Heart Hope by Olga

The phone message was from one of the young girls in our church. She needed to talk. The only problem is that I was just making a quick Wal-Mart stop before heading to church to perform my job for the Recalibrate Conference. So my message back to her was she could either meet me at church that evening or we could get together anytime the next night. Now it is confession time-- I had just finished my Quarter Pounder with cheese and was exiting the store, I ran smack dab into the girl who needed to talk. I took that as a direct God intervention to my plans--a Divine appointment. We went back into McDonalds and spent the next hour talking and praying for my young friend. As I sat there, I knew that if God had planned this appointment, He would have someone else who could step in and help with the job that I was supposed to be doing at church. How often do I miss blessings like the one I experienced at Wal-Mart by not listening when God is trying to change my plans? Lord...

The hummingbirds have ceased humming, the bees almost completed their pollination process, and the ground squirrels are scurrying around filling their nests with food for the long winter. Yes change is in the air and the most visible difference is the color everywhere. The contrast of the evergreens and the golden Aspen leaves is stark and beautiful. Fascinated by the change, I have observed that even within the one species of tree, they do not all transform in a consistent manner. One tree may have one golden branch, while the rest of the tree is still green Another tree may have all of the tips of the leaves turning yellow prior to the total change of color. Other Aspen leaves may rebel from being the traditional golden color and instead turn a deep apricot color. One lone yellow tree might be completely surrounded by a forest of green. The way the trees and their leaves change remind me of people and their reactions to change. Some people may allow change i...

It's not every day that we get a lesson on building a fire.  At our Recalibrate Conference  Connie Witt spoke to the room filled with women about the proper way to do just that. No, it was not because winter was coming but because she wanted us to be healthy, rejuvenated and refreshed so that we would be ready to be used by God in the best way that He has planned. Connie explained the principle that a fire cannot burn if the logs are packed too tightly. Instead you want there to be space between the logs so that air can circulate. After all, a fire needs two things to burn fuel and air. Without either one it will be snuffed out. Connie's wonderful illustration was tied to our lives. If we pack too many activities into each day, there is no room for the rest and refreshment that we need to be filled up so that we can burn brightly for the Lord. Are your days crammed with too many activities, too many appointments, even too many good things? If so, then yo...

It had been a particularly exhausting week and I needed some time by myself in order to fill my tank back up. Just God and me, alone in His beautiful creation was exactly what I needed. Breathing in the fresh air and walking the path lined with brightly colored summer wildflowers I was already beginning to feel refreshed. Knowing that the flowers would soon be gone, I leaned over to take a few pictures to keep as a reminder of summer during the long winter months quickly approaching. I was startled to hear a voice shouting at me, "You can't take pictures."  As I surveyed the landscape I didn't see anyone, but when I looked up I discovered a lift maintenance crew making summer repairs high above the mountainous terrain. The commentator laughed as I replied that he should be glad that I hadn't climbed a previous pole in order to get a picture of the whole field of flowers as I had considered. I had only thought that I was alone, but the eyes of stra...

Griffin is going through a stage; he pulls a suitcase everywhere he goes. It’s a pretty little pink suitcase that belongs to his sister Molly and doesn’t have anything in it; consequently it’s pretty hard to understand why it is so important for him to carry it. The suitcase is really a burden to him and others—to drag it, to remember it and lug it in and out of the car and house. I feel certain that this is just a passing fancy for a two year old, but there are many adults who do something similar with their baggage from the past. They pick up their bag everyday, afraid to leave it behind. I’m not so sure why they do it, except that it has become a habit and habits are hard to break. The bag might be filled with the hurtful words other people have spoken to them that they just can’t seem to get over. Or it could be filled with the memories of painful events that haunt their memory. And it may be filled with losses of people, relationships or even innocence. You name i...