It's March 4th and it snowed in Central Illinois. It's March. Doesn't that mean spring?
I suppose, technically, spring doesn't officially start until the middle of March. But, I am so looking forward to it.
To usher spring in, I've decided host a contest. (I've never done a contest before.) But I want the contest to reflect this hope journey that I'm on. So, here is how you enter. Leave a comment with your favorite quote or verse having to do with hope on it. Though it isn't required, you may also tell me why it is your favorite! (And tell me where it comes from -- passage, book, speaker.)
This will help me out as I continue to think about hope and help me as I put together the Hope Chronicles.
I will put all the names in a hat and pull a name on Tuesday, March 11th to select the winner. The prize will be a book on hope! (I'm still working out which book on hope it will be.)
I hope you enter!
If you'ld like to hear from me regularly by email, put your email in the email subscribe box to the right. It digests daily and send you an email when I've updated.
I'd love it if you would help me promote this contest. Just link the candle photo to this post.
For those who are new to blogging, to leave a comment, click the link below that says "Your Thoughts" and a box pops up. You will leave your comment in the box and you need to select an id. It can be anonymous but it might be hard for me to let you know if you win, so if you go anonymous, check back next week to see if you won!
40 comments:
Now... this is a cool contest! My favorite hope verse is Jer. 29:11--- My oldest daughter is named after this verse!
Can you e-mail me this weekend and remind me about your contest? I'd love to tell my weekend readers about it. I'm hoping I'll have internet service. I'm speaking in Wisconsin at a retreat. If I don't have service I'll mention it sometime next week.
Blessings!
"When one door of happiness closes another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the new one which has opened for us" Helen Keller
--Kathy
This is great Amy! My favorite hope is knowing that my past is being used to enhance His Kingdom! Thank you sweet Jesus!
Philippians 1:12
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
Great topic Amy!
To me, HOPE means that no matter where we are today and no matter what is happening in our lives right now, it is NOT the end of the story.
Michele
Great contest! I love quotes. Here's my contribution:
"That's what hope is. Imagining and then fighting for, and struggling for, what did not seem possible before," Sen. Barack Obama.
To me it represents how hope can inspire you to act to bring about change in yourself or in the world.
I look forward to reading more comments. I put a link to your contest on my blog.
The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours. No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen. And the fact that it practically always doesn’t, matters not a jot. The possibility is always there.
Ok, I don't know who said that, but isn't it full of hope?
Great idea, Amy! I would love to share my favorite verse about hope.
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
I have clung to Isaiah 40:28-31 for many years and it is very special to me. I remember hearing it in the movie Chariots of Fire and it has been a verse I go to frequently to remind myself that my God is the God of HOPE!
Blessings,
Marcia
Psalm 31:24 "Be of good courage,And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD". Can't lose with this verse!
What a fub contest!!
In His Graces~Pamela
It was suppose to say "What a FUN contest"-sorry about the typo!
In His Graces~Pamela
Hi Amy,
The thought I'm going to leave with you, as far as I know, is just my own. For some reason, when I think of "hope" I often think of the movie that was released entitled, "Hope floats". I don't recall ever seeing the movie, but I loved that name. My 'hope floats' because it has an anchor - Jesus Christ. My hope becomes unsinkable when I know the Source of all hope. Psalm 62:5-7 says, "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge."
May God fill your life with hope today. (I wrote a devotional on "Hope Floats" once - I just thought it was a neat idea!)
Blessings,
Joy
Hi Amy,
I've been studying the Psalms of Ascent as part of Beth Moore's Stepping Up Bible study and this passage represents hope to me, from Psalm 121:
"I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
Cindy
http://adopttaiwan.wordpress.com
I have two that are related:
Lamentations 3:21-25
21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him."
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him;
AND
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
We have the victory in Him!!
(Wow! Lysa said you compiled all our recipes! Would you mind emailing the doc to me? Many thanks!)
My favorite has already been mentioned--Jeremiah 29:11, but I also love Hebrews 6:19 "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
Great thoughts, Amy! We had a sermon this morning on the resurrection of Lazarus - our hope is in Jesus!
Cool contest! My favorite hope quote is actually from a song--
"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness, No merit of my own I claim
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand."
For me, it's music:
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance, I hope you dance.
LeeAnn Womack
But the one song that exemplifies hope without ever using the word, is "Anyway" by Martina McBride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FdB5Adws78
Amy Brooke, what a cool contest!
My hope is found in my life verse which just happens to be the theme of my blog, "Without Fear".
"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)
Hope is many things to me, but mostly
He
Offers
Peace
Eternal
Just line up the 1st letters and that my friend is hope!
Thanks,
Kent
HOPE became the word I clung to after a miscarriage and infertility. I hoped and prayed (a lot) for a baby! Here are some of my favs:
Faith goes out the stairs that love has built and looks out the window which hope has opened.
Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope.
Job 11:18-19 You will have courage because you will have hope. You will be protected and will rest in safety. You will lie down unafraid and many will look to you for help.
Best of luck with your Hope Chronicles!!
Mine, too, is Jeremiah 29:11 (I know the plans I have for you, plans for hope and a future). I found it after experiencing a complicated miscarriage in my second trimester. The Lord led me to the verse in a very pointed way so I knew that it was significant and kept it close to my heart. The two years that followed were the most difficult in my life and I eventually had to surrender my dream of having more children. I clung to His promise and the Lord has blessed me beyond my imagination. As that door closed, another opened - I am now using my experience to touch others through a faithbooking ministry at my church and my blog. Planting seeds for Him - I wouldn't have it any other way!
Amy, I love Psalm 42:11 as it is a constant reminder that I need to focus on the One and only source of Hope...Jesus.
Psalm 42:11
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (NIV)
Blessings and prayers as you work on this new project,
Caroline
What an awesome site and contest. My favorite verse that gives me hope is Romans 12:1 MSG. "Here's what I want you to do, God helping you -- take your everyday, ordinary life and place it before God as an offering -- your eating, your sleeping, your walking-around and going to work life. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for God." That verse gives me hope daily. All God wants is my everyday life - nothing more, nothing less. Just little ol' ordinary me! WOW
I'd love your recipe word document. How special for you to do that!
Blessings dear one.
Hi Amy!
How I love verses and quotes about hope! I, too, suffered with clinical depression, so I understand what you went through....Here is my quote:
"The shortest distance between a
problem and a solution is the
distance between your knees and
the floor." -- Charles Stanley
The hope of a relationship with Christ is the best kind of hope there is! Have a wonderful day!
Lara <><
Amy,
Isaiah 58:11 holds great hope for me in the promise that one day I will see the fruit of living for Jesus. It is a promise that we will nourish others with the Living Water. I hang on to that promise on the days when I feel like I am spinning my wheels and not making any progress.
Today as I'm rereading "The Purpose Driven Life," I am struck by the thought that God has a reason for waiting to answer when we are hurting. Romans 5:3-4 says the process to arrive at "hope" has to go through stages of suffering, perseverance and character development. And that takes me back to Isaiah 58:11 where I am told that the Lord will be there to lead me again and again. Ahh, sweet hope!
My hope is this:
Pro 23:18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
I am so grateful that nothing lasts forever except God and His love and promises to us. He gave us such an incredible gift of hope.
Blessings, Jody
PS if you have an extra word doc of "the recipes" I would love one!
Hi there! HOPE is a GREAT thing! My verse is a quote by Jesus:
John 14:2 "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."
Rebecca
tiggerdaisy@gmail.com
p.s. I would love the word doc of recipes!!!! :) My mommy life was so hectic this weekend that I couldn't get to look at all the recipes...ARGH!
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I love this verse because it means i don't have to worry, ever! God's got a wonderful plan for my life. All I have to do is trust and be obedient. =)
Shalonna
texasangel7@gmail.com
Hi Amy Brooke! I love your name, my sweet sister's name is Brooke. This is my first post to your blog; although I feel as if I know you through Lysa's community of bloggers. One of my favorite verses that gives me hope each and every time I drink it in is Isaiah 43:19 which says "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." (NLT). I wish I could underline and highlight... Note the words 'I am' (is He not the great I AM!), and then just emphasize the 'I's. And how many times do we feel like we are wandering in the wilderness and/or a wasteland? The LORD is my hope and I adore and love Him so very much!
Thank you for being real. I can't wait to meet you one day.
Your blogging sister,
Dawn
petitechef@alltel.net
P.S. Don't let the email address fool you. I like to cook. I am a chef to my family (short order cook that is). I would love to get a copy of your word doc of recipes from the swap!
One of the quotes about hope that reminds me to stay on track and to watch what I say is "Criricism is a hope-stealer", I find it to be so true. It reminds me to be encouraging and uplifting to help others to see hope through the relationship we have with Christ, no matter what we may be going through. from Angie Gullett
What a great idea for a contest. One verse that has brought me a lot of hope lately is repeated twice in the Bible - II Samuel 22:31 "This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him." (also Psalm 18:30). What a comfort to know that we can trust God with all that He decides to give us (be it trials or blessings) in our lives - His ways are perfect! He will work everything out for our good and His Glory!
p.s. I would love to have a copy of the Blogger's recipes!!!
Romans 15:13 says: "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."
P.S. I would love a copy of the recipes you compiled from Lysa's site. thank you!
A message of hope... like no other~
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and deliveres them out of ALL their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them ALL!
Talk about hope....!
Awesome Contest!
I would also be interested in the recipes!
Amy,
I have come here to leave a comment so many times and something always interrupts me! I'm going to tell my story now.
My story of hope. It's not really a quote, but a story. In 2007, my husband and I were going through a really bad time. We've been married 18 years and until then had not had any major problems. One night we were talking/arguing and I said, "in your mind, is there just an ounce of hope for us?" And he replied, "yes, an ounce." That's all I needed. I went to bed that night and I prayed for the Lord to multilply that ounce of hope and increase it. The next day, Jeff, my husband, gave me a gift. It was a willow tree angel holding a sign that says, "hope". We then went to marriage counseling and we are great today. Hope became my favorite word. Without hope, I would have been hopeless. Hope is beautiful and it is always available through God. I love hope:)
Your contest is a great idea. I've loved reading all the quotes/verses/stories of hope.
Bless you sweetie!
Melissa
Joel 2:25 - "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten". Whatever your locust is/was, it is NEVER too late to receive God's sweet blessings.
My favorite verse is also Jeremiah 29:11. This verse is comforting to me as it tells me God has a plan for me, and my future is safe with Him. How awesome is that!
Hi Amy,
I hope I'm not too late to enter the contest. Our family has been going through a season of trying to be obedient but meeting obstacle after obstacle. I've had a difficult time not losing hope, but this quote has helped a lot:
"The answers God gives us in our tomorrows often flow from our faithful todays." - Author, Beth Moore
I also love this audio recording of Bible verses on Hope:
http://songoffaith.com/mp3s/Albums/ThePromises/Prom_Hope_DonFrancisco.mp3
It is from Don Francisco's album "The Promises."
Also, if you have time, I would love to have a copy of your Word document with all of the recipes from Lysa's recipe swap. I tried to copy and paste many, but didn't find the time to finish. Having it all done would be a gift. : )
My email address is beckyavella@yahoo.com
Thank you for the fun contest!
<>< Becky
I'm sorry, the URL for the audio recording must have been too long and it didn't post correctly on my last comment.
If you want to hear it, you can go to:
http://www.rockymountainministries.
org/membersite.html
Scroll down to the album "The Promises" and click on Hope.
: ) Becky
Hi Amy,
I find joy and hope in Phil 1:6
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
I'd really appreciate access to your word doc of the recipes-what an accomplishment! I am computer challenged so this would take me hours. I have enjoyed reading your post on Lysa's blog. Have a blessed day! Fran Westlund
fwestlund@windstream.net
Sorry, this is so late.
My favorite Hope verse and why -
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Skippin really bad things happening to both of us, before we met, I'll just list the tough things, since our wonderful marriage. (We did ask God for a couple of years off from bad things, and God did just that - 2 years and 2 days of easy, happy lives. In the grand scheme of things, God has also given us more happiness then scary stuff, too!
1982 - hubby broke his back (but wasn't paralyzed,) just badly enough to seem as if he'd never do blue-collar work again.
1983 - took the worse job we've ever had, as group parents, but it kept us sheltered and fed, while hubby's back mend, and we did meet the two sweetest boys, who were only there because they had crappy parents.
1983-1985 - working our way back up financially.
1985-1992 -- kept getting financially sound again, just in time for some financial crises, usually related to the jobs I took with bad bosses, or opening my big mouth at the wrong time, ending after finding a bookkeeping job in the worst ghetto in Philadelphia, right across the street from the only place you can buy heroin in this city.
1992-1998 - enjoying that job, except when gangs were shooting in front of my office door/front door of the factory, or when kids stoned my cars badly enough that my bosses had to buy me a new window, and had me park the car into a bay in the factory. First car driven to the factory became half the size it was supposed to be from a major accident, yet I got out with mere bruising.
1997-1999 -- started my own home business, and it started making money the same month I had my first gallstone attack (colic.)
1999 - became permenently disabled when the surgeon removing my gall bladder, accidentally nicked a nerve to my back, giving me chronic pain around the front and sides of my waist. (Wasn't told that cause for another 8 years, so it was too late to sue him.)
2002 - finally granted disability by Social Security, just in time for hubby to quit his job that went from computer technician to dispatching. (He hates desk work, and bosses broke their word less then one business day after telling him they would get him out of dispatching, so he really wasn't given much choice.)
2002-2004 -- Computer industry collapses after the Y2K fear, and hubby can't find new job. At first, he couldn't find a new job in that line, then he couldn't find any kind of job, then he was too tired to even try to find a job.
2004 - A blind spot in his eye revealed he had high blood pressure, and if the blood vessel behind his eye hadn't broken, it could have been one in his brain causing a stroke. The eye doctor sends him immediately to our primary, who took blood tests, while he was in there, discovering he also had HCV, the only variety that is curable, but we finally figured out, he wasn't too depressed to find a job -- he was too sick to do anything!!!
2004-2005 - hubby had half a year of chemotherapy to cure HCV, but by that time, we had used up all our retirement money, and were now living on my $839 a month disability + free health insurance and food stamps from Welfare at the price of days and days of filling out paperwork and searching for records. Almost lost our house, but found help to keep it.
2005 - early 2006 - hubby applies for and is approved for disability, but because the chemotherapy ruined his health in so many ways, he was approved because of a variety of new health problems. (I'm now the heathier one! LOL)
Boy, when God wants to prove his word is true, he likes to take it area by area into our sense of security, all simply to remind us that he loves us, we need him, and he's working it all out for his glory and our good!
Thankfully, he gave us each other, too! We spend more time together then most couples, but still love each other deeply. His verses aren't our hope -- they are our knowledge. HE is our hope, always.
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