp.
I have a childhood loyalty to cherry pepsi.
I have seriously waxy ears.
I watch movies in Spanish, just because.
I'd rather write papers than clean toilets.
I like card-stock paper.
I'm a xenophile.

I may be whiter than sour cream.
I have had bad experiences with cilantro.
I -when re-watching movies- won't finish them sometimes because... I don't like endings.

I love Jesus. a lot.

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining
I am happy to announce that Hope Shining now has a You Tube channel you can go to by clicking this!

Some friends and I have put together our very first video blog: "Breaking Mirrors || Identity in Christ."

(Everything - audio and all - is of our own creation).

We break mirrors.
We fill frames.
Our shoes are in glass.
And we laugh.

Please, enjoy and share with any you feel could benefit from it.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    .   .   .

BE SURE to put the video settings (at the bottom right) into HD!

You are wondering what defines you.  You feel framed by culture, what people say, and by what you put on yourself.  How can you find answers?  We are broken, but we are His -- where freedom is found.



© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining
Everybody needs a little encouragement and reasons to smile.
Here are some smile starters for you, then.

(Just click the play button to view the videos or click on the words directly under each blue title for non-videos to open your bundles of smiles). 
.   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


A spoken word because Jesus Christ is King:
"What Will You Say" by Clayton Jennings




Looking for encouragement?  Check out this blog:
Encouragement for Everyday Struggles
Click here to go to the blog!
Image not copyright to Hope Shining but from the above site




Looking for a worship song to get you through it?  Try this one:
"Holy Spirit/Set A Fire" cover by Sarah Reeves


Have some shirts you are looking to jazz up?  Here's an idea:
5 Minute Printed T-Shirt D.I.Y
Click here to go to the site!





Have some sharpies lying around?  Here's some ways you can put them to good use:
30 Things You Can Improve With A Sharpie
Click here to see these sharpie ideas!




Finally, a tidbit of encouragement to give you strength today:
Lamentations 3:22
"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail."

Have a wonderful weekend!

She sat in front of me.

Those same eyes that had seen me in some of my darkest moments looked back at me.

She sat mere feet away,
yet it felt like a vast distance separated us.

My friend no longer seemed like the girl I once knew.

I longed to see the same smile that had reminded me of what hope feels like.
I ached to see the light come back into her eyes and to eagerly talk of our hopes and wild dreams.
She was sitting there as part of my heart was
breaking,
and I angrily asked why?

Why does my dear friend have to go down this path?
Why is she choosing to leave me in this way?
Why can't she see the darkness of the place she's has fallen to?

What do we do when our friends no longer seem to be the people we once knew?

The pain at how they hurt themselves stings.  The pain at how they've hurt us in the process feels like hydrogen peroxide poured in an already open wound.
Sadness.  Anger.  Frustration.  Hopelessness.  It all leaves a bitter taste in our mouths contrasted to the sweet friendship we once knew.

However, God's hand still works even when we cannot see it, and He always has a purpose in the pain.

When the person you knew seems gone, try these few tips that I've learned through the girl who sat in front of me:

1. Expect Altered Expectiations
The truth is, your friendship with this person has altered.  This new season in your relationship is going to bring change in your interactions.  You may have daily text-ed, facetimed often, hung out at least once a week, encouraged each other frequently, and always felt super close whenever you saw each other.
All this may no longer happen,
and the absence can leave you sometimes angry even though you might not know why.
Here's a tip: stop and examine your expectations (cause they are going to need some change).
If you and your friend are drifting apart, those habits are no longer normal and expecting them is only going to bring you constant disappointment.
To save yourself pain, you must change your expectations for how close your friendship is and how you expect your friend to treat your relationship.
Then, you may have to live with this "new normal," these new expectations, for a season.

2. Don't Light Your Own Flare
Because we live in a cause and effect world, this person's change has affected you.  You are responding in some way.  Often, when close relationships become more distant, unhealthy emotions can surface: anger at your friend for making destructive choices, frustration at being neglected and at perhaps witnessing others take your place, etc.
Get on your knees before the Father about this relationship before these emotions are allowed to surface in negative ways.  Let Him deal with your own heart, so that you are able to deal with the person in a Christ-like way.  Let Him sooth your anger and replace the hurt with His love.  
Ask Him to guard your attitude and words as you interact with this person so that you may continue to respond in love.

3.  Remember Who
You know who your friend used to be.  You know that God still has amazing plans for them and wants to use them in glorious ways.
They need you to not give up on that person who seems to have disappeared. 
Yes, your friend may not always need to be lectured that they have made so many bad choices and are going to ruin their life and such.
However, neither do they need your acceptance of their behavior.
Don't be afraid to let them know where you stand. 
Let them know that you still believe in them, that wonderful plans are in store for them, that God wants them to surrender their lives once again, but you may need to make it clear that you aren't going to bend from the Bible; you won't support ungodly choices. You may need to say no to some of what they may want you to participate in - activities that are beyond what you feel is leading a God-honoring life.  When appropriate, you can challenge them to live up to the life God has for them, as well, because His plans are the absolute best for us; He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). 

Finally, pray.
Pray that they will come back to the King.
Pray that they will let Him work in their heart.
Pray that they will bow in surrender to all that He has.

Prayer changes lives.
© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining

He held a cookie frosted with words of celebration:
Ansel Elgort had reached one million followers on Twitter.

She'd posted a picture of the four of them - one author and three actors - smiling with arms around each other.
Shailene Woodley had captioned it "our constellation :)" (Real life superstars in formation, apparently).

The good life - 
Adoring fans.
Friends among celebrities.
Special privileges.
Red carpets, photo-shoots, and limos.

Superstars are not the only ones who seem to have the good life, though.

She preached the word strongly, and she, too, got to travel to new places and hold the attention of arenas filled with people.

With rocker hair, skinny jeans, red lipstick and all, they had traveled all the way from Australia as they danced and sang through America.  Posting pictures of their conferences, they hashtagged their photos "partyintheUSA"

These people seem to radiate the good life, too, yet the good life reaches even more closely into our lives.

Her hair is smooth and bouncily curly while her blouse seems to epitomize style.
Her flawless conversation, better grades than you, nicer car, and cuter phone case screams to you that she
has the good life, too.

His name on the record sign in front of the school shows his athletic ability that always seems to cast a shadow on yours.  His swaggeringly confident walk and ease of manner screams to you that he
has the good life, too.

Looking from the outside, the good-life group seems to hold perfectly wonderful existences, and your life seems like little more than flaws and deficiencies.

"If only I had somebody else's life..." we say.

What are we to do?

"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."
James 3:14-18

1. Snatch those alluring possibilities and set your priority.
In reality, some of these people may really actually have a good life.  Frankly, that's awesome!  The problem comes when their happiness and success becomes a stumbling block for you and when that causes you to stop focusing on God.  Their life is not your chief concern; Your own is.  Instead of focusing on the alluring possibilities your life could have if you had someone else's life, set your priority: knowing God and making Him known with all you've got.  In order to get on track to do that, follow the steps below.

2. Wise up.
As we learn from James, being jealous of anything (including the alluring good life) and desiring to do anything to gain the good life for ourselves (selfish ambition) is not wise.  period.  In fact, it is going to lead us to disorder: we ruin relationships by our jealousy and we live short of what God has for us by being tripped up within ourselves.  Further, we are going to be lead not only to have these vile traits within us but also to do vile actions.
You've got to remind yourself of this truth when the good life's pull is strong.  Recognize that anything that leads you to forsake wisdom and sin is not good for you.  Recognize the depths of where this sin (earthly, unspiritual, demonic!) will lead you: to a vile inside and outward actions.
You've got to pray.  God will give you the strength to fight against sin!

3. Choose what you're going to make.
Truth: we are the ones who create imaginary perfect people.  Perfect people do. not. exist.
The good-life group make seem to "have it all," but people are people are people are people.  Those superstars?  Yeah.  They get sick, forget to brush their hair, and lose their temper like every other human on planet earth.  Those Christian superstars?  Yep.  They forget their keys, misplace their purse, and fight loneliness just like you do.  Those "perfect people" you see regularly?  You know they get offended sometimes, have rude moments, and forget their friend's birthday on occasion.  All people make mistakes, but it's up to us whether we let those mistakes make who we are as people.
Here's what you need to do: When the good life is pulling, face this truth: people are people, and all people are imperfect.  Next, choose not to let your own mistakes make who you are as you feel down about yourself and wish you had someone else's life.  Instead, choose to get the focus off yourself and find a way to make someone else happy as you serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100:2).
  
4. Face the stars and add a little more perfect to their good life.
The desire to have someone else's life might be so strong that you need to employ the emergency technique that my friend told me the other night: 1) stop the thought train  2) count to three  3) put all your gusto into doing something else (you can go clean something, make some tea, go on a run).
After you've burned off some steam, why not conquer your problem?
(This next idea is from Priscilla Shirer who received it from a source she left anonymous due to sensitive information).  Find a picture or something that will remind you of the people you're particularly jealous of.  Then, put the picture where you'll see it frequently.  When you see the picture, you may have those bad thoughts and feelings rise to the surface but choose to find one good thing about that person.  Then, pray for them; pray that their lives would continue to be blessed.  If you see any of those people, look for ways that you can bless these in person.
I have my own set of pictures, and - let me tell you! - looking these people in the face and being thankful for them is powerful.

Finally, you have been given a life.
The God who made you His masterpiece worthy to die for gave you this life; Why not enjoy this good life you have?

© 2014 Deborah Hope Shining
Everybody needs a little encouragement and reasons to smile.
Here are some smile starters for you, then.

(Just click the play button to view the videos or click on the words directly under each blue title for non-videos to open your bundles of smiles). 
.   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

A viral video shining a light on a cultural misconception:
Always #LikeAGirl



Need a little additional encouragement? Check out this blog:
God's Daughter 
 
Picture not copyright to Hope Shining but from the above site




 Need a new pick-me-up tune?  Try this one:
Alive by Hillsong Young & Free 



Looking for some new hair ideas?  Check out these styling ideas:
10 Quick Ways to Style Long & Short Hair 
Picture not copyright to Hope Shining but from the above site.



Looking for some fun this summer?  Why not try grab a friend and take some ridiculously fun pictures?  Check out the link for ideas:
37 Impossibly Fun Best Friend Photography Ideas 
Picture not copyright to Hope Shining but from the above site.



Traveling this summer?  Here's some packing tips just for you:
How to Pack 2 Weeks in a Carry On
Picture not copyright to Hope Shining but from the above site.


Finally, a tidbit of encouragement to give you strength today:
 "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness."
2 Peter 1:3


Have a wonderful weekend!
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Deborah Spooner is an analytical creative enamored by ideas and addicted to dripping words in candor. Serving as a Marketing Strategist for LifeWay’s Adults Ministry, she loves all things big-dreaming, difference-making, and Jesus-pointing. A pastor’s daughter with a background in communications and theology, you can find her at her local church with her students (and probably way too excited about the color yellow) as she seeks to know Christ more and make Him known.

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