It Might Be Hope

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

Everyone has different ways of explaining to others for their definition and understanding of the word, "hope" and how they have recognized of applying hope throughout their lives. Sometimes whenever we know that our immediate relatives, and some of our friends are going through difficulties on certain things in life, we always have hope that it would not happen to us. 

Sometimes in life, it is hard to express to show our hope towards our immediate relatives, our extended relatives, our friends, and other people around us. Sometimes I hope for certain things to happen in my timing but I know that I have to lower my expectations and just allow things to happen at different times in my life. 

Prior for me taking the written test of getting my learners permit for driving in Australia, I always hope to learn how to drive in automatic cars only. I felt determined that I would stick to it. I remembered when my mother has shared with me about several real life situations that can happen that requires to have a manual license, it has helped me to change my mind and encouraged myself to learn how to drive in manual cars. 

I am grateful that I have learned how to drive in manual cars, because sometime after receiving my manual drivers' license, I had to drive home in my family's van from the chapel on a Sunday and the van is a manual. I can barely reach the petals but I was able to drive home safely. Years later, I had another opportunity to be asked by shift runners at the last Domino's store that I was employed at if I can drive a manual car. 

I said "Yes, I can drive a manual car, my own car is a manual car." The shift runners was surprised and they have given me the company car keys for the company car that has manual transmission for me to drive during some shifts. I felt like I was the only female delivery driver who has manual drivers' license and who drives and owns a manual car. 

As growing up, I always have hope that I would get married in Australia and continue living my life in Australia. I did not ever expected about changing my mind about that idea. I am grateful that I have met Jacob when I did, and being committed about the idea together for us being married in Texas US, and continue living my life over here. 

I do hope that one day eventually, that Jacob, myself and our future family to live in Australia. I just know that it wouldn’t happen anytime soon. Whenever I take the time to reflect on my life, I always think about the things that I have achieved because of me having hope to accomplish those things no matter what. 

"Meaning of Hope
H - Helps you to understand and believe
O - On days when all you want to quit
P - Push you again to rise and achieve
E - Ever more we are in need of it. 
- Arun Bahadur Gurung."

Either now or in your own time, you are welcome to watch the video of the link below. I love the song that was playing throughout the video. The song is called, "It Might Be Hope" by Mercy River. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL6jrWPDGJY&ab_channel=KSLNews

My favorite part of the lyrics was; "Hope has a way of turning it's face to you just when you least expect it." - Mercy River. 

Stay Tuned until next time.

The Infinite Power of Hope ~ Part Two

      Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take four minutes to seven minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a October 2008 General Conference, and it is called "The Infinite Power of Hope" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. This post is part two. I hope you will be able to learn something new while reading throughout this post. 

President Uchtdorf has mentioned the following; "What, Then, Is Hope?

The complexities of language offer several variations and intensities of the word hope. For example, a toddler may hope for a toy phone; an adolescent may hope for a phone call from a special friend; and an adult may simply hope that the phone will stop ringing altogether.

... Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future.

It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. ... The prophets of old speak of a “firm hope” and a “lively hope.” It is a hope glorifying God through good works. With hope comes joy and happiness. With hope, we can “have patience, and bear … [our] afflictions.”

"Hope is the one thing that can help us get through
the darkest of times."

Things We Hope For, Things We Hope In

The things we hope for are often future events. If only we could look beyond the horizon of mortality into what awaits us beyond this life. 

... Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we need not fear, for we will live forever, never to taste of death again. ... And what kind of existence can we hope for? 

Those who come unto Christ, repent of their sins, and live in faith will reside forever in peace. Think of the worth of this eternal gift. Surrounded by those we love, we will know the meaning of ultimate joy as we progress in knowledge and in happiness. 

No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations. ... The things we hope in sustain us during our daily walk. 

They uphold us through trials, temptations, and sorrow. Everyone has experienced discouragement and difficulty. Indeed, there are times when the darkness may seem unbearable. It is in these times that the divine principles of the restored gospel we hope in can uphold us and carry us until, once again, we walk in the light.

We hope in Jesus the Christ, in the goodness of God, in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in the knowledge that prayers are heard and answered. Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future. 

In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will “work together for [our] good” as we follow the counsel of God’s prophets. This type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair.

Hope Leads to Good Works

We learn to cultivate hope the same way we learn to walk, one step at a time. ... We grow in our ability to “abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost,” as we more perfectly live the gospel. There may be times when we must make a courageous decision to hope even when everything around us contradicts this hope.

... Faith, hope, and charity complement each other, and as one increases, the others grow as well. Hope comes of faith, for without faith, there is no hope. In like manner faith comes of hope, for faith is “the substance of things hoped for.”

Hope is critical to both faith and charity. When disobedience, disappointment, and procrastination erode faith, hope is there to uphold our faith. When frustration and impatience challenge charity, hope braces our resolve and urges us to care for our fellowmen even without expectation of reward. 

The brighter our hope, the greater our faith. The stronger our hope, the purer our charity. The things we hope for lead us to faith, while the things we hope in lead us to charity. The three qualities - faith, hope, and charity working together, grounded on the truth and light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, lead us to abound in good works.

Hope from Personal Experience

Each time a hope is fulfilled, it creates confidence and leads to greater hope. I can think of many instances in my life where I learned firsthand the power of hope. ... The example of our mother, even in the worst of times, to move forward and put faith and hope into action, not just worrying or wishful thinking, sustained our family and me and gave confidence that present circumstances would give

way to future blessings.

... Hope sustains us through despair. Hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice even when all seems dark around us. ... With Nephi I declare: “Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”

This is the quality of hope we must cherish and develop. Such a mature hope comes in and through our Savior Jesus Christ, for “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as [the Savior] is pure.”... God will wait with “open arms to receive” those who give away their sins and continue in faith, hope, and charity.

And to all who suffer to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely - I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart. ..."

If you would like to read the whole talk either now or in your own time, here is the link below. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/the-infinite-power-of-hope

Stay Tuned until next time.

The Infinite Power of Hope ~ Part One

      Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take four minutes to seven minutes to read from start to finish.

What is your definition of the word, "hope"? Have you applied "hope" throughout your life thus far?

What does "hope" means to a immediate relative? What does "hope" means to a non-member friend? 

This post focuses on a October 2008 General Conference, and it is called "The Infinite Power of Hope" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. This post is part one. I hope you will be able to learn something new while reading throughout this post. 

President Uchtdorf has mentioned the following; 

"... Toward the end of World War II, my father was drafted into the German army and sent to the western front, leaving my mother alone to care for our family. Though I was only three years old, I can still remember this time of fear and hunger. 

... Finally, during the cold winter of 1944, my mother decided to flee to Germany, where her parents were living. She bundled us up and somehow managed to get us on one of the last refugee trains heading west. Traveling during that time was dangerous. 

Everywhere we went, the sound of explosions, the stressed faces, and ever-present hunger reminded us that we were in a war zone. Along the way the train stopped occasionally to get supplies. One night during one of these stops, my mother hurried out of the train to search for some food for her four children. 

When she returned, to her great horror, the train and her children were gone! She was weighed down with worry; desperate prayers filled her heart. She frantically searched the large and dark train station, urgently crisscrossing the numerous tracks while hoping against hope that the train had not already departed.

Perhaps I will never know all that went through my mother’s heart and mind on that black night as she searched through a grim railroad station for her lost children. That she was terrified, I have no doubt. I am certain it crossed her mind that if she did not find this train, she might never see her children again. 

I know with certainty: her faith overcame her fear, and her hope overcame her despair. She was not a woman who would sit and bemoan tragedy. She moved. She put her faith and hope into action. And so she ran from track to track and from train to train until she finally found our train. It had been moved to a remote area of the station. 

There, at last, she found her children again. I have often thought about that night and what my mother must have endured. If I could go back in time and sit by her side, I would ask her how she managed to go on in the face of her fears. 

I would ask about faith and hope and how she overcame despair. While that is impossible, perhaps today I could sit by your side and by the side of any who might feel discouraged, worried, or lonely. ...

"Hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes
us with courage during difficult challenges." 

The Importance of Hope

Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we 

might encounter at the time. 

The scriptures are clear and certain about the importance of hope. ... Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. ... Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior. 

This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope. Hope in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness. ...

But Why Then Is There Despair?

The scriptures say that there must be “an opposition in all things.” So it is with faith, hope, and charity. Doubt, despair, and failure to care for our fellowmen lead us into temptation, which can cause us to forfeit choice and precious blessings.

The adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds in suffocating darkness. Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be. ... Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward.

Hope, on the other hand, is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. ... It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism, confusion, and of fear." 

Stay Tuned until next time.