Posts with the tag “hope”

I was reading an article the other day in which the writer gave a list of parental phrases  and then asked how many of them you recognized from the mouths of your own mother or father. Believe it or not, one of the top responses was: “Stop crying, or I’ll give you something to cry about!” I remember my own parents saying that quite frequently to me and my siblings! And occasionally they used to fo...  Read More

God often directly intervenes in the lives of His people when they begin to praise Him. Remember Paul and Silas in Philippi? We learn in Acts 16 that after casting a demon out of an abused young slave girl in Philippi they were “dragged … into the marketplace to face the authorities” and accused of “advocating customs unlawful for … Romans to accept or practice.” Paul and Silas were “stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison” where they were placed “in the inner cell” and the jailer “fastened their feet in the stocks.”  Read More

The rain is pounding on the roof. I can hear it splashing out the gutters. It seems so cold and dark right now, I don’t want to get out of the blankets. Two weeks ago, I had to say goodbye to my husband. He died from Leukemia twelve days after our 35th wedding anniversary.  Read More

Death came to our peaceful little valley this past week. It was an uninvited caller. Its dark shadows quickly seemed to seep in to every corner and there was no escape. Now destructive scars are everywhere as once verdant hills stand blackened and smoldering, their trees are but charred sticks or piles of ash swirling in the breeze.  Read More

Paul reveals in Romans 5:3-5 that though we would not willingly choose to suffer, our trials do have a purpose. He declares that we can “rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us….”  Read More