10/06/2025
Optimism, Faith, and Hope:
Practical Steps For Increasing All Three
(The following came out of my conversations with my new best friend, ChatGPT. And honestly, I couldn’t have put together this list on my own. Take a look on how you might become a more optimistic person.)
Cultivating optimism and nurturing hopefulness isn’t just about forcing a positive attitude—it’s about shaping habits of mind, heart, and spirit that open you to possibility even when life feels heavy. Here are some practical, spiritual, and relational ways to grow faith, hope and optimism:
1. Feed Your Inner Narrative
Name God’s faithfulness. Regularly recall times—your own or others’—when God provided or surprised you. Journaling “stones of remembrance” (Joshua 4) helps you trace God’s hand in your story.
Reframe setbacks. Instead of “This is the end,” try “This is a chapter, not the whole book.” Ask, “What might God be shaping in me through this?”
Practice daily gratitude. Even small joys (a good cup of coffee, a friend’s text) retrain your brain to notice abundance rather than scarcity.
2. Anchor in Scripture & Prayer
Hope texts. Immerse yourself in passages like Romans 8 (nothing separates us from God’s love), Jeremiah 29:11 (a future with hope), or Psalm 27 (“I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”).
Prayers of expectation. Pray not only for solutions but for eyes to see what God is already doing. A simple breath prayer—“Lord, I trust Your tomorrow”—can steady your heart.
3. Surround Yourself with Hopeful People
Choose your circle. Spend time with those who speak life, not constant complaint. Their outlook rubs off.
Serve others. Helping someone else (a meal, a listening ear) breaks the echo chamber of worry and proves that small actions matter.
4. Cultivate Daily Practices of Renewal
Move your body. Walk, stretch, or exercise—physical activity releases chemicals that naturally lift mood.
Create beauty. Music, art, gardening, or simply noticing nature can awaken wonder and remind you of a bigger story.
Set small, meaningful goals. Achievable steps—finishing a book, calling a friend—give tangible reasons to believe tomorrow can be better.
5. Live the “Both/And”
Optimism isn’t denial. Christian hope is realistic faith:
“We do not lose heart… for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory” (2 Cor. 4:16–18)..
Archived Posts
One Final Scene About Scrooge
There was one more scene in Dickens’s novel that reveals something of what has happened to Scrooge over the years. I did not have time to share it on Sunday, but I believe it reveals a great deal about the regrets in Scrooge’s life....
What Jacob Marley Would Do,
If He Could Do It…
I thought about using the following for a benediction—since Jacob Marley was warning Scrooge about the danger of loving money and what it could buy. Ends up with the Cantata and everything else going on, I didn’t have the time. So here is what you might have heard if the sermon itself was 5 minutes shorter!
A Confirming Word on Old King Herod
I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23). Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician. When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2. That’s one paranoid dude.
Power Without Conscience?
I ran out of room for this vignette in Sunday’s sermon. Remember the quote that could be the headline for Ahab and Naboth: “All that’s needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” The following reinforces that truth.
The Cars Are Looking for A King
I don’t have a thing to add to Pastor Jessica’s excellent sermon this last Sunday. The fable/parable she shared has been one of my favorites for all the lessons she pulled from it in her message. I was playing around with my friend Chat GPT and after several abortive attempts, we came up with the following modernized version of Judges 9:7-15.
The Lost Benediction
Depending on the length of the sermon, I try to add a little something extra in my benedictions. This week I wrote up a benediction but then realized we’d be singing and waving our umbrellas to some New Orleans jazz.
Change of Focus This Week
Instead of sharing with you about yesterday’s sermon I’d like to invite you to do some background reading for next Sunday’s “Only Murders in the Bible.” Seeing that it is All Saints Day this Sunday, we are going to look at the very first Christian martyr, Stephen.