Hope in Community

Maybe it's my friend facing surgery...or another friend taking her daughter to a cardiologist...Maybe it's Sherry having to bury her mom...Maybe it's the arrival of Jon & Angela Austin's baby tonight... but I've been feeling extremely hopeful about our ability to love one another and support one another in the ups and downs of life.

Don't ya just see it? The hard times are not meant to be faced alone & the joys of life seem 100 fold when we're walking together.

I am so thankful for New Hope. I am so thankful that living in community is a priority to us. Are there more questions than answers? Of course. But I think we're on the right track...moving forward to who God has created us to be and bringing all who will come along with us.

I believe that as we continue to listen to God's voice, our steps will become clearer and clearer. It is my dream that no one would live in isolation - That everyone has someone to be Jesus with skin to them...that person to call when you're taking you child to the emergency room in the middle of the night or that person to call when you just found out you 'got the job.'

I think sometimes we make it more complicated than it needs to be. Maybe it really is just as simple as each of us doing our part, staying open to the possibilities of community, seeing that each person with whom we interact may be a God-ordained connection. It starts small, just a smile, conversation.

Community is a gift. It can't be manufactured. It comes from God. To enjoy a gift, you have to be willing to receive it. Tonight I am thankful for the mystery of the gift.

Beth shares where Lent begins...

I'd like to refer you again to Coffee Klatch. She speaks to where we need to begin in approaching Lent. Thanks, Beth. Well said.