Hope's Blog 🦋

 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Everything is summed up in these three books.  Everything.  That is not to say that we close the cover to the rest of the writings of the Book that has shown us the path of/to Life, as if we can just check off or strike through one of our Bucket List bullets.  Rather, we should hunger to know, with salivating soul pangs, everything we can know about the One responsible for the words written in this book referred to as The Scriptures, The Holy Bible, The Word of God, The Bible.  Just as so many

Greatest Test of Faith

Come closer My son

Cloak to cloak I will bear you up

I speak

You listen

Hear

Trust

Obey

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatian's, in the scripture, said of Abraham:

"He t

My Daily Bread

You instructed us to pray

“Give us, this day, our Daily Bread”

Heavenly Manna

My allowance of Daily Bread appears but a morsel

 Compared to the increase of the loaves of another

My Daily Bread smells stale, putrid

In light of another’s fragrant loaf

My Daily Bread presents hard and crumbly

Aside the lightly dense, velvety loaf of another

Heavenly Father

You have supplied my Daily Bread

You have determined its

Portion

Fragrance

Texture

You have set me at your table

You have prepared a feast for

Jeremiah's Song

Some call me the weeping prophet

Others say that I am cursed

For tearing down false prophet's lies

I would be cast off

But don't they know I love my Judah

It's for her I weep and cry

while she sacrifices her children 

before a lifeless idol's eyes 

It's true I weep

It's true I cry

A lifetime of pain floods my eyes

But it's not for me you see me weep

but for a world's wicked heart 

and the God who sees

I'd shout His message of repentance

as I would speak His holy words

Yet none would choose

The Call of my Beloved

Come away with Me, My beloved!

Come away, My treasured pearl.

There are trees that need your climbing feet;

while mountains greet your footprints sweet upon uncharted soil.

Behold the sun-kissed shores of seascape’s edge

who more than once do softly beg

the touch of tender flesh beneath its glistening sands.

Come away with Me, My beloved  

Oh come, My lovely child.   

Silence pleads unspoken face.

Quiet sings of pardoned grace.

Climb the heig

It can get rather confusing (to say the least), this idea that I must love the neighbor who throws shoes or pots my way, or towards my ideals, faith in Jesus, moral convictions, biblical world view, constitutional rights amd priviledges and etc. On the contrary, a shoe or pot would be a kinder item to hurl than insult or slander.  At least the bruise, bump or cut would certainly heal faster, but then there is the issue of scars, which I will choose to respond as Pooh might:

"Oh bother"

So, we must

In response to the investigation of Ravi ZachariasThe investigation, aside from personal texts and photos, could have concluded in a disputed discourse against a man who cannot defend himself because he is dead. However, has undisputed evidence been uncovered through texts, cell phone photos and emails? As disheartening as this information is, is the evidence of truth out?

Now we must ask ourselves what we, who loved and respected Ravi, do with the hours of ponderings and reasonings we were driv

With the dawn of a new administration in American government, came the thunderous sound of the ripping apart of the fabric of American justice for the most vulnerable, her unborn babies and sex trafficked children.  With the stroke of a pen, the fate of millions more unborn children around the world would be sealed by a heartless administration bent on appeasing their appetites for power and financial greed, the swollen greed of an unsatiated appetite for the blood of innocence.

Stollen away from

Televisions, radios, smart phones, computers and other tech devices are documenting an upset to the normal routines of life all over the world.  In the past few months, governments swollen with a sudden sense of authoritarian rule, are lording over its people with fearmongering  in what appears to be record speed.  Masks, scarves and bandanas now cover the faces that just weeks earlier bore beautifully content smiles.  Loving hugs and handshakes are now replaced by floor markers separating flesh

 Every 90 seconds a precious life, created in the image of the One True God, YHWH, is massacred while yet in his/her mother's womb. We can no longer sit back and expect that this infanticide will take care of itself. We must be the voice for the tiny voiceless ones. We MUST! We must pray for these helpless babies and their misinformed parents.  We can no longer continue to offer up our children to the fires of Molech, a human erected idol which the Bible refers to as a "strange god".  If we cont

Today I present my blemished heart before the Sovereign of sovereigns and stand before Him, fully aware that in my own strength, I am unable to war against the enemy of this world who is called the satan (devil). Not only is he a master of darkness, but he also presents to us camouflaged as light. But I have been given a greater camouflage; I have been given a dazzling yet pummeled suit of armour from my God, that deflects the blinding false light of the satan back into his own eyes, obstructing

Twas a stylish congregation, that of Theophrastus Brown, and its organ was the finest and the biggest in the town;

and the chorus - all the papers favorably commented on it, for 'twas said each female member had a forty-dollar bonnet.

Now in the "amen corner" of the church sat Brother Eyer, who persisted every Sabbath day in singing with the choir.

He was poor, but genteel looking, and his heart as snow was white, and his face beamed with sweetness when he sung with all his might.

His voice was crac

September 2, 2012

A lone goose calls out from the foggy dawn of the small lake this morning.  There is a pale eeriness to its desperate plea for response.  With each pause, silence is returned.   A few feet away, Autumn Trail preens his iridescent and white feathers.  An unusually handsome Muscovy Duck, Autumn Trail has found company with the lone Canada Goose.

***

Canada Geese have been abundant this summer, and from these bounteous beings spring the cutest little tutu tailed goslings.  Week by w

*The Red Gloves* copyright of Cordelia Darlene in partnership with Hope - of Hope's Hollow and Anchored4Christ

Most people become irritated at the animated gym clip that pops up when Microsoft Word is opened.  But I am not like most people; I kinda like the little guy.  Those large animated eyes entertain me.  The ever-so-slight movements keep my mind actively searching for the following word or phrase just so that I can see what he is going to do next.  Right now, he sits on a document smiling directly at me, occasionally glancing towards my document while scratching the top of his little gym clip head.

The frost-free refrigerator freezer had a ¼ inch layer of frost covering the back panel of the freezer section.  Water dropped from inside one corner of the open freezer door, splashing against my foot as it fell to the floor beneath it.  I stood dumbfounded, gazing into the open freezer where frozen foods were now beginning to thaw.  Feeling broadsided once again, I closed the freezer door.  Plopping down onto the kitchen stool I heard myself helplessly utter: “Do you think I could get a break?

Have you ever encountered a truly meek and innocent spirit in life?  I have.  Once you encounter one, you will be forever changed.  Now this particular spirit is not without her own personal foibles in life; however, she has learned and continues to learn how to move forward in the spirit of Truth, with grace.  This particular spirit I refer to is my sister.

📱📲 

One warm summer afternoon, Deb and I were engaged in a deep and thought provoking cell phone dialogue concerning God and His many attribu

Several years ago, I had the honor of sharing in the lives of some very special children in a densely populated area of a large southern city. Primarily poor minority communities shaped these secluded ghettos shrouded by interstates and skyrise structures. Tiny deteriorating wood framed houses and brick duplexes occupied almost every foot of city plot. Young men and women clustered together in small groups on empty lots and behind overfilled trash bins--while dilapidated porches and crumbling si

I'm holding to hope,      

and hope has a name,

it isn't Mary or Thomas or David or Jane,

Seymore or Thadius or sweet Betty Sue,

Penelope, Woody, Clarissa Magoo.

Hope is the knowing felt deep in your heart,

when the odds are against you and you grope in the dark.

And you can't see the forest for towering trees,

And  you fall over obstacles, skinning both knees.

Hope is the offspring of Faith, Noah's dove.

Her Father is Grace.

So that makes her - Love.

 ~~~ 

I penned these simple child-like words in 1999 fol