Hope

This is the same tree we harvested so many cherries two years ago. Click here to see!

"A man can live about

fourty days without food,

three days without water,

eight minutes without air...

But only one second without HOPE!"

Holly Wagner

"When it pours, He reigns!"

I feel the hope that is reflected in this Cherry tree. I am blossoming, but not because I forced my self to have life. No. It is a gift from God. It has been a cold, dark winter, where there was no sign of life nor beauty! But God has decided to bring spring...to bring life and hope to this tree.

Before the cherry´s begin to appear the tree will have to go through several phases. The blossoms are just a sign of things to come. A promise to hold on to. Hope for the future.

Here´s a close up!

God is placing seeds of hope in my heart, but then there has to come leaves, fruit and then harvest. God is in the timing of the process and my part pivots on my obedience!

Psalm 25:3

No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.

Hope is the feeling we have, that the feeling we have, is not permanent.

~Mignon McLaughlin,

Can you see my shadow?

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

A lesson for living

I found an old pile of Reader´s Digests from the year of the Ark´s landing and found this article which I felt to be very fitting for me at this time and thought it might be an encouragement to you. ...... enjoy!!


Condensed from PLUS: The magazine of Positive Thinking by Ronald Reagan
(Found in Readers Digest Magazine May edition 1990)

"Everything happens for the best," my mother said whenever I faced disappointment.

"If you carry on, one day something good will happen. And you´ll realize that it wouldn´t have happened if not for that previous disappointment."

Mother was right, as I discovered after graduation from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station and got turned down every time.

In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn´t risk hiring an inexperienced person. "Go out in the sticks and find a small station that´ll give you a chance."

I thumbed home to Dixon, Ill. While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said that in a sports department they were looking for a local athelte to manage it. Since Dixon was where I had played high-school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn´t hired.

My disappointement must have shown. "Everything happens for the best," Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to drive 70 miles to the Tri-Cities. I tried WOC RAdio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman , told me they had already hired an announcer.

As I left his office, my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud, "How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can´t get a job in a radio station?"

I was waiting for the elevator when I heard the director calling, "What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.

The preceding autumn, my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65 yard run. I did a 15 min buildup to that play, and the director told me I would be broadcasting Saturday´s game!!!!

On my way home, as I thought of my mother´s words: "If you carry on, one day something good will happen - something that wouldn´t have happened if not for that previous disappointment."

Vistors leave, a bout of tummy bug and a birthday poem

Well the last of my visitors left on Thursday morning. It was a great time. As always, hanging out with firends does good to the soul. Now it´s time to get back into a normal rythmn and catch up on things that were left undone while one enjoys the guests!

This is not a space module or far away planet, but a microscopic view of the winter"vomiting bug" that is sweeping over Europe.

Of course life wouldn't be normal if not affected by the local and foreign germ colonies and our house was no exception! A tummy germ aftected most of our inhabitants ...except for me and son nº 2!!! So that always keeps you on your toes! Especially for No 3 as she missed alot of school with "sever´s disease" last semester which put her behind a bit. This time I wanted to anticipate that and so I went to the school to pick up homework for her. I felt sorry for her because it´s so hard to concentrate when you have been throwing up and you know...the other end too! It always seems unfair to me that you have to do that when you are feeling yuk ...but hey there was no other way to keep up. She was a real trouper though... and we didn´t miss a beat and are still on top!

This is a big Birthday month in my house... 3 to be exact... The first is my dh on the 25th.

The nice thing was that on the very day the kids had no school and so we were able to go out to eat lunch all together after a nice long lie in!

It´s always a challenge to find a suitable present for my honey, and even more so when finances are tight. I wanted to do something special and decided on some prose.... Would you like to see it? Is that a yes I hear??? Okay... here it comes....

What you are to me….

You are like the sunshine in my garden
The morning dew on fields of green

Like the fragrance of freshly cut grass
You bring out the best in me

You are the moonlight in my darkest night
Forcing my fears to take their flight

You are the peacefulness that reigns at dawn
Shedding rays of colour on my way
The calming breeze on a summer’s day

You are the constant, steadfast rocks
Amidst the roaring seas of change

Oh handsome and brave stallion
How I love to ride with thee

How could I not love thee?




By AjB
Birthday 2008

So that´s what I have been up to during my absence. I continue to hold on to the Lord in the midst of present trials. Some prayers take years to get answered.... I am learning the art of holding on and not being like a spoilt child who doesn´t get want she wants when she wants. I am learning to draw nearer, nearer than before... to continue to believe and hope and to look for God in unexpected places.

Holding on Part III

Some more good advice that I have received during my holding on process is to get the bad stuff out of my system. Say what is going through my mind because God is not afraid to hear it.

Certainly David, who was known to be a man next to Gods heart, did not mince his words about how he felt. In many a Psalm he accuses God of abandoning him, of not hearing his cry and leaving him in the pit!

I used to do a little example about this when leading worship sometimes. The proverbial glass of water is full. It is full of all my pains, worries, anger and disappointments. Can I fill it up with Gods love and peace when it is already full? No I can't ..there is no room....not until I first empty it out and then refill it.

Likewise, I need to empty myself of my "ugliness" so that God has room to put in his peace, grace and love and most importantly....His hope. I have to make an active choice to do this....

I know that often in these situations one has not even the energy to pour out the stuff...but God in His grace and love helps to even do this.

It is the same with a festering wound. One has to make an effort to clean it out well.... purify it of puss and dirt so that it can begin with the healing process. I am right there folks. It needs a firm and yet gentle touch.

Holding on Part II

When I am experiencing difficulties I naturally ask myself if there is anything I could have done to have avoided them!!! Who doesn't? That is why it is so easy to find the fault with myself!

In my present state I find myself asking the Lord to give me something to hold onto. Something practical. Even without putting words to this prayer, Naomi who left a comment on the Tulips post encouraged me to hop over to another blog. This blog belongs to my pastor back in Guernsey, who even though I have lived many years away from the island and am no longer in his congregation, continues to be a source of encouragement and support to me across the miles! His friendship and example are a great influence in my life. Eric has suffered with physical pain for the last 10 years so he knows what he s talking about when it comes to suffering. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to holding on.

Click on this and you will find some very practical, clear counsel to walk through your pain or struggle just as I did yesterday.

Here is a little quote to wet your appetite:

The phrase 'a little while' is a poignant one for me. Years ago I felt that God spoke to me and promised that after I have suffered 'a little while' then He himself will step in and heal me (see 1 Peter 5:10). I am finding that God's idea of a little while and mine are very different. So I thought I might revisit a sermon that I preached on the subject of 'God's Little While' a little while ago!
Here is the outline of what I said: In John 16 Jesus used the phrase “a little while” 7 times. He was referring to the 3 days and nights He would be in the grave before the resurrection. In Ezekiel 11:16 the phrase means 70 years. So it appears that a little while in God’s economy may not be to with a quantity of time, but rather a quality. What are the Marks of God’s Little While? · A Time When God is at Work no Matter How Dark it Appears. This was true of the dark days when Jesus was in the tomb and the years that Israel was in exile. God was working out His purposes. When we submit to God’s timetable, He is at work.
· A Time When God is Looking After His People. In Ezekiel’s day God said He was being a “sanctuary for His people”, even tho’ their own sin had led them there.
· A Time that Ends Only When God Determines. It only ends when He says it is over, but we can be absolutely sure it will end. This will come to pass.

Now isn¨t that inspiring? It gave me hope and I encourage you hop on over there and read the whole thing.....