Heart Hope by Olga

One of my favorite things is spending time with the grand kids. Will the oldest is so bright and has wonderful questions about anything and everything, learning all the time. Molly, the only girl in the bunch is so much like her mother, with a love of people and a kind and gentle manner. Griffin is the adventurous one, athletic and always taking in life. Thomas is a little too young to see what makes him tick, but already we can tell that he loves the outdoors. This time of year, it is fabulous to be outside, so Lynn and I have been taking Thomas on hikes in the beautiful and colorful Rocky Mountains. Due to his size, we share the duties of carrying him in the BabyBjorn. The twenty something pounds might not seem too hard to carry, but when you do it for several miles, it can tug on your shoulders, making you weary. Thomas is a pleasure to carry even if he can get heavy, because of the excitement that he shows, by kicking his legs and cooing as we move along. I don’t want to...

It was shaping up to be a memorable day. The car was packed with kids and adults. The sun was shining. Anticipation was high for the exciting day at the Breckenridge Fun Park. Last year it had been dubbed "The Best Day Ever." Would this one be able to meet or even exceed the expectation? First stop would be the Alpine Slide. It is a fiberglass track where you have a plastic sled which takes you down the mountain through a series of twists and turns. My grandson, Will tends to be a bit competitive to say the least. He wants to be the first, the best, the biggest...you've got the picture, so riding the chairlift to the top, he devised a plan. We would race down the track and in order to win he would need my help, actually my weight. Aunt LaLa and Molly would ride on one sled and he and I would be on the other. Weight alone would allow us to win in his mind. He was able to persuade me to go along with his plan even though I really didn't think it was a very g...

A cool walk along the river makes the afternoon at work much easier to endure. It refreshes the body mind and soul. It usually is pretty standard with a couple of walkers, maybe a biker and an occasional fisherman, but today I found evidence. Now evidence can be ordinary like the golden leaves as evidence of the fast approaching winter or as exciting as the sound of the mountain lion in the night informing us of the visitor outside our window. However the evidence that I observed on the ground beneath the bench seemed out of place. White with red tipped rose petals were scattered about on the bank of the river. I announced to the passing walker, “It looks like evidence to me, evidence of a proposal.” She responded by saying, “You’re right it does look like evidence.” Every court of law requires evidence to prove a case. It is weighed, discussed, and determined correct or not. That's what ultimately determines the outcome of the case. As Christians our lives too m...

Proficient--competent or skilled in using something or doing something Do you feel proficient? According to the definition above, I don't feel that I am very proficient, but according to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that is exactly what God expects of His children. That's why He has given us His word...to teach us, reproof, correct and train is to be righteous. In order to do those things, we have to actually open our Bibles, read them and allow them to speak to us. It takes hard work to become proficient at playing a musical instrument and diligent practice to develop the skills necessary to play a sport and a years of training to master a foreign language. So how can we expect to be proficient in living the life that God desires for us if we only get one hour's worth of training each week? That equals out to be one out of 168 hours we have each week. How many hours do you spend watching TV, reading, at the gym, shopping or participating in any other activity that you en...

Some children are just naturally funny. Griffin is one of those; he cracks me up. One morning on his recent visit to Colorado he appeared in our bedroom with bedhead and four pacifiers in his mouth...four. Most mouths are not big enough for two, but he was able to fit all four into his, including a girlie pink one. The question became why? Why would he want or need four? He sleeps with all of them each night using them one at a time exchanging them out. When one gets too hot or too wet or too something else, he pulls it out and goes on to the next one. It was complicated to me...one would have been much easier to keep up with and to manage, but what do I know? Our world has become too complicated also. We have excess everything in this country. We have too many gadgets, too many clothes, too many TVs, too many cars, too many bedrooms, too many ________ (you fill in the blank). All of these “things” distract us from enjoying the most important things people, relationships, ...

Walking across the Tarmac at our small airport and glancing up at the plane, I spotted the pilot in the tip of the cockpit. He looked awfully small to be able to maneuver the large plane across the country. I have never been able to understand the dynamics of how a plane can become airborne and stay in the sky going to a particular destination without complications or danger, yet I still choose to put my trust in someone I don't know and in an object that I don't understand to take me to my destination. Millions of people do the same thing each and every day. Many of these same trusting people refuse another important area of trust. They refuse to trust the Creator of this wonderfully amazing universe where we live. They refuse to believe that there is a God who cares about our lives. And they refuse to trust that God has a perfect plan for their lives. How can we trust a stranger and yet not trust the Master of the universe? Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the ...