Why I'm Hopeful...and optimistic, and courageous

  

  I was reading the TIME magazine during a slow time at work yesterday.
Usually there is not much in the magazine that appeals to me but the drift of the February 18 copy is all about Optimism. Or, as I see it - HOPE.

  There is a section of thoughts on Optimism titled "The Optimists" and the first thoughts are by Guillermo Del Toro - didn't know who this was until I researched him - but I really enjoyed his thoughts and wanted to build on them.

You can read the whole article here Why I'm Hopeful (*caution - language alert)

  As I was reading his article I wondered if he had ever figured God and Jesus into his thoughts. I wondered about his God-Shaped hole and whether he acknowledges that God is in his life shaping his optimism.

  I especially like his opening sentence - Optimism is Radical. It reminds me that Jesus is radical, that believing in Heaven is radical, that I am radical as His follower.

 Optimism is not uncool; it is rebellious and daring and vital.

  I am an Optimist - I am a glass-half-full person - I may not be daring in the eyes of the world in the choices that I make, but I know that following Jesus is daring. And following Jesus is Hopeful and Optimistic.

  Mr. Del Toro ends his article with the following thought "Look around you now and decide between the two. Inhale or die."  I would build on his words - look around you and decide whether to be courageous, optimistic and hopeful.

  Joshua 1:9 " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord you God is with you wherever you go."

 

I leave you with a song - from my favorites - the Group VBS  people:  Wherever You Go

Hope - in the News???

I posted this on my Facebook page yesterday after I was so discouraged by the "News" I read online and in my local paper:


Good News Wins

     "Too much of what passes for U.S. news coverage these days is actually news about news, full of angles instead of straight storytelling on what’s actually happening in the world. 

 But the upside-down rejoicing the apostles discovered is the deeper resilient joy that comes from cultivating first a realistic awareness of the world, then an appreciation for God at work in it."

I have spent a lot of time since reading that great article thinking about the Hope I have because God is at work in the world around me no matter what I may read, or what is really happening.  

I can look at the world around me with realistic eyes and Hope because God is in control. I am brought back to one of my favorite verses where God is speaking: Isaiah 46:10 (NIV)

"I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

 and I will do all that I please.’"

Hope that God knows what is going on - Big, Big picture - and He has a purpose and I am good with that because I am resting on His Firm Foundation!

How Firm A Foundation - Fernando Ortega

So if you want some good news - start with reading your Bible, then check out World Magazine online or Ann Voskamp for some encouraging news.

One Word - Hope!

  A new year - 2019 - wow, I am getting old. Who would have thought - but I think it is even more interesting to think that next year will be 2020 - sounds very futuristic!
  Enough of that now.

  At our church here in Chattanooga, Covenant Presbyterian Church, there are a group of ladies who have been invited to join a Facebook group called One Word 2019. I have been invited this year and have joined the group.

 The idea is to study just One Word from God's Word, the Bible, for a whole year. I am excited to study my word - HOPE. If you need a "get-in-the-word" challenge - join me! Comment on this post with your word and we will spend 52 weeks finding our word in The Word to us from God - The Bible

  Each week I will give you my verse that talks about Hope that I have meditated on that week, along with photos of coloring pages I used and songs I listened too.

Week 1 - Romans 15:13 -  

New International Version (NIV)

    "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Key words: God, Hope, Joy, Peace, Trust, Overflow, Power, Holy Spirit

Favorite Commentary on Passage: Ligonier Commentary

Thoughts: This is a prayer asking God to fill me with Hope - God is my Hope and will provide me with Hope. How often do I forget to ask God for anything. Because I am full of sin I forget or loose my Hope on a regular basis, it is good to know I can ask for it, and God will even provide Hope that leads to joy and peace when I don't ask. Thinking about Hope regularly will lead to joy and peace and increase my Trust and then it will overflow into the rest of my life and those I connect with - Cool!!

Song: Benediction - Chery Keaggy

Free Coloring page for Romans 15:13