Ann Received The Crown of Life

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial,

because when he has stood the test, He will receive

the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

James 1:12 (NIV)



As I scanned the funeral services section of our local paper Friday night, I saw the name Ann Hershman. Her service was to be Saturday at a church on Indianapolis’ north side. After an online search, I found I was right, this lady was a lady I knew.

I had lived across the street from her when we were in our youth. Her dad was the minister of the church where I worshipped. We attended the same college. She graduated from high school a year before me. We were friends as well as neighbors.

She passed away about a month ago from complications related to treatments for brain cancer. She had been a founding member of a house church. She spent over 30 years teaching high school in Indianapolis Public Schools.

Her life seems to have been one of hardships in spite of her relationship with and her belief in God. She was widowed twice; both times seemed to be tribulations for her. Her parents died about six weeks apart. Her second husband, an Alzheimer’s patient died three years later.

I found myself doing something I don’t usually do-I asked God, “Why?” I specifically asked Him, “Why would someone who gave their life to serving You and others have to suffer so in her life as well as her death?

The answer I heard went something like this. She is at home now. She is surrounded by her parents and grandparents and others she held dear. She has received her crown, the crown of life.

She will be missed by her children and grandchildren, her siblings and their children. Those who worshipped with her will always remember her faith and strength. Her students will remember more fondly as time progresses.

I learned a lesson from this time of doubt. When we ask the deep “Why” questions, He will answer. And show us how He appraises the situation. He does this because of His love.

Hope in Love

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth

.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”


1 Corinthians 13:6-7 (NIV)



I spotted something in the notes in my Bible. I never realized it before. Hope is the attitude and a focus of God’s message to the world. It is one of the ingredients necessary for us to understand how God loves his children.

God wants us to receive His love and grow in it. He watches over us and guides us through difficult times because He has plans for us.

The apostle Paul tells us love always hopes. Because God loves us, we should be careful not to put down another person. We can inject hope into our world by refraining from dwelling on the bad things that happen. People need to hear positive thoughts about the world.

If we hear and try ideas about how to protect ourselves from harm, we may have a better outcome for our lives. These precautions keep us safe. God shows us how to incorporate them into our daily lives.

Daily Hope

“This is the day the Lord has made;


We will rejoice and be glad in it.”


Psalm 118:24: (NIV)




This verse reminds me of the fact God is in control. It also reminds me to be joyful and well as thankful for what He does for me.

These words engender hope to all who rely on them. Sometime they help pull us together as we face difficult, even unexpected circumstances.

A dear friend reminds me that we can’t see around corners but God does.

In the face of a hard time, after I hear this verse quoted, I find myself less tense and able to do what I need. Sometimes, I have to say this verse to get myself moving in the mornings.

Not only is God in control, He also has the last say about issues. When He speaks, we can only listen.

Honoring God

“Now to the King eternal, immortal,


invisible, the only God, be honor and glory


forever and ever. Amen.”


1 Timothy 1:17 (NIV)



Paul used these words as praise to God. He responded to the Lord as a way of showing appreciation for all the marvelous deeds He performed.

As God’s children, we should show our appreciation and respect of Him in any way we can.

What are some of those ways? 1.) His Word tells not to give up meeting together. 2.) We honor Him with our tithes. 3.) We extol Christ with our praises. 4.) We reflect Jesus in our attitudes. 5.) We work in tandem with God when we intercede for another in prayer.



We come to realize these avenues of honoring God as we grow in the Spirit. May we all learn more about the ways we can honor our King in the New Year.

Hope In God

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?


Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:5 (NIV)




As we walk through life we can’t help but notice certain characteristics about the people we see. Some appear to be sad. Others go through life with a smile pasted on their face but their actions tell another story. A few of them have genuine attitudes of love and well-being.

We wonder what causes so many people to be downcast. We read of people who can no longer face life and its circumstances. They see everything as dark; they bring those around them down. When we listen to them, nothing about the world is good.

At different times in my life, I have known people to take their own life. There has been no connection between these people. They were all young in their twenties or thirties. I believe there was a common thread running through their lives. In each case, the person had lost hope. Do we understand what having no hope is like?

Sometimes everything a person does requires a great effort. When a person doesn’t feels appreciated for their work, they begin to resent certain aspects of their lives.

Do we know how to remedy this lack of hope in ourselves as well as others?



In ourselves:

1.) We can look to the Lord. He is the One to whom what we endeavors really matter.

2.) We can take better care of ourselves. Get more rest. Eat healthier. Exercise on a regular basis.



In others:

1.) We can pray for them. We can check on them to ask how things are going.

2.) We can spend time with them.

3.) We can share Christ with them. If they know Him, you get to have a conversation about what He is doing in each others lives. You could even share prayer requests. If this person doesn’t know Christ, you may be able to give them a new friend.

Hope and Blessing

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,


and in his word I put my hope.”


Psalm 130:5 (NIV)




I serve on the board of a faith based nonprofit ministry. It was founded by a friend of mine. The ministry has been inexistence almost six years. I helped at a book bag distribution in 2007. At the end of 2009 my friend emailed me asking me if I would do their newsletters, one for the community and one for the families the ministry serves.

Just a few days before she asked me, I told the Lord I missed doing a newsletter. I had done the one at our former church. God answered my prayer. This will be the third year I have served in this capacity.

At the ministry’s annual planning meeting last February, we were asked to think and pray about the vision for the work. The director had some ideas for where she wanted to see the ministry be in one year, five years and ten years in the future.

We prayed for God’s leading and guidance as we planned fundraisers to help meet needs those in our focus group have. We had to cancel some of our projects. Our city canceled its 4th of July Midnight Parade Where we were planning to have a booth selling concessions. One of our rummage sales got rescheduled twice before it happened.

A little over two month ago, my friend who founded the ministry shared with the board that her employer, a healthcare facility (nursing home), was making a calendar to sell in the community. They asked the residents to participate by posing in pictures taken at various businesses in the area. The powers that be called my friend into the main office and told her nursing home couldn’t keep the money made from the sale of the calendars and the decision was made to give that money to the ministry.

Our director has said several times that this ministry is God’s ministry. He has blessed it in several ways this past year. This calendar sale is from God and again proves His goodness to those whose hope is in Him.

Thoughts that bring Hope

“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.


I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.


Yet, this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:


Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail.


They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:19-23) (NIV)




Do we have thoughts or memories that bring us down? Sometimes a lot of us do. When we have them we need to take Jeremiah’s counsel to focus on the Lord and all he has done for us.

I write this as I pray about a circumstance within a friend’s family that may cause problems in other family members’ lives. I have been told of the need in confidence. Therefore, I must pray hard for this clan.

People usually focus on the last part of this passage. We hear the part about the Lord’s great love and how great His faithfulness is. For some reason we don’t focus on the first part.

A large group of our society deals with anxiety, hopelessness, and depression. We do what we can to compensate for our outlook. People not afflicted with these issues don’t know how to react to those who are.

Jeremiah’s words of wisdom are simple. He does this himself. He remembers the fact that God loves him, and shows great kindness to him, He does this each day. These memories bring hope to Jeremiah’s downcast heart.

Can we adopt his practice of focusing on the Lord’s goodness to us, especially when we have issues in our lives that seem to pull us down? We might want to list what He does for us and keep it where we can find it.