Weekly Magazine | Anchored in Hope

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Jan 15, 2025

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Dear Friends,

As we step into a new season, many of us may find ourselves reflecting on the trials and triumphs we’ve faced. Some days feel uphill, and the challenges of life can leave us searching for something steady to hold onto. In those moments, we’re reminded of the unshakable truth that our hope is securely anchored in Christ.

This week’s issue is designed to help you hold fast to that truth. Our featured article, From Trauma to Triumph—Finding Hope for 2025, offers a heartfelt and inspiring story of how God’s hope transforms even the most difficult circumstances. You’ll also find excerpts from When Discouragement Comes Knocking and Now...Then, both of which explore practical ways to root yourself in God’s promises, whether you’re facing challenges today or looking ahead to eternity.

Hope isn’t just wishful thinking—it’s a confident trust in the One who never changes, never fails, and always keeps His promises. May these words encourage you to cling to His hope, no matter where you are on your journey.

Encouraging you in God’s truth,

Additional Reads:

When Discouragement Comes Knocking by Shelly Esser
Discover how God’s promises empower us to send discouragement packing.
Now...Then by Connie Fink
Learn how to live with eternal hope that reshapes your purpose and brings peace today.

Pause & Reflect:

Music for Your Soul:

Living Hope by Phil Wickham

From Trauma to Triumph—Finding Hope for 2025

By: Lisa Elliott

I was feeling the effects of 2024. It had been quite a year; full of transition, tears, and trauma. Or, at least that's the way I was looking at it. Typically, known for being a cup-half-full kind of girl, suddenly all I seemed to be able to see was my cup-half-empty.

Somewhere along the way, I had lost my hope. Or perhaps, I had simply misplaced it. Rather than focusing on the God of hope, I was putting my hope in circumstances and people. My thinking was skewed and my perspective warped.

The apostle Paul says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (Jas. 1:2). Nonetheless, as I considered all we’d been through, it was hard to be very joyful about the year coming to a close. Much less, be very hopeful about the year ahead. I identified with what the Israelites must have felt when they were encamped between the Egyptian army in hot pursuit behind them and the daunting Red Sea ahead of them.

REFLECTING ON A CHALLENGING YEAR

My husband and I had a good discussion about it all one day as we approached the new year. We went for a long winter’s walk and I humbly disclosed my self-doubts in lieu of the past as well as my fears, anxieties, and uncertainties of the future that lay ominously ahead.

When he asked me what word I would use to describe 2024. I used the word “trauma.” He understood. Thankfully, he knew me too well to leave me in my “woe is me” downward spiral state. We decided to warm up with a hot drink at a favorite coffee shop in town. Then, together we walked through the entire year. Month by month we listed the events that took place to give context to my negative and emotional response to each one.

A SERIES OF LIFE-ALTERING EVENTS

Our year began with a retirement announcement which, if I'm honest, created some sadness and disappointment in our ministry realm. In February, we welcomed our newest grandson into the family. However, all did not go quite as planned when our daughter-in-law ended up in the ICU for a couple of weeks, calling upon me to offer care, I gladly gave. March had us responding to an S.O.S. call from our youngest daughter at the scene of an accident she'd been involved in. Someone coming at her, from the other direction on the highway, had fallen asleep at the wheel and came close to hitting her head on. April presented us with the slew of emotion that came with the culmination of forty-one years in pastoral ministry. May, June, and July had us decluttering and sorting and packing and readying ourselves for a big move. After months of upheaval, in August we headed down the highway for our seven hour trek. Half way to our destination, our moving truck landed on a soft shoulder that gave way and the truck landed on its side in a ditch.

It all seemed to go all downhill from there. September to December presented all kinds of troubling ways to bury me beneath the weight of it all. Yes, there were “trials of many kinds.” However, the most troubling of them all was that I felt trapped by them.

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