{"id":3288,"date":"2017-12-10T02:20:45","date_gmt":"2017-12-10T01:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/?p=3288"},"modified":"2017-12-13T00:32:11","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T23:32:11","slug":"2017-advent-hope-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/10\/2017-advent-hope-1\/","title":{"rendered":"2017: Advent Hope #1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3298\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/10\/2017-advent-hope-1\/geneva_refuge\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/geneva_refuge.jpg?fit=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DSC-HX90V&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1510326383&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;15.92&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.01&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"geneva_refuge\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/geneva_refuge.jpg?fit=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/geneva_refuge.jpg?resize=800%2C600&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/geneva_refuge.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/geneva_refuge.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/geneva_refuge.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><br \/>\n(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nRev. Kim Hurst, minister in Valetta, Malta, has prepared a series of blog posts for the coming week on the theme of Advent Hope to comfort and encourage us, featuring thoughts and poems and prayers.<\/p>\n<p>To introduce the theme, I&#8217;ve selected a Scripture verse, a resounding hymn, an intriguing comment by a 91-year-old and a prayer about building our hopes on God, our Rock.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size:24px; font-family:Georgia, serif; border: 15px dotted #2EA50E;padding:4pt; letter-spacing: 4px;width:100%;text-align:center;\"><em>HOPE WITHOUT WAVERING<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Heb 10:23 <span style=\"font-weight:normal;font-size:.7em;\">&nbsp;(NRSV)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>A hymn<\/h3>\n<p>All my hopes on God is founded,<br \/>\nall my trust he will renew;<br \/>\nsafe through change and chance he guides me,<br \/>\nonly good and only true,<br \/>\nGod unknown,<br \/>\nhe alone calls my heart to be his own.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W3LCGh02Vew?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Reflection<\/h3>\n<p>A while back I was looking for inspiration for a new song. Reading through a blog post on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brainpickings.org\/2017\/04\/11\/hourglass-dani-shapiro\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">brainpickings.org<\/a> I came across this intriguing comment by the 91-year-old aunt of the American writer, Dani Shapiro.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI once had a terribly difficult period that lasted twenty-four years. &#8230; And it was so important to realize that I didn\u2019t know what was on the other side of the darkness. Every so often there was a sliver of light that shot the whole world through with mystery and wonder, and reminded me: I didn\u2019t have all the information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The truth is we don\u2019t have all the information, but thanks be to God, we have enough to keep our hopes up. <\/p>\n<p>As Rebecca Manley Pippert writes in her book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivpress.com\/a-heart-for-god\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">A Heart for God<\/a>: &#8220;We know that God had the first word and will also have the last. We know that God will take our difficulties and weave them into purposes we cannot as yet see. And when he is done, the day will be more glorious for our having gone through the difficulties.&#8221; (p. 224)<\/p>\n<h3>Prayer<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>May we long<br \/>\nnot for the smoothness of sand<br \/>\nwhich looks good, and feels flat,<br \/>\nand is easy to walk on<br \/>\nbut will not withstand a storm.<\/p>\n<p>May we build our hopes<br \/>\non you.<br \/>\nThough you may not prevent the storms,<br \/>\nyou keep us firm<br \/>\nwithin them.<\/p>\n<p>So even if we\u2019re battered,<br \/>\nwe cannot fall<br \/>\nexcept deeper into a crevice<br \/>\nin the rock;<br \/>\ndeeper into you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>by Jane Grayshon<br \/>\nfrom <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.zondervan.com\/the-book-of-a-thousand-prayers\" target=\"_blank\">The Book of a Thousand Prayers<\/a><\/em> by Angela Ashwin, #250 <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"my\" style=\"border-width:2px;border-style:dashed;padding:15px 15px 15px 15px;line-height:1.5;border-color:red;font-size:.85em;\">\n<em style=\"color:red;\">XTRA XTRA XTRA<\/em><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/protect-eu.mimecast.com\/s\/1RXKBso499TM?domain=churchofscotland.advent-calendar.net\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Church of Scotland Advent Calendar<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nJourney daily with characters in the Nativity through video, reflection and prayer\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Photo: Lindy Twaddle) &nbsp; Rev. Kim Hurst, minister in Valetta, Malta, has prepared a series of blog posts for the coming week on the theme of Advent Hope to comfort and encourage us, featuring thoughts and poems and prayers. To introduce the theme, I&#8217;ve selected a Scripture verse, a resounding hymn, an intriguing comment by &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/10\/2017-advent-hope-1\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;2017: Advent Hope #1&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,14,3],"tags":[96,98],"class_list":["post-3288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-meditation","category-prayer","tag-advent-2017","tag-hope"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;bible&quot;","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13598,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2022\/12\/17\/in-the-school-of-prayer-with-the-seven-great-os-of-advent\/","url_meta":{"origin":3288,"position":1},"title":"In the school of prayer with the Seven Great &#8216;O&#8217;s of Advent","author":"Irene Bom","date":"December 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 My local church - Scots International Church Rotterdam - organised a series of evening services during the season of Advent this year to further explore our theme of \"Light in the Darkness\" through music, prayer and candle light. On 11 December I incorporated a special focus on a liturgical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;prayer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/I-am-coming-soon.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/I-am-coming-soon.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/I-am-coming-soon.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3371,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/12\/2017-advent-hope-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":3288,"position":2},"title":"2017: Advent Hope #3","author":"Kim Hurst","date":"December 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(Photo: Lindy Twaddle) \u00a0 ELIZABETH'S HOPE Luke 1:24\u201325 \u00a0(NRSVA) 24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 \u201cThis is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;bible&quot;","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/candles.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/candles.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/candles.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/candles.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3104,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/02\/2017-advent-faith-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":3288,"position":3},"title":"2017: Advent Faith #1","author":"Irene Bom","date":"December 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Medina\/Rabat, Malta (Photo: Irene Bom) During our Presbytery meeting in Malta a few months ago I recruited three of my colleagues (and one spouse) to join me in putting together a series of daily posts for Advent 2017 (December 3 to 24). Rev. Laurence Twaddle, minister in Geneva, will kick\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;bible&quot;","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/medina_malta.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/medina_malta.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/medina_malta.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/medina_malta.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5728,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2018\/12\/03\/3-prayers-for-advent\/","url_meta":{"origin":3288,"position":4},"title":"3 Prayers for Advent","author":"Irene Bom","date":"December 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 To kick off this month's theme, Prepare, here are 3 short prayers to ready our hearts for Christmas and for Jesus' Kingdom to come, now and in the future. \u00a0 (Links to additional resources for Advent included below.) \u00a0 Prayer of Invocation (inspired by Matthew 11:3-5) O God, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;prayer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/autumn_leaves.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/autumn_leaves.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/autumn_leaves.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/autumn_leaves.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3465,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/16\/2017-advent-hope-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":3288,"position":5},"title":"2017: Advent Hope #7","author":"Kim Hurst","date":"December 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(Photo: Lindy Twaddle) \u00a0 OUR HOPE Luke 2:28\u201332 \u00a0(NRSVA) 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 according to your word; 30\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 which you have prepared in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;bible&quot;","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_beach_rainbow.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_beach_rainbow.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_beach_rainbow.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_beach_rainbow.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Irene Bom","author_link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/author\/irenebom-com\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/\" rel=\"category tag\">bible<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/meditation\/\" rel=\"category tag\">meditation<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/\" rel=\"category tag\">prayer<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"(Photo: Lindy Twaddle) &nbsp; Rev. Kim Hurst, minister in Valetta, Malta, has prepared a series of blog posts for the coming week on the theme of Advent Hope to comfort and encourage us, featuring thoughts and poems and prayers. To introduce the theme, I&#8217;ve selected a Scripture verse, a resounding hymn, an intriguing comment by&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}