Where is the Hope?

Having Hope when Life seems Hopeless

Each year we hear the Story of Jesus and His birth.   Usually my attitude is, yes, I know this story.  But this year the story touched me in a different way.  It put a perspective on the difficult times that we all face.  In those difficult times we may wonder “where is God?” and “why is this happening to me?”  

I often wondered if these thoughts crossed Mary’s mind.  It doesn’t say so in the Bible story.  She seems to take her situation in stride.  Is it her youth and naiveté?  Or is this just how much faith she has in God?  

Consider this young woman, a girl, really.  She finds out she is pregnant and not yet married.  Her fiancé says he will quietly divorce her.  Mary is facing the shame of being pregnant and single.  Her future is looking bleak.  How will she support herself?  What will people think?  Will she be an outcast of society?  Will she have to resort to prostitution to make a living to feed herself and her child?  Will her family reject her for assuming she has lost her virginity before marriage and shaming their name?  She is ruined woman for all practical purposes of the time.  

We do not read of Mary’s concern, but rather a Faith that God will provide.  She trusts Him and His plan even though she has no way of understanding what is happening to her.  God is faithful and keeps His promises.  Mary was exalted and blessed for her faith.  Through this difficult time, God used Mary for the ultimate plan of His salvation for us.  If God did this for Mary, He will also use our difficult times for His plans to bring us closer to Him, to become more like Christ and as a means of salvation for others.

This Christmas, as you are looking for reasons for joy but are stuck on something painful in your life, consider Mary.   What great plan might God have for you in your hopeless situation?  If you Believe and have Faith, He will use your difficult situation to grow you and bless you.

Hebrews 4:16  "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." 

 

Mini Bible Studies

These are few Mini-Bible Studies.  They are designed to be done as group, but certainly they can be done ahead of time and then have your group come together for a discussion.  If you are doing these as a group you will need 1.5-2 hours to complete one study.

These are excerpts from the Studies and you can enlarge the images by clicking on them.


What are Your Spiritual Gifts
This study contains a link to an on-line Spiritual Gifts test or it has the option to take the test manually in the Book.  It also has explanations of the gifts and examples of how they can be used to serve God in various ministries.

Current Cost:  With Spiral Binding $4.75 plus shipping.
                        With Staple Binding  $2.50 plus shipping.
contact Jeanne figureitout@cox.net

Lord, Teach us How to Pray
This study takes you through the Lord's Prayer in a verse by verse style.  It is recommended that you have a variety of Bible Translations as you complete this one, including the King James Version.

Current Cost:  With Spiral Binding  $4.50 plus shipping.
                      With Staple Binding  $2.00 plus shipping.
contact Jeanne figureitout@cox.net 

Angels Among Us 
Get out your colored pencils and have some fun with this study.  There is so much more to angels than could be covered in this short study, but, If you have never done a study on Angels, you may be surprised by what you learn.  This is a good study to complete before doing A Study of Revelation.

Current Cost:  $1.50 plus shipping.
contact Jeanne figureitout@cox.net
FREE if you purchase another 6-10 week Bible Study.

a Study of Revelation:

Finally a version ready for others to use of
A Study of Revelation:  
Living today, Preparing for tomorrow, Understanding yesterday

This ten week study focuses on how Revelation is relevant today and also how the Bible as a whole fits together.  As a means to better understand what you are reading in Revelation, most of the lessons spend one day looking in the Old Testament, a second looking at the New Testament, a third day in Revelation and a fourth day to put it all together.

An excerpt of Lesson 1 is provided to show the format of this study. 
Click on the image to get a larger view of the pages.
If you wish to purchase the entire study, please contact Jeanne at
 figureitout@cox.net
Currently the cost is $9.50 plus shipping

A special Thank You to Karen Goetzinger for allowing me to use her beautiful art on the cover of the study.  www.karengoetzinger.com 

A Study of Mark

This Study of the Gospel of Mark looks at the life of John the Baptist, Jesus and His disciples.  There are discussions on why it is so difficult for those around Jesus to understand who He is and why he came to be our Savior.  This study takes you through the journey of His ministry, the struggles and victories, His teachings, His miracles, His purpose.

An excerpt of Lesson 4 is provided to show the format of this study. 
Click on the image to get a larger view of the pages.
If you wish to purchase the entire study, please contact Jeanne at
  figureitout@cox.net
Currently the cost is $8 plus shipping

A Bible Study of 1 John

This is a 6 week study of 1 John.  As the questions are not age or gender specific it is a thought provoking and discussion lending study for anyone of any age.  It is meant to be used in a group study, where the members complete the week's lesson ahead of time and then come together for a discussion.  It also encourages weekly memorization of a Bible Verse.

 Teens, specifically, have found the 30-40 minutes required to complete each lesson realistic, along with their homework load and other extracurricular activities. It encourages them to be in God's Word on their own during the week.

You may view the Introduction and 2 of the lessons.  Click on the image to get a larger view of the page.
If you wish to purchase the entire study, please contact Jeanne at
figureitout@cox.net
Currently $8 plus shipping costs.

Consumed by Revenge

We experience and see injustice all around us.  There are thieves, liars, abusers and murderers who seemingly get away with it.  Some victims spend countless hours of time and energy trying to seek revenge and justice.  It consumes their lives until they are left with only heartache, broken relationships and even empty bank accounts.  Certainly crime must be punished, but God does not want us wasting the precious moments of our life seeking revenge.  He wants us sharing His Word and His Light.  He wants:

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all.”  Romans 12:18

God will take care of the deserved punishments, and He can do it in a far more effective way then any scheme we may try to implement.

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance in mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” Romans 12:19-20

If you read Revelation, especially as you hit chapter 6 and after, you we will see the fulfilling of Paul’s words.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”  Romans 1:18

Driven by Fear

Fear, too many of us let it dictate how we live, how we treat others and how we raise our children.  Fear, it overwhelms us.  We stand paralyzed by fear, missing out on life and relationships.   Pay attention in a day how many times you say, "I'm afraid".  Then take note what follows those words.
I'm afraid....
to let my children be on the internet.
that our country will go into intense moral decline.
to try that recipe for the party.
my children won't like me.
of what other people might think of me.
to talk to that person.
to confront my spouse about a problem we are having.
I will make a fool of myself if I try that activity.
my outfit will be wrong for the occasion.
to change jobs.

The list of fear is endless.  Instead of becoming stuck on the worst case scenario of the fear, consider why you are afraid.  For some it is an issue of control, for others, a previous experience pushes us to fear.  Some of our fear is valid, fear in some situations is completely appropriate and is part of our natural instinct that keeps us alive.  If you are afraid to drive on the wrong side of the street, that's a healthy fear.  But in so many situations our fear is not a life or death situation.  Instead, our fear is based on other people's perceptions of us, or not wanting to be in an uncomfortable situation.

The next Holiday Party you attend think about what "fear" is keeping you from doing.  For some, your fear will keep you from even attending the party.  That fear will keep you from celebrating, meeting someone new, reviving an old friendship, learning a new recipe, maybe even finding a new job lead.

Go to the party and try something new for yourself.
Take a new recipe to the party.  The worst case, it ends up in the trash.  The best case, it is the hit of the night.
Talk to someone you have never met before.  Worst case, you don't like each other.  Best case, you've made a new friend, found yourself a babysitter, or met that partner you've needed to get a project off the ground.
Stop fretting about what to wear.  More than once I've shown up overdressed.  Usually the host considers it a compliment that I cared enough to do so for her event.  Others look at their own outfit and wish they had worn that other favorite outfit that rarely makes it out of the closet.  That negative response that you assume will happen, probably won't.  If it does....is it really the end of the world?

Practice overcoming your fear in this area and another time we can talk about addressing fear of our country, our technology, our important relationships, and our jobs.





 

Let's just Love each other.

God’s command to us is so simple.  Just love each other, He says to us over and again.   It’s not a new command, but rather the foundation of all the laws written in the Bible.

There is an author, Erwin Raphael McManus, and in his book "An Unstoppable Force", he summarizes the 10 Commandments.

The Ten Commandments are not heaven's standards.  They are not the standards by which the angels live.  They are not God's attempt to pull us up beyond the human into the spiritual.  The Ten Commandments are the lowest possible standard of humane living.  Stop and consider what they demand of us.  Maybe it would help if we just rephrased them in everyday language.  Here goes: "Hey, could you stop killing each other?  Oh, yeah, by the way, could you not steal each other's stuff?  And it would be really helpful if you wouldn't lie to each other, either.  And here's a thought, could you not take other people's husbands and wives and just, sort of, like, keep your own?" . . . The Ten Commandments don't call us to the extraordinary spiritual life; they call us to stop dehumanizing one another.  The law is the minimum of what it means to be human.

We are called first to Love God and then to love our neighbors.  If we do these two things, then the rest falls into place.  If you love, you will not kill.  If you love, you will not steal.  If you love, you will not be jealous of what other have, instead you will rejoice in their good fortune.  If you love, you will not gossip and tell lies about others.  Think about it.   All God asks of us is to love.  And He is really serious about it.  In First John 4:7-8, he says, "let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God..."  

There are just some people that are impossible to love.  Certainly God doesn't mean for us to love them, right?  Actually, yes, He does.  God knows in our humanness that our love is limited, but with God and the power of the Holy Spirit it is possible, and His love is limitless.  

Embrace what is

Embrace your children for who they are and what they can do.  When we can focus on the passions and abilities that each of our children has, it is then that we can take them on the journey of becoming the best they can be.  It is easy to see the limitations.  It is easy to focus on the, "if only".  It is way too easy to compare and compete.  But of what value is that?  There will always be someone who can do it better.  There will always be those that have more opportunities and more resources.  Look around, be creative, find the opportunities that do exist and that will strengthen the interests of your child. 

Be prepared that your child's interests will probably change over time.  Right now your 3 year old boy may be completely focused on trains.  Next year he may find his greatest joy is digging up every bug he can find and displaying it on the kitchen table.  

Watch your own motives.  Are you trying to fulfill your desires for your children or are you guiding them to reach their potential?  One of the biggest challenges as a parent...to embrace who our children are, not who we think they should be.  

Autumn

new phase

So my oldest daughter has ventured into her new life. The life of college, the freedoms of college. As mom I am both so excited for her and so sad that my first bird has left the nest. I will pray each day that she will make wise choices and meet good people. I love her so much and want the world for her.

summer

If it must be this hot, I can at least remember being so cold in San Diego that a run on the beach was the best way to get warm.