If I didn’t know any better, it would be easy to believe that the only thing that mattered to Christians this week were some plain red cups.
News flash. Being a Christian is way more than plain red cups.
Our guest tonight is April Strom-Johnson. April has spent the majority of her adult life mentoring young men and women in their musical abilities as well as life. She has an incredible story and shares insight on what it means to love one another.
[Tweet “Love was never intended to have victims. -April Strom-Johnson #HNRTB”]
Penn Jillette is a renowned entertainer and illusionist. He’s also very vocal of his atheistic worldview. However, a few years back, he recorded this video, which has stuck with me through the years. We couldn’t have explained the mission of a Christian any better.
Doctor says mother’s prayer restarted dead boy’s heart
Jeff and DW head back to the salt mine this week, wrapping up the Love Is series with Jason and Mike. If we say that we love someone, but have little faith that things can change for the better, do we really love? This challenging question is so important and complex, especially after being hurt over and over by someone you love.
[Tweet “Love is like a delicious homemade, tasty scone. #HNRTB”]
Okay, well maybe that’s not the best way to describe love, but I do love a tasty scone in the morning. The point is that there are so many wild and crazy ideas of what love is. When you ask someone to define it, usually there’s a pause to think a little. How would you define “love” to someone? How do you know when you feel loved? Can you fall into love (and out of it)? Why do we do such crazy things for love today? And when we are pained by someone else, can we ever love them again?
Remember, disagreement doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t love you. We can disagree with someone and still love them. How silly is it if you chose not to love someone who didn’t like pizza and you did? That’s crazy, right? Yet we see examples of this happening every day in our society that we can no longer disagree without being ridiculed or called out publicly. If we’re going to truly see love overcome in our world today, then we have to know how to agree to disagree about something and still love the person with whom we disagree. In fact, that is the essence of forgiveness. When we love others, we are willing to go the distance, knowing that reality isn’t reflective of the greatness that is to come when we are driven by hope.
The Love Is series continues this week with the light topic of honesty. Honestly, it’s a huge discussion. Most of us have been disappointed by someone who has lied. Why is that? Does telling the truth trump being right? Join the TweetBack and add your voice!
Plus, we’ve got some exclusive interviews with some students who were at Winter Jam at Silver Birch Ranch. We chat about emojis, real life problems and struggles. It was a ton of fun getting to know them and we wanted to share part of the fun with you this week.
[Tweet “Love rejoices in the truth. #HNRTB”]
[Tweet “Get around people who love you and who are honest with you. #trust #HNRTB”]
The Love Is series continues this week. Being kind to someone who is kind to us is pretty easy. But what about being kind to people who aren’t kind to us or others? How are we to respond?
Plus, Terra Kay is back on the show this week and has an update from her human trafficking awareness tour during Super Bowl week! Learn more and support local human trafficking efforts in Wisconsin through Damascus Road Project. (Link)
Tweetables
[Tweet “Random acts of kindness is like jumbo shrimp. Not compatible. @wagerdaw #HNRTB”]
[Tweet “It got to the point where I didn’t want to accept his gift. @wagerdaw #HNRTB”]
Is there ever a time where you should say no to someone’s act of kindness? Yes, unfortunately. Whenever there are strings attached, you know it’s no good. But is anyone really kind without getting something in return?
If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
– Chinese Proverb
[Tweet “When we love, kindness becomes primary rather than reactionary. #HNRTB”]
We are kind because Jesus is kind first.
The Challenge
Do one kind thing for someone who you don’t like, who isn’t kind to you, or who you haven’t done something kind for in a long time. Don’t accept anything in return.
Patience is the first episode in the Love Is series of HopeNet Radio. Over the next few weeks, Jeff, DW and Jason will explore 1 Corinthians 13. This week is all about patience. Every human has a desire to love and be loved.
Patience is the settled reality that we are not in control. It’s simply understanding how things work. The more we understand how things work, the more patience shows up in our life. A point of discussion in many episodes is that the world simply doesn’t revolve around us. Yet, we really wish it did.
It’s not your job to fix another’s problems. It’s your job to be faithful. #loveispatient
One of the biggest temptations, especially in marriage, is to set out to fix the other person. You’ll wind up miserable the more you press someone to change.
Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you’re waiting. –@JoyceMeyer
1) Why are you impatient?
2) Write it down.
3) Work at changing your attitude. Let go more.
4) See the big picture.
5) Step back. Expect the unexpected and give yourself a break more. (source)
Challenge
The Challenge
