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Do you ever say that? The phrase works in many different contexts; hunters use it, shoppers use it, parents use it and kids use it, because we all have hopes. If we are honest, we often have more hopes than certainties. Our plans are so fragile because our lives are fragile. Sickness, weather, entropy and the choices of others all affect our personal hopes and desires. The first theme of the Advent Season is hope and we plan to study this subject this coming Sunday.

When someone asks us, “How are you doing?”, it’s common to answer with how we are doing physically. Why? Because our physical health is something that affects all of us and something that matters to all of us. God gave us a body and expects us to take care of it!

Have you thought much about your thoughts lately? Scholars from psychology to spirituality write about the importance of thinking about what we are thinking about. Some refer to what’s going through our brain and inner life as an “inner narrative,” or simply, “self-talk.” Our narrative is formed by many different sources, some of them are out of our control. Our narrative becomes the story we tell ourselves about what life is about and how to live it.

Calvary Baptist Church has been missions-minded for most of our 80-year history. Why? Simply put, because God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. If we care about what God cares about, we’ll care about local and world-wide outreach. I’ve borrowed a term from others to describe this paradigm. The term is “glocal.”

I have had the privilege of hearing many, many “giving stories.” Truthfully, Diane and I have some amazing “giving stories” of our own. I hope you have some, and I pray you have more! A giving story is an example of how God cared for, blessed and/or provided for you with a direct connection to your giving. I first heard giving stories from my mom and dad. My dad would tell us at the end of the year how amazed he was with God’s provision.