Tag: hope

Grief During the Holidays

Posted on by Michael Rose
AH! The Holidays!! – the gift buying, the busy social schedule, and financial pressures. These aside, for many people, the holidays seem to make the grief we feel with the loss of a loved one extra fresh. This grief can undoubtedly be a result of losing a family member or close friend to death, and…
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Hope from the Ashes

Posted on by Michael Rose
Andrea and I went hiking a few days ago in Waterton National Park.  It is a lovely treasure just a couple of hours’ drive from home.   With COVID-19 restrictions being slowly lifted the park was being reopened on a limited basis so we took the opportunity to visit. We set out along a trail…
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Walking in the Dark

Posted on by Michael Rose
The above quote stirred me deeply today. “Do not be afraid” is a constant mantra through the scripture (some 70+ times) … and from personal experience, I can understand why.  I continue in a season of a long dark shadow.  A dark shadow cast by my beloved’s journey with Cancer.   These past 6 months…
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Lament

Posted on by Michael Rose
There was a tradition in a segment of Psalms referred to as the lament psalms. It was the pouring out of one’s grief with all its ugliness to God. It was often in response to great loss, death, war, captivity and often gave voice to great despair and anger. In all the rawness that could…
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Rugged Hope

Posted on by Michael Rose
  The Psalmist once wrote that hope deferred makes the heart sick. The Old Testament is full of stories of a people who wrestled with hope. In the face of crushing defeats, plagues, exile, and captivity after captivity these people persevered. They managed through generations of tragedy to find the grace to persevere when many…
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Heroic Living

Posted on by Michael Rose
 Ever feel like you are overrun by the mundane in your life?   Having dinner with some friends the other night and our conversation quickly turned to life and significance.  We all could agree that significance comes from something bigger than ourselves and for us around the table, we agreed, that something bigger was Jesus….
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Looking at Jesus

Posted on by Michael Rose
  They say that you become what you look at, and I think in many ways they’re right.  For example, if we spend a lot of time watching violent movies or video games we can become desensitized to violence, and some studies suggest that we are much more likely to behave violently.  If we focus…
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Soulful Living

Posted on by Michael Rose
It was a lovely Sunday afternoon.  You couldn’t ask for a nicer Spring day in Southern Alberta.   On a whim, we decided we would pack a picnic lunch and head to a favourite spot we have. Not frequented by many other, this lovely coulee with wonderful geological formations is a great place to get…
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