1/31 ((from Megan)) “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. So the sisters went to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God,…

1/30 ((from Natalie)) I have a challenge for you today.  Are you reading this on your phone? A computer?  When I say “Go!”, take a look at the clock on the top of your screen and see what time it is. Then sit for three whole minutes (DO NOTHING, just sit) before you read another…

1/29 ((from Kate)) “There’s nothing more tiring than waiting for something to happen.” Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham Oh how I hate it when other people are right, but in this instance everyone else was really, really right. I had never hopped on the Downton Abbey train, well, until last week. And now, after many nights…

1/28 ((from Bridget)) Okay, class, settle down. Settle down, please settle down now. Wow, so much excitement here in class today, we must be nearing the end of term indeed. As you know, I believe in each and every one of you and am so very proud of our colleagues here who have just received…

1/27 ((from Andy)) *As your Saturday Hoper, Eve, takes a few weeks off to spend with her beautiful brand new baby boy, HiH happily welcomes Andy to share with us! Andy is a disciple of Jesus, husband, father, career advisor, avid reader, photographer, and a philosopher. He is an extrovert who has a passion for Truth.

1/26 ((from Bri)) Call it pride, but I only like things that I’m good at. If I don’t excel at it, I’m not into it. You can see that reflected in my Math and Science grades – it’s just not my thing. But English and History, ahhhh, well there you have my full attention professor….

1/25 ((from Jessica)) As I hurried to class that morning, I imagined him tearing me to shreds. I imagined him humiliating me in front of the entire Communications 101 class. I imagined him reminding me of the grace he had already showed me with the four tardies I had already accumulated in just the first month…

1/23 ((Megan)) “When we read the book of Proverbs, its like having a conversation with Jesus in His counselor’s office, and He not only loves us, He understands us,” says Ray Ortlund, Jr. of how to rightly understand the book of Proverbs. Jesus has been the most patient and wise teacher for me. I took…

1/23 ((from Natalie)) *the following post is a fictionalized account Dear Diary, Today was the first day of classes on campus.  It was nerve-wracking. In my first two courses, when the professor handed out the syllabus and explained what we would cover through the course of the semester, I could feel my palms begin to…

1/22 ((from Kate)) pssssttt… hi. good morning and happy monday dear friends + readers. remember when, together, we walked back to Bethlehem and imagined what hearts felt like at the scene of Christ’s birth? well, this week your Hopers are putting their imaginative caps back on – this time we’re going to wonder-out-loud what it would…

1/21 ((from Bridget)) As we round out our week’s journey through the book of Hosea, I recognize a lot of the background information on our minor prophet may have already been disclosed.  You know by now, for instance, that Hosea married a prostitute, Gomer, and together they built a family and he continued to love…

1/20 ((from Bethany*)) *On January 15th your Saturday Hoper, Eve, delivered a beautiful baby boy! So luckily for the HopeIsHard family over the next few weeks a few other voices are going to chime in while Baby Spencer gets some qt with his mama. Today we are oh-so happy to welcome the faithful voice of Bethany! Bethany…