Light, Love, Hope

Light in the Darkness Surrounded by Love with Hope for those in need.

My Grandma’s Bible

The book with the worn cover sat beside her favorite overstuffed rocking recliner in the living room.  Picking it up, she would run her long fingers over the curled edges, then flip it open to reveal vibrant colors of yellow and pink along with cursive writing along the sides.  I’m referring to my grandma’s bible.

After my grandmother’s death two years ago, this bible was given to my dad.  It took him a while to be able to open it to read what my grandmother had written.  When he felt strong enough, he ran his long fingers over the same cover, just as my grandma used to do, before he opened.  He paused to gather his composure as he saw her “chicken scratch writing” as she used to describe it.  Tucked inside were slips of paper in the form of notes that her grandchildren had written when they were little.  One such note was written by me as a child.

As my dad carefully turned the pages of his mother’s bible, he found notes along the sides and in the back that she had written about her family.  Some were even prayers about her family, pleading with God for His hand of protection and safety over us all.

My grandmother probably never realized the greatest gift she was leaving behind for her family; the gift of her thoughts as she pondered God’s word and highlighted her favorite verses that spoke to her through the years.  Now she continues to speak to us through the words she wrote in her bible.

Long before there was even a notion of creating a journaling bible, my grandma created her own.  Now that this generation has realized the value of such, they’ve created a place for your notes and thoughts in the form of a journaling bible!

Having just received my very own journaling bible, I’d like to share with you how impressed I was and still am with it!
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The bible came in a protective case. Once I carefully slid the bible out of the case, I couldn’t help but run my hand over the cover as it felt almost like suede.  It does not have the traditional bible cover.  Instead, it looks just like a fancy journal.  I opened it and carefully turned the cream colored pages to find two inch margins to write thoughts and prayers of my own!  My thoughts immediately turned to my grandma and how she would have LOVED to have a bible like this!

Is there someone in your life that would appreciate a journaling bible?  Or, would you like one yourself?  If so, please be sure to enter our giveaway below!

 

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A special thank you to Fly-By Productions/Propeller for the opportunity to review this journaling bible.

Faith of Our Fathers

Recently, we settled in for the night with hibachi takeout, popped in the DVD Faith of Our Fathers, and sat back for an enjoyable family night together with our 11 year old daughter.  One thing I especially love about these types of movies is that they are Christian movies.  You do not have to worry about the content or if anything will be inappropriate for little eyes to see or hear.

This particular story line began with John Paul and Wayne searching for answers to questions they had for years about the fathers they never knew.  Sadly, both of their fathers died 25 years before in the jungle of Vietnam.

As the plot thickens, the two young men decide to embark on a journey together to the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC.  Along the way, John Paul and Wayne learn about who their fathers really were and what they believed in.  They were afforded this opportunity by reading letters their fathers had written years earlier.  They became to understand that their fathers both struggled, just as they did.  Thankfully, the fathers turned to God for help.  A very interesting fact John Paul learned is that his dad wanted to be a preacher.  In fact, John Paul actually lead Wayne’s dad to Christ before they both died while serving the Lord and their great country.

Toward the end of the trip, the story unfolds into the young men unexpectedly meeting both their father’s platoon leader who served with them in the war.  The story line will keep you on the edge of your seat as you travel along with them on this journey!

We encourage you to see this movie.  In fact, here is your chance to enter our giveaway below for your very own copy of Faith of Our Fathers!   Be sure to enter, and best of luck to you!

A special thank you to Fly By Productions/Propeller for the opportunity to review this DVD.  I was given a copy of the DVD; however, it did not influence my review.  The opinions expressed here are our own.

~Dusty, Shirley’s husband.

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A Christmas Wish

I am sure some of you may be thinking, it’s not even Thanksgiving and you are posting about Christmas already. I am posting this now because I would like to introduce our little holiday contest. We have a gift bag full of surprises to give away during the holiday season and we just couldn’t wait to get started.

So here is how this works. Christmas is the season of giving. We run around looking for the perfect gift for those important people in our lives. Then we run some more for those office gift exchanges or Secret Santa’s we always seem to get into. What we here at Light, Love, Hope want to know is what do YOU want for Christmas; what do you REALLY want for Christmas?

We have a bag full of stocking stuffers to give away. So post your Christmas wish as a comment on our Christmas Wish page or on this post on our Facebook page. We will be picking random winners throughout the next several weeks. You have until December 15th to get your wishes posted.

Click here to post your wish to our “A Christmas Wish” page.

To get things started, I will share with you what I really want for Christmas.

Over the years, I have been told that I am a very hard person to know what to get for Christmas. I can see how people would think that as if I see something I want I just get it for myself. My family rarely asks what I want. They know that I have a passion for popcorn, but that is the one thing they never buy for me. That is a mystery to me. I will admit much of the time I tell them that there isn’t really anything I want. That is not really a true statement. There is something that I have always wanted, but it is not something that you can buy in a store. It is something that I missed greatly from my childhood.

Each year during the holidays, we would decorate the whole house with lights and candles. We had a very nice fireplace that we would decorate with holly and lights. Each Saturday night we would light a fire in the fireplace, have only the Christmas lights on, and have Christmas music playing on the stereo. We would sit there with our Advent calendar and read the passage of the day in front of the fire. We then just sit by fire for the evening listening to all the wonderful Christmas melodies playing softly in the background. I miss that a lot.

So here is what I would really like for Christmas. I would like to spend an evening with someone sitting with some music playing (a fire in a fireplace would be nice but not necessary ) who would let me lean my head on their shoulder and hold their hand. That is it. That is all I want.

So what do you really want for Christmas?

ChristmasBear

shirley

Light, Love, Hope

Shirley is the proud mother of two beautiful young ladies. She enjoys spending time with them on their ranch in the deep South with their three paint horses. Always looking for an adventure, she looks forward to hikes in the mountains chasing waterfalls, or scouring the coast for beautiful lighthouses! Shirley writes to encourage others and often times shares things that motivate and inspire her. She believes in living life to the fullest because no one is promised the gift of another day. Join her as we honor our bodies, minds, hearts, souls, and our Almighty Creator, God above!