Found this quote today and loved it. Had to share. Blessings to each of you, my friends...

"Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest… The difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skillful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by -- who sings from the heart… Lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God's high praises, unless He Himself give me the song? No, it is not in man's power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip… Then, since our Maker gives 'songs in the night' (Job 35:10), let us wait upon Him for the music."

-Charles Spurgeon

Markus

Rejoice, for "unto us a child is born..."

I pray that as we move from Christmas Eve into Christmas day that we greet these next few hours with all of the joy, hope, love and expectation that comes in the gift given to each of us through Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for each of you and look forward to seeing with GREAT anticipation what God has in store for us all in 2010!

Merry Christmas!

Mark

=:-)

So I preached recently on hope. To get some ideas I threw out in a facebook status, "Define hope for me. Go." I wanted to post the results for you. SO MUCH ENCOURAGEMENT! I pray you find that God is very much at work and present in your life! Thanks to all who contributed!

Grace and peace...
Mark

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Hope makes you want to keep on going.
- Mary Ann G.

Hope is the expectation, based on faith that Love is on the way! :)
- Kamae N.

Hope is the instinctual knowledge that your creator has a thoughtful and loving path for you, even if you cannot see it.
- Cory O.

Believing that something better will come.
- Pamela M.

That no matter my external circumstances; I always have that internal Light that is Christ, guiding me along the way.
- Heather H.

Hope is being able to see through your darkness, knowing that God's light is waiting on the other side. It's what allows us to persevere when all seems lost!
- Deni T.

Hope means having eternal life through trusting in Jesus Christ who promises us eternal life by way of the cross.
- Libby M.

“The nature of hope transforms the heart because it increases our capacity to imagine. And what we desperately need is biblical imagination (not fantasy), which is a map (path) to creating what does not exist. Hope is meant to be the basis of creation. The difference between fantasy and dream is that fantasy is an escape from reality. A dream is what you are willing to bleed for to create."
- Dan A.

"...Our flicker of desire emboldened with just enough anticipation to keep us holding on. Our human ache. The mystical release when we chose to live in the intersection between what is now and what could come, despite what has happened already. Hope demands much: fastidious discipline, violent courage, & sweeping grace to keep our eyes off our feet and off the wobbly steps we already wish we’d spent another way… hope becomes the bit of nudging from within that whispers: restoration and redemption are possible, even for you, even if it doesn’t look the way you thought it would."
- Margaret H.


Hope is a brilliant choice to understand and acknowledge the challenges of the present reality (not ignore them), yet boldly believing that in spite of them, or maybe even because of them, our dreams for the future are possible. Do not dare call hope reckless or naive, for it takes far more discipline, understanding and outright courage than cynicism. 

Hope is Heather from the office who decided today that she wants to go back to school because she is tired of working three jobs. She makes this decision in spite of being told she can't do it, in spite of being discouraged by her age, her economic status, so called "common sense." She chooses hope. And in doing so, her light becomes just a little brighter.
- Justin K.

“Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath, it is called “the rejoicing of hope.” (Hebrews 3:6 (KJV)) 
- William G.

Hope is knowing deep within your heart that you were made for so much more than what this world has to offer, and not being willing to settle for anything less, no matter what.
- Heidi K.

My mentor Bruce Larson said the definition of hope is the belief that good things are going to happen. 
- Michael W.

Positive possibilities! Even if the things don't end up happening, having the possibility to hold on to often gets me through the day.
- Lindsey M.

My definition of hope is that tomorrow will be better than today.
- Warren C.

What is the definition of hope? That I matter.
- Matt I.

Hey Friends! Thanks for checking out the site. Excited to see a new look on the web site for 2010! Many thanks to Andrew Crawford for putting in the work on this one. Still working out some glitches and improving some of the areas but it has officially launched! Look for more postings to come shortly!

Grace and Peace!

Mark