Joyfull Living

This is one of my favorite Bible verses.  It is a beautiful message of blessing and hope, but it came alive to me in the midst of a crisis.  Several years ago, a loved one was in a bad spot. With life choices that were cascading in a downward spiral, every resource had been used up with no help in sight. I sat in a chair with the Bible open in my lap and found this verse. A desperate situation needs hope to begin the steps toward healing. Hope is a spark of light in a dark space, it is a tiny flutter that begins and builds into confidence. An idea that jumps in the heart and compels you to action.  As vital as hope is in life, this verse tells us that God not only offers hope, but that He is the God of HOPE! It is not something that He does, it is truly who He is.  His presence and promise of hope in any situation builds faith and secures our trust in Him. A promise like this calms our fears and gives us strength to carry on  But this promise doesn't stop with HOPE - it is a prayer

Fitness trackers are a tool to help people in their journey to be healthier. I wear a little device on my wrist called a Fitbit. It looks like a watch but helps keep track of every step taken through the day, tells about my heart rate, sleep patterns and probably many more features I haven't explored yet. My favorite feature is tracking steps. When the fitbit is set up, it asks you to set a goal for daily steps. 10,000 steps per day is a good, healthy number, so that was my goal. Due to having a few distinct advantages - I love to walk and have short legs, I take many steps, my daily step goal is always met. The step goal is a little low and if you throw in a few long runs, the weekly step average is fabulous!  A friend introduced me to a fitness app to meet your step goal and I was immediately ready to crush it! But, instead of setting my own goal, this app calculated my average steps and set a daily goal for me, which was waaayyy over the low, manageable goal I had set! Loving a