Away We Go...

Ok, let's clear up a few things right up front...

1. I am not an English major....High School was 10 years ago and I can't remember some of those many, many rules and regulations about punctuation, run-on sentences and the like...so please forgive me. I tend to ramble on and I write very conversationally.

2. I am not full of myself....nor do I think that other bloggers are either. I am not writing this because I think that I am uber wise or have tons of great, influential, important things to say....I AM starting this because it's a thought that has been on my mind for a long time and because I feel like I come across great blog entries or quotes or videos, etc and I wanted to have a place to share them. I figured that starting a blog might be an easier way to share those things as apposed to continuing to flood the email inboxes of my dear friends & fam. 

3. "Captured Hope". Why? Where did that come from? Well, I feel like that is what inspired this little endeavor in the first place. Something came my way, encouraged me and gave me some hope. A quote, a Bible verse, a blog, a picture...just something. And we all experience moments like this. Something comes across our path and gives us some inspiration or encouragement (two things I value greatly in life) and we want to capture it. We want to hold on to it for a second and pass it on. I value hope greatly. It's what keeps us going. It's what gets us through loads of laundry and dishes and wiping noses. It's what gives us the energy to get up early or stay up late working on Bible study after our kids are asleep. It's what gives us courage to have another baby when we wonder if we're even doing a good job raising the ones we have.  We hope that we will influence our kids or make a lasting impact on them. We hope that rough moments in parenting will be "just a phase". We hope that our kids will know how deeply we love them. We hope that we'll be the kind of wife that makes our husband proud to say "Yep, she's mine...I'm so glad she married me". We hope that we will make a mark on our little corner of the world. 

The words of Lamentations 3:21-25 give us great hope.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.”

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
   to the one who seeks him;" 

God gives us hope. It is one of the most precious gifts He gives us...and there is something inside us that wants to capture that hope, to hold on to it for as long as we can. 

Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit

So, here we go!