I love the United States of America. It doesn’t take much for a lump to come to my throat when I sing the Star Spangled Banner or see something patriotic. The American Adventure at EPCOT in Walt Disney World is a wonderful depiction of the history of our country. When I had the opportunity to stand at the base of Mount Rushmore I dropped my mouth open in awe. I’ve been blessed to see our great country from sea to shining sea.

If you’re like me, you love this country, too. Here are ten great things to love:

1. The vast variety of landscape. Driving this nation from one end to the other, as my friends Adam and Justin Fricke are right now, it will show you mountains and valleys, plains and rivers, lakes and land formations.
2. The vast variety of culture. You will find Cajun culture in New Orleans, Cuban culture in Miami, and Native American culture in the north woods of Wisconsin. In fact, in New York City alone you will experience the cultures of varying nations and peoples in one day by taking the subway from one end of town to the other.
3. The vast variety of food. Eat your way across America by sampling Tex-Mex in Texas, fish tacos in San Diego, and clam chowder in Boston.
4. The vast variety of people. Our nation is filled with Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, blue collar and white collar workers, factory workers and entrepreneurs. And that’s a good thing. Variety is the spice of life.
5. The vast variety entertainment. Every region has their sports teams to root on. The NFL, the NBA, MLB, college football and basketball, give us something to cheer about. Broadway and Hollywood, golf courses and bike paths give us much more than enough to do with our free time.
6. The vast variety of roadways. Our interstate highway system is second to none. It’s a quick, easy, and relatively safe way to get most anywhere in our nation. But the alternative routes of two lane highways and city streets allow us the opportunity to see things an interstate would never show us.
7. The vast variety of art and architecture. From Georgia O’Keefe to Andy Warhol, from Andrew Wyeth to Edward Hopper, our museums are filled with art that inspires. From the Empire State Building to the Transamerica Building, from the Space Needle to the Gateway Arch, our cities are filled with buildings that make life interesting.
8. The vast variety of climate. If you want to you can live in a place with four (or more!) seasons…or just one.
9. The vast variety of ways to make a living. Work in retail or in a restaurant. Work in ministry or government. Work for en employer or for yourself. There are countless ways to make an honest dollar in our great country.
10. The vast variety of men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. Last, but not least, these people are the ones who have made our country great and made our country free. I salute all of you who have served or are serving us in such a significant way.

What do you love about America?

In this day and age world travel makes most anyone uncomfortable. If you’re a bit of a neurotic traveler it is even more so. And if you’ve spent most of your life just a little more nervous than the average person about germs and disease the discomfort will be enough to question any travel in the first place. That’s our son, Ben.

As I write this, Ben is at the top of mountain in Honduras. It’s a country where people walk around with machetes and assault rifles. It’s where the media-hyped Zika virus is known to exist. According to Wikipedia, Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, with 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people. By comparison, the international average is 6.2 intentional homicides per 100,000 people. It’s also a known major drug route to the U.S.

But the things that make people uncomfortable are often the most rewarding. Ben’s fiancé, Emily, is the founder of a company called Consider the Wldflwrs. Ten percent of the proceeds of her business go toward helping a group of Honduran women start their own jewelry micro businesses to support their families. That’s why Ben, Emily, and another Consider the Wldflwrs team member are in Honduras. They are there to help, teach, and document it all so that further service will be provided.

All this is taking place at the top of a Honduran mountain. It could be a pretty uncomfortable place to be. But it turns out that on the mountain is a peaceful coffee plantation. It also happens to be a place that houses a program for children who were abandoned or taken from dangerous situations.

In a rare, free wifi hot spot Ben texted me. He told me about the things that made him uncomfortable. Things like no traffic rules, swarms of mosquitoes, and bunk beds. But he was quick to text about the kids he met there on the mountain. They are given housing and education until they’re eighteen-years-old. He wrote that the program just received a six-month-old baby.

I had a one word response: “Sad.”

Ben’s response was where discomfort met hope: “Yes. But cool! The kids seem happy!”

Then, on Facebook, Ben posted the picture you see above. He wrote this caption:

Been hanging with these kids the past few days. They’re hilarious, they school me in soccer, and they’re teaching me a lot about contentment. Language barriers got nothing on us.

That’s when being uncomfortable brings the surprise of joy. You find yourself amidst poverty and orphans. You’re sleeping in a bunk bed and eating in a foreign cafeteria. But in the middle of it all you realize that you should be content with the overwhelming blessings you’ve been given. You are grateful for the opportunity to touch lives. And you make a group of Honduran kids laugh their heads off as you show them silly Snapchat filters.

Where do you find joy in an uncomfortable situation?

Sometimes all you want is some peace and quiet. It’s an atypically beautiful, mild Florida summer evening. The front door is open. The humidity is low. A slight breeze is blowing in. And, wouldn’t you know it, someone turns on their lawn mower. Peace and quiet is quite literally out the door. But I’m choosing to stay positive. It’s so very beautiful outside. I can’t let the noise pollution get me down.

Wouldn’t you agree that this world could use a little more positivity? Like a movie that introduces some comic relief just when things seem to be darkest, we need people who introduce things positive into the darkness of this world. But sometimes it takes some intentionality to do just that.

So here are five happy reasons for you to be positive today:

1. You’re alive. You know how fragile life can be. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is not promised. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present. So many people in the world live in conditions far more sparse than you and I do. You are blessed to live in the land of the free and home of the brave.
2. You’re loved. Look around you. There is someone who loves you. Even if you don’t always feel that way, I promise that you are loved. If nobody else loves you I most certainly do. Live loved.
3. You’re unique. There is no one else anywhere in the universe just like you. You have gifts and talents that are special just to you. The world wants what you have to give. Today is the day to share your art — whatever it may be — with the world.
4. You’re able. You live in a day and age that has so very few restrictions and so very many technologies that make life simpler and easier. The possibilities that lie before you are endless. You have countless opportunities to make a difference and to create an impact.
5. You’re forgiven. You’ve made mistakes. You’ve done things you regret. But there is One who lives for you, loves you, uniquely carried out your salvation, and is fully able to forgive you. Jesus gave His life to make your forgiveness certain.

Choose to be positive today. You are alive. You are loved. You are unique. You are able. You are forgiven.

What happy reason would you give for being positive today?

As if I needed any more reminders, life is short. Living in Orlando this past week has reminded me of that more than 52 times. Now I have received word that Brad, my first cousin once-removed, passed away in his sleep last night. We haven’t been in touch for years, but my memories of him remind me of what it means to truly live life.

Brad and I played freshman football together. He was the toughest player I knew. He could knock a guy out of his socks. He could then be on the receiving end of a monstrous hit and pop right up off the ground without a wince. He was always smiling. He loved telling jokes. People loved being around him. Brad was not only a relative, he was also one of my best friends.

Shortly after our freshman year of high school Brad and his family moved to Texas. We both got busy with our high school careers. The miles that separated us in the days before social media and cell phones meant that our lives would go in different directions.

But I still felt a strong connection to Brad later in life when I discovered that he took on an extremely unique career. He became a sand sculptor. He traveled the world to display his amazing creativity. His work brought joy and fascination to people in countless places all over the globe. He knew how to live. He did what he loved and shared it.

I can think of worse ways to live life.

I’m reminded of Psalm 39:

O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

I am not a fatalist or an epicurean (“Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die”). But I am an advocate for living life to the full:

• Enjoying each and every day
• Looking for the best in people
• Discovering new things
• Doing what you do best
• Finding “flow”
• Attempting to dispense with worry
• Appreciating family
• Having a nice dinner around a table with good friends
• Traveling whenever you get the chance
• Making good art
• Doing what you love and sharing it

Psalm 39 doesn’t leave us in a lurch:

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.

Live in hope. Live life to the full.

Sometimes taking a step of faith has an impact on everyday life. Within the past couple of weeks my wife, Tammy, started her own business called PerfectlyPillō. She’s been thinking about and planning for it for quite some time. Now that school’s out for the summer she decided to take the leap. And it is a leap of faith.

Starting anything new comes with all kinds of questions. Will it work? Will it be worth my time? Will people respond? Will I be able to learn everything I need to in order for success?

But perhaps the biggest question is: Am I an imposter? 

This is where the faith you had to start something new needs to come from the depths of your heart and out your mouth in the form of words. There is such thing is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe that you are an imposter and you start to speak those kinds of doubt-filled words out of your mouth, they will soon come to fruition in the form of failed ventures.

But when you speak out loud words of faith they tend to come true. There is a great power in words. They have the power to move, to guide, to stop, and to start. They have the power to motivate, to celebrate, to appreciate, and dedicate.

Jesus Himself once said: 

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. (Luke 11:23)

Jesus is, of course, referring to faith in Him as Savior. But He is most certainly speaking of the power of faith-filled words. Faith in Him is far stronger than faith in our own abilities.

But when we possess both faith in Him and faith in the abilities He has given us, we are doubly able to actually carry out the vocational things we are gifted to do. We are motivated to work hard to carry out in action what we have spoken with our words. We are much more likely to climb the challenging hills and less likely to slide down the slippery slopes.

So I’m encouraging Tammy to speak out of her mouth positive words about her new business. I’m encouraging you, too, to speak out of your mouth positive words regarding the wonderful challenges you face in life. When you conquer them you will look back and realize what an incredible impact was made by your positive words. You will find yourself further along and higher up the hill than you would have had you focused on the negative.

How can you more consistently put your faith into words?

We’ve lived in the Orlando area for almost exactly four years now. Though my wife, Tammy, and I are from the northern states of Wisconsin and Illinois we have willingly and lovingly adopted Orlando as our home. We love it for the weather, its beautiful lakes and parks, Disney and Sea World, the restaurants, places like Winter Park and Mills 50, and especially the people.

I know full well that Florida gets a bad rap because of the crazy news stories that seem to flow out of our state. But the news story that came out of our city in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, could have happened anywhere. As the day wore on we were more and more horrified by the reckless disregard for human life, by the stories that were released, and by the sheer numbers of those who had lost their lives.

We prayed in church even before we knew the entire impact.

Orlando’s nickname is “The City Beautiful.” And it most certainly is for a myriad of reasons. But today Orlando bleeds with the blood of too many victims. The City Beautiful has been marred by terror. We thought things like this only happened in Paris or London.

Now it has come home. As one Law Enforcement officer said, “This is not an attack on our city. It is an attack on America.”

We know far too many people who could have been at that night club. We’ve got friends in the Orlando theatre community, we have gay friends in the service industry, we have a close friend who is a pastor and does ministry in the LGBT community of Orlando.

Beauty turned to the horrible ugliness of death in the dark hours of a Sunday morning.

But here’s why Orlando is still The City Beautiful:

• When there was an urgent call for blood donation, people lined up hundreds deep in the Florida heat to freely give that precious commodity
• Counseling centers opened immediately to help people deal with grief and fear
• Churches all over town scheduled vigils to pray for peace and for the families and friends of the victims
• Orlando is a part of the United States of America and Americans are resilient, brave, and resolute

I love my city. 

So does my Savior.

He poured out His own blood for it.

It is my hope and prayer that this event will do nothing other than draw people closer to Jesus. That they will know Him as Savior. That they will know the most beautiful thing of all: Jesus’ love, forgiveness, peace, hope, life, and salvation all made possible by His own life, death, and resurrection.

For we all hope and long for The City Beautiful that is to come. As St. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until the rest in Thee.”

Orlando is The City Beautiful. 

And it is my home.

When the wound “heals” from all of this there will always be a scar on The City Beautiful. 

But beauty will rise from the ashes and our city will rise up, stronger than ever.