Friday, June 28, 2013

In between is Hope.




"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 

~ 1 Corinthians 13:13 

The greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13) but let's talk about the word that sits in between faith and love: Hope.

I hope you have been following along with me and others in this Graffiti Summer challenge. God is doing some amazing things. It's not too late to join in on this study. This week our assignment was to open up to others. We were challenged to share from a deeper level which then gives others the freedom to do as well.

All week long I read the words of other Graffiti Summer writers. Hop over here and read what all these amazing ladies have shared. They all dared to be real. Over the past four weeks these writers have connected by leaving comments on each other's posts and giving shout outs on Twitter. New friendships are being formed. It's a beautiful thing.

One of the Graffiti Summer writers wrote on being addicted to connection. Stop in and read what Tammy Werthem @ iwokeupyesterday had to say. Her addiction to connection is contagious. In an earlier post Tammy got real and shared at a deeper level. As I write this morning I think of my new friend and the connection we've now made because she was real. She gave me hope by reminding me God never wastes a hurt.

Before I called it quits for the night I connected with another friend who asked me to write a guest post for her blog. Our connection has us brainstorming on bringing hope to those who struggle with worrying about how they are perceived by others. Oh what a familiar struggle.

My hurt for years has been worrying about how I'm perceived and believing I needed to be the same as others to fit in. This worrying has taken on many different forms with one of them being a long-time struggle with bulimia.

Yesterday, someone dared to be real. She then opened up the door for me to be real with her. Being real struck a chord with my friend Jessica @ Prayers and Apples to say come share your story on my page and let's bring hope to others. I've discovered my friend Tammy shared powerful truth when she said to me, "God will use this challenge with bulimia to heal you, so that you can lead others out of similar struggles."

The struggle is more than a struggle with bulimia but a struggle to believe that inside and out I am enough. It's a struggle so many have. The message I hope to deliver is one that reminds us all that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God and his works are wonderful. (Psalm 139:14)

This amazing leader of our Graffiti Summer challenge is right, freedom can be found when we get real.

Hope is found through connections because connections lead us and others to the one who gives us hope. Our hope comes from the Lord.


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Friends, I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker again for Five Minute Friday. Lisa has created a wonderful community where many others come together and write for five minutes on a prompt she provides. It's a beautiful thing. Today's prompt is: In Between. I need to keep it real and tell you I wrote for more than five minutes...much more. Once I got started I couldn't stop. I hope you don't mind me still linking up.


14 comments :

  1. Love this Beth !Thank you for being real and sharing I know it is scary to put it out there, you are amazing. So blessed that we crossed paths. Love you

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    1. Thank you, Jennifer. I'm very grateful for the new friendships being made from this graffiti summer challenge. Blessings. Much love.

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  2. Dear Beth
    What I find so amazing about Jesus during the time He walked the earth, is how people, for example the woman at the well, could always be open and honest as if they instinctively knew that He would not condemn them! There is nothing better than just running to Him with everything without worrying one bit what He would think of us! He came for the lost ones like us all!
    Blessings
    Mia

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    1. Yes, Mia. There is nothing better. I'm always grateful for your encouragement and inspiration. You're a blessing my friend.
      Much love.

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  3. Thank you Beth, I am thrilled about our connection and grateful for our new friendship.
    "Hope is found through connections because connections lead us and others to the one who gives us hope. Our hope comes from the Lord."
    Keep holding out the hope that the more connections you make, the more others are free to follow your lead. Each of us as believers is responsible for this. I absolutely love your heart!!
    Blessings, Tammy

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    1. Thank you, Tammy. I'm so grateful God prompted me to read your posts. Your words have impacted me greatly. It's been a good couple of days! Much love to you.

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  4. Bold and beautiful and I so appreciate your honesty here! I so value and believe in Connection and I love how God uses it for His purposes - in His time! Visiting from Lisa Jo's FMF crew!

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    1. Thank you for stopping in Karrilee. I enjoyed connecting briefly on Thursday for the FMFParty. I will try to do again soon.
      Blessings.

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  5. Beth - so happy to see more women being real :) This is what our world needs. Open, honest, loving communication and connection. :) Your tweet to me earlier this week meant the world to me. We hadn't ever really talked much, but to know you were thinking of me -- it was a huge hug felt miles away. Thank you for that! :) Love the connections God brings us in unexpected places! (Never thought I'd make this many amazing friends through writing...)

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    1. Thank you so much my friend! I'm so grateful for your kind words. I couldn't agree more...I'm in awe of the connections God has been placing in my life in so many unexpected ways. I'm grateful for our connection. It really is a beautiful thing! Much love.

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  6. Beth,
    I soooo appreciate your honestly and "realness". I feel like that is what has drawn us together and enabled us to make a connection. My prayer for you, for both of us, is that we would TRULY see and believe in the depths of our souls the we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" and live our lives for an audience of One...the one and only opinion that really matters. And, thanks to Jesus' blood he sees us as perfect - wow - hard to comprehend!! Love you my marble jar friend! Wonderful post!
    Love and ((hugs)),
    Bev

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    1. Praying for us both my marble jar friend. Oh I can't wait for the day when we finally meet. Love you. (((hugs)))

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  7. I love this. So true that being real can bring some amazing blessings...and it also brings freedom. Thank you for sharing today! :)

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  8. I used to write well past 5 minutes in the beginning too. FMF prompts became a great exercise on top of being an amazing way to connect with others. You will be blessed completely in this community. Incredibly blessed! Happy writing Beth! :)

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Much love to you.