Heart Hope by Olga

A good storyteller is a person with a good memory and hopes other people haven't. Irvin S. Cobb It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story. Native American saying I love to hear a good storyteller. It fascinates me to see how they can embellish it and transform the tale each time they tell it so that it fits their current situation. My mother is one of those people and on occasion when she is telling a story, I will think to myself, “Who is she talking about?” and then I realize that it is about me or someone else in my family, but she has transformed the story to be bigger, better and much more elaborate than when it actually happened. Another friend who likes to tell stories often does it to recall fun past experiences, but can get the details skewed a bit so that it might take several people to help get the story straight. Part of the fun of listening to him tell the story is the input from the crowd in assisting putting the pieces together, since most people hav...

This moist and yummy recipe is from my sister Ginny, but like most good recipes they have passed through multiple hands along the way. Apparently Ginny got it from Gannon Hayes’ Grandmother. 1 package Better Crocker yellow cake mix 3 eggs 1 ½ to 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 bananas) 1 cup sour cream 1/3 cup oil Mix the above ingredients 2 minutes with a mixer.   Pour into 2 cake pans or in a 13” x 9” pan.   Spray bottom of pan with cooking spray.   Bake at 350 degrees:   13 x 9 for about 40 minutes; 2 cake pans about 30 minutes.   Cool. Frosting 1 8-ounce cream cheese ½ cup butter (1 stick) 1- 16 oz box of powdered sugar 1 c walnut pieces Mix with mixer.   Spread over cooled cake.   Refrigerate. www.hearthope.org

My grandson called me this morning to wish me a Happy Easter and also to let me know that he had found an Easter egg that he wanted to give to me. I questioned him on why he wanted to give it to me and he announced it was because it had a cross on it and he knew that I would like it and you know he was right. I like the fact that the Easter bunny had brought eggs that represented what the holiday is really about and I like the fact that my grandson wanted to give me one of the prized possessions that he had so eagerly hunted, but the thing I like most is that my grandson associates Jesus with me.  Lord help me to be a woman of influence in the lives of my grandchildren and not just within my family, but to many in the next generation. Help me to open my mouth and tell others about Jesus, but more importantly, help me to live a life that is a worthy example to others of Your sinless life. I hope you have had a blessed Easter. For what I received I passed on to you as of first...

I wear a cross around my neck frequently…you might too, but why do you do it?  A friend of mine said that one day when she was wearing a cross a co-worker asked, “Why do you wear that cross?” He was actually on a mission to find out if she was just wearing it because she liked it or if she wore it because of what Jesus had done for her on the cross of Calvary. There are many people today who wear crosses of various styles, shapes and colors because they are a fashion statement, not because of the symbolic meaning.  The cross is a vital part of the Christian faith, because it represents the suffering that sinless Christ went through because of His love for us. However I wonder if it is the most appropriate symbol of our faith. If Jesus had died for our sins, but had not conquered the grave, His mission would not have been completed. So my question is why don’t we wear an empty tomb around our necks, which would symbolize the death and the resurrection? “Praise be to the God...

The week started with a celebration; Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey. People were so excited that they took off their cloaks and laid them on the road along with branches so that He could pass in honor. They even shouted praises of “Hosanna” to Him which means save in Hebrew and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” The entire city was stirred wondering who this man was that deserved such acclaim, but within a week He had been killed. What went wrong? How could God have allowed this to happen? In reality God had His perfect plan in place and this included the cruel murder of His Son. In fact it was the very reason that Jesus left His home in heaven and gave up His rights as God. He knew that He was coming to pay for my sins and it would involve some horrific experiences. On the last night of His life, Jesus shared a meal with His twelve best friends and told them how they would celebrate His life in the future—the bread was His body broken for us ...

Anna Fink shared this recipe when she stayed at our house while on a ski vacation. It is easy and can be made ahead for a breakfast treat. 3 c old fashioned oats 1 c brown sugar 2 t cinnamon 2 t baking powder 1 t salt 1 c milk 2 eggs 1 stick melted butter (I used less) 2 t vanilla 3/4 c craisins, raisins or any type of dried fruit mixture Mix all ingredients then pour into greased 9x9 baking dish. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Leftovers are delicious heated in the microwave. www.hearthope.org

You all know the drill—you get on the airplane with a bunch of other people all trying to find a spot for their luggage. Many people have bags that are crammed too full and have way more “stuff” than they are permitted to carry on. The first people on the plane get the prime spaces for their carry-on bags while the ones in the later boarding groups are left to scramble to locate a spot for their luggage.  Seated with my luggage stowed under the seat in front of me, I observed a woman with a large suitcase looking for overhead space to put her bag. She found a spot that was plenty big enough except that is had a small bag in it. She was attempting to move the smaller bag into a space that would accommodate it when the man seated in the row behind me bellowed, “That is not your bag to move.” The passenger was bewildered by the gruff, unkind comment until other passengers jumped in to help her find a place to stow her bag.  What difference would it have made if the bag had ...

My son-in-law’s grandmother died about this time last year. She had been sick for a time and had even expressed that she was ready for Jesus to take her home. Then she had a sudden turn for the worse and had to be air lifted to a hospital some distance from her home. While in the hospital, she was non-responsive for days, but at one particular time she seemed agitated and her daughters and a nurse on duty were trying to determine what might help calm her down when they saw her rosary beads on the bedside table. One of her daughters put them into her hands and immediately she began caressing the beads and they knew that she was saying the rosary. Once she had gone through each of the beads, she held the cross in her hand and kissed it. Amazing—isn’t it!   We do not know what happens in the mind of people when they are suspended between this earth and the next life, but to me this story shows that what is most important to you when you are alive is what can bring you the most com...