Putting the Holiday Blues to Rest

News reports each year come out about how to beat the holiday blues. It seems that every year, there are more deaths, sadness, and that overwhelming feeling of aloneness that strikes many.

It's not something that happens suddenly because it's winter but often because it's been on the mind of the individual that it is affected. Perhaps they have experienced tremendous loss in their life and they are looking for a way to recover from it.

When loneliness strikes, it's hard to hide it for a long time. You find yourself looking for a reason to make connections, go out, take a walk, maybe even throw a party.

You find that you want to do this more often during the holidays because you start thinking about how much you miss a loved one that passed, or perhaps you have lost a friend.

The holiday blues are more than feeling sad, because this year so many are left without work, a loss of income or even a loss of public assistance that they had been receiving. There were thousands on unemployment that finally dropped off of the payroll, and now they are left without feeling as though they can provide for their families.

Kids go without Christmas gifts, they cannot feed their children, and all they can feel is despair. It seems other family members are doing just great, but somehow they cannot seem to make it work. Then, there is another piece to this puzzle.

There are families that live on a stringent budget, and now they battle holiday blues because of the commercialization of Christmas. They start to feel the pressure of not "being enough", or the inability to "not spend enough". Although they have shopped and have the ability to do so, it's all about how much they can buy and how big the gift is to those they spend time with.

It makes it tough when you are surrounded by even one of these issues, let alone two of them. Unless people have been through it, it's hard for them to understand how you feel. Where are you at with the "holiday blues"? Are things going pretty well? Do you have it in you to step up and share your heart with others?

If you are employed and enjoying your family this year, remember those who are not. It is not always true that people "live off of the system", or that they "don't work hard enough". In fact, now more than ever, there are so many that have fallen on hard times. How has God blessed you?

If He has blessed you, why not make it a point to bless others. If you know someone that is struggling with the holiday blues, reach out and share your love with them this season. Live courageously!

LGBT Inmates in Texas County to Get Special Protection

Recently, an announcement was made that a Texas county was planning to grant special protection to LGBT inmates in one of it's prisons.

This comes as no surprise as there has been a lot of talk surrounding the LGBT community and the need for resolution on many topics.

While some of you may frown on this just because you don't live the same lifestyle or have the same preferences.

I want you to consider how sad it is that anyone would need special protection in a prison cell. Think about it for a second; prison?

Who has the right in prison to judge another human being? Nevermind the fact that judging others is wrong all around, it certainly doesn't seem right for an inmate to hurt another just because they have a different sexual orientation.

Who in a prison cell is ever justified? We are NEVER to pass judgment on other people, but it just seemed so odd to me to find that an inmate would want to hurt another simply because they live a different life. It never made sense to me that an individual's choice to love differently would cause fear in anyone. Hmmm.

These LGBT inmates have obviously had their share of struggles with this very issue in prison. They have been open about who they are, they choose to be authentic, yet they are being judged horribly by others that have killed others and who knows what else.

It just doesn't make sense.

Thankfully, this law being passed will prohibit inmates from having just cause to hurt another based upon their sexual preference. The same goes for anyone that works in the prison too. There will be no toleration of injuring another or even speaking ill of another simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

It's time that got real about this issue and stop the discrimination. It's never okay to discriminate, and it's never okay to physically or verbally abuse someone because of the choices they have made.

Houston has the third largest jail, after Los Angeles and Chicago's Cook County. It seems that all three of these prisons have had to take a hard look at what is happening behind bars with their inmates. I say, "It's about time."

It's time to be courageous, and take a stand for our LGBT inmates. Rather than passing judgment or allowing them to suffer at the hands of others, let all of them be safe and treated equally. These are people, some with lost souls that could use some encouragement, direction, guidance, and most of all a love that transcends what man has to offer.

Be Courageous!

PS-How do you feel about the issue with "LGBT inmates" and what they face? We would love for you to leave a comment below!

Why Motivational TShirts Are Getting Attention

Have you heard that motivational tshirts are getting criticism in the Wall Street Journal. This isn't being taken lightly, in fact the writer of the article, Chad Stafko takes a harsh standpoint about these tshirts being worn by runners. 

The idea? That runners boast about what they do, and if wearing tshirts that boast they are runners isn't enough, they also have bumper stickers devoted to sharing how far they have run. Hmmm. What about those that wear stickers on the day they gave blood? 

Does that make them overzealous about it? Not necessarily. In fact, it can help to encourage others to give blood as well. Even if the decals state the number of miles they run per day, perhaps someone will see it and get motivated to take better care of themselves. Right?

The writer didn't see it that way, but at Courageous Life we look at things a bit differently. We believe that what you wear says a lot about you and what you stand for. In fact, the message on your shirt can cause someone to smile, or even change their outlook on the day completely. Would you agree? 

We aren't saying that tshirts are life changing, meaning completely, but consider the impact they could have even for a moment. Think about how great it is that someone could recall what your tshirt, hat, or even your decal said. They could even share that with someone later on in another conversation. 

Motivational tshirts aren't something that people wear to brag, but in my opinion they often encourage others to do an activity. Inspiring others to take action is what leadership is all about. The writer even states that a study shows that there were 15.5 million people participating in marathons in 2012 versus the 13 million in 2010.

So, the idea that wearing these tshirts doesn't work is simply not true. As runners wear their marathon shirts in races and as they are out and about in public, they clearly just want to share a message. We want to share ours too. 

Our message is one that states positive thoughts and at least gets others thinking about how they can inspire others too. If you want to check out the article just out of curiosity sake, you can go here: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304448204579186401818882202. 

If you would like to check out our motivational tshirts and see what we have to encourage you as well as those around you, go HERE to learn more!