tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428147069225139812.post325635506474864302..comments2013-01-12T22:49:09.517-08:00Comments on Beneath the Dogwood: Hope?Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13423465917617320728noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428147069225139812.post-20797698961833871012011-05-14T23:41:41.658-07:002011-05-14T23:41:41.658-07:00I love you so much, dear one. Knowing HOW MUCH I ...I love you so much, dear one. Knowing HOW MUCH I love you, its amazing to me that He, Jesus Christ, loves you wayyyy more than that! Incredible, His boundless love! Too big to comprehend...Grammasherihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020683094980707907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428147069225139812.post-60386337596253012572011-05-14T16:04:39.102-07:002011-05-14T16:04:39.102-07:00Thanks so much, Mom. You're right. I keep forg...Thanks so much, Mom. You're right. I keep forgetting that my feelings betray me. I am sad. I have pessimistic thoughts and feelings that this will never end or that things won't go as I would like. I am seeking the Lord. That's the important thing. I'm asking that my wants will be changed to His will. I'm seeking the point of "nevertheless." Thanks for the reminder and the encouragement. My guilt is lifted. The guilt that has kept me from praying and seeking Him. I won't hide my face anymore. I'll keep trusting that my hope will be in the Lord.Dihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13423465917617320728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428147069225139812.post-49901140651479508962011-05-13T23:42:12.768-07:002011-05-13T23:42:12.768-07:00Many of the Bible's instructions seem to go ag...Many of the Bible's instructions seem to go against what we refer to as "common sense" such as "in everything, give thanks". Hard to do and opposite of our natural reactions. Hope is like that. In our humanness, we have hooked both Hope and Thanksgiving to our feelings and to circumstances, and the Bible tells us they are something else entirely. They are Verbs - actions we take regardless of our feelings or circumstances. They are actions of obedience, of relinquishing our will, not in a giving-up or 'whatever' kind of way but rather in the 'nevertheless' kind of way. <br />Hope and Thanksgiving are the hard work, the rubber-meets-the-road work of Christians, and they are based in our "nevertheless not my will" actions. Nothing to do with circumstances or feelings. Jesus reached this point in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mary reached this point after the angel's announcement. <br />This is what you are doing, dear daughter. Your prayer, asking God to help you hope in Him, is proof that your heart is in the right place. You are struggling to find the place of "nevertheless" and of "in everything", just like Christ did, like Job did. This is good, not sin. <br />I am praying with you, and so are many, many others.Grammasherihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020683094980707907noreply@blogger.com