The Igniting Hope Blog

Improve It By Steve Backlund Most of us love new beginnings, but we often underestimate what comes next. Whether it is a new job, a home, a marriage, a ministry role, or a leadership responsibility, these feel like open doors, answered prayers, and fulfilled desires. And they are. But every new “possession” also carries something we don’t always consider at first: Responsibility. What we receive, we get to steward. Possessing Is Just the Beginning It is easy to focus on getti

Embracing “Failure” By Steve Backlund Let’s reject the lie that says, “If something is hard to do for us, then we can’t do it.” If we fall for this deception, we are determining our future from our past. This faulty thinking is something we cannot take with us in the higher plans and purposes God has for us. The opposite of this lie and life-restricting mindset is this: I embrace failure as part of the process of learning to walk in higher levels of living. As I think about

5 Biblical Ways to Celebrate Your Progress By Steve Backlund “ ...He who has begun a good work in you will complete it...” Philippians 1:6 Celebrating progress is part of having a hope-filled outlook on life. It is always fun to celebrate a toddler who is learning to walk, even though he is falling down more than he is walking. We don’t withhold approval from him until perfect walking is achieved, but we cheer on this child who is growing in the gift of walking. Even though I