Episode 13 :: Simply Advent :: Dare to Hope
On this episode of the Simply Advent series, my friends Cain and Lena Hall and I all sit down and talk about what it means to live with hope in light of the past, the present and its role in the future. Hope came, but it did not appear (and still often doesn’t) as we expected it to. Cain and Lena both experienced a lot of life and heartache before they met each other. They share what it was like for them in their singleness as they both chose to live with hope and trust God with their lives and the lives of the children in seasons they never saw coming, and their journey into new hard things, but how God is meeting them in it.
Hope does not mean everything is going to be perfect, but that you are never alone in it. I love this quote from Lena in this conversation:
“Without Jesus, without Hope, there’s nothing. There’s a bunch of bad experiences that don’t have a reason, don’t have a purpose, and with Hope it ties it all together not perfectly, but in a way that doesn’t make it easier, but makes it where your past and the things you’ve been through don’t own you and they are just a part of you and there’s a bigger purpose.”
As we walk with God, and surrender our lives to Him, we can look backwards of where God was in the hard, and how we can believe Him for the future.
This tender conversation covers such vast topics of where hope has impacted our grief, our waiting, our rejoicing, and how we cling to God’s Word and the Light of His Son’s presence as we choose to “dare to hope.” I pray it meets you wherever you are. You matter. Your story matters. Hope is worth the risk.
Resources:
Alpha Delta Pi (OBIC! <>)
31 Prayers for my Future Husband: Preparing My Heart for Marriage by Praying for Him - Aaron & Jennifer Smith
The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears - Mark Batterson
“Do It Again” - Elevation Worship
Scary Close: Dropping the Act and Finding True Intimacy - Donald Miller
Cystic-Fibrosis (shout out to my girl, Kayla! Fight on, CF Warrior!)
“Good, Good Father”- Housefires II
Lena’s Mom: Shelia Hines contact her if you need your mailbox decorated for Christmas!
Scripture References:
If you feel led to find out if you might be a match for kidney donation for Cain, you can contact him here and he can connect you with all the right people at Vanderbilt :)
Connect with me over on Instagram and on my blog for more Advent resources, Christmas Giveaways, my Book Lovers Gift Guide and other general shenanigans.
The intro and outro music is by audionautix.com
