A place to find Hope

Category: survive (Page 1 of 2)

4 Ways to Face Days in a Not so Friendly World.

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There have been many things that are happening that are pulling us all down like a huge magnate. Inflation, war in Ukraine, high crime rates, our southern border, gas prices. All this seems to be on the shoulders of our current president.

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In reality it is something that probably would have happened no matter who the president is. Of course some of the things can be avoided, and I wish the president could see that.

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Still struggling with arthritis in my right hip. I am taking Tylenol Arthritis pills t but there is still some pain there. I will see a specialist, soon to see if there is something they can do that isn’t surgery. I am told that I am too old for any kind of surgery.

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How is your day going. Do you often wish you could just stay in bed all day? I certainly have been there.

Life is not a beautiful rose garden. There are too many thorns that can hurt us.

Lost relationships, overpowering bills to pay, lost job, depression. What can we do to overcome all of this:

  1. One day at a time.
  2. Face the storms, and you will become stronger.
  3. Never, ever, give up!
  4. Pray to God for His help.

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Remember:

You are never alone,

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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See Excerpts From, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World

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I am starting something new… I will be sharing actual excerpts from my first book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. I am proud to say that the book won a nation award from the Reader’s Favorite, national awards.

Come back often to see more excerpts. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on subscribe. When you do all future posts will go directly to your inbox.

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FOREWORD


STORIES HAVE THEIR own unique way of teaching us things.
When Jesus taught the crowds from Capernaum to Jerusalem,
He chose stories about everyday people in everyday places to
teach us about ourselves and about the God we serve. With their
panoramic perspective, stories give us insight into the essential
matters of life. We learn from the truths embedded in the journey
of others.
In Signs of Hope, Douglas Bolton extracts wisdom from his
personal life experience, mining it for the faith lessons God
has urged his heart to pen for us. In his words, we fi nd simple
answers to the harrowing and the complicated as he shares timely
and powerful lessons on living with hope in the midst of this
challenging age.
Hope refreshes us when we feel overpowered by the world
around us. We observe bleakness in another’s eyes (and sometimes
in our own) and wonder how our peace can be restored. Self-generated resources are inadequate. But when we turn back toward
God, we discover His supply, an unending fountain for us to drink.

The power and richness of stories are themselves a fountain
when flowing with God’s eternal truth. It’s in this spirit that I
recommend the journey Douglas Bolton has arranged for his
readers. His experience of walking many years and miles with the
Lord has infused these pages. May Signs of Hope, with its offering
of refreshment, grow your faith in God and lead you to a closer
walk with Him.
Chris Coppernoll


Founder and host of the internationally syndicated radio
program, Soul2Soul Radio, heard around the world on over 800
broadcast outlets in 20 countries. http://providencebook.com

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This is the forward to the book. Chris Coppernoll is an incredible young man who has a tremendous outreach with his syndicated radio program. I am proud to have him do the foreword.

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Keep coming back to see more chapters from the book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. Subscribe to have it sent to your inbox.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Some Have Been Betrayed, and are Bitter Because of it

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Some of you have been betrayed, and you feel bitter. You aren’t alone. I have been there myself. You think you are a victim. We want to know how we can get justice. We live with resentment, which is recalling the event.

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Don’t sit there and lick your wounds. Get up and praise God for the day!

  1. Make sure that no one misses your grace.
  2. Make sure no bitter roots spring up.
  3. Make sure that no one is immoral, or worshiping other gods.

We have to be careful, because the seeds of bitterness makes us by-pass the cross. The seed of bitterness hurts us. Bitterness harbors hostility. There is devastation with bitterness.

People who are bitter:

  1. Are very sensitive.
  2. Have no gratitude.
  3. Harshly criticizes others.
  4. Hold grudges.
  5. Have mood swings.

So how do we get rid of bitterness?

  1. Repent and confess before God. Open your heart.
  2. Focus on God’s grace towards you.
  3. Replace your bitterness with the pursuit of holiness.

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Final thought:

Death’s power over me is as dead as my sin.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Where Do We Find Our Hope to Survive?

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We often forget where we find hope in this not so friendly world. Here are some ideas about hope:

  1. Our hope is a command from God.
  2. Our hope is a certainty through God.
  3. Our hope is full when we learn what God has done for us.
  4. Our hope is full when we live to be like God.

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You have heard of the old commercial that says, “I want to be like Mike.” The Nike commercial for Michael Jorden’s tennis shoes? Well, we Need to think, “I want to be like God.”

Be imitators of God!

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Angels are not made in the image of God. Animals are not made in the image of God. Only you are are made in the image of God. That is how much He loves us.

To find out more about this we need to focus on the Bible. It is full of God’s love for us.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Ukraine Needs Our Prayers and Love to Sustain Them

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It has been very frightening for the people of Ukraine. They have a huge Army trying to defeat them. So far they are hanging tough, but there are thousands of Russian military heading for the capital.

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It is easy to sit here in the United States and think, I feel badly for them, but I am safe here. We should never forget them. There are thousands of Christians there that will severely be persecuted and killed.

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Pray for God’s intervention. Pray that He will protect the people of Ukraine. We may have to defend our own country some day.

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How is your world turning? Do you want it to stop so you can get off? This hotel called earth, is become very hostile and sad. Many would want to check out.

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Rest on the love of God. He knows what is happening. He knows our fears. The shortest verse in the Bible says, “Fear not!”

Don’t let the dark side overcome you with fear. God is in charge. We just have to be faithful and abide in Him.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

_____________________________________________

+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.

Everything That Can go Wrong Probably Will

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I had four days of exercise last week. At my age you would think that I was almost dead. 🙂 However, I now feel stronger, and will be doing four more days of exercise this week. We will see what happens.

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I am sharing another excerpt from my first book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.

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Chapter 2

Everything that Can Go Wrong Probably Will

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

 he delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4

Murphy must have been a sad soul. We all live by the laws he created for us. It seems that we blame everything that goes wrong on Murphy’s Law.

You’ve had those days. You get up in the morning and start out happy as a clam. (Not sure how happy that is.) You have some errands to do, and you begin to do them.

You run out of gas, or you have a flat tire. You forgot your grocery list. The item you thought was on sale wasn’t. There is an accident on the freeway, and you are stuck for hours.

Ever had those kinds of days? Let me tell you about mine! I had volunteered to help my son Greg out when he vacationed in Disneyland with my granddaughter Molly. I told him I would pick up his mail every day, put the garbage cans back on Tuesday, and feed Charlie the cat all week.

Everything went well Sunday through Tuesday. But on Wednesday, the worst thing happened. I lost the door key. I had it in my summer shorts when I went to shower. I took off the shorts, showered, and then put on a clean pair of shorts. I left the house and headed over to my son’s house.

Charlie was waiting for me, and already had started his purring sound to let me know he was glad to see me. I got the mail, walked up to the door and reached into my pocket to get the key. It wasn’t there. Charlie was looking up at me looking like, “Why are you taking so long to open the door?”

“Sorry Charlie,” I muttered, sounding like a tuna commercial. “I have to go back home and get the key.” He wasn’t very happy with me as I walked to my car. I felt badly.

I got home and looked everywhere for the key. It was nowhere in sight. I even dumped out the hamper where the dirty clothes were. Zilch! Notta! Ouch!

I remembered that we had a bunch of extra keys in the desk drawer that had no names on them. I dug all of them out and drove back to my son’s house. You guessed it: None of them worked!

I was desperate by this time. I thought that I might have to call a locksmith, or call my son and have him Fed Ex his keys to me.

I prayed for help from God and immediately thought of calling my wife Charlotte to see if she had any ideas. (This was my close encounter with God.) I probably sounded shook up when she answered the phone—maybe because my only words were, “Now what do I do?”

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’ve lost the key to the house, and the cat food is on the inside.”

Without hesitating, she suggested, “Go to the grocery store and buy another bag of cat food and feed Charlie outside. He’s an outside cat anyway. Greg can make a new key when he gets home.”

Charlie was really mad at me when I left the second time without feeding him. I returned with a tasty tuna and salmon meal (yum). He gobbled it up and was purring again when I left.

Of course, going to the grocery store was the obvious choice. (You realize, of course, that I actually knew it all along. I was just testing Charlotte.) The important thing was that the answer came after I had prayed for help. Charlotte was the messenger, but God answered the prayer.

God can answer prayers in many ways. It can be directly, or it can be through someone else. Charlotte was my answer to prayer. She knew the easy solution I needed, but I wasn’t able to think of.

Do you call on God to help you when you have a problem, or do you panic like I did? (God has a speed dial you know.) At least, I knew I couldn’t do it on my own and turned to God for help. The calming feeling that came as soon as I finished praying was very reassuring.

It was in God’s hands, and I knew something good would happen. Charlie got fed, and I have a whole bag of cat food for future lockouts.

Don’t let obstacles stop you. Turn your problems over to God. Let Him figure out a solution. It may not come as fast as mine did, but He will work it out the way He knows is best for you.

Since I am on the subject of prayer, please don’t just call on God when there is a problem. Talk to God every day. He loves to hear from you.

I know it is hard to pray when you are at work. It is hard to pray while you are driving. But you know what? When you are driving might be the best time to pray. It is when you are likely to be tense and need a calming spirit. A guy is blowing his horn behind you. Pray seeking patience because you do not know what is going on in this man’s life. He may want to get home because his wife called and is ready to have their first baby. Wouldn’t you be honking?

Prayer should be done without ceasing. Pray each and every day. Use it to praise God. Use it to thank Him for your good health. Use it to pray for peace. Whatever is on your mind, God wants to hear from you. It should be like He is sitting in the room with you. Carry on a conversation with Him.

Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything, by prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6–7

Further Adventures

Have you gone along in life thinking that everything is fine, only to have a day that makes you realize that the world is not always a rose garden? First of all, remember that we can’t look at everything through rose-colored glasses.

Second, when a bad day comes knocking at your door like it was your long-lost relative, make sure it understands that it can only stay for that day. Then boot it out at the end of the day by giving it over to God in prayer. You should never let your bad days stay longer than they should.

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that we always have a direct line to God, but we sometimes think the connection is dead?

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I will be sharing more excerpts in the future so keep coming back. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will directly to your inbox.

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Does it seem like the storms are coming too often? Would you rather stay in bed all day?

FEAR NOT!

God is with you 24/7. He will never forsake you. Lean on Him as your fortress. Never give in to the darkside.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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We Struggle to Have Hope During Our Storms

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I am having a problem writing this blog, because of my growing pessimistic view is getting larger.

I told my wife about my difficulties and she looked at me and said, “You have to have hope!”

That snapped me out of it, and I am ready to give out hope:

Helping those around you spreads hope.

Often things we worry about never happen.

Prayer helps you through any storms you may have.

Everyone needs to be loved.

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I went grocery shopping today, and I was amazed of how many people refuse to wear masks. I saw a couple, and the wife had a mask on, but her husband did not.

He looked like he wanted someone to challenge him. I just felt he had that right, but he was endangering others around him and himself.

Over 90% of the new cases of COVID have not had the vaccine. That is staggering. People who refuse to get the vaccine are dying by the thousands.

The hope we need to find here is that people will see the huge amount of unvaccinated people dying and go ahead and get their shots.

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Have you had some down time in your life lately? Do you fear getting out because of the virus?

Cling to the robe of God, and He will walk you through any storm you are having. He will be with you 24/7. He is the poster child for hope.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Idolatry is Causing Many to Turn Away From God

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In our world of sadness and chaos we wonder what we need to do to survive in this not so friendly world. I heard a powerful message at church yesterday about idolatry.

When we think of it, many of the dictators of this world live off of idolatry.

Think about the Taliban in Afghanistan. They have only one thing on their minds, and that is people worship them or they die.

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The Bible has a story about a city that turned to idols instead of God. God punished them by destroying the whole city. There was nothing left there but dried bones.

The people who lived through this cried for help, and God said they need to repent to receive His grace.

Here is a definition of idolatry:

It takes place when we exchange God’s self revelations and replace them with our own ideas of who we think God is or should be.

The essence of idolatry is thinking thoughts about God that is unworthy of Him.

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Have our bones dried up because we worship idols like, cell phones, TV, our new car, or boat?

Take inventory of your live and see if you have placed something in front of God that you idolize.

Some thoughts:

God can be trusted.

God’s promises are sure.

God loves you just the way you are.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Top Five Ways to Survive in a Not so Friendly World

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I had my usual Physical therapy today. Went pretty smoothly. Getting stronger each visit.

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The governor of my state of Oregon announced today that we are going back to mandating masks for indoor events. The new Delta virus is causing havoc everywhere. We are back to where we were over a year ago.

Here are some scary statistics. Two of the biggest cities in our nation have had a tremendous increase of deaths from the virus. In one of the cities 95% of the deaths were not vaccinated. In the other city it was 94%. Pretty clear facts that shows everyone needs to get their shots now.

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I don’t know about you, but I am struggling with all the turmoil that is going on all around us. Fake news, rioting, racism, lying by politicians, bad decisions by congress, and a president that doesn’t even know how many people live in our country.

I sat down and tried to figure out how I could face all of this mess. Here is what I came up with:

  1. Time to wear blinders like horses do. Only look straight ahead to the future.
  2. Only believe facts. not fairy tales.
  3. Do not blame people around you for problems, look in the mirror.
  4. Reach out to help those who are confused and depressed.
  5. Rely on your family and friends to see you through the storms.

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If you are overcome with all the turmoil. Make you own list of survival ideas. Live by them every day.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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What Can We Do to Survive the World we Live in?

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“Another day, another dollar.” That was the saying when I was a kid. Many people only made a dollar a day. Now you can hardly survive when you are making $15.00 an hour. Times change and so does the cost of living.

I missed my post on Wednesday. My apologizes. Just a bad hair day for me. I actually am felling better today. A new med is helping me a great deal with my shortness of breath.

To be able to breath better has changed not only my health, but my mental state.

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I have thought of many things that are important to me:

  1. Being with family.
  2. Having coffee with some buddies.
  3. Writing emails to those who need company.
  4. Fishing with my boys.
  5. Enjoying each day God has given me.
  6. Spending time with my bride.
  7. Sitting on my deck listening and seeing the birds.
  8. Going on walks.
  9. Reading.
  10. Reaching out to help others.

I bet you could have a list that is even longer than mine, and it will make more sense to you. Try it.

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I keep seeing how our country is going quickly in the wrong direction. Inflation is out of control. Gas prices are soaring. The pandemic is coming back in full force. People are angry and pushing back.

I wonder what we can do to survive this bad trend:

  1. Remember, God is in charge.
  2. All things work for the good of those who believe in God.
  3. God will never give you something that is too hard to handle. It is not Him doing it if it happens.
  4. Never feel you are unworthy of love. That is one of the most disheartening things that happen to us.
  5. Take each day, one at a time.

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How are you doing through the turmoil we are facing these days? Is it hard to get up in the morning to face the world?

God loves you! He made you in His own image. He wants the best for you. Lean on Him through prayer and He will guide you through the muck and mire of life.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.

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