7 for the weekend--- Hope

1. A very special commission.

2. "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11: 1

3. Those who consider the history of language have suggested a connection to hop as in "leaping into expectation."

4. A recent blog post by my friend Robin: Extension, Strength and Beauty = Hope and Future.

5. Hope for the Earth can be fleeting if one reads environmental news/books/videos. I struggle with this as a teacher. I want my students to be educated about the needs for our planet, but don't want them left in despair. I want them filled with hope. One of my students introduced me to Ted.com and I have found many a great video there related to what the current topic may be. Sometimes when we have an extra moment in the Social Science class we take a chance and stumble into something.

The other week I showed this and by the end I was leaping with the joy that can come when someone offers your spirit hope for this amazing planet. Do you have 13 minutes to lift your spirit?

6. Females seem to have a run on great names in my book: Faith, Joy, Grace (my mom's), and of course Hope. Hope in Spanish is Esperanza. Recently Esperanza Spalding became the first jazz musician to win a Grammy for best new artist. Jazz is not dead and or dieing. As I continue to explore my favorite genre of music, I keep coming across more and more names of people entering the field.

7. And then there is the hope that the past will not be forgotten. My blogger friend Curt introduced me to a trumpet player who died in 1997, Johnny Coles. Something resonated with that post so I explored a bit further and eventually bought a piece of music recorded two years before my birth. Here is the opening track to The Warm Sound:

Peace and Hope be with you


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