Daily Signs of Hope

A place to find Hope

Tag: courage

Don’t Fear Threats of Man, Rely On God For Comfort

November 22, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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There are far too many threats in our country. People seem to be going crazy. A man drove his truck into a bunch of people walking in a parade. Killing five of them. WHY? He was caught and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

There are many incidents like this. It is spreading.

I am finding, and I am sure you are too, that the Christian life is not easy.

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The word Sovereign means, in complete control. God is sovereign. Why?

  1. He is the creator of all things.
  2. God makes Himself known.
  3. God decides what happens in this world.
  4. We send all of our pleas to a sovereign God.

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We need to let God use us, and we need to speak with boldness and courage. Will this get us persecuted? Yes, but it is God’s will.

We have our part to do, and God has His part.

I always talk to others about what God has done for me. I do not call them sinners, I just share my life.

One thing I have taken for granted all these years is the Holy Spirit. We all know of God and Jesus, but we forget the final part of the three. The Holy Spirit. When you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells in you, and helps you through the storms. He helps you to say the right things when needed.

The Holy Spirit is God’s presence.

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Cling to the hope of God and His love for you.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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The Darkness Seems to be Growing in Our World

July 10, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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Some thoughts I have been having the last few days:

  1. Bad thoughts lead to things you wish you hadn’t done.
  2. Everyone needs compassion.

Thoughts about God and Jesus:

  1. You are my hiding place.
  2. I am strong in your love.
  3. He was and is to be.
  4. He is the author of salvation.
  5. The freedom we have in Christ will never fade away.
  6. My God is the God that provides.
  7. Anchor your life with His word.
  8. Look forward to the future God is bringing us. `

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Some people act good on the outside, but have nothing on the inside. There are far too many people like that. People need to be transparent, and share their true selves.

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There seems to be a spreading darkness covering our world. The darkside is having too many victories. I feel it, and want to face it like all Christians should. We need to put on our heavenly armor and fight back.

God will be there with us, and give us strength and courage.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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Three things to Do to Cope in This Not so Friendly World

November 23, 2020 / / 0 Comments

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Another Monday! Like the lyrics says, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.” It is raining and it is Monday. Any Questions?

Actually I am doing fine. There is nothing about Mondays that should be any different since I am retired. Every day is a Saturday for me.

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Now we have to wait and see what the world has in store for us today. Should be very interesting with all the clamor going on around us. The pandemic, the unknown out come of the election in the United States, and of course, the ever popular rioting.

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I have taken all of those on with incredible courage and valor. Let’s look at each one.

The pandemic is the hardest one for me.

I have been on lock down since March. I have some health issues that the virus would love to attack. But why should I pout and scream?

Jesus, was going through an awful lot more than I can even grasp in His life time. He never pouted or screamed. He kept loving the people no matter what.

The election outcome is not known yet.

“When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn.” Another lyrics that is a very sad song. This election years has been a nightmare from the beginning until now. Constant attacks on our president from the Democrats. Then the election it self seems tainted. What should we do?

Always remember, God is in Charge! He will allow the right person to be elected. It may not be who you or I really wanted, but God knows what is best for us.

The rioting has started up again.

In Portland, Oregon rioters attacked the homes of the council that voted to not defund the police. This is beyond wrong. They aren’t rioting because no justice, they are rioting to bring our country down. What should we do?

Stand very strong against violent rioting. God knows what is going on, and He has a plan. We just have to be patient, and let Him do the right thing.

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Through all of this turmoil, how are you doing? Do you have problems coping?

Pray for God to guide you each and every day. Take His hand and hold on tight. He loves you, and will not have you face anything that you can not handle.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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Stress is a Huge Part of Life These Days

September 15, 2020 / / 0 Comments

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It has been very stressful the last six months. Where I live we add the wild fires to our stress. Hundreds of homes are gone. Millions of acres burnt. People have died.

We just got some news that arsonists started two of the deadly fires. Two people have been arrtested, and will face a long time in prison if anyone is killed.

The question is how will we be able to handle all of this. Besides the wild fires, there is the Pademic, rioting, looting, shootings, beatings, etc. Pretty overwhelming for a every day Joe like me.

I was watching my church online yesterday, and our Pastor spoke to this very concern.

When a virus hits that attacks the vulnerable, isolates individuals, and shuts down the economy and schools. We can say, the harder it gets the better I live. 

When protests stop being peaceful, when elections become polarizing, when families, friends, communities, and churches become divided. We say the harder it gets the better I live. 

When everything you own is burned to ash, when families flee for their lives, when the smoke makes the day night. We can say “the harder it gets the better I live. 

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Let me explain what he means.

His theme was God knows what to give us.

He is saying that God knows what is going on. He knows the dangers we are all facing. He knows what to give each of us ACCORDING TO OUR NEEDS.

Every person has different fears. Each person faces storms every day.

God doesn’t want us to compromise so He knows what to give us to help us face those who try to sway us.

What the thoughts are from the pastor is, we should know that the harder it gets the better we live. We are sons and daughters of God. He will not gives us more than we can handle.

He may give some peace. He may give others courage. He may give some knowedge to help others.

When it comes to your daily life; choose your battles carefully. Choose your friends wisely. Choose your solutions intentionally. Do not waver God has given you a path to take. Stay the course.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

Are You Driving Between the Lines in Your Life?

September 8, 2020 / / 0 Comments

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I am at the age where is am not sure I should be driving anymore. When I drive my wife keeps telling me that I have crossed the center line, and I also cross the solid line for the other side. Not a good pattern.

I got to thinking about that. Are we as Christians driving between the lines? Do we sometimes go across the line and face danger? As Christians we have to be careful because the road for Christians is narrow.

I hope you are doing well in your driving. It is hard, at best, to maneuver through the storms of live. You have to be very alert all the time.

Remember though that God is in control. He will guide you if you let Him. He knows what roads you should driving on. Use Him as your GPS.

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Still violence in Portland, Oregon. Another shooting, and fires everywhere. it has been over 100 days of rioting and no end in sight.

Here is a hard fact that God is telling us. Pray for even those who have no thought of following the lord. I posted the other day asking if we could pray for those who set businesses on fire; shoot people, and there are tons of beatings going on?

My thoughts on that was, yes we should. All of these people are God’s children, like it or not. We can’t discriminate as to who we pray for and not pray for.

I am sure you have some people in your life that do not like you. I sure do. That’s who you pray for. Pray for understanding and love towards them. It may not always work, but you are free of guilt, and have taken a step in the right direction.

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God didn’t promise us a rose garden, plus there are the thorns. Life will turn against you from time to time. That is when your true character comes out. When you fall, do you get back up or give up?

Never give up!

Stand with courage in the love of God. He is there for you. With Him on your side, who can be against you?

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

How can we face the Rioting, Looting and the Pandemic?

June 12, 2020 / / 0 Comments

The days along and tedious. The pandemic seems to be spreading again. There is rioting, looting and arson. How do we face this dilemma?

I have a lot of time, of course, to think about this. Let me share some thoughts:

Use Your Hardships to Shine

  1. There is always someone or something that is worse off than what we are facing. When I was teaching I had a young lady in one of my classes that was severely handicapped. She was strapped to a electric wheelchair. She couldn’t move and had no control of her hands. There was one thing I noticed with her. She was always smiling. She never got upset. She never got too hurt when the other students picked on her. When I came in the classroom she was the first one I would look for. Why would I do that? It was because of her attitude about life and her circumstances. She knew she was handicapped. She knew she couldn’t play on the swings and slides with the other kids, but she was out there laughing and cheering on the other kids. Believe it or not, I realized I wanted to be like her. She was a wonderful example of someone who seemed to have the whole world against her, and yet she faced the storm head on. BTW… She was a bright student. she had an aide with her at all times, and she took all the tests, by having the aide write the answers down. She was very good at math. I still think of her often.

Let People know When You Are Hurting

I had another student with Tourette’s Syndrome. That is a disease where the child blurts out nonsensical words for no reason. He also had a tic in his face. His face would twitch a lot. He had a hard time getting along with the other kids. Mostly because of his handicap. I decided to let him move his desk up close to my desk. I could look over his shoulder and see his work all day. I could see that he was very hurt by other kids picking on him. So I had a little class “counseling,” session. We sat in a big circle and I asked each kid what was bothering him/her. Most of the kids couldn’t really think of what was bothering them, but it came to my student I had my desk, he unloaded. He said he can’t help what he is doing. He said he wasn’t trying to offend anyone. He had tears flowing. I saw that several other students began to cry. I ended the session and a little miracle happened. One of the students came up and asked if my student could move his desk next to him. I agreed and the class applauded when he moved. From then on he was in the good crowd and not an outcast. What did I learn from this…Everyone needs to be heard. Being silent doesn’t help anything. Let others know of your pain and hurts.

How does this fit into you and I facing a pandemic, rioting, looting, arson?

To me it shows that we can make it through anything. We can conquer our fear and worries.

I had many other student examples of perseverance, and courage. We need to think like these children. Take on our fears. Take on the worries, and with God’s help we can conquer anything.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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.

A Special Veterans Day Tribute.

November 13, 2018 / / 0 Comments

It is such a good feeling to be back with you. I have been down for almost a year do to technical difficulties. 

I lost over 108,000 follower over night. I am starting over. You can let the hackers know they didn’t win by subscribing. You can do this by clicking on the icon at the top of this page that says, “Subscribe.” You will then get a post in your inbox everything there is a post. 

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As a treat I have invited a young man to post. I was down for the veterans day celebrations, so this is a day late, but the thoughts are spot on. Please read Taylor Wilkins From Fellowship of Christian Athletes, aho is having a marvelous impact in the high schools of Salem Oregon.

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“When God’s people lead, hope is the outcome.”

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
II Timothy 2:1-4

Yesterday was Veterans Day, a day to honor people of courage, love, and sacrifice. I grew up in a community where veterans day was a really big deal. The community, and especially my high school celebrated Veterans Day at a level I don’t think most ever experience. In fact, my high school put on a veterans day assembly that lasted the entire school day, and brought in veterans from around the united states. We had veterans representing both World Wars, Tuskegee airman, Jewish Holocaust survivors, and many more. One year our school was featured on national news to showcase the veterans day assembly. It was an incredible honor to have all those amazing people share their lives with us for the day!

I believe we have many things to learn from our war heroes, and I think 2 Timothy 2 does a great job identifying some excellent qualities in soldiers.

Here are 4 Leadership qualities that Christians can learn from soldiers:

1) Soldiers are Strong– That might sound overly simplistic, but I believe it’s at the core of every great leader. If you are going to begin your journey as a Christian leader you have to be strong! Faith is the ability to see hope in the midst of life’s trials— weakness in faith blinds you from seeing hope. What I love about this quality is everyone can grow in Spiritual strength, just like we can all grow in physical strength. Getting stronger might be uncomfortable, but we need to consistently exercise our faith if we want to see growth!

2) Soldiers are Listeners— Whether it’s boot camp or the commanding officer leading his troops into battle, soldiers have to be acute listeners, eager to learn, and committed to following through! Believers who haven’t learned how to listen will struggle to find personal breakthrough, and will fail to see the fruitfulness God designed them for. God is always speaking, but if we don’t learn to listen we will miss out on His encouragement, and the hope-filled adventures God wants to take us on!

3)Soldiers are Faithful— Soldiers are trained to respond to obstacles and a variety of challenges by putting others first. Whether sacrificing for their Country, fellow soldiers or family, soldier’s embrace a mindset that always puts others first. Jesus demonstrated perfect faithfulness in his journey to the cross. Jesus sweet great drops of blood before heading to the cross because the weight of His calling was so heavy, yet He didn’t waiver, but fixed his face like flint toward the cross! Even though his road wasn’t easy he remained faithful to the call on His life. As a believer, you were created for the same kind of faithfulness Jesus demonstrated. Don’t get down on yourself if you feel like you have fallen short, God is still working in you and through you. Closeness with Jesus will always draw faithfulness out of your life!

4) Soldiers Endure Hardship— Soldiers must count the cost of serving their country. Before soldiers train for war, they must be willing to lay down your life. If a soldier can’t do that, he won’t be ready for action when he’s called to the front lines. Christian leaders are called to count the cost. Faith in Jesus comes with many blessings and promises for abundance, but it also comes with the promise of persecution. Jesus said, “if they persecuted me, they will persecute you.” Enduring hardship is one of the most attractive qualities in Christian Leaders because it draws out confidence in other believers.

When we grow closer to God we will see these qualities exponentially increase in our lives. I believe we will see more Christians standing at the front lines of leadership within politics, business, education, psychology and every type of profession.

Soldiers live their lives on a mission and with purpose. As God’s Children I believe we need to do the same. When God gives us clarity in those areas I believe we and the world around us will be flooded with hope!

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

Taylor Wilkins
FCA
(503)754-3783

“In all your getting, get understanding”

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