Category Archives: Encouragement

With a good ship you can ride it out

Posted on December 12, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote The Power of Positive Thinking, was once on a ship in the Atlantic threatened by an approaching hurricane. The captain wisely decided to alter course and managed to sail around the worst of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Hope, inner peace, Inspirational, Journey, Life's journey, Living Life, Personal Growth, Trials and testings, Trust in God | 1 Comment

Promise

Posted on November 29, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

In John Bunyan’s great parable of life, the Pilgrim’s Progress, there’s a point where Christian and Hopeful are captured by the Giant Despair, locked in the dungeons of Doubting Castle and beaten unmercifully. But at dawn on Sunday, after days … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Encouragement, Faith, God, Hope, inner peace, Inspirational, Peaceful Sleep, Promise, Religion, Spiritual Insight, Spirituality, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble, Trust in God, Wisdom | Tagged anxiety, God's Will, happiness, Hope, inspirational sayings, Intuition, Meaning in Life, peace with one's self, spirituality, worry | Leave a comment

Life is Greater than Death

Posted on November 10, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

I came across a wonderful story about a London parish church during the Blitz, which was all set up for the annual Harvest Thanksgiving Service next day. The front of the church was filled with whatever foodstuffs were still available, … Continue reading →

Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Food, God, Inspirational, love, Religion, Resurrection, Spirituality, thankfulness, Trials and testings, Trust in God, War | Tagged bread, food, God With Us, Hope, religion, rich inner life, Wistful Hope | Leave a comment

It’s not about where we are, but where we’re heading

Posted on October 22, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

Oliver Wendell Holmes said: ‘I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must … Continue reading →

Posted in direction, Encouragement, Faith, God, Hell, inner peace, Inspirational, Journey, Life's journey, Living Life, old age, Personal Growth, pilgrimage, Spirituality, Trust in God, Wisdom | Tagged God With Us, Hope, inspirational sayings, Meaning in Life, peace with one's self, religion, spirituality | Leave a comment

Our Expectations and Our Reality

Posted on October 10, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

Megan Gressor said that the happiest person she’d ever met operates a pedicab in Saigon. He’d fought on the losing side in the Vietnam War, spent ten years in a re-education camp, had married late and now had a little … Continue reading →

Posted in Encouragement, inner peace, Inspirational, Joy, Life's journey, Living Life, Personal Growth, relationships, satisfaction, Spirituality, thankfulness | Tagged anxiety, disatisfaction, fulfillment, happiness, Hope, inspirational sayings, peace with one's self, rich inner life | 1 Comment

The difference is in the looking

Posted on October 5, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

I used to visit a hostel for aged people situated on a headland overlooking a magnificent stretch of coastline. I remember saying to the nurses how fortunate they were to work in such an environment. But they surprised me when … Continue reading →

Posted in Encouragement, Faith, God, inner peace, Inspirational, Life's journey, Personal Growth, Religion, Spiritual Insight, Spirituality, Wisdom | Tagged Atheism and Faith, fulfillment, Hope, inspirational sayings, spirituality | Leave a comment

God Knows I’m Worth It.

Posted on August 27, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

The novelist A.J. Cronin based some of his best selling stories on his earlier experience as a doctor in a small mining community in Wales just after the First World War. There was a nurse there who used to help … Continue reading →

Posted in Called and Chosen, Encouragement, Faith, God, inner peace, Inspirational, Life's journey, Living Life, Religion, satisfaction, Spirituality, thankfulness, Trust in God, Wisdom | Tagged fulfillment, God With Us, God's Will, happiness, inspirational sayings, rich inner life, spirituality | Leave a comment

No Strings Attached

Posted on August 11, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

During the George Bush era Robert Kirkpatrick, who was serving a three year sentance at the Belmont Correctional Institution in eastern Ohio, got an invitation from Vice President Cheney to a two and a half thousand dollar a plate fundraising … Continue reading →

Posted in Called and Chosen, Encouragement, Faith, Food, God, Inspirational, Invitation, Religion, Spirituality | Tagged Feast, Hope, spirituality | 2 Comments

Spiritual Furniture

Posted on July 21, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

The eminent psychologist Martin Seligman said that we need to ask ourselves why our grandparents, when they were thwarted, when the people they loved rejected them, when they didn’t get the job they wanted, and when their children died, didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in emptiness, Encouragement, Faith, God, inner peace, Inspirational, Life's journey, Living Life, Loneliness, Neurosis, Personal Growth, pilgrimage, Prayer, quietness, Religion, Spiritual Furniture, Spirituality, supportive community, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble, Trust in God | Tagged anxiety, God With Us, Hope, inspirational sayings, Meaning in Life, peace with one's self, rich inner life, spirituality, worry | Leave a comment

Taking a Jump

Posted on July 17, 2013 by vincentsmithauthor

African impalas, which can jump four metres high and ten metres long, are often kept in enclosures behind a wall that’s only one metre high. The reason is that impalas will not jump if they can’t see where their feet … Continue reading →

Posted in Called and Chosen, Encouragement, Faith, God, Inspirational, Personal Growth, Religion, Trust in God | Tagged anxiety, Atheism and Faith, fulfillment, God With Us, God's Will, Hope, inspirational sayings, Intuition, spirituality, Wistful Hope, worry | Leave a comment