Hope & Encouragement
Articles mainly about hope, encouragement, not giving up, being lifted up when discouraged.
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Hope or Optimism
Brene Brown shared a story of a POW survivor who said the first to die were the optimists. These were the “pie on the sky” people who believed freedom would happen by Christmas.
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During the Watches of the Night
I am reading a memoir of a Russian interpreter who helped with the identification of the body of Hitler.
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Good News
In my devotional, I was feeling sad when I opened an advent book by one of my favorite authors, Henri Nouwen.
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A New Father
One of the greatest losses a child can experience is father loss. Father loss comes in many forms. A three-year-old boy’s father dies in a plane crash.
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True Desire
What is your true desire? Can you peel back the reasons for the way you want to live?
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Merry Christmas
One Christmas Season, Dad felt at the apex of frustration with his stage four cancer diagnosis. Worn out and weary to the bone, he tried to navigate both the physical and emotional work of managing his pain.
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Personal Guarantee
Imagine making a blanket guarantee that all things, meaning everything in your life, will work out for good! Consider this life guarantee written by St.
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Full of Wishes
I love Henri Nouwen. I imagine him spending time with Dad in heaven. Henri always longed for a deeply loving friend, and he would have found that in Dad.
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Change Is Inevitable
Change is all around us ! There is a constant alteration, meaning a difference from one condition to another.
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Cheering On
Our daughter Ariana is on the National Tour of The Sound of Music . What joy for our family!
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Bonhoeffer on Death
“…LIFE ONLY BEGINS WHEN IT ENDS HERE ON EARTH” – Bonhoeffer St. Paul has often been quoted, “Death where is thy victory, where is thy sting?” In some mysterious way, both the apostle Paul and German martyr Dietrich…
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Just the Right Time
In my walk as a Christian for many years, one of the biggest surprises to me is how consistent God is at surprising me when I feel the most need for Him.
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GAME ON – Win the Moment!
Basketball has taught me that victory comes when you bounce back from difficulty. Lifeball is a far tougher game to play than basketball. Psalm 100 is my bedrock to come back from a rough day.
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Why Jesus
I sense that some people from other sports industries look with disdain at me on any praise delivered to “Jesus” as though I am delivering something fanatical or cultish.
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Just Like That
My daughter Natalya prayed every night for months that her sister would have red hair like Ariel from The Little Mermaid. At first, we thought she would outgrow it, but she was relentless.
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Dear Friends
Our scripture memory verse this past week was 1 Peter 4:12-13. It begins, “Dear Friends.” The words in Greek translates as “those who are beloved, deeply loved.” Who are these dear friends in your life?
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Desperate Child Needs
The need to belong and to have something of value to belong to; the need to have success and be recognized for this success; the need to love and be loved.
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Feasting in the House of God
I flew to Cambridge, UK again with Shann. We spent time with a lovely Christian artist who wrote a song called, “We Will Feast in House of Zion.” Her name is Sandra, and she has a tender quietness…
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The Miracle of Hope
My dad loved his mother. She was the saving grace in a home full of pain and suffering. Her death profoundly influenced my dad. He became agnostic for a while because of it.
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Helpless Take Heart
Hope is helpful if you find yourself in a position much like myself, helpless take heart are words that speak loudly. This sun-filled, blue-sky May morning inspired these words gleaned from David in Psalm 33 and 34.
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Meditating on Comfort
There is a bridge in Prague that is one of the most famous in the world. Near one end is a metal statue, most of the others are entirely of stone.
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Answered Prayer
My husband Shann wrote the libretto for an opera about the life of Zechariah and Elizabeth highlighting the human suffering of barrenness.
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Praying with Hope
I have been praying for many years for two gifts. They both were answered the same week. I laughed and cried with joy at their fulfillment. How immediately the dread lifted. What a gift!
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Wintering
In Spokane, the winter strips the leaves from our deciduous trees. I notice without the garment of green, the trees appear gnarled and exposed. I think of this image as a metaphor for difficulty.
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The Miracle of Hope
I have been praying about a few life situations for a long time. It’s easy to begin to feel discouraged because there remains no answer.
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It’s Only You
When life gets so hard, we seem to be in a place we cannot describe. In fact, we do want other people, but it seems to be ONLY YOU. Please let me explain.
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Finding Hope
One of the stories Dad and I loved came from an experiment designed to see how well people can spot talent.
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Going Through
Sometimes, when I start to pray my mind wanders over the myriad of tasks I have for the day. Sometimes everywhere I turn, my mind is a space of anger and resentment.
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Reclamation Instead of Regret
I have been considering how regret is a stronger emotion than gratitude. Regret can overrun our desire for gratitude. It can invade our thoughts and interrupt our thankfulness.
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Turning
We have had a vibrant fall this year. As the chlorophyll dissipates from the leaves, their true colors are revealed. The color deepens with the warm days and crisp nights.
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Death is Strange
My mom’s good friend died last week. She was in her early seventies and the epitome of health. Last March, she and mom vacationed together. They lifted weights, walked every day, ate healthy, and enjoyed each other.
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Messages to Persevere
Sometimes, I write messages to myself when I am in the middle of a crisis. I keep them as reminders that this painful moment will pass.
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Good News
Dad and I loved the story of Joseph. It is such a fascinating consideration for me. Joseph, annoying, openly, and shamelessly favored.
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Words of Hope
I love thinking about the phrase, “Words of Hope.” I meditate on each piece of the phrase. WORD – Some of my dad’s favorite scripture verses he and I memorized include this.
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Psalm 20
One of the first passages we all memorized as a staff was Psalm 20. It’s my go-to passage for those in distress.
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Verbal Guardrails
Camp is in full swing with many moving parts and of course unforeseen challenges. Most of these come out of nowhere surprising me without warning.
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Overflowing Hope
I am so thankful my dad called these little devotionals Words of Hope . I bless him for this.
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Celebrating People
I found a note from my dad. Dad wrote amazing words of encouragement. He celebrated people and made me feel like I could run through a brick wall if I had to.
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What You Need When You Need It
We have a chalkboard with the “verse of the week” stenciled across the top hanging above the NBC Camps office sink.
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Setback to Comeback
I love the phrase, “A setback is a setup for a comeback.” I have been chanting this in my mind for the last few days. All the remarkable stories have this trajectory.
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Gratitude in Grief
Growing up my family had a daily ritual of reading Our Daily Bread every morning at the table. No matter who was staying or living at our home at the time, everyone participated.
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Time for Good News
I am often surprised by sorrow. I didn’t realize how many different shades of sadness I could experience. Small moments trigger me, and I am often triggered, especially when people say something to me about my dad.
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The importance of Symbolism
I watched one of our friend’s post a video of his baptism. His daughter also was baptized. It’s so surprising to me what a joyous event this is. I cry every baptism I watch.
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God is Moving Mountains
How important is hope? I can’t believe how I need it. I have five big hopeful dreams right now and they are easily toppled with a few fearful thoughts. My husband Shann is infinitely more pragmatic.
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Wild Imagination
I have a bad habit of imagining someone else’s suffering will pass to me like a contagious disease.
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Solid Rock
The words from the hymn, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand,”rang through my mind this morning. Dad loved this song. I can hear him trying to sing it.
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Multiplication
March 18th was the birthday of my beloved father. I have been crying on and off all week. March is our family’s birthday month, and Dad is deeply missed during this time.
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Zombie Revival
We read a gorgeous essay aloud as family members recently written by Albert Camus. He seems like a person I would have loved time with. A devout atheist who was full of gratitude and wonder.
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Rational
I had a beautiful opportunity on a flight to Oklahoma recently to talk with a brilliant person who memorized the poetry of GM Hopkins and John Milton when he was younger.
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Good News
Dad and I memorized a beautiful poem by Wendell Berry. One of the poignant lines says, “when despair for the world grows in me…” Despair is the opposite of hope.
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Tomorrow!
I am reading a historical novel about Quebec set in 1697. The author, one of my favorites, did extensive research for this book.
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Wrong Direction
My car was turned the wrong direction when we were leaving the house. It was facing the direction leading to my mom and dad’s home.
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Intentions
Dad loved the promise of the new year. He loved journals, plans, and renewal. Yesterday, on New Year’s Day, a group of us gathered around the table to discuss how to enter 2023 with intention.
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Running the Race
I recently listened to the Pray as You Go app, and the scripture passage was from Hebrews.
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Time Intolerable
Grief continues to surprise me. The other night I missed Dad so much I just lay on my bed crying for a while. The pain of his loss felt like a sharp dagger.
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Modern Day Pilgrim’s Progress
If you read my Dad’s Words of Hope you will see how much he cared for those going through depression or cancer.
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Essential Art
Last year we were in NYC to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. We were with some friends who are artists. For me, art is truly the only way I can process tragedies.
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Sing Until the Miracle Comes
I keep a few old gratitude journals on my desk that I review from time to time. Today I read about an overnight trip my daughter Ari took with her class six years ago.
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Giving Hope
I heard from two people last week that Dad’s “Words of Hope” book brought people comfort. One person gave the book to a family who lost a teenage son to suicide.
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The Gift of a Good Father
My friend told me, “I didn’t have a dad like yours. He left our family through an affair and wanted to reconcile later in life.
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The Best Medicine
Shann is genuinely a happy person. He is cheerful, lighthearted, and never moody or depressed. He sings daily and is genuinely a joy to be married to.
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The Anchor and the Cross
A friend of mine called me. Her daughter lost her fiancé in a devasting accident a few months before their wedding. This grief feels unbearable to me.
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A Life of Hope
When I look back on my Dad’s Words of Hope, I am proud of the work he did, which wasn’t so much the words of hope he wrote but the words of hope he lived.
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Light in the darkness
We watched an evocative movie the other day. It was a modern parallel of the road to Calvary.
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Caesura Pause
I have been thinking about my Dad’s skills and gifts that I aspire to have in my life. One skill he had was the caesura pause.
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Dream Dinner
I had my first dream of my father. He was younger than I am now at my current age. We sat side by side at a beautiful banquet table.
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Shooting Star
When Dad lay dying, I told him he would soon get to spend time with Sojourner Truth one of our favorite people. We never met Sojourner Truth, but we knew her story, and it changed us.
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Weather Man
Dad would say, “Imagine an elevator. Most of us have moods and emotions which take us up and down the elevator. But some people get off and live on certain floors.
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Eternal Life
Last spring, I read Dad and Mom a beautiful short story from Anthony Doer’s book, Memory Wall .
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Encouragement is Oxygen
At camp, my Dad struggled to help student-athletes understand the necessity of encouragement. Then he compared it to oxygen. Oxygen is necessary for life; the same is true of encouragement.
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Garment of Praise
Sorrow can feel like a heavy shroud. I sometimes feel suffocated by it if I allow my mind to think of no more time with Dad, no more calls, no more chats by the fire, or surprise trips.…
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Is
I have been wrestling with language around my Dad’s death. I don’t like to say I lost my Dad because I didn’t lose him. I have full confidence I know where he is.
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The Power of Hope
My Dad’s hope inspires me. Dad studied, researched, prayed for, and meditated on the word hope. He knew it was a crucial foundation for life in God. Hope is confidence in the unseen.
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The God of All Comfort
My Dad believed fully in Christ and in His resurrection power. He did not fear death but trusted implicitly in the message that the dead in Christ shall be raised.
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Dad’s Voice
I asked my Mom what the most challenging part of her journey right now was, and she paused for a minute and then said, “Not hearing his voice.
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Lean Back
A song comforting me during this painful loss of my Dad has been “Lean Back,” written by Tony Brown, Chris Mcclarney, Nate Moore, and Amanda Lindsay Cook.
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God supplies our Needs
God shall supply ALL my needs?! What a sentence! Do I live like I believe this? I know this is something Dad wrestled with for a long time.
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The God of Hope
Several people reached out to me after the Words of Hope in which I shared not being able to hear Dad’s voice on the voice message I saved. I wanted to follow up on that story.
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Outside of Time
My Dad left me a lengthy voicemail before he died. I waited to listen to it for a few weeks after he passed, waiting for a time I really needed to hear his voice.
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Wait for the Lord
Dad was not the best at waiting when he was younger. He disliked waiting in line or at the doctor’s office. With cancer, you spend many hours of your life in waiting rooms.
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You can trust God
I trusted my Dad. He created a very safe space for me to share with him my life and my struggles. He listened well and encouraged me without judgment or shame.
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Doing Good
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 Experience tells us when an exhortation is given in the negative, there…
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Myelin Protects Hope
You must build hope, for the day will come when it is desperately needed! Myelin is a coating that covers your circulatory neurons. Every time you perform a skill, you are creating myelin.
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Be of Good Cheer
Here in Spokane we have had record-breaking heat in June. Now in July throughout the Pacific Northwest we need rain. Don’t you agree there always appears to be a good and bad side to everything, even weather!
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Three Stages of Life
In the early days, a baby spends the vast majority of time in a crib. The middle years of life are spent grinding it out for the accumulation of stuff.
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Life Is Hard
“Once we admit life is hard, it is no longer difficult.” – Scott Peck It baffles me when people; notably Fred Crowell, think we deserve an easy life.
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The Climb
When we stop climbing, facing the challenges life presents every day, we lose our mission and purpose . For the toddler, the climb is learning to stand and then walk.
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The Language of Hope
In hopes to offset today’s primarily angry, harsh, rhetorical, judgmental language. The language of Hope seems like an excellent alternative.
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Hope in 1865 – Hope in 2021
JUNE 3 is an important date. June 3, 1865, was the date for the Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, as part of the Civil War (156 years ago).
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Hopefulness
Nestled in the decorative rock among my beautiful rhododendrons, I discovered what looked like trash. To my big surprise, it was not trash! Instead, it was a neatly folded piece of white paper.
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AMAZING GREAT PODCAST – Hosted by Ric Hansen
Amazing Greats interviews with well-known actors, authors, artists, athletes, musicians, and business leaders. Authentic conversations about their lives, careers, and how their faith played an important part. Inspiring and uplifting stories of hope, transformation, and triumph.
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The Pure Authentic Steadfast Light
I like to begin Words of Hope with a story that inspires me. A long time ago, there was a man who said he was not the Light, but he came to show people the way to the…
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Death Moment(s)
KEY STATEMENT: If you have experienced a death moment you are never the same. If you have not experienced a death moment, be prepared because you will likely have a death moment experience.
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Clinical Trials
After 12 days with my new Medical Trial by UCLA, I now more fully understand why it is called a Clinical Trial. It is because the prescribed drug is on trial.
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Excellent UCLA doctor time
Dear Forever Friends, Once again, the Lord delivers Fred Crowell big time. After 11 intense metastatic cancer years, my cancer is isolated in the bones and not present in soft tissue.
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God Is Good… Always
The giant enemy of the human spirit is self-pity! Years ago, one dark emotional day at an NBC Camps clinic for the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Washington, the self-pity engine engaged my mind.
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Oxicourage
Today is Day 57 in our 2021 Words of Hope. May I politely ask a favor of you? I really need your help. This is so you, in turn, will help others.
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My Hope
My dear friends, I write this Word of Hope from Cabo, San Lucas. This is a wonderful place, especially when Spokane is experiencing bitter coldness – still winter!
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Encouragement Is Like Oxygen
Every life form is starving for a drop of encouragement. Some examples: The cactus in Arizona cries for just one drop of moisture.
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Heaven on Earth
One of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. A profound request! Who else should be asked! His instructions were condensed to 70 words to pray with sincere humility and faith.
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A Written Letter
A WRITTEN LETTER can be an effective way to communicate. Francis Bacon said: “Reading makes us full, speaking makes us prepared, and writing makes us exact.” A letter is from one person to others to be read.
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Heavy Heart Therapy
Imagine a valentine heart shape burdened with a heavy backpack running to jump and clear a high bar.
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You Are Enough
My Dearest of Friends, When St. Paul wrote his many letters from his Roman prison cell, I am sure he did not know they would reach his friends, let alone be read.
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Fridays With Fred
I am writing to all who call Fred Crowell brother and friend. I want you to know I love and appreciate you.
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2021 Letter from Fred
WARMEST GREETINGS TO MY DEAR FAITHFUL FRIENDS: The year 2020 had the earmarks of a very unique year. For too many, it was the worst of years, especially financially.
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How to Make Hope Work for You
This Word of Hope is written to my hero Mike. He is responding to a fellow employee who has just been given a cancer diagnosis. In this respect, HOPE is our ANCHOR! It is not dormant.
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Hope, an Antidote for Depression
“Hope is the anchor to our souls.” In my former career as a marriage and family counselor, I faced a monumental counseling challenge. A young, deeply depressed, divorced mother came to me.
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Crowell’s Irrevocable Law of the Broken Plate
A broken plate! Imagine the pain a mother experienced when her young child dropped one of her most precious treasures. It was a special plate received from her mother.
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Thanksgiving Week
In 1863, because of the Army victory at Gettysburg during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving holiday for every succeeding November.
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DON’T NEVER STOP – Positive Force Statement
Don’t never stop being HOPEFUL Don’t never stop being kind & cheerful Don’t never stop loving life and people Don’t never stop loving the Lord with mind heart and soul The use of a double negative is done…
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Hope Is Only as Good as the Anchor
One of the most enlightening Biblical chapters is I Corinthians 13. Here Apostle Paul extols love as the highest creative act of human giftedness.
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Hope Does Not Disappoint
The best experience in life is simply living, breathing, loving people, delighting in God’s creation, and earth as our Disneyland. Life is a blessing! Yet, one of the worst experiences in life is a disappointment .
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Door of Hope
Anytime the word “HOPE” appears in writing, my eyes light up! It is my inspiration! It became my go-to word when cancer knocked at my door.
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7200 Pounds of Hope
Do we really measure HOPE in terms of pounds? Yes, we surely do when it is Words of Hope books.
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Hope Says Have Hope
If dogs could bark in human language, I am convinced my new pup, Hope LUV, would bark words of hope to you. Hope is kind and gentle, and she delights in jumping, running, and receiving approval.
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High on Hope
Many years ago a college student told me his story: “For six years I was drug-free. However, after graduating from college, I was struggling to find employment. I became discouraged.
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Unstuck
“Unstuck” is a descriptive word, an adjective. When an object becomes unstuck, it is freed or loosened from being fastened or stuck.
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Hang Tight to Hope
HOPE IS REAL ANTICIPATION IN A VERY TOUGH AND DIFFICULT WORLD. Hope is our medicine for depression, failure, discouragement, illness, broken dreams. Hope is the cure for dark days when it seems life really sucks.
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Ten Thousand Books
The time has come! Ten thousand WORDS OF HOPE books are now being published: Full-color, hard-back cover 416 pages of wisdom 366 Hope messages The daily messages are to inform, inspire, and entertain.
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Hinds Feet
Difficulties and troubles in this world often cause us to cry out unthinkingly for help to be strong, brave, and invincible.
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Cancer Beater #1: The Spirit
To WIN against cancer, it is first and foremost necessary to understand what war and winning are. War is intense conflict and combat; winning is conquering and gaining a triumph. Unfortunately, cancer has no rules. Cancer cheats.
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The One Amazing Encourage Tool: The Personal Letter
In life experience laboratories, human condition scientists search to find new methods to educate people to live at maximum potential. Their one mystery question is: HOW DO WE BEST MOTIVATE HUMANITY?
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The Power of Personalized Letters
One of the most powerful ways to inspire and encourage someone is a personal letter. This is because written words can be reread and encouraged again. Therefore, they are magical.
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Letter to Fred
Good morning, Freddy J. Crowell. The immediate, direct question needing an answer is: How are you?
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Crowell Cancer War Report
Greetings dear WOH friends, Daily words of hope with Fred Crowell was inspired out of my need to fight cancer with firm resolve and a never-quit attitude. Cancer became a friend, not a foe.
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Two Pounds of Hope
Have you ever held two pounds of HOPE in your hands? With today’s many worldwide problems housed in nearly every human life on this planet, two pounds of HOPE has the potential to lift the human spirit to…
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The Story – the Ask
Behind every Ask is a life experience story. The more significant the story, the larger the Ask. The less important the story, the smaller the Ask.
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What Do You Say When There Is No Hope?
These past few days people have asked me questions that are extremely difficult. There doesn’t seem to be a helpful answer. Five years ago Bill Brick and I became friends for eternity.
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Mookie Fights Cancer
Meet Mookie! He lives in Thailand. He is a favorite at NBC Camps; always smiling, inspirational, hard-working, and a pure delight to teammates and coaches. Why is Mookie our hero?
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The New Normal
Recently USA News made two statements: “Ignorance is the new normal. Stupidity is the new normal.” Where is there hope in these two philosophical statements? Curiosity is a significantly powerful learning skill.
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One Pill One Book
In my left palm is a white $200 pill. Its purpose is to prevent kidneys from producing testosterone, a food prostate cancer delights in eating. The prescription is to take four pills each day, totaling $800.
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Never Ever Quit
Never ever be discouraged Never quit Never ever let cancer win Never stop loving people Never cease to love God & His Son One of the greatest men in the 20th century was Pope John Paul, the first…
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Crowell’s War on Cancer
“Cancer cannot steal my joy, rob me of hope, or destroy my love for life and people.” The past decade has been some of the best years of my life.
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Hope Luv – Says Hello
If dogs could bark in human language, I am convinced my new little pup would bark words of Hope to you. Of course, she would be inspired by her name, HOPE LUV.
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Without God, Without Hope
With bold confidence, strong conviction, passion, and compassion, I, Fred Crowell, proclaim without God and His hope, I have no firepower to beat cancer, nothing but anger about CV-19, and deep sorrow for the current hardships facing the…
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You Can’t
Have you ever been told you can’t do it? I hope you replied, “ Yes, I can! “ A Crowell Core Value: Never let anyone or anything stop you from doing what God has asked you to do…
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Hopeless to Hopeful
Imagine the hopelessness one would experience under the following conditions: Stay of execution although standing before a firing squad Ten years in prison Death of wife Death of a favorite brother A debt of approximately $850,000 Obligation to…
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People Are Like a Loaf of Bread
Bread has been on my mind. As a boy, mom’s homemade bread was worth dying for. Then, for many years my wife had Mondays as her homemade bread day.
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Thank God It’s Friday
We build our personal world within the global world with the words that proceed from our mouths. So, if words matter as I believe they do, perhaps the idiom TGIF is not a great thing.
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Hope – Help from You
A wise professional athlete said, “The stars are not the athletes because without fans there would be no professional sports; fans are the true stars.” The true star in the miracle story of the Words of Hope book…
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Hope Wins, Cv-19 Loses
When fear grows in me at the least unexpected time (now concerning CV-19), I go to my secret place, my secret garden.
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The Life Elevator
Yes, in life we are either going up, going down, or not moving! Just like a mechanical elevator.
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Whatever Happened to Crazy?
One of the funniest comedians Jay Crowell and I enjoy is Chris Rock. In one of his monologues he makes his famous toothy, wide-eyed look; then declares, “Whatever happened to crazy?” It so fun; so good to laugh.…
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NBC Camps Delivers Hope
A great high school coach told me many years ago, “If NBC had a finger painting class my 3 children would be there.
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What Is Hope? How to Make It Work for You.
St. Paul said, “Hope is one of the three most important words…” He used an anchor as a metaphor for hope. St.
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We Saw Giants
“We were like grasshoppers in our own sight and so we were in their sight.” – Numbers 13:33b An essential element in preparing for a basketball game is scouting the enemy.
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Dry up! Game On!
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I’m reminded of a time when my fourth graders were playing for the city championship.
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Something Better
The strength and integrity of a company or an individual are the associations they are able to develop. Cornerstone Home Lending is one of the finest companies in the USA to help families finance their homes.
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Not Havin’ Any
The Crowell-Ferch family delights in really good movies. The great ones we watch over and over again. Over 30 years ago, SILVERADO was a family favorite. Brian Dennehy played a rugged, tough sheriff.
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Out of Egypt
This Words of Hope blog is especially for those who are experiencing hardship or helping another who is experiencing hardship, feeling defeated.
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Operate in Peace
Who God Says I am, is far more important than who you, or who I, say I am. In the early 1980’s I was invited to speak at Cordova schools.
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Dear, Crowell Words of Hope Team
My dream of Hope is realized in, helping me, help you , help others. One of the most hopeless feelings is to lack the resources to help one in need or have them refuse to listen and receive…
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Had Enough Yet, America?
Where is the hope? Years ago an international student from a country suffering terrorism and killings told me, “Once terrorism and killing start, it is virtually impossible to stop.” On Fox News, an articulate student pleaded with his…
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Abound in Hope
What do you see on the cover of the Words of Hope book? The focus is on an ANCHOR .
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The Crowell Beat Cancer Game Plan
This is my personal game plan for dealing with cancer. It is working! My HOPE is it can work for you as you face your possible insults, difficulties, hardships, and persecutions. FROM ST.
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How high is high? How low is low?
Unless you know how low is low, knowing how high is high is not possible. My life experience tells me rock bottom is the low of lows. It is impossible to go lower than rock bottom.
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The Sun and the Moon
These exceptional photos of a sunrise on Scout Lake, OR, and a moon-glowing night there as well, are perfect reminders we can count on day turning to night and later night turning to day.
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Greater Than Science
The doctors told me I had less than single digit chances to survive the dreaded Whipple pancreatic surgery. My medical team was extraordinary. Medical science could offer me less than 10% success.
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Encouragement Is Oxygen II
You can become a true game-changer, someone who makes a big difference. How? By the word ENCOURAGEMENT . Encouragement is giving another person confidence, support, hope, motivation, strength, comfort. E ncouraging words can make a difference .
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Shining Light
Let’s play one of my favorite games. It is called “WHAT IF.” What if you were a lighthouse perched high to warn ships from crashing upon rocks? What kind of light would shine forth from your lighthouse?
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All Things Principle
When I study the lives of Joseph, Esther, David, Job, Daniel, Jonah, Mary the mother of Jesus, John the Baptist, Andrew, Peter, Paul, and other Biblical characters, I see an “ All Things Principle .” When I study…
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Your Eternal Impact
Questions: What impacts a person the most? What lasts the longest in a person’s life? The answers may well be different for each person.
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Hang on to Hope
Saint Ignatius trained his Jesuit priests to be aware of and to recognize the difference between consolation and desolation.
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Finding Hope in a Corrupt World, Part 2
The present world problems do not create anger, vengeful talk, bitterness and aggression in me. This is unlike so many others today. Why? Because I have HOPE as the anchor to my soul.
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Finding Hope in a Corrupt World, Part 1
HOPE is a favorable and confident expectation . Who should not want HOPE? It is light! The opposite is darkness, which is despair. We can also say HOPE is: Gravity to hold us in place.
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Did So Good
Long ago God had some words to Cain (son of Adam and Eve). God could see in Cain’s heart, seeing his half-hearted motivation and attitude when bringing an offering to God.
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Finish Strong
“Work hard and continue to struggle.” – Timothy Last week a friend sent me a text with this question, “Why do we have to struggle?” Honestly, my first thought was, “why should we not have to struggle?” This…
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The Defeat to Victory Factor
Former NBC Camps student-athlete Jay Huff on April 8th helped the Virginia Cavaliers win the collegiate men’s basketball national championships in Minneapolis. This past season he was ranked as the #15 power forward in the nation.
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Home Base (Plate)
“The day basketball season ended, my second love, baseball began. Throwing strikes was my passion.” – Fred Where do you go mentally and or physically when life seems to be sucking the air out of you?
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Esperanza Is Hope
Esperanza is HOPE and EXPECTATION . Wonderful words! The picture has a red balloon with a rope tied to an anchor. The red is LOVE , our positive emotion for life. The rope is our FAITH .
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Falling Three Times
Failure is thought of as a defeat, a lack of success. It is an event, never a person. Yet, failure can be a stepping stone to success . In this respect, it can become valuable.
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The Mike Nilson Gonzaga Basketball Story
NEARLY 80,000 VIEWS! On the eve of the Gonzaga Bulldogs NCAA First Round tip-off, I’m reminded that this truly is the greatest sports event in the world. It is called March Madness for a reason.
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Hope – to Help Others!
In my mid-20’s during a powerful training session, a respected leader presented a strong case that words matter . It was then my philosophical and psychological views dramatically changed.
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The Black Box
The black box is Crowell’s life skills term for depression. When defeating the dreaded enemy, the silent stalker called depression requires both accurate diagnosis and prognosis.
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Broken but Not Beaten
A business partner emailed me this week with these words, “You could never fail me–you have already won.” Of course, this was music to my ears and joy to my heart.
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9-11 and the EAR to HEAR
9-11-18 The Day written upon our hearts that marks the greatest tragedy known to our Nation! So many have forgotten or have never known because they were young!
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Destiny Dream Makers
Every child has a destiny. God ordained each child to be His precious miracle. Adults help children discover that miracle and their destiny. There is nothing like a small child.
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Life Lessons from Vincent Van Gogh
TO QUALIFY TO BE A CRUCIAL OTHER THEY MUST HAVE A PROVEN TRACK RECORD. Few historical figures inspire me, enlighten me more richly and speak to my inner core than the best artist the world has ever known…
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Suicides Break Hearts
Never in the history of humankind has there been more suicides. Each day there are over 128 people who take their own life. For every suicide, there are hundreds, possibly thousands of broken hearts.
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And There Was Light
Key Statement: The Apostle John wrote, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome the light.
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Self-image, Your Life Blue Print
The most precious gift a child can receive is given during the first seven years of their life.
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Encouragement Is Oxygen
Pictured Above: Miracle Hanson ladies from Bristol Bay Alaska. No more worthy cause than investing in our future leaders! When you need encouragement give oxygen to others! Then you get encouraged.
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Sunrises – God’s Guarantee
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” – Jesus The most reliable teacher of all is your life experience. Your life experience proves each new day begins with a sunrise.
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The Best Movie Ever
The academy award winning, best picture you have seen in your lifetime, is you . You are the screenwriter, the producer, director, lead actor, and in charge of promotion and sales.
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Eyes on You
Do you want single or double knocks? Every time the aspiring basketball youth yells back to Coach Crowell, “give me double knocks, Coach!!!!!” Coach Crowell makes two-fisted fake binoculars and points to the action.
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Did So Good
Cain, what have you done? Why is your countenance so downcast? What did you do that makes your face so dark? The eyes are lights to the soul.
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Depression Diagnosis
The single most obvious evidence of depression is lack of energy and passion for life. The single greatest indicator of health is a life with an abundance of energy and passion for living.
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Destiny
Key statement: Destiny is the product of habits; habits are the products of actions; actions are the products of words; words are the products of thoughts, and thoughts are the products of dreams.
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The God of Hope
Hope is the anchor to our souls. Spiritually speaking, faith, hope, and love are the three greatest words. Love being number one. It is easy to understand why love takes the top spot. God is love.
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Three Important Questions
1. Where are you? 2. Who are you? 3. Who made you? One of my highlights in Ketchikan, Alaska at an NBC basketball camp was a father telling me this about his teen daughter: “As I walked down…
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Isabella
At age 6 Isabella declared, “Papa you have to live long enough to see my first baby born, but not my second one.” Bella and her two sisters, Natalya and Ariana, have been encouragement/oxygen for me in the…
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Game Changer –
One who turns the course of a life, event, or history. In sports, Curry, Brady, Felix, Bird, Mantle, MJ, Ruth and Magic qualify as game changers. In history, Churchill looms large as a game changer.
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The Prognosis for Depression
The tactics used to get rid of ghosts in movies is never the same. Likewise, depression is unique to each person.
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Oxygen Is Encouragement – Encouragement Is Oxygen
Both oxygen and encouragement cure disease and negativity. Lack of oxygen and encouragement create poor physical, mental, and spiritual health. One of the most amazing women living today, in Dillingham, Alaska, was transported to Anchorage.
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Is High School a Joke?
Nearly 25% of high school students at a large school district in the state of Washington skip school every day.
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Awake
A daily privilege so often taken for granted! Ann, age 57, took a one hour nap. Ray tried to wake her at 1:30 PM. Ann never opened her eyes again. A brain aneurysm took her life.
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Son, Stand Up!
A father, with a soft hand on his son’s shoulder, whispered, “Son, stand up,” as they watched the son’s wife of 40 years being lowered in her casket to her grave.
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Brave New World
There is a new world out there for you. It is a world of possibilities. Joy beyond belief and opportunity with no ceiling waits for all. Wallace Ungwiluk has come to brave a new world.
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Win – the Game of Lifeball
Topic: WIN SUICIDE Spending a lifetime in sports has provided me many opportunities to win. Winning is fun. Winning is delightful. Winning can be ecstatic. As good as winning is, the effect of losing is worse.
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Dash
What are you going to do with your dash? – DASH begins the day you were born. Ends the day you die. What are you going to do with your dash?
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Today’s Pain Can Be Tomorrow’s Gain
“You raise me up to more than I can be.” -Josh Groban I vividly remember the first time I had to deal with a person who attempted suicide. The year was 1964.
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Puppy Love
What if people loved other people like people love puppies? What a wonderful world it would be. Puppies are like people in so many ways. Puppies and people need oxygen. Puppies and people need water.
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Thailand Encouragement
KEY STATEMENT: encouragement is oxygen; encouragement is water. Without encouragement and water the human body cannot survive. Without encouragement, humans cannot thrive. NBC Thailand was founded by an amazing man. His name is Diego Sierra.
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Crowell Wins Cancer Loses
Crowell 99.9. Cancer 0.1 My dedicated oncologist gave the Crowell’s this news. These are the best scores you have had in 3 years. The drugs are doing their job.
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THE CROWELL GARDEN – Spokane, Washington
“As long as you have a garden you have a future and as long as you have a future you are alive.” – Frances Hodgson Burnett Welcome to my lovely secret garden and my sacred place on Horizon…
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It’s Gonna Be Alright
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
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Life Is Not an Accident
“The motorcycle crash that nearly killed me taught me how to live; to be a better person.” – Jay Williams At a management conference, I was asked this question.
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75Th Celebration
March 18 is always a special day in the Crowell’s life. Mom wanted her Saint Patrick’s Day boy to be named after Ireland’s Patron Saint Patrick. Dad wanted the name Frederic after his dad.
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Hello My Hero!
Four words, Needed this….my struggle! From early morning hours to nearly lunch time no words for Daily Words of Hope with Fred came to my mind. Susie encouraged me to wait and let it happen.
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God’s Grading System
“Teachers first instruct, then examine you. God examines you, then instructs you.” In the winter of 1966, I said, “Yes.” After months of deliberation, I made the profound decision to ask the Lord Jesus Christ into my life…
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On the Way to Hope
Artist Ann Tremarello, Fairbanks, Alaska. There are many roads in the life journey. This painting by dear friend, Ann T, has special meaning to me.
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Be Brave Letter
“If you want to be brave do brave things.” Early in the dark silence of a new day, my mind thinks; my heart suffers for a beautiful, kind, gentle, strong, wife and mother in the loving village I…
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Words of Hope
The story of Daily Words of Hope The story begins at the University of Idaho. One of my roommates received letters and care packages with goodies weekly. The joy these gifts brought Vern was obvious.
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Five Life Changing Words
“I am proud of you!” As Edith steps down the stairs in a beautiful wedding dress, Lord Gratham’s loving eyes and outstretched arms greet his lovely daughter.
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Fire in the Belly
Never quit. Never, never quit! A sellout crowd came to Indy to watch Kobe Bryant play his last game against the Pacers in the city famous for the Indy 500. Kobe was having a terrible night.
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Pain Produces Change
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later.
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God on High Hear My Prayer
Opening words of song Bring Him Home from Les Miserables For days these words “God on high hear my prayer” have been floating through my mind and whispering softly through my lips.
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Made Right with God
“How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news.” – St. Paul Today in reading Romans 10, I join Paul’s longing in his heart for people to be saved.
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Run to Win
A lesson in excellence. I clicked on Mr. iPhone when reaching the after deck on the Regal Princess. Dear Alaska friend Peggy Lasher sends many of us daily Bible verses.
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Bang! What Happened?
A missile projectile, called a Dodge Charger, ran through a stop light smashing into Susie Crowell’s car.
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VICTORY OVER DEPRESSION – a true story
We all need stories of victory. The following story is, indeed, remarkable. It verifies the powerful impact one person’s love can have on another. A caring sister saved a life. Oxygen is encouragement. Encouragement is oxygen.
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Dealing with Depression
Depression is a ghost that haunts millions of Americans. Depression is a ghost because it is very difficult to see and understand. The ultimate evidence of a depressed life is suicide. The common question is why?
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Psalm 20 – a Crowell Favorite
“One of luckiest men I know is me.” This morning as I looked out at the Pacific Ocean from the 17th floor, I felt like the luckiest man on the planet.
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FUNERAL – Victory or defeat?
“Death where is thy victory, where is thy Sting?” – Paul Saturday was a funeral day for the Crowells. Hundreds came to celebrate the life of Dr.
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Esperanza Means Hope
Hope is the anchor to my soul. The destination for Mr. And Mrs. C is our beloved Esperanza in Cabo San Lucas. We join the 4C’s. Jay, Jennifer, Kingston and Giovanna.
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The New War on Cancer
“We may finally be winning the battle to turn what was once a deadly diagnosis into a disease that can be controlled and cured.” – AARP Bulletin, March 2016 This AARP edition caught my attention!
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7 Days of Hope
Dear Friends of Hope, For the next 7 days, I have selected my 7 favorite Words of Hope written over the past four months. Many who joined near the beginning have received these words before.
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Breaking News 0001 A.d.
JUDAS HANGS HIMSELF- a lesson in self-destruction. Matthew 27 Breaking news October 2015 Violent man guns down people in Oregon college. He hung others and himself with a gun!
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Red Skies in the Morning
“The art of changing foul days to blue sky days” MATTHEW 17 500 years ago a young Spanish soldier led his troops to battle against France. A cannon ball ripped between his legs, one being severely injured.
