What are you hoping for?

Leaning up against a gas station wall stood a disheveled man, shivering from the cold. In Grand Rapids there are many homeless people and it is quite possible that he also fell into this category. 


In one hand he held his gloves and in the other he grasped a lottery ticket that he was furiously working on. Hoping it would be a winner. 

I wondered what else he was hoping for? Why would he spend the money that he begged for on such a slim chance? The odds of winning the lottery usually have odds 18 million to 1 and some have odds as high as 120 million to 1. 

With those odds it will take a lot more than hope to win the lottery!

Where is your hope? Is it put in something or someone that you can trust? You can put your hope in God! 

He is trustworthy. 

His word is trustworthy

The law of the LORD is perfect, 

refreshing the soul. 

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, 

making wise the simple. 

Psalm 19:7

He is trustworthy

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. Psalm 145:13

No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. Psalm 25:3

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

He is the definition of hope-May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Father, you are trustworthy and I put my hope in you and you alone! Jann

A little adventure!

What began as a simple dinner out with a friend turned into an unplanned adventure. 

Early in the afternoon my friend Kathy and I met at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. We walked around the grounds taking pictures and being a little goofy. The air was crisp and cool with a light breeze blowing through.  What a great afternoon of laughing and enjoying the flowers and fall leaves. 

As dinner time approached we left mine in the parking lot and rode together in Kathy's car. "I hope they don't lock my car in", I jokingly spouted! 

Dinner was full of yummy mac and cheese, other tasty treats and good conversation!

On our way back to pick up my car, we had no idea what was waiting for us!

We drove into the entrance and there at 7:30pm they had locked the gates! What I thought was a flippant comment was actually coming true! 

Anxiously, we drove to another entrance trying to be confident that things would work out! There we noticed that the gate was slightly ajar, but it would not open far enough to drive through. As Kathy waited for me, I briskly walked down the parking lot and into the building to see if there might be a security guard who could open the gate.

It is amazing how much energy and adrenaline rush through your body when faced with this type of adventure. I was trying to muster some composure as I approached the doors. They were locked! I could see that a security guard was coming towards me. "What if he thinks I am a robber", I mumble. Praying that he would see me, I knocked on the glass and flailed my hands to make sure that he saw me! I was a little nervous that he might pull out a gun!  Maybe I have been watching too many TV shows!

"Just drive your car up to the gate and it will open", he politely directed me. Within minutes I was on the other side of the gate. 

What did I learn from this adventure? 

Rejoice in our confident hope.

 Be patient in trouble,

 and keep on praying.

Romans 12:12 NLT

Father, I love living life as an adventure! You are always near, always guiding and I am sure laughing! Thank you for being my hope! 

You Don't have to believe in God

A billboard has gone up in Grand Rapids and several other cities in America. 

Personally, I don't know how to hope, care and love without God.  I have been walking with Him since I was 14 years old. Everything I have learned about caring for others has been modeled for me by other Christians and through God's loving care for us. 

According to livingwithoutreligion.org Atheists can hope, care, love and live, all without God. I am positive that they can!  Every person has the ability to portray these attributes, because they were created in the image of God.

According to their website "there is one major difference between the hopes many religious people have and the hopes the nonreligious have: the nonreligious do not look to God to fulfill their hopes. There is no supernatural being to make sure everything will turn out OK. Nothing is guaranteed."

Dictionary.com defines Hope- the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. 

The bible speaks about hope many times. The Hebrew and Greek words that are used for "hope" can be translated to mean "a strong and confident expectation." What we hope for is something that we are confident of.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what  is seen was not made out of what was visible.

  Hebrews 11:1-3

The title of the website, "Living without religion" intrigues me. I too try and live without religion. 

I want more than rules, affiliation and titles. 

I want a relationship!

I want to be known by the creator 

I want to have a personal relationship with Him. 

I want to rely on His wisdom, strength, grace and forgiveness

Many who claim to not need Jesus say that they can do it by themselves.  That their hope is in themselves. 

A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. Psalm 33:17

I know that I can NOT do it by myself! My hope is not in myself. I am fully aware that God is bigger and smarter and wiser and more gracious and more faithful etc. etc. than I could ever be. 

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 

So although it is true that You Don't have to believe in God, 

You don't have to put your hope in Him,

I wouldn't,

couldn't,

even think of,

doing life without Him!