Despair

Hope: 3 Powerful Strategies to Conquer Life’s Toughest Obstacles

Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

Would you still have hope if the greatest of all tragedies struck you down?

Katherine Wolf does even though, at age 26 to date (now 42), she has survived . . .

  • a catastrophic brain-stem stroke
  • paralysis throughout her body
  • numerous falls with broken bones
  • aneurysm surgery unrelated to her stroke
  • multiple vertebral artery dissections
  • ongoing neurological issues
  • hearing loss
  • blind in the left eye and double vision in the right eye
Hope by Katherine Wolf

In spite of all this, she proclaims hope as she . . .

  • just published her third book, Treasures In The Dark
  • travels nationwide, speaking to thousands
  • sponsors a special-needs summer camp
  • opened a coffee shop staffed by special-needs folks

I heard her speak at a jam-packed Highland Park Presbyterian church service months ago. Her testimony has changed my life.

After reading her books and reflecting on what she says about hope, I see three proven relievers for overcoming despair.

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Hope: 3 Powerful Strategies to Conquer Life’s Toughest Obstacles

Escape the pit of despair with these 3 powerful elevators

Posted by Steve BlaisingLeave a comment

When despair sticks your heart in the mud, the best way out is an express elevator.

The fastest elevator ride in my life was recently with my son, Jack, on the outside of the Comcast Center building in Philadelphia.

As soon as we stepped on, the door shut and we shot off the ground like a clown in a circus cannon.

  • People turned to ants
  • Buildings turned to legos
  • Streetlights to toothpicks

The sky shot reminds me of three express elevators beckoning all of us out of the pit of despair.

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Escape the pit of despair with these 3 powerful elevators

What Bono Wants You to Know About Hope

Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

No one sings feelings like Bono.

Did you know his favorite book of the Bible is the Psalms?

The last song played at many U2 concerts is “40,” based on Psalm 40.

Bono performs "40"
U2/Christian Peterson/Getty Images

The song was created in ten minutes after an all-night recording session for their third album, “War.”

“40” offers a clue to one of the biggest mysteries about God.

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What Bono Wants You to Know About Hope

How to Hope in the Middle of any Crisis

Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

Did you ever think hope could vanish as fast as sporting events did in the Coronavirus crisis?

That’s why TV channels played the Lord of the Rings over and over.

Frodo Baggins and his companions live day and night in loss, pain and darkness.

The wear and tear of goblin gnashing and countless deaths lead to Frodo’s merciful escape from the Grey Havens to a sort of heaven.

God filled hope

Tolkien enthusiasts adopted the catch-phrase “Frodo Lives!” to express hope in dark times.

For anyone in despair, three reminders can light up a dismal season.

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How to Hope in the Middle of any Crisis

When Despair Overwhelms Your Heart with Darkness

Posted by Steve Blaising8 Comments

I could see the despair dripping with the bloody gash across his forehead as he sat wearily across from me in the sheriff’s office.

Less than 12 hours earlier, Trey drove a ski boat with his girlfriend high speed into my dock just before midnight.

Despair leads to tragedy
Dock as I found it the morning after late night crash.

They were lucky to be alive.

shipwrecked despair
Chaise loungers thrown from point of impact

The sheriff arrived searching for dead bodies.

And then his phone rang with news someone found the boat, so he ran off instructing me to stay there.

Hours later he called and asked me to come meet the survivors at his office.

I quickly googled the young man only to learn he had studied at Harvard and MIT.

He was a Fellow of the Trinity Forum Academy in Osprey Point, Maryland.

Only the brightest and most promising undergraduates are accepted each year for a nine month program to study “life’s greatest questions, in the context of faith.”

Why did such a promising young man drive his dad’s ski boat high speed into a completely out-of-the-way location on a lake he knew better than any school subject?

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When Despair Overwhelms Your Heart with Darkness