Launch Day

Today is launch day for "Hope for the Weary Mom Devotional." I am so excited for many more mothers to experience the hope this book brings. I have loved reading "Hope for the Weary 

Mom Devotional."  I just don't want to finish the book and for it to be over. It is so encouraging to read about other mothers who feel the same as I do. As a pastor's wife it can be diffilcult to find someone I can share my struggles with. As I seek to rely more on God's Word for my peace and comfort this book has been a great tool to help me connect to the Lord through His word.  The book also holds special meaning for me since my name is Hope.  I have blogged several times about the devotional prior to this post. I started my blog after my father died five years ago.  It was a way to write and remind myself of God's truths in that difficult time. The blog has become more of a record of my children's lives, but in recent days I have begun to also use it as I originally intended.  

Brooke and Stacey's books are ones that I will continue to reread as this Hope continues to find true hope in Jesus. 

HOPE

“Hope is not a wish or a sprinkle of magical fairy dust. Hope is a person.”

"Hope will not wash away. It is your promise. Your source of hope will never stop seeking to pour it fresh into your heart."

Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers.”

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Romans 15:13

 

Running 2015

This year I have run 302 times. This is my highest mileage year ever 1080 miles. I ran in two new states New York and Missouri. I ran 2 races, Spooky Trails at Rudy Mines and the Reindeer Run. 

My lifetime mileage with Nike is 3600 miles. I ran 100 miles in December. 

Needless to say I love to run. 

Christmas 2015

What a beautiful Christmas. Auj enjoyed riding her new bike outside on this amazing December day. 

Hallejuiah, Christ the Savior is born! 

Holding it Together

Matthew Henry said, "The weaker the vessels are the stronger his power may appear, that the treasure itself may be valued the more.” 

"Ray Stedman writes, “When Paul uses the phrase, ‘all things by him hold together,’ he is speaking of our Lord’s power to sustain and to prevent breakdown.” Guess what that also includes? It includes you and me. He keeps us from falling apart, literally."

"This is is easy to do when I have a glorious sunrise dazzling before my eyes. But what about whenI have to take my girls to Target and they instantly turn into small crazy people? When every look from a pass- erby is one of judgment? It is in these times I need to be reminded that God is working on my behalf and Jesus is holding me together."

 

"The mere fact that you are holding me together, Lord, is a gift. I don’t have to keep it together because that is your job. It is so freeing. Let me be overwhelmed by you and nothing else today. In Jesus’s name, amen."

"In your darkest days, the ones where you’re tempted to despair and wonder if God truly hears you, truly sees you, remember that he prayed for you, and according to Scripture, still does (Hebrews 7:25)."

 

#hopedevo

 

Owen

 

"She was part of God’s plan. Since then, I have seen my deep need of God’s grace. I think before she came along I was pretty much mothering in my own strength. God knew what it would take to lead me to a place of complete dependence. It isn’t her personally, but the overwhelming task of raising these four girls together that brings me to a place of needing God like never before. He knew this is what it would take. He has also used this vulnerable place to call me out from hiding behind my veil of fine." 

I could say all the same thinks about Owen. 

Open My Eyes

"It’s easy to get stuck in the mess, isn’t it? We fall so far down in the pit that it’s hard to see the blue sky at the top anymore. Gloom and doom become the norm. We yell more because we see fault more, and we forget to look at the positive in our lives." 

"What if, starting today, we asked the Lord to open our eyes?"

"What if we truly meant it when we said, “Slow me down, Lord, so I can see you in the small things”? What if instead of saying, “Go! Go! Go!” we said, “Stop! Stop! Stop! is moment will never hap- pen again. Let me breathe it in!” 

"He is our rescue. He always has been. He always will be." #HOPEdevo 

"Abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Do you know where the shadow is? As close to God as you can get." #HOPEdevo 

"Christ is able to give us a life we never dreamed we could have —in him." #HOPEdevo