Daily Signs of Hope

A place to find Hope

Category: fear (Page 5 of 6)

This Pandemic is Causing Pain and Fear

May 20, 2020 / / 0 Comments

With this Pandemic causing much pain and fear, we need to know that God is here for us.

The power of prayer comes to mind when I read that first sentence. We need to put out a plea to God to calm our spirit and help us keep strong.

My prayer last night was short, but very powerful:

“Thank you God, that you are good. Thank you for being with me during this chaos.”

This brings to mind about Biblical events where God was with someone and saw them through a storm.

Paul had every bad thing possible happen to him. Snake bites, ship wrecks, and of course he was put into prison. Did he curse God and become angry? No he didn’t. While in prison he converted several guards, and refused to have a pity party.

He knew God was with him and that he would do many great things in his paths ahead.

Did he have down times? Of course! Did he wish he could be freed to continue his mission? Yes. However, was he afraid? No. He knew God would take care of him, and see him through this storm.

Fear is a huge mean demon that over takes us far too often. It is said that 99% of what we worry about never happens, and we should turn the rest over to God. Make sense doesn’t it? God has huge shoulder, and will calm the storm.

What about this Pandemic in our lives right now?

Fear is rampant in the world today. People are hunkering down in their own homes, with no relief in sight. Some are becoming angry and wanting to be allowed to go back to work. They fear they will lose their homes and never recover.

Jesus said, “Fear not!” Only two words, but the most powerful two words in the Bible. He also said, ” I will be with you , and you will be with me.”

One thing we need to remember is to trust. Trust in God during this Pandemic makes the fear fade away.

+ If you like what you see here, subscribe at the link above. When you do, all future posts will go directly to your in box. Please tell others about this site to give hope.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

How do We handle the Pandemic?

May 13, 2020 / / 0 Comments

This Pandemic is causing many problems for many. People feel the sky is falling.

I had an interesting day yesterday. Got our daily walk in. It has been difficult for me. Something wrong with the legs. Got to go to Walmart and buy some new ones. šŸ™‚

Charlotte and I also went on a drive. We went through downtown Salem, where I live. It was eerie. No one walking on the sidewalks. Not many cars. Stores closed. It almost looked like a ghost town. We have a population of close to 200,000 and they are all in lock down.

I never have seen anything like it, I hope I never do again.

So what can we do??

  1. What a perfect time to work on your yard, and flowers.
  2. Get a book off of that huge book shelve you have and read.
  3. Check on your neighbors. Keep that six foot distance though.
  4. Call your family and see how they are doing.
  5. Find some movies that are uplifting, and fun.
  6. Clean out that closet, or what ever area you have been forgetting about.

I gave some other suggestions on my May 8th post.

So, are you troubled? Do you wonder what may be happening next? Is what happening in our world overwhelming you?

Remember you have support through our Heavenly Father. He is there where ever you are. We cannot hid from Him and that is a good thing.

Go to Him in prayer and ask for His protection and love. He will listen to your plea, and answer you according to what He feels is best for you. We may not always agree with the outcome, but again it is what is best for you.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

Your’e A Speck in Life, But God Loves You

February 14, 2020 / / 0 Comments

The Universe is Huge and You Are Part of it

This may confuse you and make you wonder. We are just a speck, of a speck, of a speck, and even smaller.

The truth is, that as you look up into the skies you see literally billions of stars. Each star is created by God.

Let’s check on our own little planet.

I live in Oregon, and as I go on walks, I can see snow capped mountains, mainly Mount Hood. It is very beautiful to see. God created it. I drive to the Oregon coast and see a vast ocean. God created it.

Also think on this:

God created our earth, but did it with very sharp precision.Think of the placement of our planet. If we were a little closer to the sun we would all burn to death. If the earth was a little farther away from the sun we would freeze. God put it in the perfect spot for us to exist.

He created much more.

He created all the animals; all the plants, and all the people like you and me. He even gave you your first breath.

You are the pinnacle of his creations. Yes, you are a tiny speck compared to all the wonders He created and yet you are the joy of His life. There was no one like you before you were born, and there will be no one like you after you are gone.

Even your DNA is your own.

You have your own DNA and fingerprints. To top all of that, He has plans for each and every one of us. Yes, the universe is huge but we still don’t grasp that.

We all still sin.

Knowing all of this, we tend to still wander. We know there is a God, but we sway and falter, because Go gave us the freedom to choose.

God still loves you.

We must remember that God loves us very much. He created each of us in His own image. When you are facing fear, depression, and trials know that God controls everything. He is there for you.

He is the creator and there is nothing else else we should be worshiping.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

Why Can’t we All Just Get Along

February 7, 2020 / / 0 Comments

One of the hardest things for me to face is how the United States is so divided. It breaks my heart to see this happening, and I am not sure how to correct it.

The recent happens in Congress has even the most loyal Americans cringing.

Our country is so divided. What can we do to try to heal our wounds?

It is easy to say everything will be OK, but not everyone agrees with that.

There are people protesting and causing riots. There are people who boycott businesses they disagree with.

I have all kinds of suggestions, but people have to follow through to make them work:

  1. Pray for our leaders. This is a tough one for many, because they hate our leaders. To me it doesn’t matter what party is in charge I will be praying for the president.
  2. Don’t believe much of the news you see. The fake news is running rampant now.
  3. Take care of your own nest. Make sure your family is happy. They are your inner circle.
  4. Spend time at your church meeting people who agree with your beliefs are. That sounds kind of silly doesn’t it? However, we need to make friendships with the right people. The people of your church may be the pillar you need to lean on.
  5. Speaking of church, I have also seen people coming to the services, and leaving with a blank look on their faces. They didn’t hear anything. They just come to show people they are “Christians.”

I exercise at least twice a week. I do the treadmill for one half hour. It gets me going, and the rest of the day I am eager to do things. Talking more about # 5 above, It is great to be in good physical shape, but it is even better to be in good spiritual shape.

Thoughts:

  1. God has work plans for you. Even if you are a senior citizen like me. Serve God just as hard as the others. God will use you no matter what you age is.
  2. We only on this planet called earth for a short time. Use you time wisely.
  3. People are so afraid of failure. I can’t tell all the times I failed and grew more because of them. Do not fear failure.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all… never, ever, give up!

Looking Back at the Holidays

January 8, 2020 / / 0 Comments

The holidays are past, but I have had time to reflect and thought I would share some thoughts.

We should have joy around the holidays, but some don’t think so. They have to face their relatives.

From that I learned that we need to have a family mentality.

We need need to be related by faith, family, caring. If we do that and more, we are a family that is glorious.

Yes, we have some relatives that we have differences with. When they come to visit it seems like they know what buttons to push to make us angry.

How do we deal with that?

Even if there is a problem with one of the relatives, we need to know that they have needs just like we do. We need to calmly sit with them and seek out the problems and try to find ways to help.

This should cause a miracle. They will be glad someone cares, and they will look at you in a whole new way.

I Have learned to pray for them.

I am so angry sometimes that this is very hard. If I can just spend 30 seconds praying for them that would be a good start. Then stretch it out to 35 seconds, and so on. I realized the more I prayed for them the less I was angry. It should be like daily exercise. The more you pray the stronger you become.

Try this out and let me know how it goes. Show me other ways I can reach out to those I sometimes find unpleasant.

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There is much happening causing me to roll fast on finishing my second book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the trenches of Life.” All I have left are a few interviews with veterans who have been in the trenches. Their stories will warm your heart. They will cause you to cry, and wanting to help them.

You can go to http://www.dougbolton.com to see the progress.

You should always remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

Top 10 Ways to Survive in 2020

January 3, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I have been off the air for several months. I have many excuses, but none that I can say are valid!

Starting today I will be trying to post every day. You will have to be helping me by subscribing. If you do, all future posts will directly to your inbox.

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My first post of the new year concentrates on the year ahead. What will it bring? What am I going to do to grow and improve.?

  1. Do not have any new year’s resolutions. This one of the most overrated acts a person can cling to. Just plan your goals and hit the street running.
  2. I need to find ways to reach out to those in need more than I did last year. People who need help are not hard to find. They are everywhere.
  3. Don’t expect everything to go smoothly. Life doesn’t seem to go that way. You may have some storms hit. Be ready for them and be strong.
  4. Be a good listener. Sometimes silence is very important. People want to share and not be judged.
  5. Don’t get caught up into today’s politics. We live in a very hostile environment right now. Don’t believe almost all you hear.
  6. Always make your family your top priority. They should always come first.
  7. Have a year where you are much closer to God. He is in charge, and He is watching over you.
  8. Try to have your health as a top priority. I am really concentrating on this one this year.
  9. Respectively disagree with those who oppose your views. Doesn’t have to be a shouting match.
  10. Live each day as if it is your last. ENJOY!

In Closing

I hope you have enjoyed the first post of 2020. I will be back tomorrow with more in depth thoughts and ramblings.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

Don’t Let Others Define Your Faith

April 8, 2019 / / 0 Comments

This is the second of a series of discussions on Faith. My last post mention the sadness of thinking there was no hereafter. They who have no faith feel that they die and then turn into dust.

For those of us who believe and have faith, there is a bright path we are walking on. We know where we are going. We know because we saw the last chapter of the book.

One mistake we all make is to try to keep calmness around us, because there are many who will persecute us for our beliefs. We fear we can’t come up with the right things to say when we are challenged.

Here are some thoughts on that.

  1. You never have to try to convince anyone about their own lives being wrong. They already know it, and will probably attack if you mention it.
  2. My thought is to just share why I believe without out judging the other person. I share what my life was before I believed and the after I believed.
  3. Let them ask you questions. Don’t worry about getting the answers wrong. They are now in a different level. They are inquisitive.
  4. Just show other about your faith by your everyday actions. I have had more people ask me why I am so optimistic all the time. Boom! I can open up my heart. Many times They say they want some of that.
  5. Don’t hide your faith, but you also don’t need to stand on a corner and shout, “You are going to Hell, if you don’t believe!”I have gone to big sporting events, and sure enough there are always one or two people outside who are screaming at you. To many they are driving people away not bringing them closer.

The bottom line is that you just need to be you, and show others your love and caring way. That is a living testimony.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!!

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This is where I share some more about my upcoming book.

Today I am going to share how the book is laid out.

  1. The book starts out with me sharing my life while I was in the military.
  2. I share some funny and not so funny things that happened to me in basic training.
  3. I then share my advanced training school time.
  4. After that I was deployed to South Korea. Many stories. Some scary.
  5. Then I will share my time at Ft. Bragg. My scariest moment happened there.

This is the best part:

The rest of the will be actual interviews with veterans who have been in the trenches. I can guarantee you some of the stories will be very scary, sad, and tense. They will be some humor as well.

The appendix at the end will have several pages for jobs and careers for the military. Very extensive.

Subscribe:

By subscribing, you will get all these posts sent directly to your in box. It will be a good way to keep up on how the book is going. Just lick on the subscribe icon at the top right of the page.

What Does Faith Really Mean?

March 31, 2019 / / 0 Comments

What is faith? How does it work? What does it mean to us?

The dictionary says that faith is:

1.Trust

2. Belief in something we can’t see.

What are the myth misconceptions about Faith?

Faith is contrary to common sense.

Faith is contrary to reason.

Faith is contrary to science.

Now let me share some thoughts on Faith.

Faith gives us strength.

Faith gives us courage.

Faith in something never seen, gives you hope.

The main thing we all have are difference levels in faith on the reality that there is a God. Some people laugh at those who believe that. They say it is not possible.

So what do they have going for them if they are right? Nothing! They spend their days on this earth, and when they check out they have nowhere to go in their eyes. They think they turn into dust.

Not very good way to live their lives.

Now, for those who have faith. There is hope. There is anticipation of eternal life. There is the peace that they have somewhere to go after they check out of this hotel called earth. They enjoy life, and take each day as a gift from God.

So, for me having hope, and anticipation, is far better than fearing death, and trodding along each day.

Believe and have faith. Be happy and joyful. Each day is blessed.

Remember:

You are not alone.

You are not forsaken.

You are not unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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+++I will be using this spot to start up dating you on my new book coming out soon. It is called,”Signs of Hope: In an Out of the Trenches of Life.”

This book is written just for our veterans and our current military. It reaches out to those who may be suffering with anxiety, fear, depression, PTSD, TBI, etc.

One part of the book is set aside with interviews of veterans. Many pages of interviews, with thoughts and hurts from those who have actually been in trenches.

I will share part of one interview for you now:

Just yesterday I had and interview with a WWII and Korean veteran. He shared some pretty scary moments. The one that was amazing was that he was being sent to Korea for the “conflict.” He was in a hanger waiting to be assigned what plane he was to ride one. Then he saw an old buddy from his WWII days. They hugged and was trying to catch up when the sergeant started calling name by the alphabet. He saw he wasn’t going to be on the same plane with his buddy. He ask if he could be changed to the other plane. The sergeant said there was nothing he could do. The veteran then saw the officer in charge. He went up to him and asked him if he could change. The officer said no. The veteran kept asking, and the officer finally said, “Get on the other plane now and get out of my hair.”

The veteran went to the other plane. The plane he was supposed to be on took off and they followed. They were in the air on their way to Korea. They got to Wake Island; refueled and took off again. The first plane suddenly crashed killing everyone on board. The veteran I was interviewing was supposed to be on that plane. The words he used to describe his feelings about what happened will either have you in tears or in awe.

More information about the book in later posts. Need to subscribe to keep up with what is happening with the book. Just click on the subscribe button at the top of the page and go from there. Then you will get an update right to you inbox each time I post.

Just What Does Love Do For Us

March 22, 2019 / / 0 Comments

It’s been a long time since I last posted.

I was rolling at a fast pace over a year ago. I had 108,000 followers and growing fast every day. Then I was hacked. I lost all of my subscribers.

I was having a huge pity party that no one wanted to come to. Just a month ago, I decided to stop whining and to get back at it. After all, these post show hope and reach out to those who may be suffering anxiety, fear, depression, etc.

You can help me fight back against these horrible hackers by subscribing to this blog. Just click on the subscribe area at the top of this page and go from there. If you do, you will receive encouraging words every time there is a post. You won’t be sorry.

The title asks a very good question. You have heard the song, “What Does Love Have to do With it?” Well, what does love do for us in the first place?

We assume love is a given, but in truth it is not. I have learned that you have to show love to receive love. We can’t expect others to make us happy.

So, what do we do to reach out to others and show love?

We should treat love like it is family. In others words, it should be for everyone, even the guy on the corner begging.

We should have our love to be “wide open.” That means even to strangers.

We should love those in pain as if their pain was our pain.

Love rightly. This means not to love just to move yourself up in the world.

There are some don’ts in this line of thought. Do not love money. Be satisfied with what you have.

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Here are some random thoughts for the day:

You can’t have fellowship with sin and God at the same time.

The truth will set you free.

The Lord is my helper so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?

Remember:

You are never alone.

Your are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

God wants Peace for Your heart

December 18, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Peace, Be Still!

ā€œThen He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ā€œPeace, be still!ā€ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.ā€ -Mark 4:39

Godā€™s desire for your life is that you would have an overflowing abundance of peace! In fact, one of the names Jesus is referred to in scripture is the ā€˜Prince of Peace.ā€™ And as we know, when someone is referred to as a King or Prince, itā€™s because they carry a mantle of authority in that area. Jesus literally carries the authority of abiding and everlasting peace with God.

Peace with God is not to be confused with peace with this worldā€” because the two are contrary to one another. If you choose peace with the world the outcome is internal chaos. And if you choose peace with God you will have internal peace, but the world will hate you.

The reason Jesus went to the cross was to restore peace between God and man. As the Prince of Peace, Jesus is the access point for us to receive peace. Jesus is waiting for us to come and receive His peace as a free gift. But we canā€™t receive His gift without surrendering our old ways of thinking and living. We must put off the old if we want to put on the new. When we yield to him, then we receive. Once we surrender our hearts to the Prince of Peace we can expect a great calm to come over our lives from the inside out!

Here are 5 Reasons God wants His peace to rule in your heart today:

1)You are a new Creationā€” 2 Corinthians 5:17 says you are a new Creation, the old has passed away and all things have become new. Your new creation identity in Christ is the root of all things becoming brand new in your life. Jesus stripped the power of sin from your life by dying on the cross, and now you are given a new inheritance of life instead of the old inheritance of death. Apart from life in Christ death  remains. As you continue to grow into Jesus, by experiencing His presence and understanding who you are in Him, your life will overflow with peace!

2)You can only give away what you have receivedā€” This point might sound obvious, but itā€™s so true and canā€™t be overstated! We simply canā€™t give away something that we donā€™t have. We canā€™t lead someone into a land that weā€™ve never been to! If we are going to be people who lead others in peace we have to first enter into that peace.

3)Peace is a Fruit of the Spiritā€” Galatians 5 teaches us the one of the core fruit of the Spirit is ā€œPeace!ā€ If you have been struggling to find peace, I hope this produces a spring of excitement in your heart. Peace isnā€™t something you need to try and achieve, itā€™s simply an outcome of growing closer to Jesus. Abiding in Christ is where every fruit of the Spirit comes from. All we need to do is abide!

4)Peacemakers reveal Jesus to Non-believersā€” In Matthew 5:9 Jesus says ā€œBlessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.ā€ Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and He showed us what the life of Sonship looked like in its purest form. In this scripture he clearly defines the role of a child of God as a peacemaker. The more we discover our identity as Godā€™s sons and daughters, the more we will invite others into a relationship of Peace with God.

5)Peace is a sign of Hopeā€”
There are probably many things that could be added to this list, but the final point I want to make is this; Peace is a sign of Hope! Whenever we as Christians share about the hope we have in Christ people are looking for evidence of that hope in your life.The evidence works just like a sign because it points the source. God always has been and always will be a God of signs and wonders. A transformed life that has been overwhelmed by Godā€™s peace is one of those signs!

God is working powerfully and abundantly through believers in every nation, to reveal who Jesus is to the world. We are part of Godā€™s story!

“You are loved more than you know, and God’s plan for you is bigger than your biggest dream!ā€


Praise God!

Taylor Wilkins
FCA (503)754-3783

“The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!ā€

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