Hope Harbor

I intend to renew my healthy eating challenge tomorrow. For at least 30 days I will refrain from consuming sugar (with the exception of fruit), refined carbohydrates, legumes and dairy. I have pondered several points that will help me with this dietary challenge. These principles can also be applied to other endeavors: Purpose It will be helpful to identify my motivation for developing healthy eating habits (or whatever activity I choose to implement), and remember the rationale while on the journey. In this case my reasons include improved health and ease of mobility. Add yes, I do hope an added benefit will be to shed pounds. Planning I had set this target date and gearing up for the effort mentally and practically. Preparation  I've purchased groceries and done research regarding menus and meal preparation strategies. Practice I just need to do it - to put into practice beneficial nutrition. And there likely will be a need to continue to le...

"Cancer is a gift." These astonishing words were uttered by my dear friend Joni Eareckson Tada. One would think that such a brutal disease should be considered a murderer. Not Joni. She is a woman filled with genuine and joyful faith as she tenaciously clings to the truth that “All things work together for good.” Joni’s cancer journey was riddled with difficulty. Quadriplegia weakens her physical capacity. This complicated her ability to cope with the toxic nature of the chemotherapy necessary to save her life. Her strength of character however enabled her to endure the suffering which she has dubbed “splashes of hell”. Joni was victorious over the impetuous vicious blows to her body and soul. Her paralysis was a trickster as she mightily conquered the evil assault with weapons of hope and integrity. An honorable response to adversity is admirable. I respect Joni deeply. I know she would be quick to clarify that she makes no claim to overcoming by a self-suffici...

I read a verse in the Bible this morning that caught my attention.   Psalm 33:22 Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You. The psalmist was extolling the mercy of God and how human effort is futile without the gracious intervention of our mighty God. It was encouraging and comforting to read how the Lord's eye is upon those who hope in  His mercy. And then the psalm closes with a prayer I'm not sure I would feel as confident to request.... that God would bestow mercy in proportion to my waiting and hoping! An online dictionary gives one definition of proportion as: "... A relationship between things or parts of things with respect to comparative magnitude, quantity, or degree. This makes me realize that I need a much greater appreciation for not only my need for mercy, but also for God's willingness to grant it. I wonder if the writer of this psalm was having a particularly good day in terms of...

Hope Harder. I think this just might become one of my new favorite sayings. Recently I attended a writer's group meeting held at a local library.  I felt like an imposter among all their talent- as a kindergartner pretending in a college course. I suppose the courageous thing would be to return and try and learn. As part of the introductions, I sheepishly told the group that I am a novice and I have a blog. The facilitator asked me how to find my blog so I provided the address. A few days later I received an email saying he was not able to locate the blog. He had misunderstood me. Rather than Hope Harbor, he thought I said Hope Harder! I like the title of Hope Harbor because hope is an anchor for our souls and a harbor is a place of safety and refuge...but now I really like the concept of "Hope Harder". Often their are disappointments in life. Instead of giving in to doubt and despair, I need to continue in hope. It is vital that my hope is secured in a firm foundatio...

I have been absent from my blog a while - broken computer and sickness, including a brief hospital stay. And regrettably I must confess, a lack of diligence. It might be overwhelming in one post to try and catch up on all the quotes from my Hope calendar I've missed, so for today I will share what would have been the next one after my last post as well as the entry for today's date. In future posts, I will likely add extra quotes from previous dates so we won't miss out on any encouragement and wisdom. Be on the lookout for mercies. The more we look for them, the more of them we will see. Blessings brighten when we count them. God's care for us is more watchful and more tender than the care of any human father could possibly be. - Hannah Whitall Smith I love the idea of looking for mercies and we will find them. The Lord's mercies are, after all, "new every morning, and His compassion never fails" (Lamentations 3:21-22) I'd be thrilled to he...

This is the entry on my Hope calendar today: There is nothing but God's grace. We walk upon it; we breathe it, we live and die by it. It makes the nails and axles of the universe. -Robert Louis Stevenson Acts 17:28 King James Version (KJV) 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.   The other day I had been wondering if there was a song I should post on my blog. Then I overheard my friend singing this worship song "Lord I Lift Your Name on High". Here is a link to that song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbDzQ-K8EQI

I have neglected to post for several days so here are recwnt entries from my Hope calendar: {God}... rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are God ’s; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, -ISamuel 2:8-9 Message Of all the ills that one endures, hope is a cheap and universal cure. - Abraham Cowley Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. - Ralph Waldo Emerson The burden of life is from ourselves, the lightness from the grace of Christ and the love of God. - William Ullathorne Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that these branches would turn green and blossom, but we hope it, we know it. -Johan Wolfgang von Goethe We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, o...