Heart Hope by Olga

In the movie In Time every person has a digital clock on their arm which tells how much time they have left to live. At birth they are given 25 years of time, if they never add any more time to their clocks they die at that time. Time is used as money so when people go to work they are given time on their clocks and for every thing that they purchase, time is taken away. The rich have hundreds of years while the poor live only one day at a time. The catch is that no matter how long you live your body never ages past 25. It is revealed in the story that the rich don’t really live their lives because they are afraid of dying and the poor are constantly running from place to place in order to try to stay alive. The movie was thought provoking for me because in reality time is valuable; yet some of us are not aware of that until it is too late. None of us knows the number of hours, days, months or years that we have left on this earth. It seems that for some people their lives are c...

10 eggs 1 pint cottage cheese 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup unsifted flour 1 pound shredded Sonoma Jack or Monterrey Jack cheese 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cans (4 ounce size) diced green chiles Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eggs and add remaining ingredients. Bake in buttered 2-9" dishes or 1-9x13" baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes or until eggs are firm and inserted knife comes out clean. This dish can be made ahead of time, refrigerated and baked just before serving. It is also good if you leave out the green chiles and add spinach and mushrooms or ham with Italian spice. You can also make it gluten-free by using gluten-free flour. www.hearthope.org

The football game I attended recently just happened to be homecoming. I was a bit excited to see how it would be celebrated in the mountains with the casual atmosphere, but it wasn’t at all what I expected.  In Mississippi and in Texas the kids would all dress up in their finest new clothes for the homecoming game--here they were in jeans and ski jackets. In Texas, the big flowery mums with lots of streamers and bells and whistles are paraded around, the bigger and noisier the better; however there was no sign of them around here.  Well... at least the halftime show should be special with the crowning of the court, yet again I was disappointed.  In my opinion homecoming is supposed to have the band marching onto the field along with the dance team and flag corps putting on the show of the season, but the tiny little band was left alone on the sideline. The homecoming court didn’t even appear on the field, but was only announced from the loud speaker with no crowning...

When you grow up in the South you find there is something special about stadium lights shining brightly on a cool autumn evening. That’s what drew me to a stadium recently. It wasn’t that I had friends who were attending or children participating in the game, but mainly I went for the memories to see if it was as nostalgic as remembered from days gone by. The evening was cold, the crowds were pouring into the stadium donning coats and blankets, the smell of popcorn and hot chocolate were in the air along with the sounds of drums, whistles and stomping on the stadium bleachers. I had planned on sitting with the coach’s fiancée, but with the enormous crowd, I was unable to find her, so I went to an area that was less crowded—the opponent’s section.  Sitting contently I enjoyed observing the scene unfolding around me.  As you probably know football fans can be an unusual breed therefore they are fun to watch. They come with all kinds of paraphernalia that represents their team,...

1 can of white hominy, drained 1 can of black beans, drained 1 can of rotel tomatoes (use any flavor spicy, mild or chili fixins) 14 1/2 oz chicken broth 1 t cilantro, chopped 1/2 t cumin 1/2 t chili powder Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. This is good and easy and tastes great the next day. www.hearthope.org

Is Halloween a wicked holiday? Should families allow their children to participate in the activities of the day? Do Christians need to take a stand against it? Well, I might upset some of you with my answer, but I don’t think it is a terrible thing for kids to dress up in costumes and Trick or Treat for tasty treats.  Every day kids of all ages enjoy dressing up and pretending to be someone that they are not. What child has not dressed up as mommy or daddy when playing house? Or what about cowboys and Indians? Or princesses in fairytales? Army and teachers? Are these daily make-believe experiences harmful to their wellbeing or is it just a way of learning about life and living? I don’t think any adult would prohibit their child from playing school or house, so what’s the matter with Halloween?  If we shelter our kids from all of the questionable things in the world it can be detrimental to their ability discern good from evil as they mature. Halloween can and should be a tea...

Sitting at the dinner table my grandson, Will said, “Raise your hand if you are good” and immediately six hands shot up. Thinking quickly, I determined that this might be a teachable moment, so I hastily put mine down and explained that my first reaction had been wrong.  Elaborating further in order to clarify to my grandson that I am not good…my actions are sometimes wrong, my thoughts are not always pure, my words are not always kind, my heart motives can be contaminated because I am a sinner. The only reason that I have anything good in my life is because of Jesus. I informed my grandson that I am a sinner saved by the grace of God. I told him that I make mistakes, but that I try to make good choices because I represent Jesus to the world. By the time I had finished my confession, all of the hands around the table were down. The Bible tells us that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” but it also tells us that we don’t have to stay that way because God has...