GOD OF HOPE

Month: November 2013

November 30, 2013

STOP AND THINK - The energy it takes to hang onto the past [may be] holding you back from a new life. (Mary Manin Morrissey, teacher and author) Some of us really like to live in the past, don’t we? We’re nostalgic, and we’re often longing for “the good ole days.”...

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November 29, 2013

STOP AND THINK - Leadership is not just a matter of action, but a matter of attitude. (Beau Stanley, pastor) When we think of leaders, we often picture a strong person, leading the troops out front, facing the obstacles, and encouraging his team to follow him into...

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November 28, 2013

STOP AND THINK - There are three kinds of giving: grudge giving, duty giving, and thanksgiving. Grudge giving says, I have to ; duty giving says, I ought to ; thanksgiving says, I want to. (Robert Rodenmeyer, author) It’s Thanksgiving Day, a day when Americans thank...

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November 27, 2013

STOP AND THINK - You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. (C. S. Lewis, Christian apologist) I wonder what Lewis had in mind. Was he merely commenting on his great love of tea and good books, and how he could enjoy drinking his tea...

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The Pilgrims: Giving Thanks in all Circumstances

On December 21, 1620, after a very difficult 66 day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, William Bradford wrote in his memoirs, “Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, we fell upon our knees and blessed God in heaven, who had brought us over the...

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November 26, 2013

STOP AND THINK - All other vices are embedded in evil, but vanity expresses itself in good works. (Augustine, 4th -5th century B.C. Christian theologian) Augustine identifies vanity, or pride, as a vice, an undesirable character flaw. We can probably all agree to...

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November 25, 2013

STOP AND THINK - At times I'm so discouraged with problems of the day, I fail to see the joyful things that are along the way. (Author unknown) The poem continues: When troubles overwhelm me, it's then my nerves may fray, that's when I need to take the time to simply...

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November 24, 2013

STOP AND THINK - There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. (Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa) It has sometimes been said that “You can’t go back.” If you do, however, you will...

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November 22, 2013

STOP AND THINK - Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. (Jean Luc Picard, a television character) The statement was made in a television show, but it does give us a valuable reminder...

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Eternal Footprint

We have all heard the term “environmental footprint” or “carbon footprint” used over the last several years.  It has become mainstream to look at how our lives and the way that we live them impact the environment. There is nothing wrong with being great stewards of...

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November 21, 2013

STOP AND THINK - As any change must begin somewhere, it is the single individual who will experience it and carry it through. (Carl G. Jung, Swiss psychiatrist) Sometimes we would really like to see some change. “If only someone would do something,” we might say,...

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November 20, 2013

STOP AND THINK - None … are so unable to sympathize as those who have never had trouble themselves—and none are so able to feel as those who have drunk most deeply the cup of pain and sorrow. (J. C. Ryle, 19th century Anglican bishop) Haven’t you found it so? It’s...

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