Blogging
Holy Week Readings
Good Friday and Easter are my favorite holidays of all. And I love following Jesus on the pathway to the cross all during this week, the most important one on the church calendar. On the sidebar this week, I’ll be featuring daily readings from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office Lectionary, found on the ESV website. Be sure to check back every day if you would like to read along. You can also get the readings via RSS from the website.
Coming Next Week
Monday: The fifth installment of the Soul Sisters series
Tuesday: A confession
Wednesday: Entry on the persecuted church
Thursday: Yet another Young Woman to Watch; someone I’ve really enjoyed the last few weeks
Friday: Various and Sundry; some great things I’ve read around the Web lately
Also, last week the ESV Personal Size Reference Bible was finally released. I’ve been waiting for it to come out for a really long time. I ordered it and it should be here sometime this coming week, so I’ll probably do a post about that. 
See you back here Monday!
Twitter, Anyone?
Today I started using Twitter a bit more. You can see my updates in the sidebar too. I don’t know if it will last or how long, but you should follow me if you have it too.
Book Review - The Parting
Click here to read my newest review - my take on Beverly Lewis’s most recent novel, The Parting.
Coming Next Week
One thing I’m hoping to do in the future is write a preview post over the weekend letting you know what the week will hold. Of course, anything is subject to change, based on current events or merely my own whimsy. 
But I’m looking forward to what’s coming up this next week. So here’s what on the agenda:
Monday: The fourth installment of the Soul Sisters series
Tuesday: Some more poetry of mine, and possibly someone else’s
Wednesday: More on pro-life issues - is single issue voting really a good idea?
Thursday: Finally, another Young Woman to Watch. You’re going to like this one.
Friday: An update on how my time management has been going so far this year
…And any other randomness that pops up during the week.
Join us back here Monday to kick it all off, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!
New and Improved
Welcome to the new and improved, but still familiar version of Hope Road. I’m glad that I’ve been able to make this transition relatively smoothly. I’m slightly worried about having my old site left static, along with certain Google rankings, but I’m confident that my readers are smart enough to know where to find me. (If you have any advice about setting up to redirect, both domain and links, I’d love to hear.)
Please let me know if you find any glitches or you have any suggestions. Look for regular posting to start up again tomorrow!
Various and Sundry (1/31)
I have read some wonderful things around the blogosphere lately - enjoy!
The faithful in Kenya: Missionary aviator Delorenzoflyer writes movingly about his experience visiting a slum in Nairobi during all of that country’s current unrest in “One Tribe.” (It is the January 28, 2008 entry; I could not find a permalink.) I highly recommend reading it; we who are comfortable in our North American Christianity need to refresh our perspectives constantly.
Bible translation: Read the story of Jacquiline Huggins,the first African-American woman to complete a translation of the New Testament. She has been working with a tribe in the Philippines for twenty years, with Wycliffe Bible Translators. What a wonderful accomplishment and milestone.
Church history: Ann Kroeker posted about one of her favorite pieces of jewelry, The Huguenot Cross. The Huguenots were French Calvinistic Protestants who were heavily persecuted a few hundred years ago. One of the books I’ve reviewed, Written on Silk, is written about the Huguenots. I love reading about them.
Homemaking: In one of the most fresh and insightful posts on this topic I’ve read recently, Carolyn McCulley begins to address the question for Christian women: Is Homemaking the Only Priority?
Missions in Uganda: Another post on Carolyn’s blog shares the story of a missions trip to Uganda taken by the singles in her church recently. It’s an amazing, saddening, yet uplifting story and fresh perspective.
Writing: I was pleasantly surprised to see a post on the Desiring God blog called So You Want to Be a Writer? penned by Noel Piper. I really like her helpful suggestions.
Body shape and beauty: Christa Taylor wrote an entry called Scary Skinny, highlighting the over-emphasis on unhealthy thinness in the fashion industry.
Graphic pro-life images: This is a very debatable topic lately - whether it’s a good idea to use graphic images to protest abortion. I really appreciate John Piper’s perspective in We Need the Raw Facts.
Various and Sundry (12/31)
This post should be titled “Various and Sundry: The Return.” Once again, it’s been forever since I’ve done this, but I’m back to it. So here are some great links that I’ve come across recently.
Scripture: Visit ESV Bible Reading Plans to see eight different plans to read through the Bible in a year. You can get them in a Web version, through RSS, through e-mail, or to print out. I think a lot of people will be reading Genesis 1 tomorrow!
Politics: Boundless Line printed a hilarious post called Chicken. Road. You Know What to Do. It’s an exaggeration of how various political and cultural figures would answer the question “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
Hope: Sarah at inexorablyloved wrote a great entry entitled “My Hope is You” about placing one’s hope in the Lord instead of in other things.
Pro-life: Be a Voice is an outreach ministry of Focus on the Family, focusing on pro-life issues. Did you know that 90% of abortion-minded women change their minds after receiving counseling and seeing an ultrasound?
New Year’s resolutions: If you think you’re dreaming big about next year, check out Jonathan Edward’s famous 70 resolutions, written when he was between 19 and 20.
The Rebelution: Alex and Brett Harris, co-founders of The Rebelution, are asking for anyone’s endorsement of their upcoming book, Do Hard Things. Click here for a PDF sample and information about sending in your endorsement.
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That’s all for this edition! Happy New Year’s Eve!
A Brief Hiatus
I’m sad to do this, since I’ve been seeing an increase in visitors lately, but I need to take a little blogging break until the semester is over (in ten more days!). So I won’t be posting any more entries until at least Wednesday, December 12. At that time I’ll be back, Lord willing, and with a new ”Young Woman to Watch,” which I’m really excited about.
In the meantime, I’ll be finishing up the last week of classes and taking my finals. I’ll “see” you all next week!
Various and Sundry (11/10)
Yes, I know - two in one week! Crazy! This time I’m going to be focusing on quotes I’ve been loving recently, either from online or offline. They’re so encouraging.
“A quiet and gentle woman is like a weaned child. She trusts the Lord, and this lack of fear makes her radiant.” -Carolyn McCulley
“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” -Romans 12:9-13
“A lack of grumbling and argument is the trademark of a blameless and pure life. Not only that, but it sets believers apart from those who don’t know Christ - in a way so brilliant it’s like stars on a dark night.” -Suzanne Hadley
“How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! …You drove them from me, You who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place… O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation.” -Augustine (quoted in John Piper’s Taste and See)
“Let me find Your light in my darkness,
Your life in my death,
Your joy in my sorrow,
Your grace in my sin,
Your riches in my poverty,
Your glory in my valley.”
-The Valley of Vision
“Love is seeking your own happiness in the well-being of another.” -John Ensor
“A gentle and quiet spirit is an inner disposition of humble contentment and quiet tranquility rooted in an unwavering trust in God and His purpose.” -Carolyn Mahaney
“If I should suffer need, and go unclothed,
and be in poverty,
make my heart prize Thy love,
know it, be constrained by it,
though I be denied all blessings.”
-The Valley of Vision
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Anna, 21. Saved by grace, called to follow Christ. Book-lover, writer, caregiver, wannabe runner.
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