Being a Messenger of Hope

On this first Sunday of Advent, we celebrate HOPE -- the great expectation that something good is on its way -- by lighting the first candle (the HOPE candle) on the Advent wreath. Advent means a coming or arrival, especially of something or someone extremely important. In biblical terms we speak of the four weeks before Christmas as the Advent season, when the Lord left heaven and came to earth to be born of a virgin to dwell among man. It's a time when we prepare our hearts as we remember the birth of our Lord and Savior. While enjoying carols, visits to see Santa, chestnuts roasting, baking Christmas goodies and gift giving, we can still ponder Advent. It keeps us remembering the reasons for this glorious season. It's about hope.

The birth of Christ gives us the hope for living life trusting, believing, and expecting that all He’s promised will be ours if we patiently wait for His perfect plan for our lives. As we wait, we can deepen our relationship with God, knowing that the sweet infant in the manger is really our triumphant King of Kings. That precious baby grew up, and He sacrificed His life so that we can live a life of hope and great expectation.

So, do you have your hope up? Are you a hope messenger or are you a VDP (very draining person)? How do people feel around you? Do they feel more or less hopeful? Are we hope messengers who make people feel encouraged, cared for, and uplifted. In other words, do people feel more hopeful because they’ve spent time with us?

I can't help but think about the people who have given me hope over the years. Whether it was an encouraging word from a friend who helped me push through a day that seemed so overwhelming, or a boss who had more faith in me than I had in myself (true story) – who gave me so much hope in myself that I could attain that position that seemed beyond my reach. My husband was a hope messenger. I am positive, capable, strong, self-sufficient, peace and joy-filled because he was relentless in pouring into me hope and encouragement. I can be a hope messenger because I knew and know hope messengers.

One of the great things about getting older is the opportunity to share the lessons I’ve learned in life. Helping people to believe that tomorrow can be better than today is an incredible gift and can change lives in powerful ways. What about you? Do "your" people leave you feeling more or less hopeful? It's time to get our hope up and our "expectors" expecting. Let's be hope messengers so others become hope messengers, too!

Hope Brings a Bigger, Bolder, Brighter Future

I hope your yesterday goes well. If I said that to you, you’d be thinking Donna has lost it! It’s silly to hope someone’s YESTERDAY goes well because HOPE doesn’t live in the past. Hope is something based on great expectations for our future.
We can look backward and reminisce the ups and downs, but we can’t HOPE in the past. Even hoping that Uncle Joe included us as a beneficiary is still HOPING in the past.

We can’t change yesterday. We can’t hope in yesterday. But, we can HOPE for today and for tomorrow to be filled with many wins, many victories, many remarkable interceptions of blessings. We can hope our marriages are stronger and we are more in love than ever OR we can even hope for marriage. Period. We can hope for a clean bill of health. We can hope for being able to conceive a baby. We can hope for a new home or car. We can hope our children do well in school.

Hoping is ALWAYS “the great expectation that something good is about to happen” now, in a minute, in this day and tomorrow. It does no good to look backward and HOPE our past gets better. I am excited and hopeful for this 2019 to turn into the greatest year of bringing people into the Kingdom of God. I am excited and hopeful for love to abound in our homes, our cities and our country. I am hopeful that the tide turns for respect for life from conception to the grave. I am hopeful that America WILL be great again in the eyes of its citizens and around the world.

Doesn’t that feel so good? I mean – being hopeful for today and tomorrow. We don’t know what tomorrow holds but we know that God holds tomorrow and He isn’t a bit surprised by His kids showing out. I’m sure He shakes His sovereign head and with amusement often says to His Son Who sits at His right hand and says “What in the world are they thinking?” In all seriousness, He’s got the whole wide world in His hands, so why should we worry or fret. Let’s just keep HOPING and PRAYING for His will being done on earth as it is in heaven!

Romans 15:13 “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.”