Hope Chest

Hope is a powerful thing! It replaces panic with peace, fear with strength, anxiety with comfort. It calms the “what if’s” in life and is simply a game changer. Hope is contagious! I am excited to share nuggets of hope with you from my personal “Hope Chest”! It may be through a scripture, a quote, a short story, or a photo. We hope the result is a nugget of hope you can carry throughout the day to make your day a little more “hope filled and joyful!”

What's in your cup?

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee? "Because someone bumped into me!!!" Wrong answer. You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. *Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.* Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it, until you get rattled. *So we have to ask ourselves... “what's in my cup?"* When life gets tough, what spills over? Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility? Anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions? Life provides the cup, YOU choose how to fill it. Today let's work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation; and kindness, gentleness and love for others.

Jojo Bennington

A lesson from Job

I love the verse that comes at the end of Job. “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you!” I pray this prayer when the winds of life threaten to knock me to the ground, and life seems at its most bleak. I don’t want to only hear about God; I want to see Him and commune with him in the dark places of my life. Sometimes we must let go of our well-laid plans—the ones we make for safety and security—so we can grab hold of God’s purpose for our lives. His purpose and the story He wants to write with your life are always good. Trust Him. You have an author Who is intimately acquainted with the story and is writing those restoring chapters at this very moment.

"My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you." Job 42:5 (NIV)

The Journey to Soon

I have learned that what we do with “The Journey to ‘Soon’” is vitally important. Waiting does not necessarily mean passivity. Waiting works us over, making us pliable in the Potter’s hand. He molds the wet clay and forms a real grown-up person out of the child in me. So I am learning to take action while I wait. “Waiting on the Lord” does not mean putting on hold everything else in life until the prayer is answered, the situation redressed, or the nightmare over. “Waiting on the Lord” means cultivating an attitude of trust, casting the bundle of personal cares on Him while we busy ourselves with whatever duties we must do. And then He takes care of the rest!

Lisa Bain

Encouragement from Lisa's Blog

Surrendering The Pen

Each new year hands you an empty book filled with 365 blank pages. Every dawn is your pen, every choice your ink. Make it a story worth reading. As we walk into 2025, imagine you are holding a book in your hands. This is no ordinary book. The pages are crisp, blank, and untouched but filled with divine possibility. This book is your story for 2025, but you are not ...

The Greatest Plot Twist: Why a Manger Changed Everything

Plot twists usually catch us off guard once. A clever turn in a novel or movie might leave us surprised, but eventually, we move on. Yet, there is one plot twist that never stops surprising us—the manger. The Christmas story is the ultimate twist, and its impact resonates every time we revisit it. No matter how well we think we know it, this twist keeps upending our expectations, reshaping our ...

The Quiet Yes: Lessons from Mary this Christmas

It's been a whirlwind month—the kind where the days seem to blur together and the to-do lists only grow longer. In the midst of the hustle, I decided to set my alarm for 3 a.m. on purpose. Not for an early start on work or errands, but to simply sit in the quiet of my prayer closet. Just me, my three loyal dogs, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and ...

A Story of Faith, Legacy, and Letting Go

I still remember the day Mom and I sang the hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus as we drove to chemotherapy. It wasn’t just a song to her—it was her anthem, a declaration of faith in the middle of uncertainty. Later, when she shared her dream to begin what would become Lisa Bain Ministries, she sang it again, her voice steady with conviction and hope. Today, as I look at ...

Our Miracle Maple: When Faith Stands Taller Than Fear

Over twenty years ago, when our new home was just taking shape, we planted a tree. Little did we know that this small maple would become more than just landscaping – it would grow into a symbol of hope and perseverance, gracing our front yard with a breathtaking display of autumn colors. The story of this tree took a dramatic turn several years ago when we received unsettling news: our ...

The Pearl of a Veteran’s Heart

The smell of cigar smoke told me Mr. Earl was near, and before long, I could hear his loud mumbling. My gruff, elderly neighbor reminded me of Walter Matthau in the movie Grumpy Old Men, but Mabel always perked up when she saw him coming. She would pull on her leash to catch up with him, and I'll never forget the first time Mr. Earl noticed her. In his grumbling ...

Porch Moments

Every morning, my elderly neighbor sits on his front porch and greets everyone who passes by. He and his little dog sit together, and with a wide smile, he waves to everyone with a friendly “Hello!” I’m one of those people who passes by and enjoys his familiar, warm greeting. I can tell he is enjoying life. One morning, I stopped to tell my neighbor how much I appreciated his ...

Green Beans and Grace

As the rain tapped against the windows, I found myself craving the comfort of Grandma's kitchen: green beans simmering with potatoes and ham, the aroma of home filling every room. There really should be a candle that captures that smell - "Simmering Green Beans and Ham.” I'd buy it! Since losing Mom and Dad, the meaning of "home" has shifted in my heart. On days like this, when the rain ...

When Justice Feels Out of Reach: Finding Peace in Life’s Unfair Moments

Questions flooded my mind as I sat on my porch swing after a tough day. God, where are you in this situation? What is the lesson here? I want to see your hand in this, but I’m struggling. Injustice can blindside us, especially when it comes from people we love. Whether a family member, close friend, organization, or leader, it feels soul-crushing. We’ve all felt those blows at different times ...

Small Gestures, Big Changes: The Ripple Effect of Kindness

In our neighborhood, there was a man everyone avoided – gruff, serious, and never talkative. The neighbors always commented that they were scared of him. I knew there was a story, and I prayed for him daily as I walked by his house on my morning strolls. I would see this man out in his lawn, never looking up, seeming very focused on the job at hand. He seemed sad. ...

Lessons from Childhood Art and Chicken Suits

Every holiday season, we climb into our attic, which we call “the black hole,” and do a thorough cleaning. It’s a scary place—we could get trapped in the mess and no one would hear us scream. I tell Skipper if I go into the attic and he doesn’t hear from me in three hours, begin the search. How do we manage to accumulate all that stuff? I’m convinced the junk ...

The rowboat and your tribe

Lately, I have been thinking about my tribe and who is in it. It seems that the longer we journey in life, the more we refine our circles; we grow wiser about who surrounds us and who we bring into our tribe. I picture a rowboat gliding across the sea. I’m in the boat, and as I look around, I notice the people around me. Some are rowing along with ...