Heart Hope by Olga

  When you pray for divine appointments it's always interesting to see where God leads. This evening the appointment was in the form of a cab driver named Freddie. The taxi had been called to pick me up at 8:15 PM at the mega church where I was attending the Catalyst West conference. It meant I had to leave before the speaker was over and was disappointed, but I couldn't delay the cab driver.  However when 8:30 PM rolled around and I was standing on the corner waiting for him I must admit I was a bit miffed and called the cab company to see when he would arrive. Apparently my cab had come and gone with another passenger and just I'll bet their name was not Olga (that was the name on the reservation). That meant that not only did I miss a good portion of the speaker I really wanted to hear, but I now had to wait another 20 minutes for another cab to be dispatched.  What was God trying to teach me now? The conference theme was Be Present but I really didn't want to be ...

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the Catalyst West Conference in Southern California. It had some of the most dynamic speakers during the three days of session, so I have compiled my favorite quotes to share with you all. If you need to know the context or want more information just contact me and I'll give you more details. Also if you are in the Dallas area they have another conference there May 9-11. I highly recommend attending. Andy Stanley - Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone. If you aren't having a meaningful conversation you probably are not asking the right questions. Nancy Duarte - Christians should do it better because we have an intercessor-Jesus. Movements always start with spoken words.  Chris Groeschel - If you are not dead you are not done. Embrace the season you are in. Respect is earned honor is given. Don't think so small. Tony Hawk - Many people quit right before "their moment." You must go through failures to h...

How do you see other people? Do you see them are they really are or are you ever mistaken about them? After meeting someone for the first time do you sometimes try to figure out who they really are? If you know someone very well you probably can get very descriptive in characterizing who they are to someone else. What we are really doing is putting together a portrait of who they are in our minds. If someone else also knows them in a different way, they might describe them in an entirely different manner.  My grandson Will drew a portrait of me; you can see it to the right of this page. After viewing it, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or be flattered or depressed with what he had drawn. (I think it makes me look a lot like a scarecrow…don’t you?)  As you can see I don't look very beautiful, but my grandson was quick to point out several reasons why it looked like me. First there was a smile on my face, second I had on a large necklace and finally I have long fingers. ...

It’s already wildfire season in Colorado and it appears that this just might be a prolific year for them due to the small amount of snow pack this winter. We had our first major fire a couple of weeks ago which burned 6 square miles and claimed three lives.  Having lived in the Boulder area for three years, we have been close to a few fires and have known people affected by them. Residents of areas that are at high risk for the wildfires have been told to determine ahead of time what to take if they were ever to receive the dreaded call to evacuate their home. We are all familiar with calling 9-1-1 if you have an emergency situation and need assistance; however you might not be as familiar with a reverse 9-1-1 call. That’s when you get a phone call from officials telling you that there is an emergency in your area such as a fire that requires you to leave your home immediately.  Friends have told me that they have every inch of space in their car planned perfectly so as to s...

It seems this week that God has been impressing upon my heart that it’s not about how long I live, or the type of job I have, or where I live or what I possess that is important to Him, but whether or not I live life well in His eyes. Charles Stanley on his TV program this morning spoke about the element of discipline in our lives and how each of us should have self control over many areas including eating and exercise, because it will produce an orderly, efficient life. His challenge to each of the Christian listeners was that we should incorporate two things into our lives every day—spending time reading our Bibles and making time for prayer. He said that if we do those two things our lives will have more impact and deeper meaning. Then at church this morning, Pastor Nick talked about how often times we just go through life without really living it. We go through the motions, but aren’t participating in it. He encouraged the congregation to pursue people and to pursue God so that w...

Easter afternoon…hundreds of eggs… lots of candy…six children waiting patiently…two adults hiding eggs when suddenly my friend Paula spotted the two faces peering down from the balcony. Two children longing to belong to the fun and festivities of the afternoon and Paula was supernaturally drawn to them by God. And then she did the unexpected; she invited them to come and hunt the eggs with the other children. Her cousin was astounded by the invitation, but the children were ecstatic as they ran to ask their parents if they could participate. The parents exited the apartment a bit apprehensive, and apologetic. Yes, the children could hunt the eggs, but they would have to use plastic grocery store bags since they didn’t have Easter baskets. Compassion engulfed Paula as she quickly informed the assembled group that the fun would take place in 30 minutes. Her cousin objected, but Paula managed to quiet and inform her to get in the car. Why? Where? What? They were going to go to Walgree...

It’s called “Good Friday.” Doesn’t that seem like a discrepancy to Christians? On a day that brought so much pain and suffering to the man who lived a perfect life, why would it be a good day? In the days just prior to that fateful Friday, Jesus had been hailed as a king riding triumphantly into Jerusalem. During that week He loved … taught … served… prayed … and then was arrested. On that day that we call “good” Jesus was betrayed … tried … beaten … mocked … and then crucified on a cross. What makes that a “good” Friday? A good Friday in our minds is when the work week is over and the weekend begins. We may have special things planned or nothing at all, but we always look forward to the end of the week. On that historic Friday, I don’t think Jesus was feeling like it was a good day. His disciples probably weren’t feeling very good about the day either; after all they had scattered and lied about even knowing who Jesus was. His other followers may have watched with agony as the ma...

While visiting eleven year old Marilyn in the hospital recently, memories from my teenage years flooded to mind. Upon entering her room, beautiful Marilyn was reclining in the bed, using a breathing machine for her pneumonia. She was surrounded by family and had declared that she was bored and wanted to go home. Going back over 40 years, I could place myself in a hospital bed where I laid for a month. My circumstances where different in that I had been in a car accident during the summer, just weeks before entering high school. My head hit the windshield and was cut up pretty bad…my forehead, my eye and even my chin all required many stitches by a plastic surgeon, but the major issues were the internal injuries sustained--holes made in my inside throat from hitting the dashboard. Like Marilyn, I also had to use one of those breathing machines to rid my lungs of the congestion that had collected in them from the accident. And I too can recall the doctor in the doorway entering my r...

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week in the Christian faith. It is celebrated the Sunday before Easter and represents the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. In that day kings rode donkeys in time of peace and horse in times of war, so Jesus was coming as the Prince of Peace. As He rode into the town, they people were rejoicing over the arrival of Jesus. They were spreading their own garments along the road and cutting branches from the trees to lay down in honor of His coming, treating Him as royalty. They were singing and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Hosanna means save us. They probably had no idea that they were really prophesying about the purpose of His coming, they simply hoped He was going to save them from the Roman government.  The Pharisees didn’t like what they saw and heard, and actually told Jesus to rebuke His disciples for their praise of Him to which Jesus replied, “...