the HOPE chronicles blog

You may have heard of the old adage, where there’s a will, there’s a way.  The phrase is a pithy way of communicating what many of us who grew up in the Old School know to be true: that overwhelming determination yields results. If the determination is there, so is a way for it to happen. These days,…

The book club I belong to recently completed the second installment in the series Left Behind. For those unfamiliar with the series, it’s a collection of 13 books dealing with a Christian view of Biblical End Times (written by authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins) and weaves a dramatized story line based on the…

As shown in the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness—based on the life of Chris Gardner—the central character had a chance encounter with a man stepping out of a red Ferrari on Wall Street. Whether true or exaggerated for dramatic effect, Gardner (played by Will Smith) eyed the car in awe. He wasn’t in the best financial…

During one of many shopping excursions with my late husband, he would hold doors open for others. Without missing a beat, each person would casually glide in the door as if his holding it for them was an expectation, not a courtesy.   Not one thank you. After the second time it happened I was irritated. …

In celebration of the upcoming Resurrection Sunday, this month’s blog will be a lesson on the latest German word to make its way into the American lexicon. Let’s say it together: Schadenfreude. Don’t forget to enunciate! A little slower this time: Shaa-duhn-froy-duh. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary the word is defined as “enjoyment obtained from the trouble of others.”…

I remember reading an interview Vanessa Williams gave after the groundbreaking success of the 2006 hit tv show, Ugly Betty. Did she ever imagine being this successful after the Miss America scandal?”  Inquiring minds wanted to know.  Vanessa’s response?  With a signature shrug of her shoulders, she said: “I always knew that it would be just a…

Happy New Year Readers! Yes, it’s February, but with everyone saying January “doesn’t count” and calling for a do-over start to 2025, here goes. My family has the long-standing (albeit nerdy) tradition of watching the Twilight Zone marathon on SyFy every New Year’s Eve. We would break around 10 PM to attend church service before racing…

The Moments of Hope December 2024 Stories of Hope Inspired by Hallmark’s Miracles of Christmas During the month of December I will highlight some of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies. These are movies that comforted me at different seasons of my life. I found my way into the Hallmark Christmas Movie fandom in 2017, while…

The end of each year is always a reflective time for me.   FIRST, I look back over the last 365 days and consider all the blessings that occurred. NEXT, I look at the not-so-good things that happened during that time…aka, what I had no control over. FINALLY,  I look towards the future.  What do I feel?   Gratitude…and hope.

It’s easy to gain perspective from a situation after the fact. FIRST, we’re faced with what seems like a life-altering challenge.  Here’s how it works: NEXT, like everything else, it passes.  THEN, we sit down with ourselves and reflect on how everything worked out in the end, and  FINALLY, resolve we’ll do better with our anxiety the next time…