Author: Hope Surrendered

Finding Hope in His Blessings

~ Hope Surrendered ~ Leave a comment

Numbers 6.24-26.COMPRESSED

My pastor is taking us through the book of Numbers in the Bible. I know … right …? Numbers …

I thought the same thing when he told us which book would be next after we finished Leviticus — a great book exalting His holiness and communicating His call for us to also be holy. To my pastor’s credit, he jokingly acknowledged that the book of Numbers isn’t typically considered one of the most exciting books of the Bible.

I know I’ve read through the book (ok, skimmed …) at one time or another, but it’s not a book I’ve ever given any time to deep study as a whole. I recently did go through parts of it while doing a study on the tabernacle, and I learned a few amazing things from Numbers in that study which I had never known. With the exception of the pieces I studied, I think my overall impression of Numbers was that it was…, dare I say it? … boring?

I no longer think that way about the book. We’re just a few chapters into it, and, as we wrap up one week’s lesson, I can hardly wait until next week’s lesson gets here.

I want to take you to one section of Numbers and just share a few verses with you. Chances are, it’s a passage you’ve probably heard at one time or another … in a church at the end of a service, at the end of a wedding, perhaps even at a funeral.

Numbers 6:24-26 says,

“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”

Sound familiar? To me, too!

I grew up in a very small town in central Pennsylvania. My parents attended a Presbyterian church there, so I did, too. Each Sunday at the close of the service, our pastor — clothed in a rustic grayish-white robe tied with a bold cord — would raise his hands, stand before us and recite these words before walking down the steps from the chancel, down the aisle of the church and out to the lobby to greet each church member before they made their way home.

I like familiarity, so when my current pastor read these words, memories of church as a child just flooded back. I could see my childhood pastor with his salt-and-pepper beard wearing that robe saying these words to us. He said them every week, and it became a ritual I expected to hear.

Perhaps, sometime in the future, we can dig into the deepest of meanings of this blessing, but, for now, I just want to share a few things with you based upon my initial feelings on the surface of this passage … no study, no word origins, no commentary … just how it speaks to me and quickly captures my thoughts as I read it without studying the depth of it yet …

First, this blessing is FROM GOD and it was given by the LORD to Moses for Moses to share with Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites throughout the generations to come.

“The LORD bless you and keep you”:  Remember, the LORD spoke these words, so when the words were to be conveyed to His people, the words were spoken through the priests, but they were directly from God. This verse tells me He is saying He is here to walk with me, to kneel beside me to serve me, and to be with me as I walk with Him and serve Him.

“The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;”:  This verse tells me that HE has every intention of illuminating my life with His gracious and blessed presence, walking with me as I walk, and offering me his grace-filled forgiveness.

“The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”:  This verse tells me that not only is He going to do everything he’s already said he’s going to do in the previous two verses, but He’s going to watch me, give me his personal attention and — through whatever I have to go through  — He’s going to give me His peace with it.

What awes me about our God, is how He plants seeds in our lives and then
tends to those seeds,
waters those seeds,
nurtures those seeds,
breathes life into those seeds and
grows those seeds.
He then watches those seeds sprout, helps them to bear fruit and takes care of every detail necessary for the seeds to reproduce in abundance for the future.

YOU are that seed! I am that seed!

Despite times of drought, poor soil conditions, hibernation and a failure to produce on our part, He still ALWAYS does His part for those who love Him. He doesn’t let His children go despite our foolish efforts or stubbornness in relation to our obedience to Him. And, when we do mess up or when He does allow us to be tested through trials, He promises us over and over again in His Word that our good and His glory are capable of coming from all of it.

It’s no coincidence I am sitting in a church in the today studying these words, recalling times from the years ago yesterdays when the words were planted into me, and walking through a life where His promises and His blessings are carrying me through the tumultuous trials, yet still revealing His amazing grace through it all.

There are no coincidences. I’m seeing another seed sprouting from His Word. Praise be to Him!

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Finding Hope & the Source of Strength

~ Hope Surrendered ~ Leave a comment

Zion Condor.5.6MB.Verse.Sepia

Photo taken in October 2013
from Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park in Utah.

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Sometimes there are no words necessary. Sometimes we can be drawn into a photograph and experience His glory.

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My husband snapped this photo as a California Condor circled above us and then landed just a few feet away, enabling us to take in his grand size and power.

Being below the 12′ wingspan of a rare bird just above our heads was momentarily fear-inducing.

The stunning beauty of Zion was majestic.

The hike to the top of Angel’s Landing was breathtaking.

Looking at beautiful photographs that hold treasured memories is valued.

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Despite the immense beauty of this glorious place on this planet He spoke to life, nothing can compare to what awaits us on the other side of eternity.

Isaiah knew that.
Moses knew that.
Elijah knew that.
Abraham, Daniel, David, Paul, Peter, John … they all knew it.

You can know it, too.

His Word … our hope can be renewed in it, our strength can be transformed by it, and our weariness can be eliminated by it.

Feeling His hope and His strength does not come merely by reading His words.

It comes through living them …
… and experiencing them.

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Note:  If you would like to use the image associated with this post to share with others or to offer encouragement, you are more than welcome to do so.
You can copy it or forward it from this website, from my Hope Surrendered Facebook page, from my Google+ page or from my Twitter images.
I only ask that you not alter the image in any way so that it continues to be referred back to Hope Surrendered. Thanks so much. 

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Monday’s Musings — Snowfencing & Life’s Filter

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SnowFence.Filter.HS.Compressed.

The snow fencing is up! I say that with great enthusiasm … because it is finished!

The task is a family affair each November. It’s an activity that all of us dread doing, even though it only takes a few hours of our time.

We watch the weather forecast and try to pick the ideal time to put it up AFTER the leaves are off the trees and have been blown across the yard by the pre-winter storms but BEFORE the ground freezes solidly. If we don’t take both of these factors into consideration, then we will have a few issues present themselves.

My role in this task has changed over the years. These days, it is my responsibility to mark where the rows of fencing will be placed and to drop the posts on the grass. I used to have to share in the responsibility of pounding the oh-so-many stakes into the ground, but having two strong, teenage boys, my husband can now turn to them when his shoulders need a rest.

The fence makes a difference. It’s a filter for the wildly blowing snow and regular white-out conditions that happen around here. Without it, the winter squalls would put our snow blower to even more use just to get anyone into or out of our driveway.

As I watched my husband and boys put up three long rows of the fencing last week (after doing my part with the posts), I got to thinking about how it works. You see, each year is another opportunity to experiment with the placement of the rows and the distance between them to maximize the amount of snow that is stopped short of the driveway. I’m convinced I still haven’t found the perfect formula, so — much to my husband’s chagrin — I adjust the placement a tad each year.

The slats in the fence works as a filter to stop the blowing snow. The slats slow it down so the snow will drop after going through them. Having three, set-apart rows stops most of it before it makes its way to the driveway, but it doesn’t capture the snow that falls … only the snow that blows. It works very well in reducing the amount of snow we need to blow or plow from the driveway, but the effects are usually gone by the end of January when the fencing is, typically, almost covered by the snow it has been stopping for two months.

How about my life’s filter?

Does it work well?

Do I periodically need to re-adjust the filter to maximize the amount of “stuff” that gets through?

My filter is my faith and my daily walk with the Lord.

Many years ago, my Sunday filter looked a little different from my Monday-through-Saturday filter. My church clothes, my church attitude and my Sunday morning routine stopped some of life’s challenges from getting through, but it didn’t stop enough. Too much was able to get through for six-and-a-half days a week, and the Sunday morning filter was pretty porous.

There came a time when my Sunday morning filter also became a Sunday afternoon filter and even a Monday filter. Those two full days became the days I looked forward to the most. I don’t think I quite realized why at the time, but, looking back, I can see why now.

The number of filtered days continued to grow, and within those days, there were certain times of the day in which I found myself CHOOSING to see life through yet another new kind of filter. I wanted more of it. I wanted more of life to look that way … the way it did when it passed through the new filter.

Life is not perfect, nor will it ever be. The Filter I use today is able to “stop and drop” many of the challenges which come into my days, but not all of them. That filter is my faith and my daily walk with the Lord. It is here I find His Truths and His hope for my life.

John 16:33 tells me there will be times of trouble, but it also tells me that in Him, I can find peace. I need to trust in this.

Although there is a futuristic aspect to Psalm 46, I can and do draw strength from it … especially verse 1, where I am told He is an ever-present help:

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
I need to trust in this.

Then, there is the verse that has become a foundational source of my hope. It is a promise from the Lord which speaks the loudest to me in my daily walk. I’ve learned to rely on Him and apply it so I can live in such a way where it’s okay for me to surrender my hopes to Him, because I can and do trust He is working ALL of my circumstances for my good and for His glory:

Romans 8:28:  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

There are some challenges which make their way through my Filter and need a little more focus to lessen their potential damage. And, yes, there are some happenings that are pretty tough for me to deal with. One filter won’t stop some of these; but the second and third filters in place can help to lessen the impact. I’m thankful for the people, the worship, the truths, the mentors and the reminders which act as filters in my life.

Remember that falling snow? The fence only stops what is blowing, not what is falling. There are still times in which we’ll need to clear away the snow. There are still times in which we’ll need to deal with the challenges directly.

What is YOUR filter? What is your snow fence?

If you aren’t sure, or if it seems fairly porous and allows too many challenges through, or if you really don’t have one, I’d gently encourage you to take some quiet time to think about it. Life on this planet will never be perfect for any of us. Never. Struggles are guaranteed … even struggles that we did not bring upon ourselves, but ones that still impact us because they impact loved ones.

When we have a filter in place — and it is reliable and less permeable — then we can always have hope.

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There Are No Leftovers in “thanks-giving”

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Thnks-givingLeftovers.ORIGINAL.Compressed

The leftovers have been put away. The dishes have all been done. Thoughts are turning away from giving thanks and toward shopping, sales, decorating, holiday parties, the next family gathering and the birth of a babe.

Many of us ventured out to shop and spend today; the holiday music was blaring at every turn, and the colors of orange, brown, yellow and sienna overwhelmingly made way for the red, green, silver, gold and white.

A few days ago, I wrote a post on my Facebook page about how America was looking forward to putting a capital “T” on Thanksgiving and celebrating with family, food and fellowship. In that same post, I reflected upon living a 365-life full of “t,” where the joys of our blessings are felt and radiated outward no matter what the day or circumstances.

The season of thanksgiving is still upon us, or, at least, it should be.

When we live a life full of thanks-giving for our blessings, we have a peace, hope, joy and abundance which permeates our relationships, our careers, our fellowship and our walk. Being filled with thanks-giving is not something that comes from what happens to us from the outside-in, but it is something that fills us from the inside-out and spills over into every aspect of our lives.

Today, as we find ourselves mentally, physically, monetarily and spiritually getting ready for the next holiday, let’s make our thanks-giving the primary focus of our preparations and the days to come. The gifts we both offer and receive from that joy will be multiplied!

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Finding Hope in Finding Authenticity

~ Hope Surrendered ~ 5 Comments

Romans 12:2.Pattern from Death ValleyAuthenticity.

It just keeps coming up!

In mid-September, I found myself noticing blog posts, Facebook statuses and tweets on Twitter that seemed to lack a lot of authenticity (from my perspective). I’d read what was written and my first take-away — no matter how good the message — was, “This is more about them promoting themselves than about ________.”

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I read from a few news sites and blogs each day; I check my email twice a day, my Facebook timeline a couple of times a day, and I jump in on Twitter for the newsfeed periodically. You probably do much of the same. Social media and internet news & info has become a big part of our lives, hasn’t it?

Most of the people I follow on my Hope Surrendered Facebook page and on Twitter are good, Christ-loving authors, writers, leaders, pastors, ministry directors and believers I started to follow because their work reflected their walk with the Lord in such a moving way. I’m not sure what was happening in September, but with many of the blogs, posts, statuses and tweets I was seeing, it just seemed to be about THEM, not the God they professed to be serving. Was it just September? Was it just me? I seemed to have experienced a shift where their posts were not primarily about reflecting their walk with the Lord, but about promoting themselves by promoting their walk with the Lord. It irked me.

Pretty judgmental, huh? Yes. I was.

I even posted about it on my Hope Surrendered facebook page at the end of September with a blurb saying, “Today, I am struggling a bit with what I see out there with other Christian bloggers and writers. I have had to ask the question, “When you press “Tweet,” “Post,” or “Publish,” are you promoting yourself or promoting how the Lord is working through you?”

I just didn’t sense authenticity. I liked what they had to say, but I didn’t like the self-promotion that seemed to be going on along with what they had to say. In my mind, it had become bigger than what they were saying.

Then, I realized I needed to stop.

I needed to stop, because I needed to check myself to make sure they were not me.

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We all do it. We post our selfies, our blogs, our statuses, our tweets and our photos not to just express ourselves, but to gain the attention of others. We label it as PR, marketing, promotion, and we justify it as necessary to get our word out.

Was I allowing myself to get out of hand with this? Or, was it just them?

Where is the line?

What is too much?

Is it obvious that I’m trying to balance it out with other things so people don’t see through the promotion?

I found myself asking these questions and searching my own “promotions” for the answers.

But, then I searched me. I searched my heart and looked at my intent. I didn’t like what I was starting to see.

I found myself writing some really deep and profound posts. They were good, but they were GOOD because I had allowed Him to work through me and was willing to share His work in me with others. …nothing wrong with that, as most of that GOOD was because of Him, not me.

But, what wasn’t good was how many times a day I’d check back to my posts to see if someone “liked” them, “retweeted” them, “favorited” them, “shared” them, or commented on them. That wasn’t about Him at all, but about me. … not good. … not good at all.

And, I stopped. I just stopped writing. I had to. I had to figure this out.

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My purpose in starting Hope Surrendered last April was about being able to share the Lord with others so they might find hope through my struggles, my attempts at obedience (to the Lord), my solutions (that came from Him), and my not-even-close-to-perfect walk. I wanted others to see that no matter what challenges would be found on their path, hope, peace and joy were truly possible.

I was doing that. I took the time to go back and read and study my posts, statuses and tweets. Yes, there was a bit of self promotion in there to get His words out through me, but it didn’t cross any lines. My posts were true to my original purpose.

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Any blogger, writer, author, publisher or business owner out there will tell you that marketing, promotion, stats and readership are important. Yes, they are, and I don’t disagree with that fact, but I was skewing my after-posting focus. It was beginning to shift away from my hope where others would see His purpose in their life and toward a focus of checking upon my success. I was crossing a line even if it wasn’t reflected in my posts.

I was crossing a line.

As good as my intentions were, there was a level of pride present in my head when I found myself needing to check and recheck the potential promotion and stats that might have happened after I’d post something.

I needed to stop in order to be able to search myself. For the long-run, this writing venture would only be as successful as my continued foundational reasons for getting started.

What wasn’t ok and what I needed to fully realize was that this writing venture was supposed to be bigger than me. It was supposed to be about Him. That was one of the main reasons I didn’t attach my own name to Hope Surrendered. … I felt it was irrelevant WHO I was; what was relevant was WHO I HAD BECOME through my walk with the Lord.

And … there’s another thing you should know. No one other than my husband knew who Hope Surrendered was at that point. No one. I thought I could be a writer known only as Hope Surrendered without having to give her a real name even though she had a real identity.

And, that’s where I got caught up in the authenticity-thing. I think that’s why the Lord brought out my sense of irritation with others’ promotions. What had started as an irked feeling about seeing how others promoted themselves (by promoting their really good works), led to me realize that I was falling into a trap in my mind by checking and re-checking my stats. I knew it would only be a matter of time until they were me from a promo perspective. If that would come to be, then what I was writing about would be more about selling MY ideas, MY accomplishments, and MY solutions to others by propping ME and my hopes up as the purpose of Hope Surrendered. I could see that coming, and I realized I needed to proceed with great caution … if He would have me proceed at all. I am sure the Lord knew all of this, too, thus the reason for him bringing it all up by showing me what irked me (He has a way of doing that, doesn’t He?)

And … then I realized by keeping ME out of Hope Surrendered, I really wasn’t being fully authentic. I really wasn’t being accountable to anyone else because Hope was mostly a mystery writer.

What a realization!

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For some of you, Hope Surrendered is just something you read, but for others, it has become one way of helping them to find hope.

For me, it’s not just about words on a page or stats on a spreadsheet; it’s about reflecting the Lord’s work in my life to others.

My time away from writing has shown me a renewed calling, a sense of purpose, a need for humility, a need for balance between getting my work out there and trusting He will put it into the hands that need it, and about being true to who I am.

So, I’m back to writing. This time, though, I’m committed to showing you more about who I am and how I work through my own hopes and surrenders with the Lord. I’m also opening up Hope Surrendered to my family, friends and acquaintances who might be curious about her connection to me … and about my connection to her.

Doing so will keep me accountable to others and to Him.

(Forgive me, dear friends and family … it does take a little promotion to let you know what’s been going on with me through Hope Surrendered!)

Doing so will help to reflect my desire for authenticity.

As Believers, we are called to live in a way that pleases the Lord:  “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7)

In contemplating why the Lord allowed me to walk through all of these authenticity thoughts, I’m brought to Romans 12:2 in which Paul warns us:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is
— his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

I am realizing that the Lord allowed me to contemplate all of this in order to, once again, see His ways above my ways and His Will above my own will.

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Note:  If you would like to use the image associated with this post to share with others or to offer encouragement, you are more than welcome to do so.
You can copy it or forward it from this website, from my Hope Surrendered Facebook page, from my Google+ page or from my Twitter images.
I only ask that you not alter the image in any way so that it continues to be referred back to Hope Surrendered. Thanks so much. 

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