HOPE: Week 4

So, today is one of those days when I really need the chapter we’re going to study this week. My heart is missing the benefits of hope right now. I’m writing these words before I’ve sat in this week’s words—but I already know I need to be reminded of their truth.

There are many reasons why my heart is gasping for these promises—extended family members in trouble, concerns about my work, feeling far away from home as I pack to leave one distant land for another tomorrow. My heart is weary, thirsty and needing my Savior’s care and anticipating His presence and perspective as I begin to read.

This week, would you please share about the times you need to remember Hope’s benefits and how remembering helps you? Thank you! I’m really looking forward to reading your comments.

HOPE: Week 3

One of this week’s questions in Chapter 3 asks if the people who know and love us would see us as people of Hope. I honestly don’t know the answer to that question and think I may have to do a poll. You see, I’m afraid that my desire to really be a hope-filled person colors my perspective of myself and I may not come across as hopeful as I want to be.

Just yesterday I had to talk myself into being hopeful about something. My Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) tendencies to be overly mournful and dramatic were more than shading my outlook. And, this probably happens more than I’m even aware. Which is a scary thought!

After you’ve spent time in this week’s writing, please share with us how you keep your thoughts focused on your True Hope? What do you do to keep your eyes on Him? I can’t wait to learn from you—please comment, OK?

HOPE: Week 2

I’m traveling a lot these days. More than I like! People ask if I’m excited to go to Indonesia, Singapore, Brazil, Tennessee, or some other place on my itinerary. In a way I am, my role with Link Care takes me to visit missionaries around the world. But, sometimes I’d like to stay home, be more involved in my local church and be a neighbor to the people who live next door. My desire to connect at home can rob me of the joy of going to be with missionaries.

Sometimes I wonder if this doesn’t happen to us spiritually. We can be so connected to our present life that we lose our joy in our future hopes.

May I encourage you this week to really sit in this chapter and consider your future hopes? And, then, would you please share if you are drawn to a particular hope and why. Your perspectives will be a help to us as we consider if we truly live as if these future hopes are true.

HOPE: Week 1 - Introduction and Chapter 1

Our next three books are not long or full of words. You will find the potential for spiritual understanding and growth as you pick up these books and prayerfully sit in the Scriptures presented and answer the questions from a true, authentic heart.

These books are not Bible Studies in the traditional sense. Instead, they are books meant to be read as if you have a Spiritual Director sitting next to you, guiding you as you prayerfully consider Hope, Joy and Trust. I wrote these very short books from my own learning curve when God used life to teach me lessons through challenges and trials. I pray they will be a blessing to you. The truths we will explore have radically, and thankfully, changed my life. Be sure to read the introduction of each book for tips on how to get the most from these studies.

You may purchase the books at Condeo Press. Since they are short books, we will probably finish them by the end of February. You may want to go ahead and purchase all three to save on shipping.

Week 1: Introduction and Chapter 1

Besides my Savior, my daughter is the one who taught me to HOPE. She tattooed “Esperanza,” the Spanish word for hope, in large font letters across her lower back when she was holding onto Hope during a crisis in her college years. She lives in Asia and I only see her once or twice a year depending if my work takes me to her or her work brings her to me. The crisis is long past, but we’ve not forgotten and sometimes we’re still impacted by the events that changed all our lives.

Yet, I see the fruit of our hope when I visit with her—right now I’m in her 5^th grade classroom. I type these words as her fingers fly across her keyboard to prepare tomorrow’s lesson plans. God brought healing to her in such loving ways those many years ago! I thank Him and praise Him for His radical, generous, complete love in her life that has worked an amazing miracle. The pain we went through is a memory I don’t like to relive—the joy we live in now is a reason I choose Hope whenever a new crisis emerges.

This week, please share a time in your life when hope seemed impossible. Maybe it is right now—let us hope with you/for you. If it was in the past, can you share how your hope was lived out?

A word about sharing comments—we’re reading together and our book club isn’t the greatest at sharing our thoughts. We’d sure like to grow in that area, as it is in sharing and reading that we can truly impact and encourage each other. So, could you please consider commenting each week?

Hoping you will,

Linda