lasting hope

I am hardwired to be optimistic.

It takes a lot to get me down… usually a combination of illness/injury, eating poorly & not sleeping enough.

But like you, every day something tries to undermine my hope:

I am married to a wonderful man, who tends to be more of an Eeyore in nature, mostly due to his having seen so much in his nursing career over the last two decades.

I have had random twitches joint pain which has still not been diagnosed, leaving me exhausted some nights, and make it hard to fall asleep on others.

I too have had unexpected expenses pop up.

The loss of a loved one.

The dishwasher conking out when it was full.

My order not show up.

Not enough work.

Too much work.

Our complaint lists can keep going and going like the Energizer bunny, if we keep feeding them.

I choose to feed my hope.

Not on fluffy catchy feel better quotes.

Not on physical food or drink.

With the hope that lasts…

God given hope which rests on Him as its sole source.

In a world seeking bargains and making our lives as ease filled as possible, it dumbfounds me to see people spend millions on make it all better in 10 day programs.

If it didn’t take 10 days to get there, it isn’t going to take 10 days to get back out….just saying.

Since my life has had a lot of knocks, whacks and pitfalls, I need a source of Hope that can take all the concerns and worries I have, and then some, for days to come, for the rest of my life.

God is my choice.

He even paid the cost, fellow bargain hunters, so we can come to Him without barrier.

He even invites us to come and find rest in the shelter He has to offer:

He himself is our peace (Eph 2:14)

Come to me,all who are weary and heavy laden (burdened) and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“Because he loves Me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name.
He will call on Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
 and show him my salvation.”
(Psalm 91:14-16).

God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!”
(Jeremiah 31:3a)

This is just a glimpse of the treasured promises from God for you.

He knows you.

Despite anything you may have done or will ever do, He loves you dearly.

He made a way for you to come home and be with Him, your heavenly Father.

Jesus calls you sibling, friend, chosen, apple of His eye.

Holy Spirit is within you to guide you, help you in any way you need Him to.

God with us.

That is where I place my hope.
Not on shifting trends, things that pass away and don’t last.
On the foundation of Hope my God has laid down for me.

All my hope is in Him.

The path of hope is waiting for you as well.

Its a journey unlike no other, but with Him leading you, you will always have reason to be thankful, give praise and hope.

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(Repost from Sept 17, 2014 as I am out & about getting ready to celebrate one of my babies’ birthday today, and this is one of my fave posts!)

go to the source

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I am an avid learner, as I recently shared in my desire to keep taking courses. I like to study the Word, read how others interpret the Word, and grow through the process.

The image I am sharing today struck me as a great visual reminder of the three key ways to encounter truth, and become wise.

1. Search for It.

We don’t know what we know or don’t know until we begin to search for knowledge.

The world opens up to a child when they grasp the alphabet, and the lining up of letters to make words. Being able to read helps widen our search area for knowledge.

Being a knowledge seeker means we are searching for truth. We want to know the facts. We long to know what is true, in a world that likes to blur the edges of all it reveals to us.   But  real fact is based on truth, and will have a ring of the Holy in it as a result. For God is Truth, and all truth echoes back to its originator.

2. Make it Live.

Insight is living out the truth we now know, discovered through seeking out knowledge.  If something is true, and we know it, we live differently through encountering it.

As a very young child of 3-4, I broke my money out of my piggy bank and walked to the donut store behind where we lived to buy 6 donuts.  I ate them all fairly quickly to hide the evidence, and I learned very quickly that 6 donuts was way too much food for my childish frame. 

The truth I learned is if I want to do something in secret and am not comfortable telling someone else about it, it isn’t something I should be doing.  (And I will get sick from six full sized donuts!)

Applying the truth through what we learn takes it from being a just a fact to making it relevant to our lives.

But there is still a key element missing to knowledge & truth, which leads me to point…

3. Seek the Source.
Real knowledge and truth comes from the Source of it all, God.
As He is truth, and all wisdom, He will reveal both to use when we ask for help. Discernment occurs when God reveals the truth in a way we could not have discovered ourselves without Him.  In times of heightened stress & emotions,  we can forget what we have learned and applied, and that is where drawing close to the Source is crucial. The eternal God has insight beyond our comprehension, which can reveal way more in one moment than we could spend a life time trying to learn for ourselves.

We will never find truth, knowledge & wisdom apart from God. He not only knows all, He is the starting place for all truth & wisdom. They are Him, integral characteristics of the Almighty amazing complex God we are drawn to.

Need wisdom?
Seeking truth?
Lacking insight?
Go to the Source!

A few nugget verses to check out from the Word about wisdom, truth & knowledge:

Proverbs 1:7; 8:11-21
James 1:5
Colossians 3:16
Romans 11:33

But more importantly….

 

I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

Ephesians 1:17-19

His favorite

My son & I were both changed by his grade three teacher that year.

Mrs. M. had a tool in her teaching belt which caused several hundred former students and many current ones to show up at her retirement ceremony, in a school with classroom sizes averaging of 20-25.

Each and every child she taught believed they were her favorite.

And she treated each as if they were.

My son came out of his shell and began to blossom in her classroom. Since he was her favorite, he tried extra hard to do his best in class and didn’t disappoint her with his efforts.

I was blessed to be able to get to know Mrs. M. through lunch monitoring and volunteering at that school…and learn that valuable lesson which I have tried to emulate every day when I am at work, the bus, with friends or at home:

Everyone of us is God’s favorite.
Beloved.
Treasured.

And as such, we should all treat one another as such.

If I can fathom that I am God’s favorite, I can become secure enough in my relationship with Him not to be threatened when He shows others favor as well.

There is no mistake.
I am God’s favorite.
And so are you.

You don’t lay down your life for just anyone.

You need to love them more than your life to do so.

By following the hard path to the cross, God did just that: took the sins of His favorites and made us all sparkly clean again.

His Word is filled with His love, care and devotion for His favorites.

The next time you are feeling blue….try heading to a mirror and stating this truth out loud over yourself:

I am God’s favorite.

Treating everyone like they’re your favorite? It works. I did just that in the next job I worked at after leaving the school as a Batista, and I can still walk into both locations, be greeted by customers & staff by name-despite it being over three years so since I left that industry.  My favorites all recognize me still, most stopping to chat when I go in to grab a tea or latte. I don’t share this story to brag, but to demonstrate how much being treated with kindness and respect over something as simple as giving a client their coffee can go a long way to making someone’s day.

God treats each of us better than we deserve, but He delights to because you are His favorite.

Our God is so much more amazing that we can imagine or grasp, just from the view point of knowing He loves each of us- the billion or more of His creations on this planet- individually & personally.

Need good news to start your week?

You are God’s favorite.

Since He is an all knowing God, there must be more to each of us than meets the eye if our designer calls us His favorite.

That alone is worth a smile on a hard day!

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beYOUtiful

Everybody should have a Hoho.

Not the snack cake variation, but the kind that comes in the mail.

What is a Hoho?
Their creator, Crystal from http://www.littlebitfunky.com says it best:
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And here is the picture of my Hoho, whom I have named Foxy…
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Isn’t she cute?

I have struggled off & on for years with how I look… mainly because I have listened to too many peoples’ versions of what they think beauty is.

I don’t think I have ever felt beautiful. I don’t think I am the homeliest of the bunch, but I am no supermodel.

I can tell you, partly due to the ministry & work of Crystal, that I have been able to accept my uniqueness, my You-ness (which is pronounced Eunice). I was looking at these hohos she makes, and felt the whisper that I too was unique and lovely in my own right. I don’t have to be perfect. And I am lovely in my uniqueness.

There is only ever going to be one Hoho of a kind. No two are exactly identical, as the variations in design & size are endless.

The same is true with us.

God made each of us as unique creations. On purpose. By design.
And says “It is good.”

I bought my funky hoho to daily remind me that I am beYOUtiful.

I am the most beautiful when I am being myself.
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Coco Chanel, famous fashionista, stated

Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.

God is pleased when we accept ourselves as His unique craftsmanship. Wanted, planned, designed.

The pleasure Crystal must have when she hears how God is blessing the children (& a few adults, I am sure!) with the comfort & reminder of their cute cuddly hohos.

Accepting we are beautiful by being ourselves is a priceless concept sewn alongside every stitch of these hohos.

If you need a reminder of how God sees you, the Bible has many verses on how much God loves & cares for us, and considers us treasures.

A very visual person, my Foxy Hoho will be reminding me of many such verses daily.

Thank you, Crystal for your hoho ministry, & exceptional craftsmanship!

PS. I will be HOlding onto the truth of who I am in Christ, and asking Him to HOld onto me.

Hoho, get it?! 🙂