A Reason to Hope

You would think that hoping for something good would be easy right? I mean after all, if you want it and it is something that you would love why would you not hope for it? Why can it be so terrifying to simply hope? Well you could say that the bigger the hope the bigger the opportunity for disappointment. I've experienced in my brief life the pain that comes with dying to a hope that you have carried for years. Disappointment that comes from lost hopes can soon convince you that it's not worth trying again. Even now, I see opportunities for hope but a part of me doesn't want to hope anymore. Is it really worth the risk it could potentially cost?

Yet, to live a life without hope is totally unfulfilling and it is totally unBiblical. I believe that one thing God has been teaching me is that He does in fact want me to hope and not just hope for hope's sake but to hope IN HIM because He IS hope. He is the reason we have hope. I believe that God has been teaching me- Christy, if you never hope, how can I ever fulfill your hope? How can I ever show you how good I am by fulfilling your hope if you never choose to hope and trust me to turn hope into reality? Honestly, choosing not to live in hope can potentially be saying to God, "I don't really trust you. I don't really trust that you can come through. I'm not willing to step out on a limb to see if you will come through. You're not worth the risk." How sad. May I never live that out. I would have it said that Christy was a women who was so fully surrendered to Christ that she was willing to risk it all to live in the place where Jesus called her to live, no matter how great the possible discouragement and risk. 

Fortunately, I don't have to work on this alone. If that were the case there would be no hope. lol But God truly is the GOD OF HOPE! He is the reason I am able to have hope. Jesus can do anything and the beautiful thing is He WANTS to do amazing things for me, simply because He loves me. 

A verse that I truly love right now is Romans 15:13

"Now may the GOD OF HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may ABOUND in HOPE by the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT." 

He is so worthy of IT ALL! 

May He always completely own my heart!

So here is an attempt at pulling this site out of the cobwebs two years later (gulp).

Some of you may have been aware of the fact that for the last several years I have been working in Alaska in the addictions/Mental Health field. Let's just say that that stage of life has ended. I have been led into a vastly different location and am currently living for the next little while in Hawaii. Yes! Alaska to Hawaii. Even after a month I still have a hard time believing I am actually living in Hawaii. I stop to think and I wonder, "How did I get here?" It is very surreal. Strange as it is, I'm never really dreamed of coming to Hawaii really. Now I am living here. Funny how that works. I do have to say it's awesome! God has blessed me with opportunities to live in places people dream of going to for vacation. Who ever said serving Jesus had to be horrible? He is good after all right?

While I have only been here for a month as of today, I feel like my life has been utterly changed. My life is so awesome and SO crazy. Seriously, my life has become literally crazy and I LOVE it. If I took the time to type out everything that has happened in just the last month,  # 1: it would take too much room and # 2: You may believe that I have literally gone nuts. That would be the case if God was taken out of the equation but because He exists and because He lives inside of me and because He loves me, I literally live an insane amazing life. Literally! He is truly so good and so mind blowing.

Despite all of the craziness, there is one thing that has not changed and that is sweet, beautiful Jesus. He still softly speaks. He still wants to hang out with me and talk with me. He still loves being alone with me.    He never changes. It's just me that changes.

I am so excited because I feel that God is bringing me closer and closer to the calling He has placed on my life and I am so excited to see what He will do.

More to come later but for now... here's a small glimpse of Maka Pala where I spent the weekend.