During the month of March, I am forming a bouquet of blog posts using a variety of “roses” that will be formed with these petals from the basket : (1) a quotation, (2) a daily verse, (3) a devotional thought, (4) a book dealing with that day’s topic, and (5) an idea to put into practice!

Petal 1: “Like an anchor, our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life, but unlike an anchor, our hope moves us forward; it does not hold us back.”—Warren Wiersbe, Be Hopeful

Petal 2: “Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” (Hebrews 6:18-19, NLT)

Petal 3: The journey of life that I’m on has me a little seasick lately, because the ship of “security” seems to get tossed from left to right and goes way up and then way down. But the hope that I cling to is that the Captain of the ship has been on rough waters like this before, and He’s even experienced at calming them—with His voice! As a passenger on a large boat once (on a very windy day), I was given this advice before boarding: “Don’t tense up against the movement of the rough water on the sides of the boat, and keep looking out toward the horizon. The Captain knows what he’s doing—so, enjoy the ride!” The exact thing is true on the sea of life!

Petal 4: A “good read” is Be Hopeful: How to Make the Best of Times Out of Your Worst of Times, by Warren Wiersbe.

Petal 5: Take 15 minutes today to stop the movement of everyday life—just rest on the couch, in a chair, or even on the floor and meditate on the spiritual truth in the simple advice the ship’s concierge gave to me: “Keep looking toward the horizon (have hope!)…the Captain knows what he’s doing…!”