"Beautiful" by Mercy Me

This world can be a very cruel place.  Too many people feel that the only way they can build themselves up is to tear someone else down.  Many of us isolate our feelings from most others, only opening up to a few choice friends in whom we feel we can trust.  The greatest betrayals are when even those trusted friends thoughtlessly, or intentionally cause us the greatest emotional harm. 

It's hard to feel good about yourself when you get rejected.  You feel like if they don't value you for your looks, your mind, your personality, then why should you?  Because there is one that values you more than you could ever value yourself.  He thought you were worth so much that he suffered torture and gave his only life to make sure you would be safe for all eternity.  He is in heaven right now, right this instant, looking down on you, reaching out through the immensity of time and space to surround you with his own tender love.  To let you know that everything will be okay. 

To Him, you are beautiful, you are treasured, you are irreplaceable.  You are in the middle of a dark valley on your journey of life, but his loving arms await you in the warm sunshine.  If you look up to Him, He will send the sunshine to where you are and begin to heal your broken heart.

"Beautiful" by Mercy Me

Days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful

And praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross

[Chorus]

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious

Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves enough to die

[Chorus]

"Only Hope" by Switchfoot and Mandy Moore

Hope has become a misunderstood word.  Nowadays, we say things like "I hope it's sunny today" to mean we have no idea if it will be sunny (and with our luck it probably won't be), but still, it would be nice if it was.  This isn't what hope used to mean.  Hope is a conviction that something is true.  It leaves no room for doubt; hope is the opposite of doubt.

The misunderstanding of the word hope illustrates the fact that many people today do not have much hope.  Agnosticism and moral ambiguity have left people uncertain what they should do and uncertain what the ultimate results of it will be.  We have been taught that there are only us humans and humans cannot be trusted.

What a benefit those people have who believe in a supreme power and objective morality.  Like the North Star sitting still in the heavens while the rest of the universe spins in circles, their belief and religion provides a clear path for their actions and strong hope for their eternal future.  Whatever may happen to them in this life -- friendships and relationships betrayed, sickness, financial failure -- they know for certain that it will all be okay.  They place their only hope in that conviction.

Scoffers who may criticize their supposed naiveté would do well to remember Pascal's famous wager: should the believer's hope be placed in reality they win an eternity of happiness.  They also get a lifetime of moral certainty which leads to a lifestyle of happiness.  Should they be wrong, they still keep the lifetime of peacefulness and then cease to exist at death. Not a bad bet.  Those who refuse to recognize an objective morality are much more likely to act in a way in life that will leave them unhappy, will lack the peace of mind of moral certainty, and risk eternal damnation for their actions.  Which do you think is the better bet: following the wisdom of an eternal being (or at least of collective humanity) or stumbling about in the dark on your own?

"Only Hope" by Switchfoot and Mandy Moore

There's a song that's inside of my soul.
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold.
But you sing to me over and over and over again.

So, I lay my head back down.
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only yours, I pray, to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope.

Sing to me the song of the stars.
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again.
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again.

I give you my destiny.
I'm giving you all of me.
I want your symphony, singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs, I'm giving it back.

So I lay my head back down.
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only yours, I pray, to be only yours
I pray, to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope. 

"Love Like Crazy" by Lee Brice

If you want to see what real love is, you only need go visit a couple that has been together for decades.  Long after the initial attraction has past, past all of the disagreements, hurt feelings and apologies, true love continues to sail through hoping for the best but ready to endure the worst.  True love is a decision that these couples made, again and again over the years, to be their spouse's best friend, to love them no matter what trials they come across.

It may seem crazy to some.  Humans are programed to look after themselves and to take an advantage over another when it comes along.  To truly love someone, you must open yourself up to be completely vulnerable to their actions.  But the rewards of such a intimate and trusting relationship have no other match in the world.

Choose your spouse very, very carefully, but once you have made your wise choice, abandon your own selfish desires and love them like crazy.  Work hard at cultivating your marriage and it will be there for a lifetime of happiness and fulfillment.

"Love Like Crazy" by Lee Brice

They called them crazy when they started out
Said seventeen's too young to know what loves about
They've been together fifty-eight years now
That’s crazy

He brought home sixty-seven bucks a week
He bought a little 2 bedroom house on Maple Street
Where she blessed him with six more mouths to feed
Yea that’s crazy

Just ask him how he did it; he'll say pull up a seat
It'll only take a minute, to tell you everything

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I Love You
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common since
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when he quit his job
Said them home computers, boy they'll never take off
He sold his one man shop to Microsoft
They paid like crazy

Just ask him how he made it
He'll tell you faith and sweat
And the heart of a faithful woman,
Who never let him forget

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I Love You
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common since
Never let your prayin knees get lazy
And love like crazy

Always treat your woman like a lady
Never get to old to call her baby
Never let your prayin knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when they started out
They've been together fifty-eight years now

Aint that crazy?

"You'll Never Walk Alone" by Various Performers

It isn't too often these days that you get a musical theater song that crosses over to be sung regularly by thousands of soccer fans in England. The special message of this song from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel touches at the very core of humanity: everyone needs to know that they are not alone.

Solitary confinement has always been known to be the worst possible punishment that could be offered to a criminal.  Humans are social creatures and we need to know that someone else knows and cares about us.  We also need to know that there is hope around the corner, and that all our struggles will someday open up to a time of peace and happiness.  It is no surprise that every single successful ideology, whether religious or political, stresses that there is a time in the future when all problems will end and love will abound.  In Christianity alone, the promise of "on earth, peace, goodwill towards men" falls only short of "glory to God in the highest."

Whether Judeo-Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or an agnostic humanist, we are all in this together and every human should do their part to meet the needs of those around them and thereby improve our race. 

"You'll Never Walk Alone"

When you walk through a storm
Hold your chin up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet, silver song of a lark.

Walk on, through the wind,
Walk on, through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart,
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone.

"What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong

With all the stresses and frustrations we experience in life, it is important to occasionally step out and enjoy the miracle that our world is.  The beautiful blue of the sky reflecting in a crisp mountain lake.  The cool, earthy smell of the forest.  The soothing rhythm of the ocean at the shore.

We perhaps feel this awe of nature the most around young children.  If we could all look at the wonderful world around us with the curiosity of an infant, our troubles would all seem much smaller in the context of everything else.  They understand that this world was made for our enjoyment.  They understand that no person is better than any other and we are all meant to love each other.

"What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

"100 Years" by Five For Fighting

There is a part of human nature that causes us to always be be pushing and stretching for something more than what we are today. This is what entices us to be continually improving, create new technologies and reach for the stars. It can also, however, hold us back by causing us to remain unsatisfied with our current situations, always hoping to be older, richer, have a better job, more friends or family, or any number of things.

Almost no age group exemplifies this better than the teenager. "Not quite an adult, but no longer a child," the teenager yearns for the independence, respect, income and possessions of an adult. In their wishing to be on to the next stages of their life, they often ignore and trivialize the experiences and growth they can only have in this stage of their lives. Many people look back with fondness on the carefree days of their childhood and wish that they had been able to see their worries as the small things they really were and enjoy that time that will never come again.

There is a saying that goes "You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering."

"100 Years" by Five for Fighting

I'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

I'm 22 for a moment
She feels better than ever
And we're on fire
Making our way back from Mars

15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

I'm 33 for a moment
Still the man, but you see I'm a they
A kid on the way
A family on my mind

I'm 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I'm heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life

15 there's still time for you
Time to buy, Time to lose yourself
Within a morning star

15 I'm all right with you
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

Half time goes by
Suddenly you're wise
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on...

I'm 99 for a moment
Dying for just another moment
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

15 there's still time for you
22 I feel her too
33 you're on your way
Every day's a new day...

15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to choose
Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live