Heart Hope by Olga

A friend of mine recently traveled to Mexico and came back with an unpleasant gift—“tourista”—better known as diarrhea. The sickness was probably acquired by drinking a soft drink with ice. It sounds harmless, but the effect on the body is terrible.  Why do travelers to other countries end up sick from eating and drinking when citizens of that country are not affected by it at all? The natives have become resistant to the harmful bacteria since they ingest it daily, but our immune systems cannot handle the influx of microorganisms.  Since we are citizens of another place--Heaven, there are certain places that we should not go and partake of the “food,” since it can be harmful to us. The food could be seen as the sinful activities of this world which may seem harmless when we first consider participating in them, but afterwards we see clearly that they have had an adverse effect on us.  If we choose to keep going back to the harmful things eventually we will become i...

Billy was taking care of the kids for the weekend, so that Margaret could go and visit one of her friends who had just had a baby. Billy is a great dad who loves his kids and they adore him, but are also used to having their mother around at bedtime. Apparently Molly was upset and wanted her mother to put her to bed. What was Billy to do? He got creative and gave Molly a picture of Margaret and let her sleep with it during the weekend until her mother returned.  Aren’t we a little like Molly? Now I may not need my mother at bedtime, but I certainly want my Father—my Heavenly Father that is. Whenever going to bed, I want to snuggle into the arms of God and talk to Him about the day. It is a part of my day when I feel safe and secure. I don’t need a picture as a reminder of Him since I know He is there. I can rest in the assurance of His presence even though I can’t see Him, because His Word tells me that He will never leave me.  Do you feel secure with your Father? What ca...

This week I sat around the table with a group of ladies, planning the second Christian Women’s Network of the Vail Valley. It will be a Priscilla Shirer Simulcast that is hosted by The Vail Church.  As we gathered around the table, I saw a diverse group of women. Some married; some single. Some older; some younger. Some wealthy; some not so affluent. Some struggling; some secure. The one common bond that we all have is that we love the Lord and we desire to do His will. In putting together an event of this magnitude it takes an army of people with varying skills and talents. At times like this I am appreciative of the way God distributes different gifts to each of us. We have our prayer warriors and our organizers. We have our techies and our encouragers. We have those with the gift of hospitality who want everything to look special and inviting.  If God had made us all just alike, nothing would be accomplished. We need each other. The quiet behind the scenes person is ofte...

If you have ever attended a Women of Faith Conference you know that there are thousands of women that converge in one place for two days of singing, laughter, tears, fellowship and teaching. Our church decided that instead of having a separate retreat, we would join the other women from Colorado and the region at the Pepsi Center in Denver. After investigating the best prices for the tickets and the seating arrangements it was determined that we needed to be part of a “group.” Since we didn’t want to have to purchase 50 tickets, we decided to join with a group in Denver who had extra tickets. Kris Clay, whom I met briefly on one occasion, was my contact for the six months prior to the conference as our group leader.  On the first day of the conference we arrived early anticipating the huge onslaught of women who would be picking up their tickets. In line with hundreds of other women who had the same mission I began to wonder how I would ever find Kris. Would I even recognize he...

This is such an easy entree, it can be made when camping out.  1  cup  chopped orange sections 1/2  cup  orange juice 1/4  cup  chopped green onions 1/4  cup  low-sodium soy sauce 3  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice 2  tablespoons  olive oil 1  tablespoon  honey 2  teaspoons  grated peeled fresh ginger 1  teaspoon  ground coriander seeds 1 1/2  pounds  chicken breast tenders 8  cups  cooked rotini (about 1 pound uncooked corkscrew pasta) Combine first 9 ingredients in a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Place chicken in sealed plastic bag with marinate for about 3 hours. Add the chicken mixture to a skillet, and cook 15 minutes. Add cooked pasta, and simmer 5 minutes or until the chicken is done and the pasta is thoroughly heated. Serves 6. www.hearthope.org

St. Luke's Presbyterian Hospital Portals of Prayer by Wendy Satsky When I see a public chapel I have a hard time passing by without going in for a visit. It doesn’t matter if it is a hospital, an airport or even a cruise ship, I will take the time to check out the environment and spend a bit of time with God.  Chapels can be very diverse. Some are more formal, while others are casual. Some have rows of chairs, others benches. Some have stained glass, and others exhibit paintings. Some are inviting, while others aren’t. I realize that we must recognize all religions, since in this country we have freedom of religion, but I have noticed in some of the chapels, they have worked so hard to be inclusive of other beliefs that they have omitted references to Christianity all together.  They may have a Koran displayed and ready for reading and have the correct position for prayer for Muslims, but not a cross to be found or a copy of the Bible to be read. Do you see anything wrong...

The construction on the roads is finally over….at least for now. There were months of delays and rerouting, stopping and starting, waiting and watching, but the first batch of round-a-bouts in Edwards is finished until spring arrives in the Valley.   During the construction there was every type of dirt mover possible working on the roads. First there were diggers and scrapers, there were movers and shakers, and there were rollers and lifters. Now I am quiet sure that each of these machines have a technical name, such as excavators and backhoes, which my grandson would probably be able to name, but as for me, I just recognize them for what they do.  You are probably wondering where in the world I am going with this blog, but hang in there because I do have a purpose. Just as these pieces of equipment were needed to make the road ready for us to use, in ancient times, there were people who went ahead of the kings to take out the boulders and fill the potholes before the ro...