Tag Archives: Hope

Resurrection

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This beautiful flower is a Resurrection flower.  In the early spring, clumps of long foliage appears for several weeks before wilting. After several months, a single stalk shoots up almost overnight and a lily-like pink bloom opens.   They remind me every year that though we don’t see the flower for a time, it’s alive and coming back in full force and beauty.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  ~John 11:25-26

Hold on to this; believe it; believe in Jesus.  And you will never die.  Why?  Because He loves you, He made you, and He wants you to be with Him forever.  This is hope; this is life; this is resurrection.  Blessings, Lisa

 

A Great Day to Go Flying

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cessna

When I was ten years old, my dad learned to fly.  He did countless take-offs and landings, solos, flew cross country, took tests, and finally, he was a pilot.  The thrilling part to me was that we would get to go up with him….very soon!  I trusted him completely; after all, he was my dad, and I was always safe with my dad.  All we needed was the perfect day for our first flight as a family.  Finally, that day came.  Dad said, “It’s a great day to go flying!”  And off we went, soaring off into the blue skies in our little Cessna four-seater.  It was wonderful.  🙂

It has now been ten unbelievably hard and sad days since my amazing dad has flown away into heaven and God’s arms.  I don’t ever think I will stop missing him, wanting to talk to him, ask him a question, give him a big hug.  But I also know that where he is, there is no more crying, no more pain, and beauty beyond imagining as far as the eye can see.  And when I get there one day, he will be there, waiting, with Jesus, and he will say, “It’s a great day to go flying!”  And off we’ll go, and it will be wonderful.  I love you, Dad.  Love, Lisa

 

Storm Clouds Are Just Another Shade of Blue

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Rossbeigh, Ireland

Rossbeigh, Ireland

When I wake up on a day like this, I have two choices:  cover up my head and call it a day, or put on my boots, warm coat, zip up and go on.  I wish I could say that I always choose the latter of the two, but on the days when I have, I have been so glad.  Because beauty, joy, discovery can still be found on grey days…the beaches are quieter, the mountains look mysterious and as if they have a story to tell, and the wind cleanses and pushes out all the other “stuff” I might have been feeling.

You may be going through something really hard right now, something so big that you don’t know how to tackle it….you feel like diving under the covers and calling it a day.  The longer I live this life, the more I see that all of us go through some pretty hard stuff.  But if I will just zip up my boots (don’t get me started on how much I love my boots 🙂  )  and face the wind, no matter how stiff, I am alive, I am blessed, God is looking down on me and cares about me.  It may feel like He’s raining down on me sometimes, but those storm clouds are just another shade of blue.  Making me stronger, making me more like him.  Keep going, keep looking, the storm clouds will break, pass, and the blue sky is right there.  And it has been, all the time.  Slainte, Lisa

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way…”  ~Exodus 13:21a

Life Preserver

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When I’m on a boat or ship, I like seeing the life preserver rings and lifeboats scattered about the ship.  Not only are they interesting, but they are comforting.  If the boat has trouble, we have a plan.  And knowing that we have a plan, I can relax and enjoy my time on the boat. 

In life, it’s not always so easy.  I look about frantically for the life preserver ring, for the lifeboat that will magically whisk me away from troubles.  Being a Christian is not a magic cure for “no more troubles.”  In fact, Jesus said once, “In this world you will have trouble.”  But then He finished by saying, “But take heart, for I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33) He’s bigger than what I see now; His gaze and reach and scope is so much more.  He’s there to rescue me, save me, and keep me from drowning, but these everyday troubles sometimes remain because He knows that it strengthens me and makes me more like Him.  He saves me completely and utterly, but the magnitude of that will not be fully seen until I am with Him one day.  And I will be utterly amazed at the enormity of His rescue.  Blessings, Lisa

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”  ~Psalm 91:14-15