Stories inspiring faith abound. But faith is a strange thing. It cannot be proven even by true, awe-inpiring stories. But the stories are like seeds – perhaps like the short video that shows how long it takes for a bamboo shoot to grow.

It is my hope that these stories will be inspiring to you, that you will ponder them, that you will allow them to penetrate into your heart and that you will allow faith to rise up inside of you.

When our middle son disappeared in Hawaii in 1999, we realized more than ever before that life was much more than this tangible stuff we touch, see, smell and breathe every day. The eternal part, the spiritual part of life became just as real to us as the material and tangible part.

One of the reasons for this blog is to share that faith and that reality with you. I have carefully chosen each video, each book, each entry in the hopes that these stories will be inspiring to you. I apologize ahead of time of something strange appears here. Rest assured that it will be edited out as soon as possible.

Most importantly, we wanted to share our story with you. You can click on the link in the sidebar to see more about it and purchase our book, Aloha is Forever. To follow our progress via Facebook, click on this link: Aloha is Forever Updates.

Technorati Tags: stories inspiring, stories inspiring faith

Gifted Bible teacher and inspiring Women of Faith speaker Sheila Walsh offers powerful, heart-filled teaching on 10 bedrock promises of God, providing the foundation for daily confidence, joy, and hope.

In THE SHELTER OF GOD’S PROMISES, Sheila searches Scripture for what God has promised us, what God’s promises mean, and how encounters with Christ are the eternal fulfillment of His unrelenting commitment to us. In this riveting walk through some of the Bible’s most compelling stories, Walsh unveils 10 foundational promises of God that secure our lives during even the most difficult times. Sheila weaves her hallmark storytelling, inspiring personal experience, and Scripture to help readers gain a trust in God that will sustain them for a lifetime.

Duration : 0:1:41

Technorati Tags: bible study, god's promises, inspirational, promises, Sheila Walsh, shelter, Speaker, women of faith, women's studies

Duration : 0:6:39

Technorati Tags: alive, baby, back from death, believer, cerebal palsy, Christian, College, forgotten, God has a plan, God's plan, handicap, hope, Inspiration, Jesus, LSU, Marietta, medical drama, overcomer, salvation, Southern Polytechnic, story of hope, survivor, testimony, vital signs, wheelchair

Duration : 0:5:4

Technorati Tags: Allah of Quran, Arab Muslims, Best christian song, Best song 2011, Best song ever, blessbob, Canadian Muslims, EX Muslim, God of Bible, hillsong, Hindi christian song, Hindu Believers, Hindu convert, Hindu Indians, Indian Muslim, Indian Muslims, Iranian Muslims, Malayalam christian song, Muslim convert, Muslim for christ, Muslim for Jesus, Pakistani Muslims, strongtower27, UK Muslim, Urdu christian song, US Muslims, With all I am

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Thanks to all photographers for these great shots. All these pictures are used under Common Creative license. Below are the links to those pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72213316@N00/4122439089/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72213316@N00/4684591062/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72213316@N00/3814025382/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/111emergency/4716121759/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/111emergency/4716764714/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/coolmikeol/4067271349/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/4340727578/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnsc/2768391365/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdot/11439325/

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Duration : 0:1:35

Technorati Tags: 2011 motivational video, happy new year 2011, Inspiration, inspirational video clips, motivation, Quotes, short inspirational quotes

Duration : 0:3:21

Technorati Tags: courage, faith, For, genuine, God, inspirational, Love, of, profile

Duration : 0:2:57

Technorati Tags: broncos, Patriots, tebowing, tim tebow, tom bradey, us"

Duration : 0:5:4

Technorati Tags: 2012 wildcard, Bears, Brett, bronco 2012, bronco will win super bowl, broncos, broncos defeat steelers, Broncos QB, broncos vs steelers, Colts, Cowboys, Dallas, Draft, Eagles, giants, highlights, Jets, Madden, Manning, NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NFC, NFL 2012 playoff, nfl playoff, Packers, Patriots, Picks, Pittsburgh, prayer tim tebow, Raiders, Redskins, Saints, sports, SUPER BOWL, superbowl, Tackle, tim tebow, TOUCHDOWN, Vikings

No one walked this earth with an urgency of purpose like Jesus. He was pressed on every side by demands of the crowds yet He filled each day with those things that were priorities in the fulfillment of His ultimate purpose. John 5:19 says that Jesus told the Jewish leaders this: “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do, for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” Or to put it in laymen terms, “I get my direction for everything I do from my Father. I only follow His lead.” As He walked this earth, He accomplished more in the three years of His ministry than most people do in a lifetime and ultimately achieved His purpose in going to the cross. As I pondered this, I believe He was giving us a key to what it means to “walk in the Spirit” when He said He only did what He saw His Father doing.

So how do we accomplish that without being sucked in by the tyranny of the urgent that is around us and pressing in on us from all sides? For one thing, we need to develop that habit of constant communion with the Father, paying attention to the still small voice of guidance that He gives. In order to do that, we often have to quiet the clamor of our flesh and its desires that speak so loudly they try to drown out the Spirit’s voice. And we have to discern whether we are listening to God’s voice or satan’s voice – anyone who has repented of their sin and trusted in Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf, has become a child of God. Every child learns to know the sound of his father’s voice and it’s no different in the spiritual realm – but that’s a topic for a different blog entry. Suffice it to say that the key to knowing His voice is spending time with Him, reading His Word and talking to Him on a daily basis.

Another thing we need to do is pay attention to peace. I have learned that peace, or rather, the lack thereof, is like a warning light on the dashboard of your car. When peace is gone, so is God’s spirit. Jesus spoke these words in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you…” You can count on it; if peace isn’t ruling in your heart, He isn’t ruling either.

This line from the little devotional I read this morning stood out to me, “I bless you with being peaceful because you know ahead of time that your Father God will partner with you to provide adequacy for each day, whether a day with pain or pleasure.” Peace comes from walking in that assurance that He is there, just as He said He would be, no matter what your circumstances.

All of what I’ve already said presumes that we know what our purpose and calling is here on this earth. Without a sense of purpose that gives us the urgency to accomplish that purpose, we will inevitably be driven by the urgencies of life; the tyranny of the urgent. Obviously there are things that are legitimate urgencies in our lives such as getting meals on the table, getting the laundry done, earning a living, etc. However, God also has a destiny He would like each of us to fulfill and until that sense of destiny becomes more urgent than the common ordinary urgencies of life, we will have great difficulty accomplishing our calling.

So today I bless you with the knowledge of your calling and the ability to walk hand in hand with Him to accomplish it.

Technorati Tags: life_goals, motivation, purpose, urgency

Duration : 0:2:41

Technorati Tags: Inspiration, inspirational stories, Inspirational videos, inspiring stories, Inspiring videos, Justin Cohen