Heart Hope by Olga

A fun fact for the week in our company newsletter said: Rats multiply so quickly that in 19 months, two rats could have over a million descendants. I don’t know the source or even what it has to do with my company, but assuming it is true, that’s a whole lot of babies and if it’s not true, I still believe that a pair of rats can have hundreds of offspring in a short period of time. Rats reproduce profusely. On the internet I have read that the record for human reproduction in a lifetime is 69 children to one woman which includes many twins, triplets and quintuplets to get to that number. Now that seems like a bunch of children even though it pales in comparison to the rat family’s offspring.  Have you ever stopped to think about reproduction of Christians coming to faith (not by the number of children they have, but how many actually come into the family of God)? How fast do they reproduce? How do they reproduce? Are they actually reproducing? My friend who lives in China and at

The word violent has a negative connotation to me, because it reminds me of the news and all of the awful things that they report each day. Domestic violence in the home which destroys children, families and marriages Violent weather including hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, typhoons and the like Violent crimes of rape, murder, armed robbery, bombings, etc. International violence with threats of war and thousands of lives lost None of these things are positive, but are vicious, harmful and ruin lives. Not a one of them would be pleasing to God and His best plan for the world. So I was quite surprised when I read that in order to have a more intimate personal time with God we should pursue God violently.  Hmmmm…. I went to a Yahoo search for more insights. Violent Definition (adjective) Marked by, acting with, or resulting from great force   Having a showing of great emotional force Marked by intensity; extreme Using that definition it makes perfect

The texts and emails looked like these: “Sending love and prayers” “Keeping Lynn and you all in our prayers. Big hugs.” “Praying sweet friend…2 Chronicles 16:9 The eyes of the Lord search the whole world over to strengthen the hearts of those fully committed to Him.” “We are praying fervently for this.” “Praying.” “We have you in our thoughts and prayers.” “Been praying for you and family without ceasing! Love you.” “JPFY”—code for “Just prayed for you” These and many more were flooding in as the emergency happened last week. People from all over the country were on their knees taking Lynn before the throne of God.  We welcomed each and every one of the prayers and knew that we were blessed beyond measure to have the hundreds of people who cared enough to speak to God on our behalf. It made me start thinking about prayer as a spiritual gift. Although it is never mentioned in the lists of spiritual gifts along with things such as te

The dreaded question—which is better a or b, b or c? I had my annual eye doctor appointment last week and when he asked me to determine which lens was better than the other it was confusing. Sometimes I felt like he was trying to trick me, although I know he was really trying to get the best and clearest vision for me. It can be challenging to determine which is the best when it is ever so slight. It can be complicated to have not only clear physical vision, but spiritual and mental clarity too. A friend recently asked me to pray for her to be able to discern the truth from lies in her counseling sessions. What a brilliant idea! What she really wanted was to have clear vision in a situation where it could be a little fuzzy and gray. She wants to be able to see God, His Word and His truth accurately and to be able to live her life by it. Often we simply accept what the world has to say and don’t take the time to check to see if it is the right lens. It might be close to bei

Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change.  For those of us who have grown up in the church, baptism can have different memories. Some were baptized as an infant, others were sprinkled when they joined the church, while still others feel that baptism should only be done as a dunking when someone professes faith in Jesus. I recently had the privilege of baptizing a friend who I have been mentoring for years. She was only in town for a few days and she had wanted to have it done for months. None of the pastors were available, so I got permission from the church leadership to do it myself and due to my position on the Women’s Ministry Team they were supportive. Since I know this person, her heart and her love for the Lord, she didn’t have to go through the required class. As we stepped into the water I asked 3 questions: Do you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Do you proclaim that His blood alone pays the penalty for your sins? Do you tu