Day 31 ~ A Test of Hope

My 31 Days of Hope Series officially comes to an end tonight.  

Today God reminded me of this: Writing about hope is one thing, but truly experiencing that hope is another thing all together.

As God would have it in His perfect timing, I had a test come my way today, and I had to remember what I'd been learning all month: True hope isn’t a just a dream or a wish. True hope is a confident expectancy that God is on your side, no matter what happens. It’s a desire for some future good with the expectation of obtaining it.

More tests and challenges will come my way in the future—I am sure of this. Will I believe and hope in God’s promise that all things work together for good to them who love Him?

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” Psalm 62:5-6

He is the source of my hope.

He is the reason I hope.

He is the God of hope—and He is my Father.

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Thanks so much for reading this series, friends! If you're new here and you'd like to start at the beginning of this 31 Days of Hope series, click here. Grace and peace to you!

I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.

 

Day 30 ~ A Mission of Hope

Photo by Ami Brainerd www.walkingbytheway.com

How many organizations can say they manufacture hope? Not automobiles, or couches, or staplers, or widgets, but HOPE, plain and simple.

The Kwagala Project is one such organization.

"Our mission is to provide vulnerable young people in untenable situations with options and give them hope for the future. We work in poverty-stricken areas in which young people are often driven by force or desperation into prostitution, and strive to help them discover their own self-worth and God-given potential so that they may thrive, dream, achieve their goals and eventually carry hope back to their communities."

I recently learned of The Kwagala Project through a friend who is selling jewelry made by Kwagala residents as a fundraiser for her adoption. The beautiful necklaces and bracelets (like the one pictured above) are handcrafted by young women and girls who were once enslaved in the worst way. Now through Kwagala, they have been given a safe haven and a way to support themselves. Hope for a better future. Hope for a life of love and freedom.

To learn more about Kwagala and how you can help, check out their website here.

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If you'd like to start at the beginning of this 31 Days of Hope series, click here. Thanks!

I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.

Day 29 ~ Confident Hope

It is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest. Hebrews 6:18-20

Have you ever needed an anchor?

Something to hold you securely in place, to keep you from drifting into despair?

If you have Christ, you already have an anchor.

Because of this anchor, because of this hope, you are qualified to enter God’s inner sanctuary.

You are qualified to bring your requests before Him—and to know with great confidence that He hears you.

This confidence in hope is the same confidence displayed by martyred missionaries John and Betty Stam, who were brutally murdered by Communist soldiers in China in 1934.

Their only crime?  Following Christ and sharing their faith with the Chinese people.

As 28-year-old John and his young wife, Betty, were being led down a road to be executed by the soldiers, a Chinese man who recognized them asked, “Where are you going?”

“We don’t know where they’re going,” John replied, “but we are going to heaven.”

You may not be a missionary or a future martyr, but know this: If you are a child of God, you possess the same hope as John and Betty Stam.

Live in this hope. Revel in this hope. Cling to this hope.

This hope is yours!

 

To learn more about the amazing story of John and Betty Stam, click here. Their story is one you will never forget.

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If you'd like to start at the beginning of this 31 Days of Hope series, click here. Thanks!

I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.

Day 28 ~ The Solid Rock of Hope

 

I grew up singing the traditional version of this hymn, "The Solid Rock." The lyrics still bring back a flood of memories from my childhood... seeing my little grandma singing in the back of the church, watching my mother playing the piano up front, and knowing in my heart that these words were as true for me as they were for my parents and grandparents.

This upbeat version by the group Avalon may be a bit different than the one I sang as a girl, but the words still resonate within my soul:

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus' name

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand

Is your hope in Christ, the "Solid Rock"? The world around you may be crumbling, but if your hope is in Him, you are secure!

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If you'd like to start at the beginning of this 31 Days of Hope series, click here. Thanks!
 

I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.

Day 27 ~ Hope Sees...



Day 26 ~ Five Minute Friday: Voice

Time for 5 minute Friday! This is a great community writing exercise posted each week on Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, Tales from a Gypsy Mama.

Want to take on the challenge? Here are the rules:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat on the chosen word of the day – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link to Lisa-Jo Baker’s blog and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community...

If you have a blog (or even if you don't), you should give it a try! There's no better way to get the creative juices flowing than with a timed exercise - no over thinking, no picking apart.

So here's my stab at today's 5 minute Friday (it also conveniently fits as an entry in my 31 Days of Hope series, so yay for me!):

Voice…

Sometimes you hear it, soft and small, a barely audible whisper in your ear.

Keep pressing on.

In that moment when you most want to throw up your hands, give up, and retreat into some world other than your own, you hear it.

Don’t give up. I am on your side.

It’s the voice of hope. It’s His voice – the voice of One who knew what it felt like to have everyone hate you, turn on you, spit in your face…

It’s Jesus, speaking to you.

With His voice, He spoke the world into existence. He calmed tumultuous seas. He healed the sick, the maimed, the diseased, in mind and body.

That voice is speaking to you now.

Listen to His call.

He says Come unto me—bring your heavy burdens and lay them at my feet. And I will give you rest. And peace. And life more abundant.

Do you hear His voice?

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If you'd like to start at the beginning of this 31 Days of Hope series, click here. Thanks!

I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.

Day 24 ~ This IS Your Hope!

“For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” Colossians 2:9-10

If you are a Christ-follower, this is your hope: You are complete in Christ.

But I’m not good enough.

Because of Christ, you are good enough.

But I’m a failure.

Because of Christ, you are more than a conqueror.

But I can’t…

Because of Christ, you can.

But everyone always leaves me.

Because of Christ, you will never be alone.

If we would truly “get” this one concept—that we are complete in Christ—our lives would change forever! I have to admit: There are times—short glimpses—when I think I can wrap my mind around this awesome truth.

But then there are the days, you know THOSE days, when I just can’t seem to do anything right. And the negative thoughts plague my mind and heart and soul.

Ever have one of those days? Maybe today is one of those days…

Say it with me… I am complete in Christ.

Because of Christ, I am not a failure. I am a child of the King.

Because of Christ, I am enough!

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If you'd like to start at the beginning of this 31 Days of Hope series, click here. Thanks!
 

I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.

 

 

Day 23 ~ Hope for the Weary Mom

Just found out about a great FREE book available today and tomorrow (Oct. 23-24), and it just happens to go right along with my 31 Days of Hope series! How awesome is that?

Stacey Thacker of 29 Lincoln Avenue is offering her book, Hope for the Weary Mom: Where God Meets You in Your Mess, at no cost on Amazon. It's the Kindle version, but even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the free Kindle app onto your computer or smart phone and read the book there. I have an iPhone and download free Kindle books all the time to my phone!

I already downloaded my free copy today, and I'm looking forward to reading words of encouragement from Stacey and her co-author, Brooke McGlothlin. Hope you'll join me!

If you'd like to start at the beginning of this 31 Days of Hope series, click here. Thanks!

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I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.

Day 22 ~ Hope for Hurting Souls

Has God ever sent you a word at just the right time, exactly when you needed it? That's what He did for me this weekend through this post by my good friend, Christa Sterken. Check out her wonderful blog here.

Christa's paraphrase of Psalm 18 offers hope for hurting souls. A healing balm washed over my soul as I read it. I trust it will do the same for you.

Based on portions of Psalm 18
I love you, O Lord, My strength.
The Lord is my rock, my safe place, and my deliverer.
The only place where I can take refuge.
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of my praise,
And I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death and depression entangled me;
The torrents of self-destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave, fear, coiled around me;
The snares of confusion confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord!
I cried out desperately to my God for His help.
From His temple, a place unseen to me, he heard my voice;
My sorrowful cry came before him, into his ears.
His waiting ears.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
He drew me out of the deep waters of despair.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy. Rescued me from that which sought to destroy me that was too strong for me.
Those fears confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support! He was in my corner. In fact, he was my corner.
He brought me to a safe place,
He rescued me because He delighted in me. Delighted, in me!
The Lord has dealt with me not according to any righteousness of my own, but according to His son, who cleansed my stained hands, yet he still rewarded me.
For I have often kept the ways of the Lord. Many times I have failed.
But I have never turned permanently from my God.
All his laws are before me; and he shows me mercy when I turn away from his decrees. He softly and kindly turns me back to them.
I am now blameless before him, and try to keep myself from sin.
You teach me to be humble, and bring my eyes low when arrogant.
You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning;
My God turns my darkness into light!
As for my God, his way is perfect; his words are flawless.

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I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.

Day 21 ~ Grounded Hope

Day 19: Five Minute Friday ~ Look

Time for 5 minute Friday! This is a great community writing exercise posted each week on Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, Tales from a Gypsy Mama.

Want to take on the challenge? Here are the rules:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat on the chosen word of the day – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link to Lisa-Jo Baker’s blog and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community...

If you have a blog (or even if you don't), you should give it a try! There's no better way to get the creative juices flowing than with a timed exercise - no over thinking, no picking apart.

So here's my stab at today's 5 minute Friday (it also conveniently fits as an entry in my 31 Days of Hope series, so yay for me!):

Look…

 

As a young girl in Sunday School, I was intrigued by a story about Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness. Poisonous snakes were killing the people, and Moses pleaded to God for help. God told him to make a bronze serpent and set it up on a pole. If the people looked at the serpent after being bitten, they would be healed.

 

One look and they were healed.

 

Was it really the look? Or was it their faith? Their hope wasn’t in the bronze serpent, but in God.

 

What do I do when I'm overwhelmed with the poison of this world? With the seemingly hopeless situations that bring me down?

 

Do I look to Jesus and hope?

 

Or do I cast my eyes downward and inward, looking to myself for solutions that I don’t possess?

 

Look to Jesus. He alone is hope for a dark, hurting world. He alone brings hope to your soul.

Look to Jesus and be healed.

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I'm linking up all month at The Nesting Place for the 31 Days of Change blogging challenge. There are over 1,000 topics to choose from! Check it out by clicking the button below.