Keep your hope alive by trusting in God

It’s Monday once again and the start of another busy week for me here in our office because I have many tasks to accomplish today both offline and online. But before i start with my offline work i need to write first a review on cheap fat burners to catch up with today’s cutoff. So this is just a quick post.

Anyway, before i end this post i’d like to share this inspirational message i received today from The Vine, it’s about keeping our hope alive. So here it is, may this give you a new inspiration to face this new week ahead.

"Having hope will give you courage... " - Job 11:18 NLT

Hope is a powerful force. It arouses your mind to explore every possible angle. It enables you to overcome the daunting obstacles. It's absolutely essential to the life God wants you to live. It's the fuel your heart runs on. It's the single biggest difference between those who persevere and those who give up. Hope is what makes couples say, 'I do,' without any guarantees, and later, after all the broken promises, pick up the pieces and try again knowing it can get better. It's why composers agonize over a score and artists over a canvas, believing some glimmer of beauty will emerge from the struggle.

As an old man Henri Matisse was crippled with agonizing arthritis. When asked why he continued to wrap his swollen fingers around a brush every day he replied, 'The pain goes away; the beauty endures.' Laboring to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo grew so discouraged that he wanted to quit. But every morning hope pushed him up the ladder to fulfill his magnificent vision. Hope is what made Abraham leave home without knowing where God was taking him. It made Paul challenge the powers of Rome. It's what fueled the Old Testament prophets to keep taking on City Hall! This is not blind optimism, but faith focused, and hope-in God. '... You have been my hope... my confidence since my youth' (Psalm 71:5). You can survive the loss of many things, but not the loss of hope. Nobody experienced greater loss than Job, yet he wrote: 'Having hope will give you courage.' So keep your hope alive by trusting in God!

Dancing With God

A friend shared this through email today, i was inspired by the message so i thought of posting it here. Hope to inspire you today. :)

When I meditated on the word Guidance,

I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,

and attentiveness from one person

and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G": I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust

that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.

Weekend inspirations: God knows

It's time to replenish our spiritual strength after a stressful week. Well, this week was indeed stressful and difficult for me after facing another life storms. I didn't even need my weight loss pills to loose weight ' cause i've already lost my appetite, that's how affected i was. Anyway, I know all of us have our own battles in life so here's something to inspire and motivate us all.

When you are tired and discouraged from fruitless effort,
God knows how hard you have tried.

When you've cried so long your heart is in anguish,
God has counted your tears.

If you feel that your life is on hold and time has passed you by,
God is waiting for you.

When nothing makes sense and you are confused or frustrated,
God has the answer.

If suddenly your outlook is brighter and you find traces of hope,
God has whispered to you.

When things are going well and you have much to be thankful for,




God has blessed you.

When something joyful happens and you are filled with awe,
God has smiled upon you.

Remember that wherever you are or whatever you are feeling,
God Knows!

~unknown author~

"What I see convinces me God exists;
What I cannot see, confirms it."
~Anonymous

The story of four wives

Got an interesting email from a friend it's a short story about a rich man and his four wives. It's a good story with message and thoughts for us to ponder so i thought of sharing it with you, here it goes...

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to show her off to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men.

He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.

Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be! Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word. The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart.

The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good over here! I'm going to remarry when you die!" The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.

Then a voice called out : "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have!"

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and sensual pleasure. Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it's a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we're on our deathbed to lament. -- Author Unknown

Three Strangers

Hello readers and friends! It's Monday again and it's another busy week for all moms out there just like me. To start this day and to inspire our week ahead let me share with you this email i received from a friend. The story is really inspiring and it teaches a valuable lesson. So read on :)

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards
sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them.

She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in
and have something to eat."

"Is the man of the house home?", they asked.
"No", she said. "He's out."

"Then we cannot come in", they replied.
In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.

"Go tell them I am home and invite them in!"
The woman went out and invited the men in.

"We do not go into a House together," they replied.
"Why is that?" she wanted to know.

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one
of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success and I am

Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of
us you want in your home."

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was
overjoyed. "How nice!!", he said, "Since that is the case, let us invite

Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"
His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She
jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love?

Our home will then be filled with love!"
"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife.

"Go out and invite Love to be our guest."

The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, "Which one of you is Love?

Please come in and be our guest."

Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up
and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success:

"I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"

The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the
other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He
goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!"

Happy Monday straight from my heart,

I'm a survivor

So many trials this week.. My daughter was confined at the hospital and i wasn't able to go to work, i missed some online opportunities, i have bills to pay, etc.. Though my daughter is already out of danger I can't say the storm is really over. Still as i have said, there are huge bills haunting us plus we need more money for my daughter's medication at home.

During this lowest times in my life i'm thankful that God always reminds me of my faith in Him. Just this morning one of my Churchmate who always send inspirational messages sent this to me:

2Timothy 4:7-8 says, "I have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith."

"Life always involves a fight, a race, and a test. When things get tough, remember your identity... YOU'RE A FIGHTER! A FINISHER! A CHRISTIAN WARRIOR! AN OVERCOMER!

Thank you Lord for these comforting words, You give me strength and hope. I believe I am a survivor mom and that I can overcome all these trials because Jesus is in my heart.

image from christianwomenonline.net

Walk by Faith

Everyday i received devotional mail from The Vine, while reading i thought of sharing this inspirational message they sent me today. It's about walking by faith.

Walking by faith is not easy. When you make up your mind to trust God the odds are usually stacked against you. Remember Noah? When he built the ark there had never been rain! And the outcome isn't always what you expect. Walking by faith doesn't mean your problems suddenly evaporate. Sometimes faith doesn't change your circumstances, it changes you by giving you the tenacity to hang in there when the cheque doesn't come in the mail, the doctor says, "It's malignant," your spouse asks for a divorce, the children are running riot, or the place you've worked in for 30 years closes its doors. Faith gives you the fortitude to endure these things, confident that God is working on your behalf. "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for" (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV).

So, walking by faith means: (1) trusting in the faithfulness of God; (2) following in the footsteps of ordinary people who did extraordinary things; (3) using your faith, because it's the currency of Heaven. When the Bible says, "The just shall live by faith" (Hebrews 10:38), it doesn't mean little sporadic bursts. No, it's talking about a lifestyle! Anybody can go the first few rounds in the ring; it's when you're knocked down in the ninth that you need the faith to get back up and keep fighting. When the plane you're flying on encounters turbulence you don't throw away your ticket or bail out, you sit still and trust the pilot.

So discount your circumstances, dethrone your doubts, and start walking by faith!

Image from google.com