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Have I mentioned how much I *love* this community?! A highlight for me this week was meeting Asheritah from OneThingAlone.com!
(We totally planned the whole coordinated striped shirts and denim skirts thing …)
Most of you know Asheritah from the fabulous FMF Intro Videos she hosts! She is such a sweetheart — online and in real life! What a treat to spend some time together in person.
Keep scrolling for a brand new video from Asheritah!
This week’s FMF Video Intro is with Janel Andrews. Janel is an active and encouraging member of the #fmfparty Twitter parties every Thursday evening .. if you haven’t followed her yet, you can find her at @mytoesareblue.
Wondering what’s behind her Twitter handle? Find out in the video below!
This week’s FMF prompt is:
GO.Â
It’s been a season of sadness. Death upon death. Both premature.
Two Sundays in a row, I woke up to bad news. Horrible news.
An 18-year-old high school graduate in our community. Car crash. Killed instantly.
A six-year-old boy from our church. Brain tumor. Taken home.
The ache permeates the air. Grief is thick. Suffocating.
Heaviness rests upon chests and we heave collectively with shared tears and sighs.
They both died on Sunday mornings.
Sunday. A day of hope. A day of resurrection.
Because they had Christ, we are not overcome.
We weep and mourn — but not as the world grieves. We cling to the cross, the author of hope and the salvation of our souls.
We rest in His hold. We surrender in His grip.
We shed our sorrow and look to the man of sorrow — the God of all comfort, familiar with suffering.
And we have hope. Hope in the One who is coming soon.
Come, Lord Jesus.
STOP.
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What a difficult season, to watch young lives end so unexpectedly. And yet, we can always, always find hope. Isn’t that beautiful in the midst of so much sadness?
nice post.
Pain is so very hard, but when it is coupled with no hope? I cannot imagine. Cling to Him as you grieve and remember how much He loves you and hang on to the hope we have in Him.
Wow…what an awful passage y’all had there. I am so sorry.
Your words ring out all the more brightly, from the darkness from which they rise.
I’m so sorry to hear about those two lives lost, Kate. We’ve been through a patch of bad news recently too. Several months of it. But I’m hanging onto hope myself, so I appreciate your words today.
I really do enjoy this community too. Wish I could participate in the Twitter party, but the Izmir time zone makes it hard! Love the picture of you with Asheritah! 🙂
When I hear the word “HOPE”….I am comforted that things will not remain the same always. I think that some day soon my situation will change. I get a sense of joy somewhat tingling feeling inside and look to the hills (may sound cliche) but I truly do and then ask the Lord to keep me focused. Sometime,hiwever, when I get distracted and look at my circumstances i have to quickly whisper a word of encouraement to myself.Thank God for His saving grace
Kate,
thank you. It is death that causes the greatest need for hope, I think. Hope that a young life was valued and not wasted. Hope that our tears are collected. Hope that all the wrongs will someday be made right. Just like 2,000 years ago, when Hope was tortured and exhausted and nailed to a rough piece of wood and scorched in the sun. Hope said “It is finished.” And though at that moment, Hope seemed lost, Hope was busy and about to burst forth in glory.
Hope indeed. 🙂
~Tammy
FMF-Hope
Hope- The emotion I have lived by for 27 years since my firstborn was diagnosed with a devastating disease. I’m so grateful that my initial reaction was to trust in hope because it has shaped our lives and the reward has been great.
Faced with the fear of the unknown future, we chose to put our faith in the hope and promise of optimism and prayer. All these years later, with the grace of God, we are still here. She is doing really well and life has been nothing like the outcome that we had feared.
She’s a grown woman now with hopes and dreams of her own. Dreams that are coming true due to her diligence; made possible by the strength she received by living with hope and prayer.
We will continue to live with hope in our hearts and promote hope wherever we go.
So sorry for your church’s loss. I am glad though that they found hope in Jesus and are with Him. I will pray for you. Thanks for hosting this wonderful link up. Please plan a retreat for next year. Maybe I can come then if finances allow. I wanted to join you guys so bad, but we need a vacation for our family and the only week available is the week of the retreat. I can’t afford to do both.
Thank you, Mary. Hope you have a wonderful and restful vacation with your family.