Tag: #hope

The Gift of Hope

The Season of Gift-Giving: Gifts That Nourish

Gift Idea #3: Wildflower Seeds in Envelope

Let’s plant hope this holiday season.
Hope for more sacred time.
Hope for new beginnings.

Let’s offer hope with flower seeds, each one a whisper of new things to come, faith in nature, and how we can all bloom and become more beautiful.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen. — Hebrews 11:1

Hope is sacred. It carries us when the way ahead feels uncertain. It reminds us that even in winter, spring is coming. Hope anchors us. It encourages us to take baby steps. Each day.

Hope is a promise. A promise of God’s enduring love.

Hope reminds us all that:
Beauty can rise from deep, dark places.
God’s promises are alive, even when we can’t see them.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. We need to keep going until we see the sliver of light through the cracks.

Materials:

  • Small packet of flower seeds (wildflowers, sunflowers, lavender)
  • Small envelope or pouch
  • Pen or marker
  • Optional: ribbon, sticker, or pressed flower

Instructions:

  1. Place the seed packet in the envelope or pouch.
  2. Add a note: “Plant these seeds as a reminder that hope grows in dark places. Watch for beauty to unfold right before your eyes.” (See more samples below)
  3. Seal with care and, if desired, decorate.

Sample Notes

  • “Hope is planted in faith, watered with prayer, and blooms in God’s time.”
  • “These seeds carry the promise of beauty yet to come—just as hope carries us forward.”
  • “Plant, wait, and trust: hope is alive.”

Let this gift be a blessing. A promise. A sacred whisper that says, “Hope is here.”

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
— Psalm 126:5

Let’s Offer the Gift of Hope
to Ourselves & to Others.

Image Credit: “Wildflower Mix Bloom from Seed Packet” by Faybba is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

#Hope #GiftsThatNourish #Faith #SacredGifts #GiftsThatMatter #GiftsOfHope #PresenceInThePresents #MeaningfulGifts #SoulGifts #Holidays

A Candlelight Vigil of Hope: Supporting Parents Facing Family Estrangement

This event will be live-streamed for those who are unable to attend in-person. If attending in-person, SpringHill Suites Hotel on Primrose Lake Circle, Tampa is within walking distance. Here is the link to register:

Register on Eventbrite

I and Thou: Happy Passover!

Image credit: wearehebrew.com

     17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this… 47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”  

Luke 22:17-23 & 47-49

Thought:  In this game-changer passage, Jesus takes the annual ritual of Passover and turns it upside down.  It is here in this story; we learn that the kiss of betrayal leads to the declaration that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of Passover.   Passover is a celebration of the Angel of Death, passing over the Israelites, who had placed the blood from a sacrificial lamb upon their doorways to keep their families safe.  It is about the plagues set upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

Exodus 12:12

In Exodus 12:14, this is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. In Luke, Peter and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, prepare the Passover meal.  Christians call this the Last Supper.  It is here that Jesus blesses the elements of Passover and creates a new covenant, thus transitioning Passover to the Last Supper.  Jesus proclaims He is the Lamb, His body – the bread and His blood – the wine.  No longer will God’s chosen people have to sacrifice a lamb for the forgiveness of sins.  Right here, Jesus is announcing his death to come, and He is the lamb sacrifice for the sins of humanity.    Thanks be to God. Happy Passover!