Tag: Hope

The Everywhere Hope Challenge

The Everywhere Hope Challenge

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Take the Everywhere Hope Challenge between October 7th and November 15th and be entered into the drawing for a free copy of “Everywhere Hope”, the book.  Challenge is open to everyone, but the free book can only be shipped to the continental US and Canada.

Simple Challenge Steps

  1. Sign up to receive email notifications of new posts and book news by providing your email address in the “Subscribe to Blog via Email” box at the right.
  2. Between now and November 15th, journal about 3 situations where you personally found or shared hope.
  3. In the Comment section.  Write 1-3 sentences about one of your experiences.  Include your name and email in the comment boxes to right or bottom of the page.  Here is an example:

“I found renewed hope for healthy aging when I watched a video of a 99 year old woman teaching yoga.”

At the end of the challenge, all persons who submitted a “hopeful” comment will be entered into the drawing for my new book “Everywhere Hope – Encouraging Moments in Prose and Poetry”.

You’ll find that hope truly is everywhere when you have eyes to see and ears to hear!!!

If you have any technical issues entering your comment, you can also email me at paulababadiauthor@gmail.com and put “Everywhere Hope Book Challenge” in the subject line.

I look forward to learning how you are searching for hope, strengthening your hope muscles and sharing it with others.

 

When You Think You Have Nothing to Give, Bring Your Drum…

When You Think You Have Nothing to Give, Bring Your Drum…

by Paula Veloso Babadi

At least that is what a young boy did thousands of years ago when he wanted to honor a new king. You probably can hear the drum beating, giving its sound as he asks “Shall I play for you? On my drum?”  You know the rest. tribal-1215118_1920

Most of my life, I’ve felt I had nothing worthy to put at the feet of the King of the Universe.  Instead, I often ran away from him. But in his wisdom and love, he carried me to the point where I am today.

It was in my parish family during a small group retreat by Father Michael Gaitley, the study on “Consoling the Heart of Jesus” gave me a whole new insight into the love and longing Jesus has for us. Early in the book, Father Gaitley shares a simple message he perceived from Jesus:

“All I want is for you to be my friend. All I want is for you not to be afraid of me and to come to me.” (Page 71 Consoling the Heart of Jesus)

Loving and Consoling Jesus through His Living Body the Church

 I found great joy in meeting with like-minded souls to talk about our growing love for Jesus and the resulting desire to put faith into action.  It was nothing short of miraculous. God bears his light to us, first through his son and then through others.

They come heeding the call of the Holy Spirit, miraculously seeming to be in the right place at the right time. We all know people who are beacons – radiating goodness, kindness, love and action.  They certainly have been there for me. Sometimes, I may have been the steadying lighthouse signal, but I’ve never forgotten who is at the origin, giving light to that beam.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe;  Hebrews 12:28 

Jesus is the burning heart, the center of this wonderful body of Christ and in loving others, we love him.  In consoling others, we console him. In giving to others, we give to him. We truly are branches nourished by his living vine and passing it on.

Bringing Our Drums

heart-2862156_1920So we come back to the little shepherd boy. I hear his drums, “pa rum pa pum pum” a physical declaration of his heart beating with love for the king,  giving  testimony to all that is required of us–offering our own hearts without reserve.

I once thought I had nothing to give, but I was wrong.  Jesus smiled at the drummer boy and his gift while Mary nodded and the ox and lamb kept time. I am certain he smiles at each of us too when we bring him our drum.

 

What Christmas songs stir your heart?  Bring loving memories to mind?  Feel free to share in the comments section.

Hope from an Eight-Year-Old’s View

Hope from an Eight-Year-Old’s View

by Paula Veloso Babadi

It was the early 60’s. Who ever thought an eight year old would ponder about “hope”? But I was in 4th grade and had to write a poem. That’s when I discovered words -their sounds, rhythms, nuances and endless possibilities. They were treasures which helped me make sense of my new world.

Coming to a strange country.

When we moved from London, England to Pensacola it was a culture shock to say the least.  I had an English accent, said the alphabet differently than everyone else and had to learn how to carry over dimes rather than shillings in money math problems.  At eight, I didn’t exactly fit in a school where Steven’s dog was allowed to “attend” our third grade class and where my first American teacher took away my italics calligraphy pen because we were only allowed to write in pencil. She never gave it back.

I was often alone in the playground shuffling leaves around until kids began asking me to pronounce words in that foreign tone.  Of course, I never used the word “kids” back then, because it was not proper to call children “baby goats”. And I definitely never addressed anyone with “ya’ll” until much later.

Being different.

Living in Pensacola back then was like living in pre-civil rights Alabama. Daddy was a Navy Chief – quiet, hardworking, kind, gentle AND a Filipino married to his beloved blonde British bride.  My parents protected us when we were young, so we really had no idea that we were different from anyone else. None of us children realized there was anything wrong when our family wasn’t allowed to sit down at the counter of a local five and dime store to have a milkshake.  We certainly never knew until much later the reason we didn’t move into the first house we expected was because of my parents’ “mixed” marriage.

Feeling loved.

The writing which began in 4th grade became an outlet through the years: words were there when I needed to let something out and conveniently waited inside until the need arose again.

“When I was a child I used to talk like a child, think like a child, reason like a child.  When I became a man I put childish ways aside.”    1 Corinthians 13:11-13

It was my parents’ love, devotion and faith that provided our family with a safe and happy outlook on the world.  We grew up knowing that God loved us and was ever present.

Why write about hope?

“Everywhere Hope Today” is about searching every day, every moment, and finding hope in the obvious and not so obvious to sustain us when we are most in need.  And whether or not we are satiated, it’s about then cultivating and strengthening hope deep inside and learning how to share it with others in ways both small and large.

One of the first poems I penned was during that age of contradictions: my childlike trust and innocence painted against the landscape of the civil rights struggle.  It was an eight year old’s version of what it means to have hope.

The world is in great need today and I look forward to travelling with you on  this journey  to recognize and cultivate hope that began over fifty years ago. I haven’t changed any of the original language below. Maybe next time, we’ll explore a more grown-up version.

Hope

What is hope?
Hope is like lying the darkness waiting for light to come.
It is not knowing how, when, or where your troubles will continue
or end.

Hope is for man, and is his survival.
Hope depends on us and on God.
And if you wait long enough and have faith enough in Him,
someday that light will come back to shine forth in all its glory.