Highlighting God's Presence to Inspire Your Life!
When I was excitedly recounting a “God moment” story to a deacon friend of mine, he shared this quote he coined that fits for today’s reflection.
Vocabulary.com defines coincidence as “an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental.” Continue reading “HOLY SPIRIT ARRIVAL”
What is your initial thought when I ask, “What makes someone great?”
Is someone great if they…
… have a PhD?
… are a millionaire?
… won an Olympic medal?
… are a brilliant composer?
Notice that with all these cases people’s greatness is measured by what they have accomplished outwardly in their lives.
What if we were to measure true greatness as who we become that starts inwardly and not by what we do outwardly? Continue reading “GREATNESS”
I have been reflecting on a beautiful sermon I heard this week that helped inspire these thoughts. I’m in awe of thinking about God and how he made everything in this world different yet with commonalities. I think a good case in point is to look at us as individual people, church communities, and sports teams.
SPORTS TEAMS
*GOAL: Work with one another to achieve a win.
*CHOSEN: Coaches pick the cream of the crop.
*POSITION: Each player usually has one specific position they excel at.
*TEAM: Every team member puts forth their best effort to succeed—sometimes sitting on the sidelines. Continue reading “TEAMWORK”
My heart is overflowing with joy today to celebrate God’s faithfulness and goodness with this being hopetoinspireyou.com’s 500th reflection! I am in total awe of being God’s beloved daughter, whom He has provided with weekly inspiration to share about Him in the ordinary of life throughout the last ten years plus.
It was an “only God moment” to see this thought that is perfect for today as I reflect on this grand adventure God has orchestrated:
Continue reading “CELEBRATING #500”
A friend shared these words of wisdom that I found inspiring and beneficial to reflect upon. I hope you will too.
Continue reading “CHANGING THE PRESENT”
Have you viewed the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as just a fun tune, thinking of the physical gifts mentioned, or have you viewed it through a spiritual lens? Thanks to a prayer group I’m involved with, I became more aware of the spiritual meaning behind the song, which I found interesting.
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a festive Christian season that starts with the celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25 and runs for twelve days. The twelfth day celebrates the Epiphany, which is when the Magi visited baby Jesus, bringing the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The twelve days were a time of rededication and renewal. Children received small, simple, and usually symbolic gifts of faith.
What are the hidden Christian symbols found in The Twelve Days of Christmas that we can reflect on? Continue reading “THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS”
Welcome back to the final day of our pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul! We will explore some places in Greece that, though not directly related to Paul’s missionary journeys, are too beautiful not to share. Some of the sites have biblical references.
One of my favorite places to experience God’s beauty in nature was in Delphi, Greece, which is about six miles from the Corinth Canal and north of Athens. Delphi is situated between two towering rocks of Mount Parnassus known as the Phaidriades (Shining) Rocks. It became an ancient religious sanctuary in the 8th century B.C. dedicated to the Greek god Apollo. The Oracle of Delphi was an ancient oracle that was believed to deliver prophecies from Apollo at the Temple of Apollo, but the oracle was always a woman who spoke on behalf of others. There is a theater above the Temple of Apollo, and even further is the stadium where the Pythian Games, the second most important games in Greece after the Olympics, were held. The view is breathtaking, especially upon the descent. Delphi declined with the rise of Christianity. Continue reading “THE LAST DAY OF OUR GREECE PILGRIMAGE”
Since the holiday season is upon us in full force, we’ll delay our last day of Paul’s second missionary journey until the New Year and focus on a ‘Christmas To-Do-List’ this week. When I saw this picture, I thought it was perfect to share. This ‘Christmas To-Do-List’ is what I want to focus on—not just on Christmas, but every day.
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” –Luke 9:62 (NIV)
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” –Matthew 6:34 (ESV) Continue reading “CHRISTMAS TO-DO-LIST”
Greetings, my dear pilgrims. We leave with Paul from Corinth as we travel to Ephesus, which is located in Turkey. Turkey is unique in that a small portion is located in Europe while the majority is in Asia. Ephesus, currently known as Kusadasi, is near the west coast of Asia and is the fourth largest city of the Roman Empire. Its spectacular Roman structures still possess glory two thousand years later. It was a major seaport in Paul’s time for both the Greek world and then the Roman Empire.
Our early morning arrival to Ephesus (Kusadasi)
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. –John 19:25-27 (NIV)
We know that when Jesus was on the cross, He entrusted the care of Mary, His mother, to the beloved disciple, who we believe is John. Jesus, even while suffering, was concerned that His mother would be taken care of after His death; it was an important part of the culture. Continue reading “JOURNEYING WITH PAUL TO EPHESUS”
Hello, my fellow pilgrims. As we continue with Paul on his second missionary journey, we leave Thessalonica and make a quick stop at a site Paul did not see when he sailed the seas. The Corinth Canal was 2500 years in the making! It is an artificial canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth to the Ionian Sea in the west and the Saronic Gulf to the Aegean Sea in the east. It separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, making the peninsula an island. The first attempt at building the Corinth Canal was in 67 AD, when the Roman emperor Nero began the canal. The work ceased when he encountered a revolt, ran out of money, and died shortly thereafter. Work on the canal began again in 1882 and was completed in 1893, which brought economic benefits to the area. The Corinth Canal is about four miles long, has a water depth of about twenty-six feet, and the width ranges from a minimum of sixty-nine feet at the bottom to a maximum of eighty-two feet at the water’s surface, making it quite narrow. A highway crossing the canal connects Athens and the Peloponnese. Continue reading “JOURNEYING WITH PAUL TO CORINTH”