Has anyone noticed I haven’t left the ’90s? As I reflect on what I have been writing in the last 3 weeks, I took note that I haven’t left the ’90s. I didn’t plan it that way; it just happened. I find it quite appropriate as well. I want to give you my story. However, I want to give it to you over time. What you have been reading so far is just what I have been moved to write about. I am hopeful that some of you will join me in telling your story as I continue to write.

Last night I was watching a documentary on, guess what? The ’90s. The focal point of the documentary was how cameras have changed our lives, particularly the video camera. As the video camera became more available to the common consumer, we began to be more free in what we were filming. We could just leave the camera recording. Often, that is when we capture things we weren’t planning to happen.

I find it interesting that today, since our phones all have cameras and the ability to record video, we have overall reverted back to shorter videos. When is the last time you set up your phone on a tripod and let it record for an hour during a birthday party or Christmas morning?

The documentary used a progression of the ’90s that began with the TV show “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” This was the beginning of reality TV. We all remember what came next, “COPS.” You couldn’t stop watching it. Then there were the famous car chases in California that we all sat glued to the TV watching. Everyone remembers where they were for the famous OJ Simpson slow car chase. MTV broke out reality TV with the “Real World,” and the internet took off. One of the biggest movements that shook the internet was fake news – “The Blair Witch Project.” From there, through our cameras, we somehow fell into the world of normalizing bad behavior into a type of acceptance. The documentary used the Simpsons TV series as a root example of this.

Yesterday I was writing about my ’90s dictionary and the new words we have since that time frame. I think about where we are today, skipping ahead 20 plus years, and in some regards, it really just appears like we have moved in the wrong direction as a society. However, I think about what I learned about the ’50s and ’60s and the perception of the American Family as if it were like the family from the TV series “Leave it to Beaver.” That is a false narrative as well. I am most positive that I could get most of you to agree that your family did not look like the Cleaver family’s picture-perfect life.

History of the ’90s, at least for Americans, actually indicates something better than the snapshot of the video camera’s impact on us – be it good or bad. Nelson Mandela was freed in 1990, and apartheid ended. The Berlin Wall came down. The Soviet Union became Russia, ending the Cold War. The Global economy boomed, the Dow surged, and the internet exploded. Technology was providing a communication era that gave opportunities for many. Multiculturalism saw greater attention through the flow of information like never before. While you can find several wars and plenty of negative stories in the ’90s, such as the horrific beating of Rodney King and the LA Riots, historians generally refer to the ’90s as an era of peace and prosperity.

This is the hope that I cling to. This is the hope that I have for you. What is peace and prosperity? Don’t we all just want peace and prosperity? How do we get peace and prosperity?

When I think about peace and prosperity, I think about my family. I think about the people in my life who demonstrated peace and prosperity. For me, the people that I think of who showed me peace and prosperity are two sets of aunts and uncles. Oddly, I not only think about their lives and their display of how to live, but I think about how they died. They all died in peace. I am not talking about the actual moment they died. I am talking about the life they led until their death. They were at peace with the way they lived. They were at peace with themselves. They were at peace knowing that what they were leaving behind for their family and those around them they knew was of value to catch. They were at peace with God and ready to meet him when it was time.

I have my long laundry list of struggles to share with you. I have not always been a good example of what I know that God wants from me. Regardless, I strive through my struggles to be that example of peace and prosperity. I know God is watching.

What will the camera catch you doing today?

When you die will you be at peace? Will you pass on prosperity?

Do you have Generational Hope?