Joel Osteen

If people don't believe in you, that's okay.

The God who created the universe, the one who matters, he does.

Your family may not encourage you, but you can encourage yourself.

People may not celebrate you, learn to celebrate yourself.

I know a man that was raised in Latin America.

His parents were missionaries to Mexico, very faithful, dedicated people.

And at the age of three, his father was killed in an accident.

His mother decided to stay in Mexico and continue on the ministry while raising four small children.

One day when they were in the States visiting relatives, they went to Washington DC to take in the sights.

As a young boy, he stood on the sidewalk in front of the White House in such awe, thinking about how the president of the United States lives in there.

He looked through the iron fence and he could see people in the windows of the White House going about their business.

He thought about what it must be like to be on the inside, all that power, prestige, influence.

It was impressive enough being on the outside.

He could only imagine how important those people were on the inside.

To him, it was a huge contrast from his humble missionary environment there in Mexico where people had so little.

Over the years, this young boy discovered he had a gift of music and singing.

He could write incredible songs and play the piano.

He became a well-known worship leader in Latin America, holding concerts with thousands of people.

A while back, he was invited to the White House to sing for the president at an official state dinner.

As he sat on the platform with world leaders and shared his gift, he couldn't believe he was there.