Heart Hope by Olga

A cross-stitched poem adorns my wall this time of year. It’s a pretty common saying so you might have heard it before: What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring Him my lamb. If I were a wise man I would do my part. Yet what can I give Him? I’ll give Him my heart. The poem by Christina Rossetti is a beautiful statement of what God expects from us. It implies that no matter how much or how little we have isn’t really that important. After all, no matter how much money we have we are still poor in comparison to God riches and we really have little that is worth anything to Him.  A shepherd would only be able to bring a little lamb and the wise men couldn’t do much better, but there is one thing that we can all bring…our hearts. That’s really all that God wants anyway because if we give Him our hearts, He will also get our lives and our obedience to use for His good and His glory. Money and possessions don’t really ...

The times were a lot like today, the situation was bleak with plenty of bad news. There was political unrest… there were financial troubles… the economy was in the tank… military conflicts were threatening… there was moral decay among leaders and a taxation crisis was looming on the horizon. Does that sound familiar? That’s exactly what was going on over two thousand years ago at the time of Jesus’ birth. Yet it sounds like it could describe what was going on in the world right now. It was a time in history that needed some good news, just as we do too. It was the exact moment that God chose to send a gift, not just any gift, but an indescribable gift according to 2 Corinthians 9:15. The gift that God sent to the world that dark night could not be adequately described; it was too extraordinary for words. It was beyond comprehension.  The gift was baby Jesus. The good news proclaimed by the Lord’s angel announced that a Savior had been born. At a bleak time in...

Decking the halls makes me dizzy, Fa la la la la, la la la la. For Tis the season to be busy, Fa la la la la, la la la la. Being busy, dizzy and in a tizzy can be more fitting this time of year than being jolly. We get caught up in all of the preparations of decorating and baking, shopping and wrapping, partying and eating, all the while losing sight of the most significant part of the season. We are so busy with the gift giving part that we fail to give the gift of time to those we love. We are too busy racing from here to there that we don’t really enjoy the people in our lives. And we are so busy making preparations that we often lose sight of the baby in all of the hustle and bustle. We don’t take the time to reflect on the real reason for the celebration. Think about it...Jesus, God’s Son, left heaven to come to earth as a baby, yet we ignore that most important fact and don’t even take time to worship the baby. There is one person that I know who seems to have...

A couple of years ago, my grandson Will was given a small toy called a Bakugan. It was similar to a transformer since it starts out in a simple shape such as a sphere, triangle or cubes, but explodes opening into battle like creatures. He was super excited because his best friend, Elliot‘s older brother had a large collection and so Will thought they were “cool.”  Immediately upon tearing into the package he tried desperately to get the small round object to pop open but with no success. He brought it to me for assistance, because usually I’m pretty good at solving spatial challenges. I pushed and pulled and poked and prodded, but no success. I then took more serious measures, by inserting sharp objects and finally managed to pry the toy open. It seemed that there should be an easier way, if they were made for children.  Later we discovered that in the heap of packaging there was a solution for getting them open. It was quite simple. You basically placed the obj...

If you have little ones in your life you have most likely heard of the book Elf on a Shelf . It describes how the elf in the house is watching the children for Santa so that he can provide a naughty and nice report. He moves from place to place and room to room so that he can supply a comprehensive list to the jolly old man about the behavior of the children. The elf is not the only one who is watching our conduct. God doesn't need to send out His helpers to see what we are doing. He already knows it; in fact He’s not just acquainted with our actions but our thoughts. This should make a difference in the way we live, but does it? Just because my grandchildren might think that an elf is watching their every move during the holiday season, it doesn't always affect their choices. Neither does the fact that God is watching me always influence my actions and reactions. What does this say about me? Does it say I really don't believe that an almighty, all powerful ...