Heart Hope by Olga

Three young men were sitting in front of me in church a few weeks ago. I could tell they were visiting for several reasons. First I know most of the people who are regular in attendance at our services and second, they were swinging and swaying to the praise and worship, highly engaged in singing which is a little unusual for our "regulars." When talking to them I discovered that they were visiting the area for a week of snowboarding, so I was impressed that at their young age they would choose to come to church service instead of going out on the hill on Sunday morning. Not only were they in attendance at church, but they inquired about the men's Thursday morning Bible study, informing me that they would be there too. I concluded that we need more young men like them in our church.  At first thought these young men seemed different than our typical attendees, however as I questioned why, I realized that in our little church there is no typical. We are a d...

Have you ever walked into a room of strangers thinking “What am I doing here” or “Why did I come?” It happened to me recently as I walked into a house full of women I did not know. I was going to hear a friend speak that I met at the She Speaks Conference last summer.   After almost an hour long drive from my home, I arrived in Breckenridge, CO. Walking hesitantly up to the door of a home nestled in the trees I didn’t know what to expect—Would they accept me? Would they be open to my intruding on their retreat? Would I feel uncomfortable with a group of ladies I had never met? Would they be judging me for only attending one session of the retreat? Would I have anyone to talk to or sit with? As I peered through the window I noticed that the ladies were having lunch and were deep in conversation. Should I knock or simply walk in and try not to be noticed? I decided on a light knock and then just opened the door, so that maybe I could enter without being a distraction to the liv...