7/7/2022 Some days are longer than others and do not just seem longer but are longer. Time is more than just seconds, minutes and hours but is also the events in our lives. Some events make time seem to last longer or shorter but when those events come or clump together time runs very differently. Like all of Creation time has been marred by the fall and its therefore subject to our fallen natures. We see time as a steady and constant progression because that is how we perceive it in what we call normal or peaceful times. Time preceded the fall and is a part of Creation and has also been perverted and distorted by the fall. Yet God is the I AM – the always is - God and so hope and grace are available in all of time.

This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

 7/6/2022 Do you have someone to share your innermost self with and they will not turn away? If not FIND someone! The options are limited by you and your needs so discover who can be your support. We all need people who can see us for who we really are and not turn away. This can be a source of hope and grace in our life.

This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

7/5/2022 There has been some outrage over the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V Wade and return the decision about abortion to the states. This is a constitutional decision rather a societal decision.

But the battle is not really about the law but about making wrong legal and thus giving it a facade of being right. Where is there a right to kill others? Especially unborn babies?

 

7/4/2022 Happy Birthday America! While we can argue if America is a Christian nation there is complete historical evidence that many of the founding principles come directly from the Bible. The real importance is that more than any other nation America at her best lives and works through Biblical principals.

 

7/3/2022 This Sunday we will celebrate our nation and the good it has brought to so many. This is not burying the bad and evil things America has done but a recognition and celebration of the good America has done. A recognition America is still a place people seek to come to from all over the world.

(While we celebrate America let us celebrate even more the Church which has brought light, hope and blessing to so many despite its human frailty and faults.)

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.

Perfect grace comes from God and is often mangled as it is passed on by humans but a mangled grace is so much better than no grace!!!

From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.

 

7/2/2022 Is there hope for you? Is there hope for your family? Is there hope for your congregation? Is there hope for your community? Is there hope for your nation? Is there hope for the world? If there is no hope we can only sit and watch it all collapse around us. Do you have hope?

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.

The hope for us is grace. Grace is a powerful force and can overcome all that seeks to destroy us all.

From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.

 

7/1/2022 TGIF. Thank God it’s Friday is a phrase used to celebrate the coming weekend and the reprieve from work. Is there a saying about how bad Monday is? Maybe Monday should be Hope Monday. The hope of having a job and being able to enjoy the weekend rather than hoping Monday will be the day you can get a job. Hope is the opportunity to celebrate what you do have!

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.

As revealed through the suffering of Jesus grace is not a promise we will not face pain but we will not only have victory within pain but also bless others.

I love the story about a Christian who was imprisoned for sharing his faith and sentenced to I believe 10 years. He was placed in the top floor of the prison and after a while he was sent to the next floor down because prisoners and even guards were coming to Jesus. Then he had to be placed in an underground floor where the hardened criminals were for the same reason. Here he tried a different way and asked the guards if he could clean the hallway and the cells which were filthy after his labor time. As he cleaned he shared and the dark prison was soon alight by those who came to Jesus Christ. He was given early release soon after.

From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.