Resting in Hope

It was recently brought to my attention that our everyday use of the word 'hope', is very different to the biblical definition of what the word hope really means.  We use it in phrases like 'hope you feel better' or 'hope you enjoy your day', when we really mean it as a wish of something we want to happen, but without any assured confidence that it will.  In other words, the worldly version is a hope-so, but God's version of hope is a know-so! According to Romans 8:18-25, hoping for something is a lot like having faith - in the things we cannot see yet, but trusting God while waiting patiently AND with an eager, expectant heart. 

Hoping God's way is a longing, but with confidence that it will happen - not just positive thinking, but confidently waiting for it to happen.

When I look at the many things in life that I have been hoping for, I must confess that they have really just been wishful thinking. I am now challenged to place my hopes in God, trusting that if they are in line with His will and purpose for my life, then I can find rest, while I wait with a quiet, but confident assurance that it will happen.

May the following acronym be a reminder to you of what hope really means...

H - Holding

O - On with

P - Positive, Prayerful

E - Expectation

A New Year to a New You

A lot of people celebrate New Year's with special traditions.  For our family, with my husband being Scottish, we enjoy a home-made Steak pie for New Years.  I'm not sure what the significance is, but we like it.  I heard today of another tradition of eating 12 grapes and making 12 wishes for the coming year, which I am going to adopt for next year.  

Seeing out the old year should be celebrated with family or good friends - and as the Scottish song says in  'Auld Lang Syne', we should be mindful of those people who have impacted our lives during the past year, whether family, friends or merely just acquaintances and try to make contact with those we have lost touch with.

I like to do some soul searching on New Year's Day and ponder the many lessons that I've learnt from all the mistakes and poor choices I've made during the past year.  Then I like to ponder on the many blessings that I am most thankful for and what changes I would like to make in the new year.

Instead of calling them resolutions, I like to call them goals, which I try to set with clear, specific achievable targets.  These don't only include physical things like losing weight or exercising more, but I believe it is also important to set spiritual goals, to ensure that you are forever growing as a Christian.

I have discovered that without a dream or vision for the future, or merely a decision to improve ourselves or change the things we don't like, we will find ourselves at the end of the year filled with regret, and with nothing productively achieved, and nothing to be proud of.  

So if you want 2018 to be a great year, then I challenge you to make a list of all the changes you would like to see happen - whatever addiction you need to conquer, or attitude you need to change or improve, set tangible, mini goals that will motivate you to stay committed in achieving them.

Ignore the usual resolution jokes of quitting in the first week or month - 'resolve' yourself to stick with it, no matter what, so that at the end of 2018, you can look back and be proud of what you have accomplished. 

When this year ends, you can either be a better you, or the same - the choice is yours!




  

Fervent Prayer

Having just finished reading the book 'Fervent' by Priscilla Shiver, which was inspired by the movie 'War Room', I feel motivated to share the life-changing lessons it has taught me about the power of prayer, and about the real enemy behind a lot of our trials and tribulations. 

When we can grasp how serious Satan is, in trying to steal, kill and destroy our peace, love and faith, we will realise that prayer is not just a nice talking to Jesus, or a SOS during the tough times, but it is the very weapon God has given us to fight with and be the victorious overcomer He created us to be.

  

To pray fervently is to pray with intense passion. Our prayers shouldn't be just quick, obligatory help me speeches, full of complaints. We need to desire the privilege of getting into the Lords presence and spending time with Him. 

In her book, Priscilla shares this helpful acronym to use when praying:-

P - PRAISE - Start your prayer with praise, thanks and worship

R - REPENT - Repent of things you need to, asking to be forgiven

A - ASK - Ask God your requests, not just for you, but for all who needs it - physical & spiritual things

Y - YES - Yield to God's promises and declare them over your life 

When our prayers become more serious and strategic, we will begin to release God's power to intervene in our lives. We need to start praying right, using God's positive words instead of our negative complaints. 

Prayers that are sealing with praise and thankfulness, releases God's blessings in our lives. Instead of asking God for what we don't have, we need to be thanking Him instead for what we do have, and trusting Him with our hearts desires, as we delight ourselves in Him. 

As 2018 fast approaches, let's recommit ourselves to getting serious about prayer, which will not only become a weapon against Satan, but a release hatch for God's power and blessings in our lives. 

The Icing on the Cake

There is nothing as special as someone baking you a homemade cake! Despite the obvious cost of the ingredients and the electricity to bake it, it carries a value so much more meaningful and valuable, and that is the cost of the person's time, patience and creativity.  My precious cousin Carol recently baked me a granadilla cake for my birthday, a flavour which I had been longing for, for quite some time.  Although the cake was not as airy and fluffy as the recipe was suppose to turn out, it was still delicious in taste, beautiful to look at all decorated with strawberries, and the scrumptious granadilla butter icing made up for its slightly dense imperfection.

It reminded me of how sometimes we too can sometimes feel a little deflated with a kind of heaviness, but if we choose to cover up our feelings with the icing of a smile, we too can be 'tasty and appetising' to all those who we may meet during the day.

So next time we are icing and decorating our faces in the morning, let us also be mindful of clotheing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, like the Bible tells us to.  Let these be our icing that covers up our own imperfections of grumpiness and/or a heavy heart.  We may not always 'feel' it, but as the saying goes, we should 'fake it till we make it'.  

I can personally testify that when you choose to push down those heavy feelings with a forced smile and conciously think happy thoughts, your heart does eventually catch up with your smiling face! (Unless of course, your brain needs the help of some hormonal chemicals, but that's a whole different story 😉.)

Thankful for Fleas

For my Writers group homework this month, we were told to write about a women that we wanted to honour. There are many I could have chosen, but when it comes to who has impacted my life the most, Corrie Ten Boom comes to my mind. Her story, as told in her book, 'The Hiding Place', has changed my perspective on life's difficulties and ultimately, the way I pray. 

When Corrie and her sister were surviving the horrors of their concentration camp, they could find little to be thankful for. For one, their camp was riddled with fleas, which caused them much discomfort and anguish.  It was Betsie who reminded Corrie that the Bible instructs us to be thankful for ALL things, not just the good.  So they chose to be thankful for the fleas, even though they did not understand why God would allow the infestation. 

It was only after many years later that Corrie discovered that it was because of the fleas that the guards did not enter their camp, thus allowing them to conduct their prayer meetings and Bible studies undisturbed.  Had their been no fleas, the guards would surely have confiscated their smuggled Bible and put a stop to them sharing the Gospel.

It is only when we can accept the bad things in our lives and choose to be thankful for it, that we will find true contentment in life.  When we struggle for change and for the bad to stop, we only prolong our anguish. 

We need to trust God that He has allowed ALL things for a reason, whether we understand it or not...

No Sinking Ship

My Pastor recently used an anology in his sermon that really spoke volumes to me. He said we and the church were like ships floating along in the span of a worldly sea. We won't sink unless we take on too much of the worldly sea water. 

We need to be anchoring our ship onto the Rock, namely Jesus Christ, to keep us steady and firm when the worldly seas become rough and stormy. 

As long as we have our lives-vested (life vests) in the Word of God, we will always remain safe and secure.  No matter what is going on in the waters around us or in our ship, we can still sleep calmly, knowing that God controls the tides and can still every storm. We can live our lives raised above the worldly waters, never afraid of sinking, as long as our ships foundation is solid and without any holes...  A ship that is damaged needs to be repaired and healed in order not to sink.

Don't take it Personally...

Our dog Coco has taught me an important life lesson. Every day when I take her for a walk, we often encounter other dogs along the way. Regardless of their size, some are friendly and some just aren't. This doesn't seem to phase Coco in the least. To the friendly dogs, she will do her usual smell routine, but to those dogs who bark at her, she doesn't take it personally - she merely walks away and let's them be.  

It made me think about how us humans react when someone is not friendly to us, or who treats us with contempt.  Somehow, we personalise it, believing there must be something wrong with us, when in fact that is not the case.  Some people are just naturally mean.  The truth is that people can only respond to what they have inside of them. Unfriendly people cannot by nature be friendly.  We need to accept that the problem lies with them, and not us.

The best way to treat unfriendly people is to smile and greet them regardless of whether they respond or not.  It's a great sign of maturity to not take offence when people don't respond to your friendliness.  The saying 'hurting people hurt people' should make us more empathetic towards those who are rude, mean or unfriendly. Rather than to treat them like they treat us, we should learn to turn the other cheek, remain calm and choose to walk away. 

The trick is not to allow other people's bad moods to affect us - we need to be like teflon and let it slide off us and not be like velcro that lets it stick to us, souring our own good, friendly mood.  Remaining friendly when others aren't is the best way to live...