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 My hope 
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Hey ya'll! I will not be able to make Hope Day because my dad is having heart problems and will be having surgery tomorrow. But I still wanted to talk about what gives me hope. First and foremost, for those who know me, I hope they are able to see in the way I live my life that I am a Christian. And my hope comes truly from my faith in Jesus. He has given me so many things to be thankful for and that give me hope for the future. I have been blessed with a wonderful family, caring friends, and a loving fiancé. When I look at what I have been blessed with, I am amazed and that gives me hope because I have their love and support in no matter what I do. My life verse is from Jeremiah 29:11, which states "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" This verse means so much to me, because there have been times in my life that I look back on and ponder how in the world I got through it, but I know for a fact that Jesus carried me through those tough times because He has much more planned for my life. Just the fact that I can rely on my God to get me through such tough times gives me hope because I know that I am never alone and that He is my strength and will never let me down.

I am disappointed that I want be there, but my dad is definitely one of my blessings and a major part of what gives me hope, so he comes first. I was going to bring in my huge photo album so that I could show all of my blessings. And I was just wondering what everyone else was doing for Hope Day. So my question is what gives you hope? I am interested in hearing what each of you has to say.


Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:15 am
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I'm sorry you can't be with us tonight for the last class Ashley. Thanks for sharing with us your hope story! As for what gives me hope heres my story.
My mom and dad are getting ready to celebrate their 25th wedding aniversary and I have made them a scrap book of their wedding pictures. As I was working on it I realized what a wonderful marriage they have and how much I wanted that. They are what give me hope.

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Thu Apr 21, 2005 3:44 pm
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My hope lies in Jesus Christ! He has brought me through so many difficulties that I would be a fool not to see what a comfort and stronghold he has been for me. One thing in particular that gives me hope in Jesus is the fact that he lives! If you look at Muhammad, Buddha, and other religious leaders, they all have graves, but not my Savior because He LIVES again! That simple fact that Jesus came to this earth and died for somebody with so much sin in their life(me) shows me that He doesn't care who we are, but loves us anyway. For someone to be able to look through all of time and see how many people would reject Him, spit upon His name and turn their backs on them, yet still die so that they would have the chance of getting to Heaven is awesome. There is hope for everyone out there. You don't have to earn your salvation, all you have to do is accept the gift. Jesus paid the ultimate price by laying down His life so that we all could have the chance of salvation. No matter what happens in my life, I know that Jesus is there for me and He will not only walk beside me, but pick me up and carry me when things get too rough for me to handle.


Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:47 pm
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Ashley, I shared about how seeing the courage and faith of my younger brother gave me hope. He started his senior year off with a rather difficult situation. He had brain surgery in August one week before his senior year started. He was not able to play soccer on the varsity team for the first little bit of his year or drive or do any other strenuous activity for 6 weeks. This was a terrifying time for me because I had no faith and just kept thinking that something bad was going to happen. He didn't deserve this! It was a real emotional time for my family and we had so many people from church and the community and David's soccer teammates and families praying for him, praying that he would get through this and the surgery would be successful. He did have a brain tumor, which was thankfully not cancerous. It was all removed and he is fine now! He will be a freshman at NC State University in the fall and I am so very proud of him. He showed immense courage and faith in a time when I was so uncertain. I love him so much and I am glad that everything is fine now! I consider him such a blessing in my life and I take the time to let him know I care. We used to fight all the time and not be that close. Now we are a lot closer and hang out more. He is a great guy! Sorry you couldn't be with us tonight. It was a lot of fun! I hope that your dad is doing well. I will be thinking about you and your family. Take care!!


Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:18 pm
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Ashley, thank you for starting this. I wasn't able to be there either and really feel like I missed an important part of the class experience.

I can second what others have said about getting hope from their faith in God, but I am trying to think on a more basic level about my experience in education and what I see there.

I've worked in the health department for over 12 years and most recently in the school system, and the people who draw your attention the fastest are the ones who are in the most trouble. As teachers I would predict you will spend the majority of your time on the smallest number of students who are the most needy, either financially or educationally or emotionally--of course those things usually go hand in hand. I was real surprised to find the kids I ran into in school who needed assistance were kids whose mothers I had known in the health department's maternity clinic, and their problems hadn't gone away.

This may contradict much of what we talked about in class about social class, but what gives me hope is seeing families who ARE functional (and usually they are more priviliged--not rich, just not poor). It's so nice to see parents who are concerned and will take time to come to the school to talk to teachers. Parents who are married and care for each other. Who enroll their kids in music classes and ballet lessons and who coach soccer and basketball. Mothers who volunteer.

It's so easy to get fixated on the kids who aren't doing well and forget that many--even the vast majority--are getting ready to have a good life contributing to society. It's those who are in the mainstream of life, who are doing what we'd like everyone to be doing, who give me hope.


Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:49 pm
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I hope your dad makes it through his surgery okay.

First I want to say how much I enjoyed our Hope Day. Listening to everyone's story was very inspiring.

My hope is also in Jesus. I know that no matter what struggles I am going through, I am never alone. Christ is always with me and He is either carrying me or holding my hand. One of my favorite songs is The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns. When I'm struggling with all the doubts I have, I remember the line "Out of all the voices calling out to me, I will chose to listen and believe the voice of truth."


Sat Apr 23, 2005 11:28 am
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I almost cried reading your post. I also have tremedous faith in God and I know that he can achieve miracles. My father gives me hope everyday. He is a strong Christian man that has so much faith. One reason that I transferred to ASU instead of coming straight here was my father. He was having a lot of health problems and I could not bear to leave him. I hope that all is well with your dad.


Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:00 pm
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Thank you all for your encouraging words for my dad. His surgery went well and he is back home. I'm glad everyone had a great time at hope day and thanks for all your responses about your hope.


Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:19 am
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