Easter Sunday

Easter is about hope. Jesus is our hope. No matter what comes our way, no matter what problems we face, no matter that we live in a fallen world, Jesus is our hope because He conquered death.

“As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples…'” Mark 16:5-7

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,” John 11:25

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” 1 Pet. 1:3-4

Whatever is happening in your life today, I hope you have a blessed Easter. Don't lose hope because Jesus intercedes for us. “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” Romans 8:34

Hope

I was blessed to spend the week after Christmas in Kentucky with my family. During this time, Brooke helped me pick out pictures of dogs for my new stories and we named them. I was impressed how much thought she put into the process. It was fun working with her.

Brook and I also discussed picking out a word at the beginning of the year and focusing on it and God. We discussed a few possibilities and she nudged me to picking Hope. I've picked the word hope another year, but we can never have too much hope.

1 Peter 1:3-5 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

My hope is in Jesus, and I look forward to what God has in store for me in 2018.

So long 2015...

2015 is almost over. It was a great year for my family. Tim and I were able to travel to Hilton Head, SC where we enjoyed watching plenty of tennis.



Asbury University Men's Tennis Team made nationals again this year, so after graduation we drove to Mobile to watch them compete. By graduation, I mean Scott graduated from Asbury University with a degree in accounting.



Bill and Amanda have run a lot of races. This summer Bill and Scott ran the Tough Mudder with two friends.



During the summer I discovered I was a finalist in the Genesis Writing Contest sponsored by ACFW. I didn't win, but I got to see some great friends in Dallas at the yearly ACFW conference.



This year our sweet Brooke started kindergarten!

Scott, Tim, and I went to New York City and got to watch a few days of the US Open. What a thrill! I'd go back to the city anytime, and we loved the US Open.



My daughter-in-law, Amanda, started a blog on coping with infertility. She tackles the heartbreaking issues of infertility in a sensitive way and she has moved me to tears more than once.
http://amandahopeforthefuture.blogspot.com/

Speaking of blogs, Scott and a friend also started a blog focusing on young adults facing life and how to handle money. http://unmarkedtrailhead.wordpress.com/

These are only a few of the blessings we've enjoyed this year. My word to focus on for 2015 was hope, and this was definitely a year of hope and dreams. Speaking of hopes and dreams, Scott proposed to his girlfriend, Kellianne Crouse. She will be a wonderful addition to our family, and we all feel blessed she said yes.

It's beginning to look like Spring in Kentucky

March Madness is over, and tennis season is here. Our grass is green, the trees are beginning to bloom, and I'm so excited.

Hope can be defined as the feeling of expectation and desire for a specific thing to happen.

Spring is the season of hope for me. After our hard winter, this year I'm especially hopeful for warm weather and a chance to be outside and enjoy the wonderful things God has given us. I took my dog for a walk, and these were a few of the signs of Spring I saw.



As we climbed the hill behind us, I heard sweet little voices playing outside. The girls were riding bikes when I reached their house. They were kind enough to pause for a moment and pose by a flowering shrub.

At last we finished our walk. I hope you find time to get outside and enjoy this season of warmth and hope. Happy Spring!

I've been intrigued by lighthouses for years. They are beacons of light and hope. The first lighthouse in the united States was the Boston Light, and it was built in 1716.

The first lighthouse I toured was the Tybee Island Lighthouse, and whenever I'm in the vicinity of a lighthouse we try to take time to tour it.

This year during spring break we visited Hilton Head Island to watch Asbury University Men's Tennis Team spend the week playing tennis. While there we were able to visit Harbour Town Lighthouse. The 114 step climb to the top was a slow and easy trip. The inside was a museum with information on different periods of South Carolina's history. Enjoy the pictures and historical relics and you'll forget you're climbing stairs. There is a gift shop on the main floor and at the top of the lighthouse. You can also venture outside and walk on the wrap-around balcony. From there you'll be able to see the harbor, shops, boats and a golf course.




Lighthouses stir my imagination. I wonder how many sailors over the years have avoided danger because of these beacons of light? And then I think of Jesus, the light of the world. That may be why lighthouses remind me of hope, because my hope is in Jesus.

Ode to Joy

Ludwig van Beethoven composed "Ode to Joy," possibly his greatest symphony, at one of the most difficult times in his life. I bet many of you can hear this symphony in your mind right now. It is the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth and last Symphony.

Beethoven's health was declining, and he was completely deaf when he started this seven year journey to write this symphony.

He took a risk by using a chorus and solo voices in a symphony. He had several misgivings about using words with his music, but for some reason chanced it working. Maybe it was hope in a spectacular outcome.

The words came from a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 and revised in 1803. Beethoven even made some additions himself, and the Ninth symphony premiered on May 7, 1824.

I imagine Beethoven clung to hope from the moment he began this journey until the day he first conducted this masterpiece. Because he was completely deaf, he had no idea how the audience felt until Caroline Unger, the contralto, turned him around to witness the audience's ecstatic reaction. I get goosebumps imagining the look on his face.


One of my favorite scriptures on hope comes from Joshua 10:25.


"Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight."

There are many things I'm hoping for this year, and when I become discouraged I turn to God to renew my hope in Him.

Color of hope

I recently came across an article discussing the meaning of colors.







Certain colors make me think of the beach, but I never considered colors had meanings.

I looked up the color for hope. Most sites I visited listed green as the color of hope. (One site suggested gray which does not make me hopeful.)


If you have visited me at my house, you'll know I'm not afraid of color. Here's a picture of my dining room brainstorming with Rose McCauley, Loretta Gibbons, Jennifer Johnson, and Kim Sawyer.

As I read more I found green is the color for harmony and balance. That's a little out there if you ask me, so I continued to look. After my research here's what I came up with.

In the spring we see green grass coming up. Green leaves pop out on trees and flowers. When I see the green in nature, I'm filled with anticipation of spring and warm weather. I'm filled with HOPE.

Today the grass is brown and yellow, but soon it will begin to turn green. And then I'll head outside to enjoy the beauty of nature and spring sports.

Do you have a favorite color? Does it make you hopeful and happy?

Millennial Generation

I heard a new term this week. Millennial generation. It refers to people born between 1980 and 2000, or ages 18 to 34 in 2015.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Millennial generation will surpass the Baby Boomers at some point this year.

Both of my sons are part of the Millennial generation.

(The one in the middle is a Baby Boomer.)


The Millennial generation is not afraid of technology. They don't fear making their computers crash, and they can figure out anything you need on your phone, laptop, or whatever electronic gadget you need help with. I learned another term for this group. Digital native. Because they've grown up in the digital age, they are native to it while being taught by non-natives.

I've noticed this group doesn't mind taking risks. Whether it's caving, mountain climbing, investing in the stock market, or traveling around the world. They show no fear.

As I researched this group, every source or survey, reported this group to be optimistic. I find this amazing because they've grown up with 9/11 and lived through a recession. There are many interesting facets to this generation including they wait longer to get married.

From my personal experience, I've noticed this to be a fun, caring, and energetic generation. They care for others and don't seem to be focused on making a lot of money. Many mothers are staying home to raise their children and volunteer at churches and schools.

Others may trash the young people today, but I'm hopeful. I see a bright future for us as this group goes out into the world.

Michael W. Smith

Michael's story is one of hope. Easter is a time of hope. Take time to hear Michael's story.







I've been blessed to go hear Michael W. Smith perform twice. Once outside in the snow at Ichthus in Wilmore, KY. The other time was in at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville. Both times I walked away closer to the Lord.

Spring is here

When you think of seasons, do you think winter, spring, summer and fall?

Or do you think basketball, baseball, and football? Let's don't forget tennis, swimming, and soccer.




In my family we're getting excited about men's tennis. Specifically Asbury University's Men's Tennis.

The first match of the season will be tomorrow, March 20, the first day of spring.

Spring is my favorite season in Kentucky. It's warmth after a long cold winter, trees bud and flowers begin to bloom.

It's new life. It's hope.

I hope tomorrow is the start of a new and wonderful season for you.

Happy Spring!

Hope continued

I liked this so much, I wanted to share it with you today.

Hope

The last two mornings I've heard birds chirping when I've taken the dog out. It seems like it's been a long time since I've heard the birds, but in Kentucky it's been a short mild winter, so far.
I've also got some flowers trying to come up. At first I was worried. It's too soon, what will happen when the cold weather does hit?
I finally decided to enjoy the hope I get from seeing the flowers pop up and hearing the birds sing. I'm not going to allow myself to worry about a possible cold snap. I'm going to hope for an early spring and enjoy every sign of spring I come across.


Romans 8:25
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Hope

Christmas is the season for hope. For weeks now, I've been looking for signs of hope.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went down to Athens, Georgia. We went to the Georgia vs Kentucky football game. A family sat behind us cheering for UK. The kids screamed and cheered like crazy. I'd hear them talk to their dad. They hoped UK would win the game, and they played a great game. I was so impressed with the children though, because UK had a bad season. If Georgia won they'd be the SEC East champions. I'm a Georgia football fan through and through, but I enjoyed the kids hope through the game. UK's players must have hoped to win too because, as I said, they played a good game.

The Georgia fans hoped we'd win the game. So Stanford Stadium was full of people hoping for a win, but at the end of the day, only some of us left with our hopes fulfilled.

When we place our hope in Jesus, we'll all see our hopes fulfilled. He's the true One to trust and be worthy of our hopes.

I hope you all enjoy the Christmas season!