I AM YOUR HOPE AND FUTURE

Have you completed 4 years of college with the hope that you would get a good job and no one was hiring?  Have you saved all your life with the hope that you could travel when you retired, only to find your health was too poor to do so?  Have you married with the hope of spending a lifetime with your spouse and found that they wanted out of this commitment?  Have you ever hoped to have children, only to find out you are infertile?  Or have you placed your hope, like we did, in your career to provide for you in your later years, only to find it dissolve right in front of your eyes?

Early in 2007, after we lost our largest client whose commission would have provided for the entire year, I woke up in the middle of the night by these words "I AM YOUR HOPE AND YOUR FUTURE".  I don't know if it was in a dream or an audible voice, but I do know it came and settled deep inside of me.  I have held onto this ever since.

Christmas is the time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  All the manger scenes have the baby all neatly wrapped in a nice hay-lined stable.  But the truth of the matter, this was when LIGHT stepped down into darkness.  What an event this was!  But this was only the beginning.  Jesus became an adolescent boy who went up to the temple to teach the religious scholars.  He attended a wedding where he turned water into wine.  During his 3 years of ministry, he spent all of his time loving and caring for the needy, healing the sick, the weary, and the broken-hearted and releasing the chains from the one's locked  in bondage.

But he was also rejected, despised, hated, beaten, spit on, jeered and crucified on a cross.  He died and was buried, and rose from the grave after 3 days for you and me.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

There may be some who have never heard this promise.  If that's the case, please take some time to ask God to reveal this truth to you so you can invite Jesus into your heart.   If you are a Christian, you have already done this and have been assured a place in heaven, but so many dear people are living as paupers here on earth because we have misplaced the eternal hope with things that will one day pass away and will not assure them of anything.  Many view life from the time they accept Jesus to the time they die and go to heaven as a saggy mattress.  Uncomfortable, lumpy and downright crummy!

For the last couple of years, we have faced some major difficulties and obstacles not having the income that we once had.  There was a time when I could buy anything I wanted, but now we live within a budget and make every penny count.  There was a time when we did a lot of financial gifting, but my heart wasn't broken for the poor.  There was a time when I thought I trusted God, but now I know I couldn't survive without him.  There are many, many days when I wish things were a little easier,  but trust God has a good plan for my life even though the circumstances can be shouting otherwise.  My circumstances may never change, but my outlook has.  My hope will never let me down.  My hope will always provide my daily needs.  My hope will always comfort me.  My hope will never leave me.  My hope is eternal and everlasting.

Drop and Give Me Ten

For the last several months, there's been a hot topic in our household.  I'm menopausal!!!  This a woman who is almost postal.  I feel like I could snap at any given moment.  My mood swings linger between Broom Hilda and the wicked witch of the West to becoming a weeping willow that could cry a river.

My thoughts remain scattered.  I'm forgetful and I am constantly losing(hopefully just misplacing) things.  Just recently, I lost the gold cross that Dan gave me for my 50th birthday.  Just thinking about it makes me very sad.

Besides all of the above, my body temperatures border on an "infernally" high temperature.  At night, we crank the air down to a cool 60+ degrees and Dan aims 3 fans on me and I still wake up on fire.



I have been trying to put in practice(sometimes I forget) a discipline that will help in any kind of trial.  It's called DROP, AND GIVE ME TEN.  It's simply dropping my eyes off me and thanking God for 10 things.  For example,
1. Thank you God for making me a woman.
2.  Thank you for Dan who bears the brunt of my moods.
3.  Thank you for air conditioning.
4.  Thank you that I've lived long enough to go into menopause
5.  Thank you that crabbiness is not my true nature.
6.  Thank you that my moods pass quickly.
7.  Thank you that our temperatures in Texas have become milder.
8.  Thank you when I say to another woman, "I'm hormonal", she nods in complete understanding.
9.  Thank you when I say to Dan, "I'm hormonal"  he responds with a hug.
10.  And most of all, thank you that I serve a mighty God who heals and will bring order to all these    renegade emotions of mine.

TRUE LOVE

The temperatures are soaring in Texas.  We have been seeing the thermometer  reaching 100+ degrees for days and no rain to cool off the evenings.  So yesterday, when we wanted to celebrate a good friend's birthday, we chose the coolest choice.  A breakfast brunch at the Original Pancake House and a matinee movie.

Our movie choice was Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts.  As enjoyable as our day was, I think the movie left us all lacking.  Not to give to much of the story away in case you may want to go see it even after my lackluster review, I will try to share it.  Okay, maybe I will tell more than you want to hear.  Please forgive me.  

Liz(Julia Roberts) was a travel writer who was on assignment in Bali where she met a 9th generation "medicine man" who prophesied her future that she would have one short love and one long love.  MY WARNING BELL:  BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TURN TO FOR YOU FUTURE AND WHAT WORDS YOU LET SETTLE OVER YOU AS TRUTH.

She went home and soon ended her marriage and began an affair with another man all the while thinking about the words the medicine man spoke over her.  The new boyfriend also was into a eastern religion that involved a lot of meditation and clearing of the mind so you could become anything you want to become.  MY WARNING BELL:  BE CAREFUL WHO YOU ARE WORSHIPING.  THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE GOD AND THE ONLY WAY TO COME TO HIM IS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

Liz woke up one morning and realized she wasn't very happy and decided to take a year to find herself.  She planned to spend time in Rome to eat which she did.  She enjoyed pasta and friendship.  Learned the language and shared traditions.  She left their feeling satisfied.  That is until she arrived in India where those feelings got lost when new circumstances arrived.  She struggled with the help of Richard who was trying to find his own way.   The movie alluded to the need to forgive and this is a truth, but concentrated more on what you had to do to achieve this such as clearing your mind.  She began to meditate and felt she was happy.  MY WARNING BELL: BE CAREFUL WHEN IT' MORE ABOUT YOU THAN IT IS GOD.  ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE.  FOR WIDE IS THE GATE AND BROAD IS THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO DESTRUCTION AND MANY ENTER THROUGH IT.  BUT SMALL IS THE GATE AND NARROW IS THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO LIFE, AND ONLY A FEW FIND IT.

Finally, she arrived in Bali, where she would complete her journey to find herself.  Instead, she found a man who loved and adored her.  The movie almost ended with her leaving him out of fear of loosing herself.  She returned to the medicine man she had met years ago and he said in order for her to truly be balanced she would loose herself in love.  She immediately took this advise and ran after the man.  MY WARNING BELL:  NO MAN, NO WOMAN, NO CHILD, NO JOB, NO ADVENTURE WILL EVER SATISFY YOU UNLESS YOU FIRST COME TO GOD.   THEY MAY SEEM TO WORK FOR A PERIOD OF TIME BUT AGAIN AND AGAIN YOU WILL COME UP EMPTY UNLESS YOU  SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND  THEN EVERYTHING ELSE WILL BE ADDED.

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True Love fills you to overflowing.  We were designed by God to love.  This story did not touch my heart this way.  The writers definitely missed something in this story and I think it was because everything was about Liz's happiness and fulfillment and nothing how she could love the other person.  

I will close with a helpful guideline for love right out of the bible.

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.

The Beautiful Exchange

We had the privilege to attend a Hillsong concert this past weekend.  They are a christian group from Australia who glorify the name of Jesus.  The name of their tour and new album is The Beautiful Exchange,  As they sang the following song, the presence of the Lord filled the auditorium.  Afterwards, an Australian pastor came out and read a scripture in the bible Mark 8:27-29 where Jesus asks the disciples "Who do people say that I am?"  They answered him with several responses.  Then he asked "who do you say I am?"   Simon Peter answered "You are the Christ."  This had never been told to him.  It was only reveled by the Holy Spirit.  This same questions was asked that night and scores of people responded.

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Back when my children were young I used coupons a lot.  You could save a substantial savings on your grocery bill because the grocers were giving double and sometimes triple the amount of the coupon. Baskets sprang up in the hair salons, daycares and restaurants where you could exchange coupons for others that you used more often.  There were times when I felt like I hit the jackpot when I found one valued at the highest redemption value.  I would quickly toss my so-so ones in and grab this one up and hold onto it tightly.  Jesus is the very best kind of coupon.  When we discover Him, we will toss everyone of our so-so ways of living to exchange it for true LIFE.  If Jesus were to ask you today, "Who am I?  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you just as he did for Simon Peter all those many, many years ago and the ones who found in the other night at the concert.

Name Dropper

Have you ever been to a function or at a gathering of people, where there has been a lot of name dropping.   I have even found myself doing this from time to time, although my experience with important or famous people has been very limited and second hand, so I'm not sure if they count.  

I've told many people about our librarian in Canton, Connecticut.  She was the younger sister of Kathryn Hepburn.  I never met Kathryn, but when you were in the library and  heard Peg speaking, you could almost imagine that Kathryn was right there beyond the books in the next row.  Also, while living in  Tampa, Florida, our son played Little League baseball with a boy whose uncle was Wade Boggs of the New York Yankees.  I never had the opportunity to meet Wade even though he came to the park a few times, but that didn't seem to matter, because I knew his nephew.

Then it hit me, I do know someone who is more famous then either of the 2 people I mentioned above. His name is Jesus.  There is no other name like Jesus.  It's by His name, people are healed and saved and through Him, they can live abundant lives.  Although His life was brief here on earth,  He lived all of his days without sin.  He was condemned and hung on a cross to die.  On that cross, all the sin of the world, (past, present & future) was placed on Him.  He died but conquered death and rose from the grave after 3 days.  My paraphrase of John 3:16 is "God love all the people in the world so much, that He sent His only son to die and pay the penalty for our sin, and if we believe this, we will have everlasting life with the King of Kings."   I do know Jesus personally and each day I stand in awe at the Greatness of God.   My hope is as I share stories in this blog of who Jesus is to me and how He has changed my life, that His Name  will have an affect on others for generations to come.  

My Worldview

Below is a definition of worldview:

world·view

1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.

2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group

There was a quote in a recent article that I read, written by Brussels professor, Francis Heylighen.  He said, "What we need is a framework that ties everything together, that allows us to understand society, the world, and our place in it, and that could help us to make the critical decisions which will shape our future". 

I believe this has already been given to us. 

 IN THE BEGINNING GOD.....

Scrambled Eggs

Have you ever cracked an egg into a frying pan and when left to cook, it turns into a really nice looking sunny side up egg?  The yoke would stand out like a bull's eye surrounded by a smooth white surface.  Isn't this how we would like our life plan to be?  Many of us have had times in our life when this seems to be the case.  We are feeling like we know the plans and purpose for our life.  Easy street!

But sometimes, I have cracked that egg into the pan and it breaks, so I scramble it around and the finished product comes out looking like a lot of peaks and valleys.  When a crisis hits,  our lives become a lot like scrambled eggs.  We have all had times in our life when we can't see where we are headed or how we are going to survive.

I once heard a quote, "YOU CAN'T CRAM FOR A CRISIS".  So how are we to we get by?  How do we survive?  Sometimes the circumstances are so overwhelming that we don't know how we are going to continue.  We were given a textbook that will speak to anything we are going through.  Read it, study it, and meditate upon it.  It will lead us to a relationship with Jesus and it is through Him, we have promise after promise of how to do life.

This is a song that I learned when I was little,


 


but many of you may relate to this a little more.



When we are at our lowest point, God will offer truth, strength and encouragement for all who put their trust in Him.  Let me give you a few examples....




MAN/WOMAN: "It's impossible"
GOD: All things are possible (Luke18:27)
MAN/WOMAN: "I'm too tired"
GOD: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)


MAN/WOMAN : "Nobody really loves me"
GOD: I love you (John 2: 16 & John 13:34)


MAN/WOMAN: "I can't go on"
GOD: My Grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)


MAN/WOMAN: "I can't figure things out"
GOD: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3: 5-6)


MAN/WOMAN: "I can't do it"
GOD: You can do all things (Phillipians 4:13)


MAN/WOMAN : "I'm not able"
GOD: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)


MAN/WOMAN: "It's not worth it"
GOD: It will be worth it (Romans 8:28)


MAN/WOMAN : "I can't forgive myself"
GOD: I forgive you (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)


MAN/WOMAN: "I can't manage"
GOD: I will supply all your needs (Phillipians 4:19)


MAN/WOMAN: "I'm afraid"
GOD: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7)


MAN/WOMAN: "I'm always worried and frustrated"
GOD: Cast all your cares on me (I Peter 5:7)


MAN/WOMAN: "I don't have enough faith"
GOD: I've given everyone a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)


MAN/WOMAN: "I'm not smart enough"
GOD: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)


MAN/WOMAN: "I feel all alone"
God: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)