Heart Hope by Olga

Cross Joann Made for Me A few weeks ago a man was walking through our confusing maze of an office with a clipboard, looking up then down, drawing and then erasing. When I asked what he was doing he replied that he was drawing a floor plan of the office. I was perplexed because I had one sitting right on my desk due to the upcoming office moves. With the curvature of the building, the different sizes and shapes of the offices and the hidden hallways his task was next to impossible. You can imagine his elation when I offered to make a copy of the diagram for him. You would have thought I had given him the best gift ever. A simple drawing made his job of placing all of the water sprinklers so much faster and more efficient.  What is the best gift you have ever received? An expensive piece of jewelry? A trip? A gift of time? Or something entirely different? Gifts come in different sizes, shapes and forms. Each person can probably remember ones that impacted thei...

How often do people have a critical attitude toward those who are different from them? As a good southern girl, there are certain things that I was taught that were NOT acceptable, such as odd colored hair, tattoos, weird body piercings and most certainly ear lobe stretchers. People who would do those things were whispered about and shunned from the society circles. But over time I have figured out that whoever taught me those things was most certainly wrong. All I have to do is look around my church and I see some of the most precious people who love the Lord that have done those things to themselves. Pink and purple hair adorns a darling girl. Her husband is stretching his ears. A cross tattoo peeks out from the blouse on the front row. And unusual piercings are spread across the room. What I once thought unacceptable is totally acceptable to Jesus. He welcomes us all, no matter what we look like, no matter what we do that seems wrong or different to others. I wonder what th...

As many of you know we just sold and moved from our home last week. Here is the letter that I wrote to the owners as the sun rises on  their new journey and sets on our time in that place. Dear New Homeowners, Turning the keys to the house over to you was a difficult thing to do in many ways, because if the walls could talk they would have many stories to tell with emotions that run the gamut. When we bought the house almost ten years ago, we thought we would only be there a short time, in fact we really only bought it because we needed a place to live that would allow us to have our dog and if we rented in the neighborhood the HOA would not allow it. But even so, I prayed that the house would become a home, a place of rest and refuge for people who needed a break from the stresses of life, a place they could come and relax even if just for a few days. And boy did God answer those prayers. I can’t even begin to count the number of people who have visited our ...

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...

The little tyke had a smirk on his face as he grabbed the bag of Sun Chips on his way into Subway, as if to say look at how clever I am. However the look quickly faded as he ran to his dad holding up the bag and asked, “Can I have these?” and was told no. I waited anxiously to see what his response would be and was amazed to see him turn and obediently return the chips to the stand alongside all of the others.  Being pleasantly surprised, I wondered if perhaps it was a test by the dad, because once the order had been placed he sent both boys over to get their chips. The son’s original obedience of being denied what he wanted was ultimately rewarded with getting what he wanted. I believe that sometimes God tests us too. Maybe he answers our prayer with a no or a wait answer, just to see how we will respond. If obedient like the child to his father, God our Father will give us what we want or perhaps something even better. However if we choose to have our little tem...