Hope

[Fluttering]

HOPE ...

If you can look at the sun and smile,
then you still have hope.

If you can find beauty in the colors of
a small flower,
then you still have hope.

If you can find pleasure in the movement
of a butterfly,
then you still have hope.

If the smile of a child can still warm your heart,
then you still have hope.

If you can see the good in other people,
then you still have hope.

If the rain breaking on a roof top can still
lull you to sleep,
then you still have hope.

If the sight of a rainbow still makes you
stop and stare in wonder,
then you still have hope.

If the soft fur of a favored pet still feels pleasant
under your fingertips,
then you still have hope.

If you meet new people with a trace of
excitement and optimism,
then you still have hope.

If you give people the benefit of a doubt,
then you still have hope.

If you still offer your hand in friendship to
others that have touched your life,
then you still have hope.

If receiving an unexpected card or letter
still brings a pleasant surprise,
then you still have hope.

If the suffering of others still fills you with
pain and frustration,
then you still have hope.

If you refuse to let a friendship die,
or accept that it must end,
then you still have hope.

If you look forward to a time or place of
quiet and reflection,
then you still have hope.

If you still buy the ornaments, put up the
Christmas tree or cook the turkey,
then you still have hope.

If you still watch love stories
or want the endings to be happy,
then you still have hope.

If you can look to the past and smile,
then you still have hope.

If, when faced with the bad, when told
everything is futile, you can still look up and
end the conversation with the phrase...
"Yeah....BUT.."
then you still have hope.

[best]

What about when you have none of them...not a one?
When you become void and empty of feelings.
When your eyes won't even tear up after cutting 20 oinion.
I was that person. I was but an empty shell with the exception of the selfishness and self pity that filled my every moment of the day.

Today...because the Lord has changed my heart and filled me with His love... I find joy in the things of life. Even the smell of a skunk...for such a smell lets me know I am still alive *LOL*

When I see another who is in pain and I start to feel their pain and tears come to my eyes... I find a joy even among such sadness because ther was a day I had no tears.
When I see a person who struggles and is on a path that their bottom may be just around the next turn... Though they suffer there is a joy of sorts because I know that on the day they let go and let God take over their life... they will know the joy I speak of. Life can and does hurt some times but when I stop and think about the experience I am going through... I gather a joy of knowing that the Lord is helping me grow and will use this experience at some point in the future.

So when a person reaches a point that all hope seems lost... Know that Jesus is the hope and His love will bring us out of the deepest pits with just our asking.
Seek and you will find. My ES&H has shown me that to be so true.

[Fluttering]

VEry true Best...

YOU'RE SOMETHING SPECIAL

Nothing...in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39)

We want to know how long God's love will endure...Not just oneaster Sunday when our shoes are shined and our hair is fixed...Not when I'm peppy and positive and ready to tackel world hunger. Not then. I know how he feels about me then. Even I like me then.

I want to know how he feels about me when I snap at anything that moves, when my thoughts are gutterlevel, when my tongue is sharp enough to slice a rock. How does he feel about me then?

Can anything separate us from the love God has for us?

God answered our question before we asked it. So we'd see his ansawer, he lit the sky with a star. So we'd hear it, he filled the night with a choir, and so we'd believe it, he did what no man had ever dreamed. He became flesh and dwelt among us.

[Max Lucado...COME DRINK WITH ME]

[Fluttering]

It's dangerous to sum up grand truths in one sentence, but I'm going to try. If a sentence or two could capture God's desire fro each of us, it might go like this:
God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses tro leave you that way. he wants you to be just like Jesus.
Go dloves you just the way you are. If you think his love for you would be stronger if your fatih were, you are wrong. If you think his love would be deeper fi your thoughts were, wrong again. Don't confuse God's love with the love of people. The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God's love. he loves you right where you are and how you are.

[Max Lucado...COME DRINK]

[Fluttering]

When you have disappointments and set backs in your life, remember that such expereinces provide a good foundation on which to rebuild and regroup. God honors that foundation with his spirit of renewal and his gift of strength.

When you call on and recieve God's support and accetp hi shelp. a failure may turn out to be one of the very best things that happens to you. It propvides an opportiunity to know God ata deeper level and to know what he can do. It intorduces you to abilities, capacities, and aptitudes you didn't know you had. It lets you know how powerful your partnership with God is.

Failure put in the hands of God is the first step to something better. It is the ingredient that gives flavor to future success.

[cmc]

Fluttering,
Thanks for sharing, it's just what I needed to ear today. I love this part:

Can anything separate us from the love God has for us?

Jesus said:
"I give them eternal life, and they will never die, and no one can steal them out of my hand. My father gave my sheep to me. He is greater than all, and no person can steal my sheep out of my Father's hand." John 10:28-29
I love to read the bible, but I try to pay close attention to what is written in red.

[Fluttering]

By your thought shall you be fulfilled

"My brother, I tell you true. If all who see the Earth as being poisoned would, instead, give more attention to seeing the Earth clean and vibrant, then, very soon, your Earth would be cleansed.

If all who see their nation's leaders as misguided or uncaring would, instead, give more time to seeing themselves being represented by responsible, caring leaders who stand firm for the highest good of all, then, very soon, you would have good leadership.

If all who see their spouses or family members as troublesome or unloving would, instead, give more thought to seeing their loved ones as the shining children of God that they are, then, very soon, all challenged relationships would be renewed and love rekindled.

If all who see themselves as sick or poor or weak of heart or undeserving would, instead, give more energy to seeing themselves as healthy, abundant, empowered, worthy, and lifted up, then, very soon, they would experience all of the good things that life has to offer.

If all who see themselves as a physical body and no more would, instead, give more thought to seeing themselves as an ever-brightening star that resides inside the body, then, very soon, everyone in your world would be shining their lights--just as all of the Elders who have walked your Earth have done. You would be living in peace, harmony, and comfort in a culture that you have created consciously, a culture which, by your divine right of birth, you deserve to enjoy.

Each challenge is there to guide you toward the desire of your heart

Each problem, seen from the positive side, always turns into a blessing

Each sorrow leads you to your joy

Each doubt--to your knowing

Each lack--to your abundance

Each debt--to your freedom

Each feeling of hopelessness--to your power

Each cry of pain--to your comfort

Each act of war--to your peace

Each act of anger--to your love

And each journey through darkness--into the light."

Excerpt from 'The Reunion ~ A Parable for Peace' by Tony Burroughs

[cmc]

The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God's love. he loves you right where you are and how you are.

As I re-read this, I am reminded that we can attempt to imitate this kind of love in our daily lives and to offer that same unconditional love and acceptance to each other as fellow beleivers and most especially to those who do not know Him. (yet)

[Fluttering]

By your thought shall you be fulfilled

"My brother, I tell you true. If all who see the Earth as being poisoned would, instead, give more attention to seeing the Earth clean and vibrant, then, very soon, your Earth would be cleansed.

If all who see their nation's leaders as misguided or uncaring would, instead, give more time to seeing themselves being represented by responsible, caring leaders who stand firm for the highest good of all, then, very soon, you would have good leadership.

If all who see their spouses or family members as troublesome or unloving would, instead, give more thought to seeing their loved ones as the shining children of God that they are, then, very soon, all challenged relationships would be renewed and love rekindled.

If all who see themselves as sick or poor or weak of heart or undeserving would, instead, give more energy to seeing themselves as healthy, abundant, empowered, worthy, and lifted up, then, very soon, they would experience all of the good things that life has to offer.

If all who see themselves as a physical body and no more would, instead, give more thought to seeing themselves as an ever-brightening star that resides inside the body, then, very soon, everyone in your world would be shining their lights--just as all of the Elders who have walked your Earth have done. You would be living in peace, harmony, and comfort in a culture that you have created consciously, a culture which, by your divine right of birth, you deserve to enjoy.

Each challenge is there to guide you toward the desire of your heart

Each problem, seen from the positive side, always turns into a blessing

Each sorrow leads you to your joy

Each doubt--to your knowing

Each lack--to your abundance

Each debt--to your freedom

Each feeling of hopelessness--to your power

Each cry of pain--to your comfort

Each act of war--to your peace

Each act of anger--to your love

And each journey through darkness--into the light."

Excerpt from 'The Reunion ~ A Parable for Peace' by Tony Burroughs

[Fluttering]

"On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out. "Let anyone who is thristy come to me." John 7:37

The central condition for an abundant spiritual life is awareness of your need. Jesus, on the day of a great feast, made this clear. he would provide drink, he said, for those who know and admit they are thristy. Thirst is the primary and prior condition. God offers the fullness fo huimself to those who are spiritually thirsty.

Thirst means an awareness of your need and a conscious desire for that need to be met. You need not suffer from unmet needs if you tell God what your needs are and ask him to help you with them. God will quench the thirst. God puts the resources of his power and providence at your disposal.

When you pray becasue you need help from God, the answers to your prayers are on its way.

[cmc]

The central condition for an abundant spiritual life is awareness of your need

That's good advice. The most dangerous place to be is where I lose that awareness, through pride or ignorance. If I refuse to look within and see what God and maybe everybody else can see about myself....I become a prime target for a fall, either in recovery and/or as a Christian.

That is the difference between being led of His Spirit and being religious.

Whenever I profess to have it under control or to be above it all...I am not relying on God. I am 'undoing' the first step of recovery too- when I begin to think I can rely on my own strength.

[Fluttering]

God admits that sometimes he hides his face from us. This is a normal part of the testing and maturing of our friendship with God.

I go east, but he is not there.
I go west, but I cannot find him.
I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.
I turn to the south, but I cannot find him.
But he knows where I am going.
And when he has tested me like gold in a fire,
He will pronounce me innocent. Job 23:8 NLT

___

How do you praise God when you don't understand what's happening in your life and God is silent? You do what Job did:

"Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, "Naked I come from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. Job 1:20-21 niv

Tell God exactly how you feel.

I can't be quiet!
I am anger and bitter.
I have to speak. Job 7-11 tev
_______

Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house. Job 29: 4
______

I believed, so I said, "I am completely ruined!" Psalm 116:10 ncv

_______

This sounds like a contradiction: I trust God, but I'm wiped out! David's frankness [in Psalm 116:10} actually reveals a deep faith: First he believed in God. Second, he believed God would listen to his prayer. Third, he believed God would let him say what he felt and still love him.

[Fluttering]

Peace in your heart makes your life beautiful and wonderful. It is the peace God gives when you draw close to him to receive his love and blessing. This peace counters the turbulence you havve elsewhere in your life. it brings the stability fo Knowing you belong to God and the security of knowing he is with you always.
God's peace comes when you know how much God loves you, how far he goes to forgive you, how many ways he sustains you, and how many generous life opportunities he offers you. God's peace will guide you in the way you should go.
God puts the calm of hi spresence andth peace of his love at the center of your life.

Dear God, when I know you in my heart, I have peace in my lifew...Thank You. Amewn

From the book Quiet Mometns inthe Presence of God