Hope

So I guess I need to catch you up on my thankful list.  Last Friday I was thankful for my health.  As of Thursday night I had lost over 10% of my weight in 8 weeks.  I'm eating so much better and feeling fantastic!!

Saturday I was in Deep Creek lake with some of my best friends.  We take a retreat every fall there and it is one of the highlights of my year!  The lake is gorgeous and we had beautiful weather for our hike on Saturday.  As we walked through the woods, laughing our way through the trails at Swallow Falls, I was struck by the beauty of God's creation.  (I forgot my camera, but the following pictures are all from my friend Andrea, who did a great job of documenting the weekend!)
How can you not be thankful for this?

On Sunday I was thankful for my amazing friends, who are part of what makes this weekend so great!

These are people I can totally be myself around.  They show me love, encourage me, make me laugh and inspire me!  It so great to see how much they love each other too.  I treasure their friendship and the time we get to spend together.  I think it's somewhat unusual to have such a close group of friends at our ages, so I'm thankful for every second I get with them.

Yesterday I was thankful for hydrocortisone!  I somehow managed to get eaten alive by some bug!

And today I'm thankful for hope...specifically hope in God's promises.  During my quiet time this morning, God brought to mind some verses on hope that really lifted my spirit.  Hebrews 6: 15, 17-19 "And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised...Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath.  God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."  There are so many things that I worry will never happen in my life.  There are even times when I feel like God has forgotten me.  But the key is patience and hoping.  I want that to be an anchor for my soul today.  I hope you all are encouraged as well.

Reading that chapter also brought to mind these versed.  2 Peter 3:9 "And the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead he is patient with you..."  Romans 5:5 "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out on our hearts."  Be very encouraged friends - we serve a faithful God!!