Look For The Good Stuff
Look For The Good Stuff
Choosing a Hope-Filled Perspective
Good to see you again! How’s the week been for you? I took a little getaway this past weekend and drove up north with a friend. I had always wanted to see the North Shore of Lake Superior in the winter time, and it didn’t disappoint. Sure, it was super duper cold and covered with snow and a lot of ice, but there was a fantastical, storybook beauty to it that was super inspiring.
I find great value in changing the scenery from time to time.
I’m intentional about looking for the beauty that surrounds me, whether it’s scenery, experiences, or people. Sometimes it hits me without even trying. Other times I have to seek it out a little bit. Finding beauty, enjoying it, and sharing it is an act of worship. Wow… Thank You… Look!
The more I look, the more I see. The more I see, the more I’m convinced this world—and all that’s in it—is a beautiful place. Hallelujah!
When Hopelessness Creeps In
When it feels like hopelessness is creeping in, it may be time to adjust how you’re looking at the world.
This might mean taking a different road home, watching a different television channel, or eating at a new restaurant. What about listening to music you’ve never heard? Or having a conversation with someone new? Exposing ourselves to new things and people can help jump start our hope.
New perspectives broaden how we think about things and how we approach problems.
It’s super normal to get tired of the same ol, same ol. We get stuck in old patterns of thinking. We’re convinced we know the whole story. We’re certain we know how things are going to go. To be a person of hope means to let go of thinking you can see the future.
Hopelessness believes it can see the future. Hope is convinced it can’t.
In last week’s post I wrote about how having hope is a choice we can make, a posture we can adopt. It’s a way of looking at the world that believes there is so much good in it. It’s a way of looking at people that believes there’s so much good in them. It’s a way of looking at ourselves that believes there’s so much good in us.
This perspective is rooted in my belief that God creates really good stuff.
And while there are always going to be bad things you can find, it’s looking for the good stuff that is going to increase your hope.
I love this tweet from Joash:
We wanted to find a good place for breakfast before we left town and headed back home. I did the Google search and found the “best” place, and followed the directions to get there, only to discover that they were closed for floor repairs. Bummer. So I pulled up the map again and found another place in a town across the river that we hadn’t planned on going to. It was called The Kitchen in Superior, WI…and I tell you what, please go there. Kris, our server, was amazing, the food was exactly what we wanted, and paid prices I hadn’t seen since the ‘80s. You might call it a hole-in-the-wall, or a greasy-spoon, but this is the place all the locals go. It’s a coffee-pouring, stomach-filling, community center of goodness. Steak and eggs for the win.
I’m glad we didn’t settle for the disappointment of the “best” place not being open. But the willingness to explore and go somewhere new led us to a desitnation that I’m certain was better than the other place ever could have been. Hallelujah!
May your hope increase this week as you look for the good stuff. I’d love to hear what you find.
I'm loving your photos Mark and for your message of hope this week... I need to stop believing I can see the future so often, maybe it'll help me learn to be more positive! Thank you, as always.