Planning a New Hope

I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13, New Living Translation)     The message being proclaimed that many will have to rethink how they make a living and how their future might look made me wonder. Did those who are scrambling to make sense of their lives once have hopes and dreams that were lost in living. These thoughts took me back to a young me.               “You’ll never write a book!” The man screamed.   Shock, and humiliation surged through me, but my determination lingered.   Two weeks later our small writing group of four traveled to San Antonio to what would be my first writer’s conference and writer’s contest. On the last day of the session as we all gathered together to hear those lucky contest winners, hope soared that my name would be among the ones announced. The only person from our writing group to receive any recognition was another woman ...

Where Are You God? I Need You Now! “God, I don’t know what to do. Please help me.” I cried out. There was no assurance that all would be well, nor was there a discernment He was leading me in a particular way. I felt totally alone. It all started about 8:00 p.m. when my dog uncharacteristically barked continuously as a neighbor and I stood out in the back yard talking. She soon left and Toby lay down on the dining room rug, I thought, to sleep. Watching him, though, it was apparent by his panting and the stiffening of his leg something was terribly wrong. “Lord, what do I do?” There seemed to be no leading, except I felt strongly that I didn’t want to take him back to the emergency room, so I called friend who learned from her father, a veterinarian, about sick animals. She gave me much-needed information. But nothing seemed to work. “Oh God, where are You when I need You.” Curiously, around 11:00 p.m. I knew I had to now take him to the emergency room Though Toby was immediately...

Guide me in your truth and teach me, For you are God my Savior, And my hope is in you all day long. Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, For they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. ( Psalm 25:5-7, New International Version (NIV)   The Open Door   When my fiancé was killed in a wreck, I was devastated and at a loss of what to do next. After asking God to open the right doors for my future, the opportunity for a job became available.   Even though most of my contemporaries had retired, I embarked on a wonderful adventure.             While listening to this woman talk about how an open door led to such an amazing experience, I couldn’t help but compare it with another person who prayed the same prayer, but those doors led to disappointing results. After praying for the right doors t...

I will instruct you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8 New International Version (NIV)   Trust and Obey   A message whispered in her ear, “Get off the freeway at the next exit.” It didn’t make sense but my friend complied. Just after leaving the heavy flow of traffic, her tire blew out.             This story was told by another friend. A sense of doom filled my thoughts all morning. It seemed as if someone was about to die, so I prayed for that person. Later that day, when the man who answered the ad for a dog house showed up, I immediately knew something was wrong. First, he portrayed himself on the phone as older and some-what feeble. The man at the door was far from what I had been expecting. Second, he was early and the people who were to be here with me hadn’t arrived. My senses were heightened. Were the earlier feelings of doom, the discrepancy in the way...

    For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (New Living Translation)   Lisa’s Recipe for Success             Several years ago, I had the privilege to meet a woman I will call Lisa. Though she worked full time at a demanding job and had a family, Lisa was also pursuing a college degree, and even with this heavy load, she always had a smile on her face. Lisa’s story is one of never giving up.             Though a young teenaged mother from a poor home, eventually divorced and a high school dropout, Lisa continued to work for a better life. Everything didn’t fall in place quickly, but after accepting a job with the school district, she discovered her love for students. With words of reassurance and encouragement from some of the women in her church, this brave woman pursued a college ...

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat.   I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you invited Me in; naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed You, Or thirsty, and give You drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked and clothe You? ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me. Matthew 25:34-40, New American Standard Bible   But I Am Right!             On n...

The Power of Waiting   Jesus was with His disciples after the resurrection in the following scriptures: Acts 4: And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father “which,” He said , “you have heard from me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now--- Acts 8 : But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” New King James Version (bold by author)             These disciples had a job to do, but Jesus knew that before they started this new endeavor, they needed to be empowered.             It was 1987 and I was teaching. Believing it was time to sell my condo, I had been looking at other places ...