Don’t Miss This: Where True Hope Lives

Pointing out the window to a community in the country, I exclaimed: “Teresa, my friend from high school lives there.”

Another friend and I were traveling during the early morning hours to attend a conference near the town where I grew up.

It’s interesting to know where friends or people we meet live and work and worship.

Wouldn’t you agree?

But what if we knew where true hope lives?

Because life’s hurts, heartaches and injustices often leave us feeling overwhelmed and hopeless.

Or, our dreams hunger for fulfillment.

Still, true hope lives closer than you think. Let’s find out hope’s address.

True Hope Lives Closer Than You Think

Google defines hope, “A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”

All humans hope:

I hope to lose weight.

My friend carries many hopes in her heart.

The pastor said not to give up hope.

We hope our brother pulls through this illness.

Yet, sometimes things happen differently than we wanted. Hope exists in many forms. But when we cling to false hopes, they soon fizzle and leave us empty-handed.

Women often come to me looking for authentic hope. Did I pray enough? Where is God? Will He come through for me?

These are women in tough places. Hearts broken by tragedy. Languishing dreams with no pillow to lay their heads. In the same way, I relate to times of hard circumstances. Perhaps you can relate as well.

There’s something I want you to know. You are never far from hope.

Finding Where True Hope Lives

Friend, I want true hope. I’m guessing so do you.

What if ThanksGiving is about ThanksLiving?

Every year I look forward to November’s main holiday, Thanksgiving. But I really desire to live a life of ThanksGiving to God by ThanksLiving for Him year round.

Although Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, I enjoy celebrating the time set aside for giving thanks. 

Maybe you’re one of those people who already has your home Christmas-ready. That’s awesome for you. I say, To each her own. 

Yet, it’s not my cup of tea. Not even holiday spiced tea. For me, I like both feet firmly planted in our thankful holiday before moving on. But the weekend after giving thanks? Then, I’m all about hanging ornaments, positioning blinking lights, and spreading Christmas cheer.

ThanksGiving Around the Table

I enjoy everything about ThanksGiving: gathering with loved ones, and decorating with pumpkins, leaves, and small pilgrims. And I love doing a portion of the cooking.

Because the overall menu lands in the top spot as my all-time-favorite meal. My husband often poses this question: If you could choose one last meal, what would it be? 

Ask anyone who knows me well, and they will tell you how I always choose our ThanksGiving meal. A menu of turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, mac & cheese, green beans, sweet potato casserole, homemade rolls, and pies—pumpkin and lemon (my grandmother Clarkston’s recipe). 

Yum! I can hardly wait! 

ThanksGiving is About ThanksLiving

Still, we know the celebration isn’t just about taking our seat at the table to gobble down savory and sweet delicacies. Instead, it’s about ThanksGiving and ThanksLiving.

To encourage our ThanksLiving along, let’s remind ourselves to give thanks for and to our great God. Because He’s a good, good Father who’s given us many gifts.  

God Almighty is reason enough to give thanks and live thankful.

Then we remind ourselves to give thanks to God through living a life of sincere ThanksGiving by ThanksLiving. 

ThanksLiving is ThanksGiving supercharged and supersized. It’s living out giving thanks in our lives all year long by living thankful to God. It’s having thankfulness displayed in our hearts and lives November through November.

Thankful to God From Whom all Blessings Flow

Welcome to the second week of a thanksgiving series as we look at being thankful to God.

“Blessings!”

Lately, I’ve formed a word-habit in my online replies. I throw out the word over and over again.

Blessings! Thanks and blessings! I pray blessings over your ministry. Blessings to you and your family! God bless!

See what I mean? I quite overuse the word.

But do I realize what’s behind the well wishes? And do I give thanksgiving for my blessings?

Thankful to God: Vast Blessings

We’ve heard it said to count our blessings.

But if we look at the shocking amount of blessings God extends to us, they are hard to number.

Of course, we all count ourselves blessed with family and friends. Also, blessed in how God provides for our daily needs of food, shelter, the jobs we hold, and so on.

And who’s not giving thanks these days for health? I pray to never take a healthy body for granted. Or, the physical well-being of my spouse, children, and grandchildren.

But there are times we forget, even as Christ-followers. So we need reminding of the vast blessings from a gracious God, too numerous to even count.

Blessed is Our Generous God

For example, take the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church at Ephesus. After he greets the saints who were faithful in Christ, he says this.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us IN Christ with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3, emphasis mine).

Growing Grateful and Generous Hearts

It’s that time of year. We know how the season is supposed to go down. Besides pumpkin pie and turkey, we are encouraged to cultivate attitudes of gratitude. Something accomplished by growing grateful and generous hearts.

Such as these 4 attitudes:

Count our blessings.

Be thankful.

Express our gratefulness.

Show our generosity.

And maybe we do and are these things during Thanksgiving.

Perhaps some of us manage to pull it off most of November or even the entire year. 

But when we look at this list, do we think of our lives, our family, and more importantly, our God? 

Because sometimes I epitomize these attitudes and other times not so much.

When we express gratitude for what the Lord has given us and for the great things He has done, we realize we are blessed beyond measure.

Yet, how do we cultivate attitudes of gratitude in all the areas of our lives, for the people in our lives, and for the God who gives us life?

Even further, are gratitude, generosity, and thanksgiving possible January through December—not just during November or on Thanksgiving Day?

And where do we start? Let’s use the list in the introduction and unpack each one.

(1.) Count Our Blessings: Growing Grateful Hearts

Everyone brace yourselves. This is going to blow our minds! The Lord provides:

Obeying God by Letting Him be God

Last week we discussed how God wants our obedience, not our help. So let’s dive deeper into obedience with a look at obeying God through letting Him be God; letting God do His job as God.

What if we let God be God in the world and in our lives?

Because I’ve discovered something significant about the Christian life. Following Jesus with full surrender and abandon, fulfilling my calling, ministry, and faithfully living as a believer, is not even about me.

It’s about the One who said, “Follow Me.”

And it’s about loving and obeying my heavenly Father with all my heart, soul, and mind.

So, a thought would not let go of me:

What if I let God be God? 

How would my life change if I simply let God do His job as God? And what if I let the Almighty reign over my decisions, circumstances, dreams, and life? 

Most importantly, isn’t He the only One who perfectly fills the role as God? No other person or god meets the requirements like the Lord. He’s the most qualified and the most trustworthy. 

Therefore, I’m noting 3 ways we let God be G.O.D.

G – Give God the Reins and Complete Reign: Obeying God

“God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.” Psalm 47:8*

Often, we take the reins in particular areas of our lives. And it leads to less-than-best outcomes—even turmoil. Instead, obeying God means we allow the Lord to take the reins, hold the reins, and keep the reins in everything.

God Desires Our Obedience and Not Our Help

What if full obedience to God means we stop offering Him our help?

Mama, can I help you make the cookies?

Mimi, I want to help you!

When my kids were little, they wanted to help bake sweet treats and sometimes even clean (that changed after a few years).

Now, my grandchildren find pleasure in helping for various tasks. And we always have little helpers to take our dogs outside on leashes.

While there are times I’d prefer to do these things myself for the sake of time and so I control the end result, how the cookies look and taste or how the bed is made, I enjoy helpers.

But my heavenly Father never requests my help or desires my assistance. Still, I often pray with a Plan A and Plan B written on my heart and under my breath, hoping the Lord reads between the lines unless I’m bold enough to say it out loud.

Writing these words and admitting them seems a bit ridiculous on my part. Because who am I to give help to the great I AM?

God’s Helper

Yet, I know in my heart, I want to be the Father’s little helper. It’s seen in my actions, attempts at controlling my own life and circumstances and in my lack of full obedience to God’s Word.

I know this to be true, but I struggle with breaking the helping-and-controlling cycle.

Are you used to having control? Do you jump in to fix a situation in your life or a family member instead of patiently waiting on the Almighty God? 

Truth is, sometimes we strive to manipulate the outcome of our circumstances and perhaps the people in our lives. Even our Christian walk and full obedience to God may become things to control.

When we know the Lord is high and lifted up, sitting on a glorious throne and managing the details of our lives from heavenly places, trying to help only affects our greater good and best outcome.

Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about it.

Obedience for Our Wellness

“But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’” Jeremiah 7:23 (ESV, emphasis added)

Worshiping God: More Than Music and Church

What does worshiping God look like in our daily life? How can we worship the Lord with our life?

Because we often limit worship to church services.

We went to worship this morning. Join us Sunday for worship.

Or worship becomes about music intended to lead us into God’s presence. These are both good, good things.

Gathering with the family of God for corporate worship is biblical and powerful. And anointed music that speaks directly to our hearts, carrying us before God’s throne room in awe? It helps our soul and points us to the Holy One.

But do we realize the Almighty is worthy of our daily worship?

Are we faithful to give Him praise and thanksgiving every day, not just on Sundays and special holidays?  

Do we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, an act of spiritual worship? (Romans 12:1).

Because it’s easy to allow the world and the enemy to distract us from worship in our daily lives. Instead, our hearts worship our desires and ways, and what the world has to offer. 

We may give our life as worship to people, things, self-worship, fame or fortune.

So let’s look at some ways to worship God in daily life.

Worshiping God: the Creator

All of creation shows us how to worship the Creator. It’s simply recognizing the beauty surrounding us.

Every time we gaze at a sunset, see a glimmer of light shining through the window, stand in awe at the twinkling of stars or the ebb and flow of the ocean, and admire the autumn foliage, let it remind us, all of creation worships our glorious God.

Worship the Creator, not His created beings.

Worship Through Holiness

How the Lord’s Prayer Helps Us Resemble Jesus

Who do you resemble?

Were you the spitting image of your mother or father at birth, as a child, or now? 

Maybe there’s a resemblance to both parents or not to either one. 

Perhaps people think you resemble someone else. 

As a twin, my sister is always someone I resemble.

Besides physical attributes, there’s another way we resemble someone—in character.

To grow to resemble Jesus is one of the most important aspects of Christianity. But if we miss this, we miss the purest meaning for CHRISTian.

Yet, how do Christians look like Christ?

After our spiritual birth, is there a way to really grow to resemble Jesus?

In Matthew 6, Christ seizes an opportunity to teach His disciples and listeners how to pray. While the prayer, line-by-line, is beautiful and powerful, we make other discoveries in the text. 

It showcases who God is. And we uncover the mission of Jesus. Still further, it reveals how to look more like Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

(Matthew 6:9-13)

How to resemble Jesus through the Lord’s prayer:

1.) Jesus recognized His Father’s holiness.

Learning From the Greatest Leader in History

A substantial part of the success of institutions rises and falls on its leadership.

Entities like countries, teams, companies, families, non-profits, and churches.

And sometimes even in our own individual lives when we need leading for direction, purpose, goals, dreams, vocations, talents, and so on.

So, as with any other position or title, leaders come in many shapes and sizes. 

There are average leaders, good leaders, not-so-good leaders, and great leaders.

But there’s no category for perfect ones. Because no one’s without faults and downfalls—with one exception.

Greatest Leader Who Ever Lived

Only one leader in history was perfect. The greatest leader of all time.

He painted a picture of leadership we haven’t seen on the canvas of another human since.

Look at some of His leadership qualities: 

• wise
• kind
• humble
• gracious
• merciful 
• servant
• sinless
• above reproach 
• no evil dwelled in Him

His name? Jesus Christ. The Son of God. The King of kings and Lord of lords.

Servant Leadership by the Greatest Leader

Do We Overlook Our Family in Kingdom Work?

How can I pray for you?

How can I help you?

My roles often prompt me to ask these two questions of others, especially other women.

This includes life roles and callings in both the past or present. Like pastor’s wife, youth pastor’s wife, women’s leader, mentor, Christian writer, blogger, and speaker.

Asking how to pray and help someone for mentoring, a conversation, hard circumstances, a Bible study, small group, a stranger in need, or simply talking with a friend fosters a connection unlike any other.

Prayer is one of the greatest gifts we give someone.

And offering real, authentic, and tangible help?

It’s what few are willing to do.

But what about my family and yours?

Do we overlook the people right in front of us in need of prayer and help?

First and foremost, those under our roof, our husband and children. And adult children who already left home. Yet it also includes siblings, parents, grandchildren, in-laws and possibly other extended family.

Let’s consider some examples of how we flesh this out in real life.

Overlook or ask our spouse how we can pray for them.