Julie Chapus's Blog - Posts Tagged "hope"

Have you ever thought about spending a weekend with God? I knew God was asking me to get alone with him and get real quiet, so this past weekend I went on a silent retreat to the Abbey of Genesee. It was an amazing experience. The monks hold prayer services at the Abbey where psalms are chanted. These services are open to the public, and the monks observe silence during their work. They are well known for their bread as well. Perhaps you have heard of it; Monks Bread made by trappist monks.
I really wanted to write about the Abbey because the grounds are just beautiful, and they have hard workers on staff that make our meals, and make us feel very welcome even though silence is observed by all. The retreatents lack nothing. There is a bathroom and sink in each guest room, and a shared shower. The grounds are so peaceful and very well maintained. There is a path that leads to the Abbey and to the greenway trail so you can really experience God in nature. I cannot say enough about this place, but to top it all off in the midst of silence, God draws out the things from the deepest recesses of our heart. I gained many insights and many things were revealed to me and I was only there for one weekend. Needless to say, I am going back. If you have ever thought about taking a retreat I would encourage you to do so. It is amazing, and I am sure quite a different experience awaits for each of us as only God knows what He would like to reveal to us. But even in the midst of dealing with hard issues, there is no better place to be than surrounded by God and nature. His peace certainly does reside in this place.
God bless, and please check out the Abbey of Genesee in Piffard, NY.

Have you ever had one of those days when you wish you could just go back to bed and make the day be over with already? Have you ever just wanted to fast forward to tomorrow?
We have all had days that just seem to bomb from the minute we wake up to the minute we go to bed. But just hoping for tomorrow really steals the gifts God has for us today. I know we may not feel well or we may be facing a huge problem.
We tend to think we can't take anymore and sometimes we really do wonder how we will make it through the day. God is with us though, and He promises we will never be given more than we can handle.
As I have been studying my bible recently, I have discovered that a lot of our problems are just opportunities for us to practice handling them God's way.
It's amazing to see what happens when we determine to do something the right way. Our level of peace grows, and I have been amazed at the calm I have experienced in my heart regardless of my outward circumstances.
Today I would like to encourage you to do the right thing. If you are facing any kind of problem look up issue in the back of your bible, read all about how to handle it God's way.
It is amazing to watch God work for us when we are determined to handle things His way regardless of our feelings.
Once we discover the peace He really wants us to have, we won't have to wish for our day to be over. We won't have to hope for tomorrow either, we can be content in where we are today.
Don't miss out on God's awesome power in your life! Let's be determined to start handling our problems God's way!