Speak to My Soul ~ Faith, Hope, & Love

This week my mind has been back and forth on this very topic. Let’s face it, how could you not with Friday being the 8th anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11.


I just got back from a week long vacation with my family and my husband’s entire family, fourteen of us in all. The last time we did this type of vacation was just three days after 9/11/01. We debated on whether or not to still go on the trip, but we knew we wouldn’t be able to get our deposit back, and to be quite honest after everything that had been going on in our world we thought it would be best to unplug from the world for a bit.

Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.
~ Corrie Ten Boom

So, here we are, getting back from that same trip with the same fourteen people. This time we’re all eight years older, but the reality is that the central purpose was the same…LOVE. I know that I am so blessed to be a part of a family that loves big like this and I don’t take that for granted, but it seems to me that so many more of us are blessed in other ways but we just don’t take the time to sprinkle our lives with FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. ~ Helen Keller

Does it make everything instantly better?


No, I wish that it did, but it does something even more incredible.
It starts a *spark* in your heart that puts a smile on your face.

The greatest need in the world today is love…More love for each other and more love for God above! ~ Helen Steiner Rice

God taught me so much on this trip…There were no “Aha!” moments, and I didn’t cure cancer or come up with some brilliant business plan, but what I did do was to be fully present with my family.


We talked, we played games, we laughed until we cried, we stayed up late, and we celebrated the blessing of our family. Faith, Hope, and Love were so very present in our world for the week. We talked about our faith, we shared what we are doing in ministry, we put our hope in Him and His will, and we shared lots of LOVE.


Sometimes that is all we need to do…LOVE! It’s not always the easiest thing to do, but it is the best and most beautiful gift we can give to anyone (family or not). People want to be loved for who they are, plain and simple. No pretenses, no judgement, just LOVE!


Father God, I thank you for the opportunity to grow in our Faith, Hope, and Love. Father, I pray that you would show each of us this week a “new” way were we can experience you through Faith, Hope, and Love. Help us to show LOVE for others simply because you show LOVE for us! In Jesus Name, Amen.

Seeking JOY on the Journey,