Heart Hope by Olga

It was to be the event of the season...the wedding of a young woman that I am close to was taking place. The event was special because the young couple is loved by many people in our community and in their hometown communities and God had brought them together.  My desire was to preserve the memories of the evening by taking lots of pictures, so I took the battery out of my camera in order to have it fully charged. However in my haste to get to the church to participate in all of the fun of getting the bride and her attendants dressed, picking up treats as bribes for the little children participants and reviewing all of the things I was to do during the day to make things run smoothly, I left my house without the battery. I had the camera, but the battery was still on the charger. The instrument was there to do its job, but without the source of energy, it was useless.  That camera is like our lives… we can show up, but if we don’t have the source of power that gives joy we...

Yesterday as a co-worker passed my desk, he said with a grin, “There she goes again, doing what she does best…smiling.” It was a simple statement that could be taken in several different ways. I could have assumed the negative, and thought to myself, “I must not be very good job at my work if smiling is the best thing I do.” The conversation in my head could have continued with, “You mean my spreadsheets are not my strength? The way I handle an unhappy guest is not my strong suit? My ability to multitask is not an asset to the department?” And on and on I could go. However, I have learned an important lesson in life and that is to always assume the best. Whether it is a word spoken or an action toward me, I try to look at it from the best perspective possible. Now I really do think that my co-worker meant his statement as a compliment, but even if he hadn’t, my life would be better off assuming that was his purpose.  I try to smile often because it makes me feel better and...

A couple of weeks ago, I was having kind of a down week. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it was the weather, or things going on at work or perhaps it was because I was tired from the 10 days spent with grandchildren or even the let down feeling from the trip being over. What ever the cause didn’t really matter, but the interesting thing about the situation was that the topic of my next speaking engagement is “Finding Joy in Your Journey” and here I was not feeling much joy. I even had a post it stuck on my computer that said—“Our contagious joy should be the distinguishing factor in the life of a follower of Christ.” I laughed to myself as I walked down the hall at work…I’m going to be telling others how to find joy when I’m having a bit of trouble with it myself. At that point God brought to mind the passage that I had been reading the previous morning—Ephesians 1:3-14. It speaks of all of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ.  A picture formed in my mind that at the time...

When you hear all of the things that 85 year old Mrs. Nathan has been through, you will probably feel sorry for her. One tragedy after another has plagued her life, starting thirty years ago, when she was burned on over 80% of her body by a grease fire that exploded in her kitchen. It almost completely destroyed her hands, actually fusing the fingers together. Because of the acute burning, Mrs. Nathan has had over 53 surgeries to try to correct the damage to her body. That alone would make most people want to give up on life; however this fighting lady has also suffered three strokes and three heart attacks which led to her having a pacemaker implanted to regulate her heart. She has a spot on her liver that they have not been able to determine what it is. Oh and by the way, I think I forgot to mention that she also lost an eye and will be undergoing hip surgery in the near future. If that is not enough, she has lived for the last 22 years in a 500 square foot government assisted housin...

Yesterday I left my house in anticipation of accomplishing another thing on my Bucket List—dog sledding. I recently added one more state in my quest to visit all 50 of them. And last year I was able to check off zip-lining in Costa Rica, so it seems I am narrowing down the list. Upon arriving at Four Eagle Ranch for Beast Feast, an event sponsored by the Vail Valley Men’s Fraternity, I was delighted to find an array of delicacies prepared using wild game. Everything from elk, boar and bear were prepared in a variety of ways to tempt. All of the teams were winners in my eyes, but there was one disappointment--the dog sledding had been canceled due to the adverse weather conditions.   What I began to realize is that all of the things on my Bucket List are all about me and what I want to do or accomplish before I die. Do you see anything wrong with this? After all I am entitled to do whatever I want to do as long as it is not illegal or immoral--right? Well I have come to the conclu...