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Your Journey to Find Hope

Helping You Find Hope and Encouragement For Your Life

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What is Hope?

Hope and Encouragement, Featured

What is hope?

During a  severe health crisis and recent hospitalization, I was at a very low point in my life. I was physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted.  

After years of ongoing physical, financial, and emotional struggles, I began to wonder if God was still there. Does He hear my prayers? Does He see me and does He really even care? 

Isn’t God supposed to answer the cries of our hearts? Was He not listening or, even worse, was He ignoring me? If so, what hope could I possibly have for my struggles to end? 

Jump Ahead
  • Definitions of hope
  • Hope vs Faith Comparison
  • How to Find Hope
  • Three Practical Applications to Find Hope for Your Life
  • Conclusion

I became desperate for hope. I knew that I was on the edge of hopelessness and despair, but as a Christian and a counselor, I didn’t want to admit it because Christian counselors are not “supposed” to feel this way. 

Some friends invited my husband and me to see the movie The Pilgrim’s Progress. In the movie, the citizens of Vanity Fair are about to martyr the main character named Christian. As Christian is sitting in jail awaiting his pending death, a character named Hope arrived to help Christian escape from prison and death. As Christian continues on his journey to the Golden City, Hope never left him. 

This movie highlighted the importance of hope in my life. Hope is important for the battles we face. Hope is needed for our daily lives and navigating all the life situations that we encounter.  

After this realization about the importance of hope, I began to study hope. I wanted to understand it, and most importantly, find it. 

My personal mission is to help those who feel hopeless, abandoned, unloved, and unseen to find encouragement, comfort, and, most importantly – HOPE.

Struggling to find hope in your life? Join us on our 40-Day Journey to Find Hope.

Definitions of hope

Dictionary

According to Merriam-Webster, hope is both a verb and a noun. We can have hope (noun), which is the desire or belief for something to happen or be true, “I have hope today will be a good day.” We can hope (verb) by wanting the desire or belief to be true, “I hope you have a good day today.”

Bible

Strong’s Concordance defines hope biblically as the joyful, serene, and confident expectation of eternal salvation. 

Scripture defines hope in two ways.

  1. A Process 
  2. A Person

Hope as a Process

Romans 5:1-5 shows hope to be the endpoint of tribulations.

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.        

According to this passage, hope is the endpoint of tribulations. In other words, tribulations produce hope. In theory, we should be VERY hopeful! 

Hope as a Person

The Apostle Paul calls Jesus Christ our hope in 1 Peter 1:3 and 1 Timothy 1:1. 

1 Peter 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Timothy 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.

Hope is both a process and a Person.

Psychology

In 1991, according to Psychology Today, psychologist Charles R. Snyder and his colleagues came up with Hope Theory. According to their theory, the person who has hope has both the will and determination to achieve their goals and a set of different strategies available to reach their goals. 

Put simply: hope involves the will to get to the end. A person who has hope will utilize many ways to achieve their goals. The Hope Theory considers hope as a dynamic cognitive motivational system that aids in learning goals that Snyder shows be positively related to success in life.  

Various scientific studies show that hope is the vehicle to get you to places in life that you never thought possible. Science agrees with the Word of God with hope being a confident expectation of a good outcome.

For our purposes, I will focus on the biblical aspect of hope.

Hope vs Faith Comparison

  • Hope and faith are not the same. 
  • Hope is for the future, and faith is for the present.
  • Hope is in your mind, and faith is in your heart. 

Hope and faith are not the same

In 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4, Paul speaks about the work of faith, the labor of love, and the steadfastness of hope. 

Faith produces work or action (James 2:14 and James 2:26). It is not passive; it is alive and active. 

Love produces labor or hard, sacrificial giving on behalf of others. 

Hope is steadfast and developed by endurance and perseverance (Romans 5:1-5). Romans 8:25 says that we wait for hope with patience. 

First Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The steadfastness of hope is necessary for us to be able to perform the work of faith and the labor of love. 

In 1 Peter 1:13, Peter tells us to rest, fix or place our hope completely on the grace brought by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Hope has a specific focus, while faith spurs us to action.

hope street sign

Hope is for the future and faith is for the present.

Hebrews 1:1-3 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. The word ‘substance’ in this passage means an underlying foundation. Faith is the bedrock on which hope is supported. Since faith is a substance, it is present right now.

Hope that one can see is not hope because we do not hope for what we see. (Romans 8:24-25) Proverbs 24:14 talks about a ‘future hope’ available for us if we find wisdom.

King David says that he would have despaired or lost hope unless he had believed that he would see the goodness of God in the land (Psalm 27:13). He would have lost hope unless he had faith.

What keeps us from despair or hopelessness is not what we see in the present, but what we believe for the future.

In Derek Prince’s book, Unshakeable Hope, he says that faith is ultimately based on the Word of God and the fact that the whole universe was brought into being by the invisible Word of God. 

Hebrews 3:6 says that we are ‘to hold onto our hope until the end.’ Holding onto hope is not a passive inner expectation but a firm conviction based on our Faith in Jesus and His Word.

Our hope for the future is based on our faith in the present because our faith is the substance or foundation of our hope.

Hope is in your mind and faith is in your heart.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul instructs us to be sober and put on the breastplate of faith and love along with the helmet of the hope of salvation. 

Proverbs 23;7 says that as a man thinks in his heart so is he. Jesus says that what defiles a man is in his heart (Matthew 15:18), while Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to guard our hearts diligently. 

Given the importance of our heart for our faith, donning the breastplate of faith is vital. We must protect our hearts since faith resides there (Romans 10:10).

The helmet of the hope of salvation protects your mind. The thoughts we think are critical to our wellbeing.  In Lamentations 3:21, Jeremiah, the prophet, mentions that recalling or thinking about God’s mercies and faithfulness brings him hope. 

Paul, the Apostle, encourages us to think about good things (Philippians 4:8-9). He also tells us to renew our minds so that we may know the good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).

Renewing our minds is a requirement for believing that God’s thoughts are for you and He desires to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

How to Find Hope

Struggling to find hope in your life? Check out these free resources.

So, how do you find hope?

The good news is that according to Jeremiah 29:11-14, finding hope is possible; it only requires three things.

  1. Believe God has good thoughts
  2. Praying to God
  3. Searching for Him with our whole heart

Jeremiah 29:11-13

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

In this passage, God says that He wants to give us a future and hope. He then goes on to say what will happen if we believe Him. 

  • We will call upon Him and pray to Him. 
  • He will listen to us.
  • We will seek Him
  • We will find Him if we search with all of our hearts.

There are two conditions required to receive the 2 promises mentioned in this scripture passage.

God says that He 

  1. will listen to us
  2. will be found 

IF we

  1. Pray to Him 
  2. Search for Him with our whole heart.

These promises sound wonderful but what if we struggle believing that God is good? How does praying and searching for Him give us hope? Or what if we have been praying for our circumstances for a long time and have not had our prayers answered?

Struggling to find hope in your life? Click here for free Resources

Three Practical Applications to Find Hope for Your Life

  1. Believe God is Good 
  2. Praying  
  3. Seek God Relentlessly

Believe 

Dr. Henry Cloud says that 

“Relationship or bonding… is at the foundation of God’s nature. Since we are created in his likeness, the relationship is our most fundamental need, the very foundation of who we are. Without relationship, without attachment to God and others, we can’t be ourselves.”

Dr. Tim Clinton and Dr. Gary Sibcy, in their book Attachments: Why You Love, Feel and Act the Way You Do, describe God as the ultimate attachment figure. We need God as the center of our emotional universe. 

Drs. Clinton and Sibcy described 5 Criteria for a positive Attachment Relationship.

  1. We seek proximity to the caregiver in times of trouble.
  2. The caregiver provides a safe haven or a felt sense of security.
  3. The caregiver provides a secure base from which to explore the world.
  4. Any threat of separation induces fear and anxiety.
  5. Loss of the caregiver induces grief and sorrow.

God, the Father, satisfies all these conditions if we let Him.

  1. He is our ever-present help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)
  2. He is our refuge and fortress. (Psalm 91:2) 
  3. He is our Rock. (Psalm 62:2)
  4. He will never leave us or forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
  5. Without Him, we have no hope (Ephesians 2:12)

We must believe that God is good and has good thoughts about us, thoughts to give us a future and a hope. God, through Jesus Christ, made us co-heirs with Christ and has given us every spiritual blessing. I know it may not “feel” like you are blessed, but that is when we need faith, the substance of things hoped for, not hopeful feelings, good vibes, or karma.

Beth Moore shared in her book, Believing God 5 phrases to refocus your eyes on Jesus and His truth rather than what you see or feel. I wrote these on an index card and placed it by my computer so it is visible to me throughout the day.

  1. God is who He says He is.
  2. God can do what He says He can do.
  3. I am who God says that I am.
  4. I can do all things through Christ.
  5. God?s word is active and alive in me.

When we place our hope or thoughts on Jesus, we can declare the same thing as King David when he said that he would have despaired had he not believed in the goodness of God. (Psalm 27:13)

Pray

Praying is simple and yields powerful results yet it is a discipline that we often neglect.. 

Jesus spent time teaching His disciples to pray (Luke 11:1-13) and on many occasions He went to be alone to pray. I find it interesting that He never taught His disciples to preach but He did teach them to pray. How different would things be if we prayed more than preached? Sounds like an interesting future blog post. 

In his classic book, On Prayer, EM Bounds says,

 “Christ, who in this as well as other things, is our Example, spent many whole nights in prayer. His custom was to pray much.  He had his habitual place to pray.  Many long seasons of praying make up his history and character.  Paul prayed day and night.  It took time from very important interests for Daniel to pray three times a day.  David’s morning, noon, and night praying were doubtless on many occasions very protracted.  While we have no specific account of the time these Bible saints spent in prayer, yet the indications are that they consumed much time in prayer, and on some occasions, long seasons of praying was their custom.”

Martin Luther said that “much time spent with God is the secret of all successful prayer.” 

According to scripture we are to pray:

  1. About everything (Philippians 4:6-7)
  2. Earnestly (Colossians 4:2)
  3. Without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

Personally, I like simple direct prayers. I know that when my prayers have few words such as “Lord, help me!”, they are very effective. Another key for me is to find scripture relevant to my situation and pray the scripture the situation. This makes it very easy to pray and it helps me to not overthink the situation. I believe God’s Word and apply it to my life.

Please email me at michelle@findinghopejourney.com if you would like a prayer or scripture for your specific situation.

Seek 

The 3rd step in finding Hope is to seek God with all your heart and pursue Him relentlessly.

Where are you looking for hope? Do you place your expectation of hope in a prescription, alcohol, shopping or another person? 

We must focus on Jesus, our Living Hope. He is the only Anchor for us. The world around us is changing at an alarming rate and what we thought we could count on having is no longer certain. 

For many people their crutch of dependency is being pulled out from them. What are you leaning on to get you through the tough times? 

It is necessary to forgo social media and many digital entertainment options. Preoccupation with worldly drama is not a solution to hopelessness. Jesus Christ is the solution. 

The Real Housewives of Whatever City will not help you in the pit of despair. The political party of your choosing will not come to your rescue in a time of need. Social media does not give life and encourage. Jesus Christ is the only One who is with you wherever you are and is always willing to listen. 

I encourage you to call out to Him today and seek Him with all your heart.

Contact Michelle

Conclusion

After spending quite a bit of time believing that I had lost hope, I realized that what I lost was not really hope. What I lost was a belief in me and my abilities. I believed that if I did everything right, then things would turn out the way I expected. Or if I just had more knowledge about a subject, then it would be much better. Or if I just worked harder, then things would be ok.

I placed my belief in me and it turns out that I am a poor substitute for hope. It took being in a position not to be able to rely on myself for things that forced me to let go of all that I held close. Self-sufficiency was my crutch of dependency.

I had no choice but to trust Jesus, the Living Hope.

When I started letting go of control, I saw God work in ways I never imagined. He sent workers to do His will in every situation. As I sat back and watched events unfold, I realized I was beginning to have hope. Hope was surfacing because of Jesus, not me.

I chose to believe His Word, and I found hope. I believe there is hope for you!

Struggling to find hope in your life? Click here for Hope-Filled Resources.

Contact Michelle

Read More:

  1. The Year of the Fruit-Filled Valley
  2. Rheumatoid Arthritis: My Story
  3. Rest
  4. Finding a Dead Body on a Prayer Walk Led to Life

August 5, 2020 ·

Why Do I Do What I Do?

Uncategorized

  • Do you ever wonder why you keep doing what you do when you don’t want to do it?
  • Why do you react the same way when you really want to change?

Objective:

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of how our thoughts affect our actions. 

Introduction:

We really are the sum of our thinking.

Every thought on which you meditate or think about equals a physical reaction through the hormones in your body.

Dr. Caroline Leaf says that “87% of all disease is the result of what goes on in our thought life.” (Source)

Biblically, if you practice 2 Corinthians 10:5 and apply Philippians 4:8 then you get 3 John 2.

  • 2 Corinthians 10:5 = Take every thought captive
  • Philippians 4:8 = Think on good things
  • 3 John 2 = You prosper in all things even as your soul prospers.

Keep reading to see how powerfully our thoughts impact our bodies and our actions.

Our thoughts may seem harmless but if the thoughts become toxic or negative, it can become spiritually, emotionally, and physically dangerous.

Here are a few examples of toxic thoughts that lead to chemical secretions that destroy the body & mind. (An in-depth look at hormones is out of the scope of this study but if you would like more information, please contact me).

  1. Anxiety
  2. Fear
  3. Self-Hatred/Self-Harm
  4. Self-Condemnation
  5. Anger
  6. Self-Rejection
  7. Rage
  8. Bitterness
  9. Unforgiveness
  10. Jealousy
  11. Envy

Satan knows the mind-body connection is real. While he does not know your thoughts (1 Corinthians 2:11), he can manage your thought life. Your thoughts control your body chemistry.

Learn much more in my Spiritual Roots of Human Behavior course.

Overview of the Physical Brain

We learn through 2 pathways:

  1. From Within (Our Thoughts)
  2. From Without (5 Senses)

The soul is the bridge between the spirit and the body.

The spirit realm communicates with us using Theta brain waves. Thoughts come via Theta waves to our human spirit before going to our soul. These thoughts are from both the Holy Spirit or evil spirits.

Our 5 senses transmit information to us via Beta brain waves. For instance, “I am cold”, “The water is hot” or “Ouch, that hurt”.

The alpha brain waves combine both the theta and beta brain waves. From the combination, our personality emerges. So we are indeed what we think.

The true battle is between our ears because our bodies are simply responders to thought.

Facts about our Brains

  • Right side of the brain controls the left side of the body.
  • Left side of the brain controls the right side of the body.
  • Size of brain is approximately 2 fists put together.
  • Our brain doesn’t age. Science has shown that it matures and becomes more efficient as we age.
  • Intelligence is NOT fixed.
  • Your brain’s performance will improve 35 – 75% if you learn to think correctly.
  • Your brain performs about 400 billion actions per second and we are aware of about 2000 of them.

(Source)

What Exactly Is Memory?

  • Your brain is made up of nerves.
  • Each nerve looks like a tree.
  • The trunk of each nerve is an axon.
  • Nerve branches are dendrites.
  • A new branch is made for every new piece of information.
  • Proteins are made and used to grow new branches to hold information from our thoughts (protein synthesis)
  • The brain is made up of 100 billion nerves which can grow 15,000 – 20,000 branches.
  • Our brains have 3 million years of storage space.

As you continue to meditate on a particular thought, more branches grow and the connections between those branches and the nerve get stronger. As the connections gain strength the memory becomes permanent. Thus, the more you meditate on a thought, the more you reinforce it.

The quality of the information or memories stored in your brain depends on the quality of your thought life. So it is very important to have control of your thought. 

A strong memory can be a good or bad memory. Toxic thoughts = toxic memories. 

Below is a CT Scan of a portion of the brain which shows the differences between toxic thinking and positive thinking.  The toxic thoughts are much darker and they produce chemicals that affect our bodies adversely over time.

The positive thoughts yield a tree-like formation in the brain. (Looks like a Tree of Life to me!)

 Learn much more in my Spiritual Roots of Human Behavior course.

Important Areas of Our Brain

  • Corpus Callosum
    • Used for thinking processes
    • Directly under our control
    • Front portion is the location of Free Wil
  • Prefrontal Cortex
    • Responsible for rational decision making
  • Brain Cortex
    • The ‘trees of the mind’ are located here.
    • All memories from birth to death are stored here.
  • Hypothalmus
    • Secretes hormones and other chemicals
    • The area of the brain that converts everything in your thought life to a physical reality
    • Determines the type of amount of chemical released into your bloodstream
    • Ex: Fear = racing heart, sweating, etc.

How Our Thoughts Form

How Do We Form Thoughts?

  1. Enters through either the Theta or Beta brain waves (see pic above)
  2. Beta brain waves take in info from our 5 senses
    1. Sight
    2. Hearing
    3. Smell
    4. Taste
    5. Touch
  3. Theta brain waves take in info from the spirit realm
  4. Both inputs enter the brain in the form of an electrical current that travels along nerves through various areas until it reaches the Free Will area in the Corpus Callosum. 
  5. This is the point where we either accept or reject the thought (2 Corinthians 10:5)
    1. Reject the thought
      1. The thought becomes like ‘hot air’ and does not penetrate the brain. It is gone.
    2. Accept the thought
      1. A memory is either added to an existing memory deepening the connection between thought and memory OR a new memory begins.
  6. The more you meditate on a thought (good OR bad), the more the nerve branches will grow. (Philippians 4:8)

When you are building a memory, you are also experiencing an emotion. The chemicals that carry the information from your thoughts also carry the emotion experienced. This is why you can physically feel a memory.

A ‘gut feeling’ occurs because our digestive system is connected to our brain via nerves. Small and large intestines are densely lined with nerves and chemical receptors that are busy exchanging emotional content.

When a bad memory is re-activated or triggered the thorns on the tree (dendrites) secrete chemicals associated with that memory such as fear, anger, or anxiety. When a good memory is reactive or triggered it releases endorphins such as serotonin and dopamine which make you feel good.

It is very important to think about what you are thinking about!

To go much more in-depth take my Spiritual Roots of Human Behavior course. You will be equipped with plenty of tools to take back your thought life and start experiencing freedom from fear, guilt, rejection, and much more!

In just 4 days of thinking correctly you can remove the thorns from the toxic memory trees and create new healthy memories over them, It takes about 21 days to erase the toxic thought completely and replace them with healthy memories.

You can literally detoxify your brain and change its whole neurochemical structure through your thought life.

Decide to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2)

Contact Me For More Information

November 30, 2020 ·

Choose Life When You Don’t Feel Like Living

Hope, Hope and Encouragement, Hope for the Grieving

Death Curse

If you are struggling with depression, don’t have any desire to live, or have a nagging feeling of doom hanging over you, this article is for you. Maybe there is a death curse operating in your life. Read to learn how you can choose life.

After doctors diagnosed me with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I started exploring the spiritual roots of autoimmune disease and I soon learned what choosing life would involve. Before I could fully embrace the journey ahead of me, the Holy Spirit revealed to me a death curse that I had operating in my life. (If you don’t believe in this sort of thing, you may want to stop reading.) At the time, I had no idea such things even existed and was pretty clueless as to most things in the spirit realm.

One evening about 7 years ago, I was sound asleep next to my husband and out of nowhere, I felt an evil presence try to strangle me. Somehow I knew that the name of Jesus would break this presence over me. I woke my husband and together we just said out loud, “Jesus!”. Instantly the strangling sensation left and peace was in our bedroom. Immediately afterward, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that I had a death curse that had been operating in my life and He began to show me all about it.

The Holy Spirit showed me that I had unknowingly opened the door for it to enter my life when I was a young girl. My neighbor and I played with her Ouji board in a dark closet in her parent’s basement. I recall that we asked the Ouji board a question and it answered us. We became frightened when the playing piece moved so we stopped playing. It was at that point that the death curse entered.

What is Occultism?

For most of my life, I really did not care about engaging in life. While I did not want to end my life, I did not have any zest for living. The young neighbor ended up dying in a car wreck at 16. Thirty-five years later in my bedroom, I broke the curse in the name of Jesus. Now I wanted to live and engage in life, it seemed as if the dark cloud that had been hovering over me for most of my life was gone.

I realize that most people may not have such a dramatic encounter but nonetheless, we must choose life in order to live fully. Deuteronomy 30:19 says “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live.”

I have been a Christian most of my life and 9 years after breaking that death curse, I am just now understanding the implications of choosing life. We must choose the life that Christ died to give us. Jesus says in John 10:10 that Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy and Jesus came to give us life abundantly. While your situation may seem impossible to you, God will make a way where there seems to be no way (Isaiah 43:16-19).

Need Hope? Join us on our 40-Day Journey to Find Hope.

We may not understand what is going on in our lives or why things have happened the way that they have but God is good.  We can trust the Lord with our future and we can choose life by laying our life in His hands. He is a good, good Father!

5 Ways to Choose Life

  1. Believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior
  2. Choose to have faith in God’s Word
  3. Speak life over yourselves and others
  4. Cast down negative thoughts.
  5. Use the Bible as a handbook for daily living.

1. Believe in Jesus Christ as Your Savior

Jesus Christ provides a relationship with the Father and eternal life through His death on the cross and resurrection (Romans 5:10).  Romans 10:9 promises, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you have not yet begun your personal relationship with God, understand that the One who created you loves you no matter who you are or what you’ve done.

You can tell Him in your own words or use this simple prayer:

Lord Jesus, I ask You to forgive my sins and save me from eternal separation from God. By faith, I accept Your work and death on the cross as sufficient payment for my sins. Thank You for providing the way for me to know You and to have a relationship with my Heavenly Father. Through faith in You, I have eternal life. Thank You also for hearing my prayers and loving me unconditionally. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What does it mean to have hope?

2. Choose to Have Faith in God’s Word

The Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). When it seems as if your world is falling apart, the Word of God gives you a place to stand and rest. In Psalm 138:2, the psalmist says that God magnifies His Word above His name.  When we declare the Word of God we declare Heaven on Earth.

Do you believe what God says about you?

3. Speak Life over Yourself and Others

  • What do you say about yourself?
  • Do you constantly feel as if you do not measure up to some invisible standard?
  • Do you believe that people do not like you?

Need help on your journey? Please contact me using the form below.

First John 3:20 says that if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. Speak life and encourage yourself. If you can speak life over yourself it will be much easier to speak life over others. Encourage people and call out their gifts rather than look at their outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7) and all the irritating things they do.

4. Cast Down Negative Thoughts

Philippians 4:8 says that we are to think about good and noble things.

How much news do you watch?

Is your mind focused on CNN?

In our society, more than ever, we must focus on Jesus and the Word of God because not much else makes sense.  Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We must stand on this scripture because what we see in the media today is ridiculous and the ONLY truth we have is Jesus and the Word of God.

5. Use the Bible as a Tool for Daily Living

When was the last time you read your Bible? Do you consult Google before you consult God? If understanding the Bible has been a problem for you, there are many translations that are much easier to comprehend than the King James version. Setting aside time for you to meditate and pray will keep you focused on what is important. You will be able to breath easier and experience much less fear and anxiety.

This is not a recipe for a perfect or trouble-free life but it is a way to choose to stay focused on the Source of All Life rather than the chaos that surrounds us.

My prayer for you is (Romans 15:13) that the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost!!?.  Amen.

P.S. Please do not EVER play with a Ouji board!!

Struggling and need help? Please contact me using the form below, I would love to help you find hope for your life.

Need Hope?

Feel like you are in a hopeless situation? 

Then my 40-Day Journey to Find Hope is perfect for you. I wrote this at one of my darkest times.

There is Hope for you, I promise!

Thank you!

Here’s to a Hope-Filled 2020!

.

More Hope For You

  • What is Hope and Why We Need It
  • Get Started on Your Journey to Find Hope
  • Afraid of people?
  • Who told you so?

November 28, 2020 ·

Overcome Fear & Anxiety

Hope for Fear and Anxiety, Hope, Hope in Uncertain Times

Recently I decided to stop reading news headlines and as much as possible avoid the outrageous events and sound bites that permeate the internet.  What brought me to this point? I desperately needed to overcome fear and anxiety.

I was becoming fearful of the future, fearful of our government, fearful of people, and just plain fearful. As I was praying about this, the Holy Spirit told me to stop listening to the world and to pay attention to what He says.

Overcoming Fear and Anxiety

When I first pondered not listening to the news, relief washed over me. Then fear arose and told me that I needed to know what is going on in the world. How could I possibly plan for the future or know what was going to happen? 

Join us on our 40-Day Journey to Find Hope!

I began debating the merits of listening to the Holy Spirit, can I trust God? Will I know what to do when I need to do it? As if we have any control over anything anyway!!! At the moment this debate was going on in my head, I read Philippians 4:8-9 which says:

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on those things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Immediately two things jumped out at me.

  1. The news from most news sources these days is not considered noble, just, pure, or lovely. There is also some debate as to whether the news is true and of good report.
  2. Paul says that if we focus on the things he mentions in Philippians 4:8-9, the God of peace WILL be with us.

So, why would I not want to just jump off the news bandwagon and dive headfirst into the Word of God? I want the God of peace to be with me.

More Hope-Filled Resources

I spend a lot of time with the Lord and love His Word and for me to even be afraid of not listening or reading the news was interesting to me. I realized that the desire for control or the illusion of control was the only reason I wanted to be informed.

The Holy Spirit gave me a vision that really freed me from ‘needing to know or be in control’. In this vision, I was in a boat and attempting to lift my 85 lb dog to dry land. She did not want to be picked up so she was squirming and desperately wanting down. An 85 lb squirmy dog that is A LOT of dog to hold. The Holy Spirit told me that I was like my squirmy dog. He was trying to hold on to me and get me to a safe, peaceful place but I was fighting Him. If you have ever tried to hold a squirmy dog or child you can relate!

Peace

The Holy Spirit showed me that peace is the

P – Perfect

E – Everlasting

A – Adoration of

C – Christ

E – Eternal

We are to keep our minds focused on things above and not the things of this world (Colossians 3:2). We are to believe in what we cannot see rather than what is right in front of us. (Hebrews 11:1-3).  Romans 12:2 says that we are not to be conformed to this world but rather be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we will know the perfect will of God. This does not sound like anything on any news source I have been reading or watching.

Truth

As I meditated on these scriptures the Holy Spirit showed me that truth is

T – Timely,

R – Relevant and

U – Unpopular

T – To

H – Hear.

What we hear and see on most media outlets is not The Truth. The only Truth is the Word of God.

Key Takeaways to Overcome Fear and Anxiety

Jesus says in John 8:31-32 that if we abide in His Word, we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free. Proverbs 12 says that he who speaks truth declares righteousness and the truthful lip will be established forever but a lying tongue is for a moment. Solomon goes on to say in Proverbs 12:22 that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord but those who deal truthfully are His delight.

When we speak The Truth, we are bringing Heaven to earth and furthering God’s Kingdom. It may not be popular but The Truth has never been popular. When the world rejects us, they are rejecting our Heavenly Father (1 Samuel 8:7, Luke 10:16). When we speak the Truth and are ridiculed, we are in great company.

As believers, our Truth is not of this world. We can choose to be the squirmy dog trying to escape from certain disaster or we can relax and let our Savior carry us along in these turbulent times.

Let’s choose the Truth,

T – To

R – Really

U – Understand and

T – Take to

H – Heart

His truth will last forever. Let us worship at His holy temple and praise His name because He is lovingkindness and Truth and He magnifies His word above His name (Psalm 138:2).

This is the only Truth leads to 

P – Perfect

E – Everlasting

A – Adoration 

C – Christ

E – Eternal

He is the King of kings and the Lords of lords. He is the Alpha and Omega is the Author and Finisher of our faith, He is the Beginning and the End. He is our Savior and Redeemer. He is peace and truth. He is Jesus!

Now, why was I concerned about not watching the news?

Find More Hope

  • What is Hope and Why We Need It
  • Finding Hope in a Valley
  • What Steals Your Hope?
  • Hope for Those with Chronic Illness

If you struggle with anxiety, please contact me using the form below. There is HOPE for you!

Need Hope?

Feel like you are in a hopeless situation? 

Then my 40-Day Journey to Find Hope is perfect for you. I wrote this at one of my darkest times.

There is Hope for you, I promise!

Thank you!

Here’s to a Hope-Filled 2020!

.

November 13, 2020 ·

There is Hope for Your Future!

Hope and Encouragement

4 Ways to Leave Your Past Behind

How many of you think about what happened in the past or what you did that you would like to redo? It could be the trauma of childhood abuse, molestation, heartbreak, or hurtful words but there is hope for your future!

Most have experienced something in the past that has defined our behavior into adulthood. There are many hurting adults because of a past emotional, physical, or spiritual wound.

Hope or faith? Which do you have?

Society says that the best predictor of future performance is past behavior. Jesus Christ says that no one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62) In Jesus, his death and resurrection, we are a new creation, the old is gone and the old things have passed away. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

As believers we are equipped to move forward, the armor of God does not include anything for the backside!

4 ways to leave your past behind

1. Recognize Our Thoughts

Many times are so busy with our lives we don’t take the time to think about why we do what we do or why we respond strongly to certain situations. It is important to slow down enough to think about these things.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you in this process. We must recognize what we are doing so that we can change our thinking which changes our actions.

Need Hope? Join us our 40-Day Journey to Find Hope!

2. Forgive Others

Forgiveness is a huge part of leaving our past behind. Many are deeply wounded and have built so many walls around their hearts nothing can penetrate.

The first step to healing the wounds is forgiving those that have harmed us. We are not condoning the behavior we are just releasing them from our lives.

In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus is telling the parable of the unforgiving servant. A servant owes the king a large sum of money, the king dismisses the debt and the servant proceeds to imprison someone that owes him a little amount of money. The result of this is that both the person that owed the large sum and the one that owed a small sum were both tormented.

We must choose to forgive.

If you don’t want to forgive someone, try asking God to help you to want to forgive them. Your Heavenly Father will amaze you with what He does in your heart through this process. He knows your heart and every thought (Psalm 139) so be honest with Him through this process.

3. Forgive Yourself

We must also forgive ourselves. This is one of the most difficult things for people to do. We are very hard on ourselves and we think things about ourselves that are not true.

1 John 3:20-21 says that when our heart condemns us, God is greater than our hearts.

How many times has your heart condemned you? God forgives us and we need to forgive ourselves. Simply put, if we choose to not forgive ourselves we are saying that our sin is greater than the Cross and the shed blood of Christ (Matthew 26:28).

Forgive yourself, Christ died for you too!

4. Look forward, your past does not define you

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14 that we are to forget the things that are behind and press on toward the prize in front of us. Your past does not define you, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Isaiah 43:18-19 says to not remember the old things because God is doing a new thing. Jeremiah 29:11 says that the Lord has thoughts of peace about us and wants to give us a future and hope. This is not just something that some prophets said thousands of years ago, this is the living, breathing Word God and it will change you (Hebrews 4:12). The Lord himself tells the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 55:11) that His Word will not return void.

Let’s choose to walk forward and lay down all the baggage of the past. Start today!

Need help finding hope for your future? Fill out the form below for a free 15-minute counseling consultation.

Read More:

  1. What is Hope?
  2. How Long, O Lord?!?!?
  3. Finding Hope in a Valley
  4. My Personal Journey to Find Hope

November 6, 2020 ·

What Gets My Attention Gets Me

Hope and Encouragement, Hope

What gets your attention? Where are you looking?

I was going through some family papers and ran across this article that my grandmother wrote. ‘Mama Jo’ as the family called her was creative in many ways however I did not know that she was a writer. She has been in Heaven since 2001. I believe she wrote this piece in 1978; it is still as relevant today. I am sure she would find it humorous that she is now published on a blog and shared on social media 40 years after she wrote this. Enjoy. Below is her original writing with no edits.

What Get My Attention

Drilling wheat was considered an easy task. The ground had been carefully prepared, the field was big, the furrows were long, and the tractor could run smoothly in fifth gear. 

Henry, my husband, had given careful instructions, and since this was my first experience in farming, he was always close by if I needed help.  It was he who shouldered the fifty-pound bags of seed wheat necessary to refill the drill and who assumed the responsibility of maintenance and refueling the tractor.

It was a beautiful September day. The sun was warm, and something very unusual for the panhandle of Texas, there was no breeze. When I became adjusted to operating the tractor and became comfortable with the speed, I relaxed, looked around, and was thoroughly enjoying myself. Billowed clouds were in constant change; graceful, mammoth hawks swooped low in pursuit of insects and field mice. As an artist, I studied the greyish-blue sky at the horizon in contrast to the pure blue above. It wasn’t long, however, until I began to notice something else.

Across the field were large pieces of rock and concrete, scattered with fertilizer by trucks from the cattle feed yards. They had been either overlooked or ignored during the previous plowing.

Knowing that hard debris as this can cause extensive damage to expensive equipment, and knowing that repairs are costly in both time and money, I had the feeling that anything worth doing was worth doing right.

When I would see a rock or broken piece of concrete anywhere in the field, I would stop the tractor, leave the cab, descend the ladder, and walk the distance in the newly-plowed ground to retrieve the object. After placing the debris into the cab, I would again climb the ladder, enter the cab, and start the tractor in motion again. Frequently, I would go a short distance and repeat the procedure.

The day became hotter; I grew weary, but time and time again I repeated this pattern. Soon I was physically exhausted. I became angry. I was behind schedule; the distance between Henry and myself was widening; I was wasting valuable time and expensive fuel. 

“Lord, there has to be an easier way,” I prayed. Thoughts began to come, very rapid and very firm. 

My first responsibility was to follow instructions and to do the work at hand. I was to keep my eyes on the furrow I was on and not across the open field. If I saw a rock or concrete ahead, I should make a quick evaluation for the potential for damage, and then, only then, was I to stop the tractor, walk the necessary few steps, and remove the object.

The instructions were so simple. Other thoughts followed. 

How similar this was to my daily life.

Instead of staying on course, staying close to Christ, and following His instructions, I had wasted precious minutes, sometimes hours anticipating problems and trying to solve them before they arrived. Instead of relaxing and enjoying each moment as it comes, my energy had been diffused by fret and worry.

How much easier and more beautiful my life will be, Lord, when I learn to stay close to You and to follow Your instructions; when I learn to take one step at a time while enjoying the good and beautiful that surrounds me. And, when the rocky times come, Lord, with a knowledge of Your Presence, I will be able to see clearly and to discern what is ? or what is not important, and deal with it then.

Deep in my heart, Father, I know that what gets my attention gets me. Thank you for teaching me this lesson. I will keep my eyes on You.

Betty Jo Solomon (1926-2001)

Need help finding hope for your life? Join us on our 40-Day Journey to Find Hope.

Need Hope?

Feel like you are in a hopeless situation? 

Then my 40-Day Journey to Find Hope is perfect for you. I wrote this at one of my darkest times.

There is Hope for you, I promise!

Thank you!

Here’s to a Hope-Filled 2020!

.

Find More Hope

  • What is Hope and Why do you need it?
  • Finding Hope in the Valleys of Life
  • Hope for Chronic Illness & Disease
  • Afraid of People?

October 30, 2020 ·

Are You Easily Offended?

Featured, Hope and Encouragement

How to Overcome Offense

Offense is rampant in our society today. We have access to 24-hour non-stop news. Social media creates a platform for anyone to be a preacher, prophet, or politician.  People’s opinions cause division and offense which leads to damaged relationships. We begin seeing people as their opinions rather than looking at them as God sees them. If you are tired of being offended or people being offended here is how to overcome offense and live free of other’s opinions!

People hold an offense against someone they have never met, they get offended by what someone posted on Facebook or any other social media platform or they get offended when they learn a friend or family member is of the opposite political party.

What Is Hope and Why Do We Need It?

The Word of God is the plumb line for Christians. In John 13:34-35 Jesus instructs us to love one another as He has loved us and we are to be known for our love for each other.  Offense creates a breach in relationships and we are no longer known more for the political or religious memes that we post on Facebook than our love for each other.

Dr. Henry Cloud says “Relationship or bonding is at the foundation of God’s nature. Since we are created in His likeness, a relationship is our most fundamental need, the very foundation of who we are. Without relationship, without attachment to God and others, we can’t be ourselves.”

  • Do you become offended when you discover people believe differently than you do?
  • Have you lost friends or family because of a political difference?
  • Is being right more important to you than your relationships?

How do we love one another? In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus says that we are to love the Lord God with all our heart and love our neighbors as ourselves. How is your relationship with God? How is your relationship with yourself?

Need daily encouragement? Join us on our 40-Day Journey to Find Hope.

Many people believe God is sitting up in heaven like Zeus with his lightning bolt ready to strike us if we do wrong.  The truth is God is ready to love us even when we do not believe we are worthy of love.

Is it possible that if we focus on receiving God’s love we will be less critical of ourselves and others? Is it possible that the reason why our society is so easily offended is that we are not grounded in the love of the Father?  Are you angry with God?

Forgiveness is the key to overcoming an offense that is either real or imagined. Forgive those who have wronged you, forgive those who believe differently than you and forgive those who have offended you via social media. It is also important to forgive yourself.  The apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4:31-32 that we are to put away bitterness, anger and evil speaking and be kind to each other, forgiving one another as we have been forgiven.

Let’s choose to forgive and then forgive again. Ask the Lord to give you His eyes to see people as He sees them. Look at a person’s heart, not their outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7).

I want to be known as someone who loves well, not someone who becomes offended easily. What about you?

Love and forgiveness is the best defense for offense!

Thank you for taking the time to read!

Please contact me using the form below if you are struggling with unforgiveness or anger.

Find More Hope:

  1. Finding Hope in a Valley
  2. What Does It Mean to Rest in the Lord?
  3. A Prayer Walk Leads to a Dead Body
  4. What is Hope?

Need Hope?

Feel like you are in a hopeless situation? 

Then my 40-Day Journey to Find Hope is perfect for you. I wrote this at one of my darkest times.

There is Hope for you, I promise!

Thank you!

Here’s to a Hope-Filled 2020!

.

October 23, 2020 ·

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