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Hope

Thank you to Holly for providing this place to reflect on our Spiritual Journey every Thursday. Please join us. 


I've struggled with this particular link up for the past few weeks...looking for ways to just skip it...feeling like I have nothing worth saying. Nothing to add to the conversation. I have written, but my posts have been half-hearted and lacking. I came so close to closing my computer and saying, "I'm too busy for this. I have nothing to say. I'm tired. This will be bad." And then I remembered that my students have homework due today. Any of those excuses wouldn't work. Show up. Write. Spend some time thinking and the words will come. It's 4:30 AM and here I am...

Hope. This is our theme this week. I looked up the word, for a Biblical definition and I found this: 
hope is the confident expectation, the sure certainty that what God has promised in the Word is true, has occurred, and or will in accordance with God’s sure Word.

"Confident expectation"...I love those words! One of the verses that I grasp onto tightly in times of struggle is Psalm 31:24...



My faith is strong. My belief doesn't waver...but my hope does. I worry. I try to control. I act as if I know better than God. Sigh... This is where I need to turn back towards God and have hope. Pray. Be confident that He is leading me in the right direction. Practice makes perfect? Well, every moment is practice for me. I search for hope and for my willingness to let go of my own plans. 


Have you ever had the experience of listening to a song and not hearing it...until one day...the words just grab your attention? Yesterday, it was this song...




It was the first two line, "No shadow comes without the light making a way. No raging storm can ever defy one word of faith." It's such a valuable reminder to focus on the light, the faith, the hope!

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  1. Margaret SimonOctober 9, 2014 at 6:47 AM

    I'm glad you are staying with the struggle to write. Writing offers hope. It helps us see more clearly. "Every moment is practice for me." Are you familiar with Richard Rohr? He speaks of the practice of every day. We are not expected to be perfect. We are only expected to show up and do our best. You are an example of this.

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    1. Michelle HaseltineOctober 9, 2014 at 7:05 AM

      Thanks Margaret! I haven't heard of Richard Rohr. I looked him up...any recommendations on what I should read by him? I'm interested. Thanks!

      Delete
  2. Leigh Anne EckOctober 9, 2014 at 7:43 PM

    Each Thursday I seem to struggle, to hope, and to be filled. Thanks for contributing to my journey...just keep showing up!

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  3. JaanaOctober 9, 2014 at 9:08 PM

    I am so glad to be reading your posts! Many Thursdays I have been too tired. Your posts always resonate with me. "No shadow comes without the light making a way." So true and simple, yet we often forget that! Thank you for walking along my journey!

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  4. Holly MuellerOctober 9, 2014 at 10:26 PM

    Confident expectation! That's how we should approach our writing, too, right?! Did you see Kate DiCamillo's Facebook post today? Loved it! Thanks for being willing to struggle - you always triumph! :-)

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  5. Carol VarsalonaOctober 9, 2014 at 11:39 PM

    Michelle, your struggles noted in the opening are not particular to you so thank you for being open about them. The post is a wonderful tribute to those who always look to divine providence to find the way. The song is one of stellar hope that I am delighted to have found.

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  6. Carol VarsalonaOctober 9, 2014 at 11:41 PM

    Michelle, quick question: how do you embed the video on the site so readers don't have to go off site (like I did on my post today). See http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2014/10/song-of-hope.html. Thanks.

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    1. Michelle HaseltineOctober 10, 2014 at 2:34 PM

      Carol, on Youtube, go to SHARE. Then go to EMBED and copy the code. When you are composing your blog, click on HTML and paste the code. Save and go back to how you normally compose your blog post and your video will show up. Good luck!

      Delete
  7. UnknownOctober 13, 2014 at 10:40 AM

    I love the honesty in your words - it's one I see in my students as well as one I face myself. Every week I am touched by your post -- know that your words are important. They impact. They make a difference in someone's perspective.

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