Hope {Think On These Things}

Thursday, December 15, 2016




{Affiliate Links Used.}

"Hope is a certainty", he said, standing in front of the church on the first day of Advent. My ears couldn't fathom the concept. Hope was never a sure thing. I had hoped for things to change. Devastatingly, they had not. I had placed my faith in those around me. They failed me. Maybe not all the time, but enough that the words "Hope is a certainty" felt like a lie. But then he began to explain himself...Hope is a certainty when Christ is your center. Hope placed in Him is never wasted, never a luck of the draw, never mere chance. It is a certainty, because He is an anchor that won't let us go to wander lost in this tumultuous ocean we call life. Our hope is only as good as the Person we put our hope in. So maybe I was putting my hope in the wrong things and in the wrong people all along.

A few years back I did a study on "waiting on God". One of the points that was made in it is that "hope" and "waiting" are one in the same. (I should have known this as I also speak Spanish, and they use the same word for both "hope" and "wait".) What we wait for is what we hope for. We wait for that raise. We wait for that apology. We wait for the holidays. We wait for healing. All hopes. So as we start a new year filled with the hope of good things to come, let's focus on where we should really place our hope. He is the only One who will come through for us every time (even if it isn't exactly the way we thought He would do it). He is the only One who we should wait on. All the rest will eventually fail us.

You will notice as we start a new year that Think On These Things has a slightly different look! There are still normally 2-4 verses per day and questions to ponder at the bottom of the printable. It is my "hope" that these printables will take less ink if you are printing them out and have a "cleaner look" for you. Please know that if you participate in Think On These Things that I take the 20th of each month to pray for you! I may not know all who use these verses, but I know that God knows your needs and requests!





You can download the file here.


If you would like all the Think on These Things verses or want to know more about it, click here.

During the month I try to post my thoughts on the verses on Instagram. If you would like to follow me you can find me here. Also, if you are posting your own thoughts there please use the hashtag #thinkonthesethings. I would love to read how God speaks to you!!

Supplies
There are many ways you can use these verses. You can read and meditate on them. You can write them out as you meditate on them. You can read them and then write about them in a journal or journaling Bible. You could do verse mapping with them (See this post). Here are some of the items I use...

A single column journaling Bible...



ESV Single Column Journaling Bible (TruTone, Chestnut, Leaves Design)
ESV Single Column Journaling Bible (Black)
ESV Single Column Journaling Bible (Brown, Flap with Strap)

Some highlighters {These are my absolute favorites!}...



Eco Highlighter Pencils - Set of 5 Colors

Black pens...

Black Ink Pen Set



I love these journals that lay flat...easier to write in! They are great for Scripture writing!
Studio Oh! Deconstructed Journals

Let's Think On These Things!

4 comments:

Riches Stitches said...

I'm using the new year to start something new and this is it. Joining you for the very first time. I pray that as I write out and meditate on these verses God will really speak to me and I in turn can glorify Him.
Thank you for the time and effort that you put into sharing these monthly verses with us, I am sure that it is having a great impact for the Kingdom.

Debbie said...

Riches Stitches- You are welcome!

Jamie Morgan said...

Hi Debbie-
I am so happy I stumbled upon your blog. I am using your Hope study for December. I, too, am in the midst of beginning a lifestyle blog. Would you mind if I linked your study in my post?

Thanks so much!

Debbie said...

Jamie- I don't mind at all! Glad you will be using the study!