Where is your Hope....

Have you ever really looked at an anchor, or considered what an anchor does?  If you are a Christian, then you are anchored or should I say that you should be anchored in Christ. I really like this picture, not only because it is an anchor but also because it has the word "hope" included on it.  This picture was taken in Narragansett, Rhode Island, when my husband and I were up there for our youngest sons wedding, which was last June 2011.  And we did a little sight-seeing while we were there.  This is on a bridge as a decoration, and I really wish I had more information around this particular design, but alas I do not.  I can tell you that is comprised of tiles set into the concrete.  And I just like the symbolism of having our Hope anchored in Christ.  

(All of the pictures in this writing today were taken in Rhode Island and they are just pictures of my choosing...)

Last evening when I got to church and went to the classroom were our ladies meet for our Wednesday night class I was really surprised to see the room rearranged...but it was all good.  God is always good.  Even when bad things happen, God is still good. 

We had a speaker last evening and even though I wasn't expecting this it was great.  And of course I learned a lot.  Virginia, our gracious and wonderful teacher, was acting under God's tutelage.  Our speaker was Pamela Smith and she was awesome.  I have never been around someone who is so capable of keeping her perspective of God so central in her life as she is able to do.  This woman lost one of her sons to the war effort on the other side of the world three months back.  Now I am sure there is still a great deal of sadness at this loss, but Pamela is so positive and she see the goodness of God, rather than the, "oh poor me," attitude that she could have; she is seeing God's glory in her sons life.  I don't think that she realized what a blessing she was to us last evening. 

I think that her goal for us is to make sure that we know who we are in Christ!  And the only way for us to know who we are in Christ, is to spend time in His word and with Him.  And I must confess I do not feel that I spend enough time in His word, at least not as much time as I would like to spend.  I said last night at our gathering that I really need to stop working because I just don't have time to do all that I feel that I should be doing in Christ. 

I get up in the morning at 4:30 and my day starts.  I don't quite know how I am going to handle the next week because after today my husband is off and I have to wake myself up until after Thanksgiving weekend.  Hmmm.  This should be interesting.  Because in order for me to get done in the mornings what I am currently getting done I MUST get up at 4:30.  We will see.  Anyway back to our writing for this morning.

I am also listening to the 700 Club each morning and right now they have started a series on hope.  And it seems that I really like this subject.  We as a people need Hope...not just any hope but the hope that we find in our relationship with God.  Do you ever ask God, "God, teach me whatever You want me to know and teach me in whatever way You deem necessary?"  Hmmm, this could be uncomfortable, but you have to understand, God knows us, and He knows how each of us learns.  So for some of us it may be more uncomfortable to learn something than for others.  But we will learn whatever it is that God wants us to learn.  The most important thing that I think we can learn is that we MUST die to ourselves, in order to live for Christ.  I know I have a long way to go to learn this one thing, and I would ask you to not be cocky, because if you think to yourself, "Oh I have this down," look out!  God will have to teach you that you do not have it down.  Anyway I will ask you again, where is your hope.  Is it in the Lord, or is it in wealth, or is it in food, there are so many places that our hope can be, but only one place where it should be. 

Our God is so good.  Make me into Your image Lord.  Now as God would want us to do, go and be a blessing to someone today and do it as God would have you to do it.