Church of the Nazarene

 If you can look at the sunset and smile, then you
still have hope.

If you can find beauty in the colors of a small
flower, then you still
have hope.

If you can find pleasure in the movement of a
butterfly, then you still
have hope.

If the smile of a child can still warm your heart,
then you still have
hope.

If you can see the good in other people,
then you still have hope.

If the rain breaking on a roof top can still lull
you to sleep, then
you still have hope.

If the sight of a rainbow still makes you stop and
stare in wonder,
then you still have hope.

If the soft fur of a favored pet still feels
pleasant under your fingertips,
then you still have hope.

If you meet new people with a trace of excitement
and optimism,
then you still have hope.

If you give people the benefit of a doubt, then
you still have hope.

If you still offer your hand in friendship to
others that have touched your life,
then you still have hope.

If receiving an unexpected card or letter still
brings a pleasant surprise,
then you still have hope.

If the suffering of others still fills you with
painand frustration,
then you still have hope.

If you refuse to let a friendship die, or accept
that it must end, then
you still have hope.

If you look forward to a time or place of quiet
and reflection,
then you still have hope.

If you still buy the ornaments, put up the
Christmas tree or cook the turkey,
then you still have hope.

If you still watch love stories or want the
endings to be happy, then
you still have hope.

If you can look to the past and smile, then you
still have hope.

If, when faced with the bad, when told everything
is futile, you can still look up
and end the conversation with the
phrase…”yeah.…BUT..”
then you still have hope.

Hope is such a marvelous thing. It bends, it
twists, it sometimes
hides, but rarely does it break. It sustains us
when nothing else can.

It gives us reason to continue and courage to move
ahead, when we tell
ourselves we’d rather give in.

Hope puts a smile on our face when the heart
cannot manage.

Hope puts our feet on the path when our eyes
cannot see it.

Hope moves us to act when our souls are confused
of the direction.

Hope is a wonderful thing, something to be
cherished and nurtured, and
something that will refresh us in return.

And it can be found in each of us, and it can
bring light into the darkest of places.

Never lose hope.

I was in the office.
With a mind of food, I was thinking what I should take
for my dinner.
I remembered the macaroni that I bought the previous
day with some ham.
Macaroni and ham.
That was a delicious combination to make a simple
dish.
What should be the other ingredients to add some
tastes?
As only a simple dish, I believed and decided a simple
taste should be just fine.
A bit of salt and pepper.
Onion will add some fragrance to the dish too.

Immediately after reaching home, I set my feet quickly
into the kitchen.
Cut the ham, the onion into small pieces.
Boiled the macaroni to soft.
Heated up some oil in the frying pan, poured in the
onion and ham, stir-fried
about 2 minutes.
Put in the macaroni. Fried it for 2 minutes. Added
some pepper.

That was it.
Delicious.
Even my roommate, praised the taste.

If we want to lead a simple life, we should just have
’simple taste’.
Not clutters of worries, demands, doubts and
dissatisfaction.
Worries of what we should eat or wear so that we can
be better than our neigbours?
Demands of having all the facilities of life that the
advertisements said we should
have?
You know, that is ‘Better life’????
Or even in your faith, you believe, that is ‘Life in
abundance’?
Doubts in people? In relationships? That we forget to
extend GRACE to others as
what Heavenly Father has lavished on us and continued
to believe us.
Dissatisfaction with everything you are and you have.
That is a false measurement that you have used. You
should have used “Thanksgiving” to
compare.

A simple life is what I believe ” Life in abundance”.
A beautiful promise in JOHN 10:10 that I believe we
will all possess if we
set our minds on heavenly rewards and giving.
The great gain comes with just some salt of
contentment and pepper of thankgiving.

-Sarah-