{"id":3444,"date":"2017-12-14T00:17:33","date_gmt":"2017-12-13T23:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/?p=3444"},"modified":"2017-12-14T00:17:33","modified_gmt":"2017-12-13T23:17:33","slug":"2017-advent-hope-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/14\/2017-advent-hope-5\/","title":{"rendered":"2017: Advent Hope #5"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3446\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/14\/2017-advent-hope-5\/cross_in_snow\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?fit=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DSC-HX90V&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1510572278&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;123&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"cross_in_snow\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?fit=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?resize=800%2C600&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cross_in_snow.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;<\/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>JOSEPH&#8217;S HOPE<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Matthew 1:18\u201321  <span style=\"font-weight:normal;font-size:.7em;\">&nbsp;(NRSVA)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><sup>18<\/sup> Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. 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. <sup>19<\/sup> Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. <sup>20<\/sup> But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, \u2018Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. <sup>21<\/sup> She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.\u2019<\/p>\n<h3>Thought<\/h3>\n<p>Have you ever had your hopes dashed? Joseph was looking forward to seeing his hopes fulfilled as he married his fianc\u00e9 and they started a new life together. Then, in an instant, everything he had hoped for was taken from him. His hopes were dashed, or were they? He received all he had hoped for but not in the way he expected. It reminds me of these words from a prayer written by an anonymous Confederate soldier in the US civil war: \u201cI got nothing that I asked for but got everything I had hoped for.\u201d <\/p>\n<h3>Poem: <span style=\"color:#2EA50E;\">Joseph\u2019s Diary <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>I wonder what would you do<br \/>\nIf something like this happened to you<br \/>\nThe wedding was only a few weeks away<br \/>\nWe were all prepared for our special day<br \/>\nWhen Mary who was the love of my life<br \/>\nThe woman who was to be my wife<br \/>\nTold me that she was to have a child<br \/>\nAny other man might have gone wild<br \/>\nBecause the baby she carried wasn\u2019t mine<br \/>\nShe told me God had given a sign<br \/>\nThat she hadn\u2019t been with another man<br \/>\nThis was all part of God\u2019s plan<br \/>\nWell I didn\u2019t know what to do<br \/>\nBeing a good God-fearing Jew<br \/>\nSo I decided to send her away<br \/>\nShe could go to Elizabeth\u2019s and stay<br \/>\nWhile I organised a quiet way<br \/>\nTo call off the wedding with least affray<br \/>\nThen an Angel visited me<br \/>\nThe brightest light you ever did see<br \/>\nHe told me what Mary said was true<br \/>\nHe told me what I had to do<br \/>\nTo believe the message of this Holy one<br \/>\nHer child would be God\u2019s own Son<br \/>\nI wondered if I was going insane<br \/>\nBut the wedding was back on again<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Prayer <\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>Father, sometimes I feel my hopes have been dashed. The things that I long for elude me and yet I know that you have plans for me, plans to give me hope and a future. Help me to trust in your purposes. Amen<\/p><\/blockquote>\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<hr\/>\n<p><strong>TIP &#8230; from the blog<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/05\/06\/theme-god-makes-all-things-new\/\">Theme: God makes all things new<\/a> (Prayer sheet)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Photo: Lindy Twaddle) &nbsp; JOSEPH&#8217;S HOPE Matthew 1:18\u201321 &nbsp;(NRSVA) 18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. 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 Joseph, being a righteous man &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2017\/12\/14\/2017-advent-hope-5\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;2017: Advent Hope #5&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"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":[13,14,63,3],"tags":[96,98],"class_list":["post-3444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-meditation","category-poetry","category-prayer","tag-advent-2017","tag-hope"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2017: Advent Hope #5 - Prayer matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Joseph was looking forward to seeing his hopes fulfilled as he married his fianc\u00e9. 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This is the 100th post since starting the blog on 7 March 2017. \u00a0 MARY'S MAGNIFICAT JOY Luke 1:46-55 \u00a0(The Voice) 46 Mary: My soul lifts up the Lord! 47 My spirit celebrates God, my Liberator! 48 For though I\u2019m God\u2019s humble servant, God\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\/leaves_with_flags.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\/leaves_with_flags.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/leaves_with_flags.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/leaves_with_flags.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10534,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2020\/12\/13\/in-the-darkness\/","url_meta":{"origin":3444,"position":4},"title":"In the darkness","author":"Irene Bom","date":"December 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The view from my kitchen balcony \u00a0(Photo: Irene Bom) \u00a0 A reflection on blessed darkness, including the darkness of the womb where \"the Christ-child was made ready for the journey into light\". Advent in the dark We wait in the darkness, expectantly, longingly, anxiously, thoughtfully. The darkness is our friend.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;reflection&quot;","block_context":{"text":"reflection","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/reflection\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/moon_clouds_and_cyprus_trees.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/moon_clouds_and_cyprus_trees.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/moon_clouds_and_cyprus_trees.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/moon_clouds_and_cyprus_trees.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":3444,"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":"Kim Hurst","author_link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/author\/kimhurst\/"},"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\/poetry\/\" rel=\"category tag\">poetry<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/\" rel=\"category tag\">prayer<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"(Photo: Lindy Twaddle) &nbsp; JOSEPH&#8217;S HOPE Matthew 1:18\u201321 &nbsp;(NRSVA) 18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. 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 Joseph, being a righteous man&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3444","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}