Celebrating the God of Hope!

This year galvazined buckets from our local feed store replaced traditional stockings.

They were simply much easier for Mama to store in her closet and fill with goodies gradually.

THE GOD OF HOPE

Now 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.
~Romans 15:13

Don't you love that language? Our God is called the God of hope. That verse has been such an encouaragement to my soul in recent weeks. I need the God of hope to fill me with His joy and peace. And, the verse continues that it comes to us as we trust in Him.

We do not trust in others, in our circumstance or even in ourselves.

We look to the God of hope.

'There shall be a root of Jesse; and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope!

Faith blessed us by typing up various prophesies fulfilled in Christ
and placing them in frames around the Christmas table. See link below for a copy of the verses. 1

UNLESS THE LORD

Unless the Lord builds the house,

its builders labor in vain.
~Psalm 127

It can be tempting to trust in our own efforts. Yesterday we were reminded of this verse from Psalms during the sermon at church. It is God alone who must build our homes as we apply His Word each day.

We were asked to consider whether our families are built on the ROCK or the sand. Because if our homes are built on the sand they will not be able to withstand the winds of depression or the rain of various trials that will surely come our way.

It is wise to ask ourselves, as we were challenged, to consider where God is in our homes. Does the knowledge that the Triune God exists have an impact in our homes? Does it have a daily impact; an hourly impact?

We dressed up the old 'Loving Family' doll house with a few green pipe cleaners and some red ribbon left overs. I thought Michaela did a wonderful job on the wreath. Now, if only they would stop playing with the house, it would all stay nice and tidy. I kid of course... sort of.

IF YOU WORRY...

Our God is a God of hope and it is He alone who must build our homes. So, if He is so willing and so able why are we so prone to worry?

My grandmother would always say, "If you pray, why worry. And if you worry, why pray?" But Grandma, there are so many things to worry about!

To love God with our minds, our meditation must be directed by His commands (yes, commands):

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. ~Matthew 6:34

Be anxious for nothing... make your requests known to God and the peace of God... will guard your heart and your mind... ~Philippians 4:6-7

It is a struggle at times. But worry robs us of peace and keeps us from enjoying what is real and blessed right before our eyes.

Each family that came to our home had a little treat box to take home. Please do not ask how many innocent cookies were burned in this process... I'd rather not say. BUT, I think these loaded brownies were my favorite treat this year. Just simple brownies topped with crushed candy canes, marshmallows and melted chocolate... good stuff.

Our little Lydia has recently been having seizures. We truly rest in God's control.

PREPARE INSTEAD

Proverbs 31 gives us a lovely example of a woman who does not worry, but prepares instead. So often the things that trouble me are things for which I am ill-prepared or mountains that seem to high to climb.

How helpful it is to simply make a running to do list; marking the things are to be handled today (Matthew 6:34) and leave the rest to be worried about tomorrow... each day does have its own things to worry about and if we simply take a few steps up the mountain each day, we'll get there in the end.

Breaking things down into bite sized pieces seems to help me not to be anxious. Clip boards on my wall store plans and lists. But just a few to-dos will items be handled today.

My little sisters helping with the hot cocoa toppings... or sharing them? I can't be sure.

The cousins singing a lovely carol they had practised.

She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.

She is like merchant ships, she brings her food from afar.

She rises while it is still night, and provides food for her household...

She is not afraid of snow for her household,

For all her household is clothed in scarlet.

~Proverbs 31:13-15, 21

I am sure we can all attest to the fact that there are many ways in which we can improve our immitation of the Proverbs 31 woman, but this idea of preparing and not worrying-- this speaks to me.

As one of our elders spoke on Psalm 127:2, he noted that even industry when God is ignored is vain and causes us to eat the bread of sorrows (Psalm 127:2) in the end.

And so, trusting in the God of hope. Making our petitions to God and seeking Him in our daily to-dos seem to be all woven together in my mind at the start of this new year.

Mom and Me.

Baby sister Dale and Jon.

Well, what can I do? I always seem to be surrounded by a little bit of crazy...

We hope you had wonderful Christmas and will be very blessed this New Year as you rest in the God of Hope!

_____________________

1 There are so many exciting verses that foretold the coming of Christ in specific ways- each hundreds of years before His arrival and most completely out of His control. This year Faith had the wonderful idea to put one prophesy fulfilled in Christ at each place setting. I helped her find the verses, then she typed them up and slipped them into simple Dollar Store frames. Each person read their verse before dinner. And, of course, we wanted to share a copy with you!