Heart Hope by Olga

Living in my small little cocoon of a village, I sometimes don’t know what is going on in the world of fashion. I have to depend on my friends, family and visitors to the area to keep me informed along with the girls on 9 News. I had been noticing that the adorable young newscasters in the mornings were wearing cute, but really large necklaces, so I determined that they must be in style. Due to my observation, on a recent trip to Houston I told my daughter Margaret that I wanted a new big necklace. She asked me if I was talking about a “statement necklace” and I assumed it was.  The hunt was on for one of the popular pieces of costume jewelry until the perfect one was found, but I was haunted by the term statement necklace, so I began my quest to find out more about what it meant. I found the definition to be: a necklace that is worn to convey a message. It may tell something about the wearer, such as an attitude, a lifestyle or an image. Most of them are bulky, unusual and ar...

Anne Graham Lotz, chairman of the National Day of Prayer and daughter of Billy Graham, feels an urgency for Christians in this country and around the world to pray . So I hope you will join me and thousands of others in praying.   Pray! in the 7 th  month, July Pray! on each of the first 7 days of July Pray! and fast on July 7th for 7 hours (of your choosing)   The Purpose: For God the Father to restrain, protect, and deliver His people from the evil that has come into our world. For God the Son to be exalted, magnified, and glorified in His church, in our nation, and in our lives. For God the Holy Spirit to fall on us in a fresh way, compelling the church to repent of sin and our nation to return to faith in the living God, resulting in a great national spiritual awakening. 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways...

It was game night with the young girls’ small group, but I almost ruined the whole thing. There was good food to get the party started. The opening discussion revolved around the upcoming mission trip to Angola that three of the girls will be participating in. And then it started...the game playing. We decided on Apples to Apples since it didn't take too much explanation or even skills. One of the young women was winning and we were trying to prevent her from getting any more cards. In my opinion the girls were all being way too nice to each other so I thought I needed to stir things up a bit, but I was wrong. The card drawn was: Hard and Fast. Each of the girls placed their cards face down. As I turned each one over, I started commenting on their selections. First was Planting a Tree. I announced harshly that it was lame. The girl who had thrown the card got her feelings hurt and began explaining that planting a tree can be a very difficult task, but with skill it ...

I must admit, I was having a pity party about the yard that I left behind when we sold our house a few months ago.  It’s not that my garden was that large or beautiful, but I had planted a lot of perennials that came up each spring and was longing for them, but it didn’t take long for God to shake me and show me how silly I was being.  It took me back many years to when my parents were moving from Mississippi to Iowa. Mother was having one of those days, questioning the decision that they had made to follow Daddy’s career to the Midwestern area of the country. Mother was discussing the move with our beloved housekeeper, Sallie and expressing some of her concerns.  “They won’t have gardenias, or magnolias or azaleas,” my mother protested. And then Sallie, wise beyond her educational level, replied by saying, “Don’t you worry none about that; they may have something better.” And she was right…that’s when mother discovered her love of peonies, lilac,...

When is the last time you were called the face of evil? It hasn't been that long since it happened to me. You might be wondering what I did to have that description attached to me. Well, I was only doing my job. When you Google the phrase "the face of evil" you come up with some interesting and quite scary images. Everything from satanic looking faces to horror movies to modern day serial killers was posted, none of which I thought bore my resemblance or at least I hope not. So if my looks weren't the reason for the comment, what actions would have deserved that term? After all, as a child of God I am viewed as a righteous saint even if I don't always live up to the description that God gives me. And I do try to live my life in a way that pleases God and is kind to others. So what had I done that was so evil? I was the middle man and the buffer for others in our company that request comp or discounted rooms at our hotels. It doesn't sound so bad, but ...

The beautiful Beaver Creek Chapel with its setting nestled in the woods beside the rushing river is an ideal place for quiet reflection. Many events have been attended there since moving to the Vail Valley ten years ago—weddings, memorial services and concerts. However now that I live just 2 blocks from the quaint chapel, I sometimes just go for a short get-away.  One recent evening my friend Deb and I had been on a walk through the area, but wanted to have some prayer time together, so I suggested the chapel. The door was unlocked, so we were in luck. We sat in the quiet peaceful auditorium and discussed our prayer needs and then began praying, but there was a distraction. Thud…thud…thud over and over again. Although engrossed in prayer I couldn’t help but wonder who or what was knocking on the window. Was it time to lock the building up and this was a gentle way of getting our attention? Was it someone we knew hoping to see why we were visiting the chapel? As we ...