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 of the Longest Benedictions I Ran Out of Time to Share
Maybe you know the story of how Joseph and Mary accidentally left Jesus at the gas station on their way home from Jerusalem. Well, not the gas station bathroom in Jesus’ case. Joe and Mary are far down the road before they realize Jesus isn’t with them...
So many quips and quotes...
So little time to preach
I wonder what Mary and Martha’s phones might look like:
* Martha = the open browser with 27 tabs
* Mary = the single window that matters
* Psalm 46 = God saying, “Close the tabs.”
Quotable Outtakes That Didn’t Make the Sermon This Week
“When you try to control everything, you don’t just exhaust yourself—you quietly replace trust in God with trust in you.” & more
There is a challenge when it comes to preaching the Word of God.
Preachers are called to open up and interpret the word—inspired and written down thousands of years ago—and make it relevant to a very different world. On top of that there’s a degree of persuasion that goes along with the process.
What Jessica Really Meant to Say in Her Sermon…
When Jessica or Rick or a guest preacher takes the pulpit it’s hard for me to write a One More Thing Blog. I can’t share with you what didn’t make it into the sermon because I have no idea, not having written or delivered it.
Jesus Keeps On Ruining Funerals!
I didn’t have anything this last week that didn’t end up in the sermon. No catchy illustrations that didn’t make the cut. No theological insights that slowed down the main point. No one can ruin a funeral like Jesus. Told as I saw it and that was it. So I did some quick research and I thought I’d share just a reminder of what Easter is all about.
When I Don’t Get To Give My Benediction
Yesterday’s sermon talked about how we are in the thrall of self-centeredness—caught in a system that rewards those who climb to the top, even when you have to climb on the back of others. I talked about a famous sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, ....