Hope

Hope is a powerful thing.

Bernice, Bernice, Bernice knows a little about it. She watched her mom hit that skunk named Justine Mattisse over the head with a club.

 

I'm sure that left her hoping for a new little, cute and cuddly puppy for a pet with a normal name like Spot or Rover.

Possibly, Justine Mattisse was hoping that Bernice, Bernice, Bernice would vanish into thin air at that moment.

Here is the thing about hope. Hope never disappoints us. It's always there as a light shining in the distance to get us through from one stagnant, stressfull or perilous moment to the next.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in Romans 5:3-5.

3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

copied from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%205&version=NIV

What strikes me about this passage is the idea that sufferings exist. Pain is real and the fact that trials will be in our life to produce suffering doesn't go unnoticed by the Lord. Life just ain't always a bowl full of cherries and God gets that!

According to Ramona Calvert, you just get a little stink on you sometimes. But how exectly do you go about blowin' it off?

"Sufferings produce perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope"

Here is a hint. It's what's sandwiched in between: perseverance and character building. Boy, aren't those things music to your ears?! Want to know what Mr. Webster has to say about perserving? No? Too bad because I'm going to tell you anyway.

"to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement"

Oh dang! This is hitting home for me. Probably for many of you too. All four of you that stop by here.

Keep in mind though that hope follows perseverance and character building. I mean, I might have a bad day and find myself comfortably perched on my haunches on the sofa hoping a big, fat bowl of chocolate ice cream would make its way into my hands, but that my friends is a vain hope. Selfish ambition at it's finest.

Hope that follows perseverance; that's the good stuff. The genu-ine, real thing. Guess I'll persistently wade through the sea of obstacals to the fridge and fix my own bowl of chocolate ice cream now.
But, here is the key to it all friends. Don't miss this. It's big. Really Big!

"hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts"

That part makes all the difference in the world. Without that love, that stink...well, it just ain't goin' no where and I'd be willing to bet it just gets worse.

Daily Blowin' Off Stink,