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For years I had been meaning to launch a web page.  I had also also been meaning to love a neighbor (perhaps even one I'm not bent on getting along with) like myself, and meaning not to be jealous about anything that is my neighbors, and meaning to give up chocolate.  Actually, I was never serious about giving up chocolate.  Chocolate in moderation is really not detrimental to your health, some studies would even suggest it has health benefits.  Besides, of all the suggestions I have heard for good living, giving up chocolate is never given serious mention.  I do think there is value in being willing to give it up, to give anything up for the right reason, but that is another discussion.  Anyway, I am not giving up chocolate, and I am not claiming to follow even two of the Ten Commandments perfectly (which would be a good thing and credit to One much greater than myself) but I did get serious about this web page.

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There is more to life than chocolate, it is called HOPE.  Life can be discouraging, ovewhelming, and there ought to be a place to go for encouragement.  If you are looking for pessimism, it will not take you long to find it, but  if you really want to be encouraged (truly encouraged and not just a pat-on-the-back kind of cheer me up) there are not enough places to go.  The truth is you do not need a lot of places to go, just one, God's Word, but not everyone is reading it.  Some are reading it but not believing it or having trouble practically applying it.  This site is for you, because even if you could care less about chocolate, or even about becoming a better person, most everyone wants HOPE and sooner or later, we realize we do not just want it, we need it.  

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This website exists because I Peter 3:15 says...

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"...in your hearts honor Christ The Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you.....

                                            for the REASON for the HOPE that is in you...."

                                                                               

                                                                      I Peter 3:15 (ESV) (emphasis mine)

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There is a hope within me and I want it to live in you.  My hope has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Christ.  Since Christ died for ALL, this hope can be yours.  I hope that it is, and if not yet I hope it soon will be.  This website is about making that living hope come alive. 

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I am not the first to find it. Joni Eareckson Tada uncovered it after an accident left her quadriplegic; she found it in a big way and she has got a walk of faith few people with two working legs will ever have.  Martyrs, who even today lay down their lives for the sake of Christ, find it; we can find it too.  I have friends, you do too, who have lost loved ones, lost innocence, lost health, lost dreams and securities.   Maybe you have lost them too, or will someday.  Maybe you are just upset because you did not get a high enough score on your college entrance exam, or because you did not get a promotion, or because you did not get invited to a big social event.  A loss is a loss, and no matter how big or small it is; it can leave you feeling hopeless.  

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We need hope, and we especially need it in the midst of suffering.  We need it when have no control over a situation we would change if we could.  We need it when our resources have run out.  We need it when the days ahead look about as exciting as a root canal.

 

If you are looking for hope, this website is for you.  It is not going to change your situation (no matter how I wish it could) it is simply meant to encourage you in it.  It is my way of saying, here, have a little chocolate for your soul!  

 

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Website created by McKenzie Cranford