New Year Hope Breathers

Trudy Den Hoed30 Comments

Were you devastated from heartaches or losses of one kind or another as you closed out 2022? Has it continued into 2023? I’m so sorry. No matter what you’re suffering, I pray God strengthens you with His measureless grace and pours His peace into Your hurting heart.

🦋 “God has a heart. And it hurts.
Not with just a few drops of ache,
not just with a slow drip of sadness —
His whole massive heart fills, swells,
burns with this raw, relentless pain.”
~ Ann Voskamp

God’s Grace Is Immeasurable

❤️❤️❤️
“So here’s what I’ve learned through it all:
Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord,
and measureless grace will strengthen you.”
Psalm 55:22 TPT

As I look back to 2022, God truly has been generous with His boundless love and His all-sufficient grace. Does that mean it was free sailing without any struggles? Not at all.

There will always be trials on this earth, but God has promised His measureless grace to get through them. I am such a worrier and feel so helpless to “fix” things, but God is infinitely patient with me. I continue this life-long learning process of more deeply trusting God and leaving all worries and troubles in His Hands. To repeatedly surrender my heart and past, present, and future life and that of others to Him and His faithful love and infinite and powerful grace. To remember to relinquish the things I can’t change and to believe they are better off in God’s hands than mine. But also to seek His wisdom, guidance, and strength to have courage to make a difference wherever He places me.

❤️❤️❤️
“The Lord Himself goes before you
and will be with you; 
He will never leave you nor forsake you. 
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.“
Deuteronomy 31:8

Nature Retreat

I’m so grateful to receive photos from warmer climates during these cold and snowy winter months! The first 6 photos are of Arizona birds from my brother. 🙂 The rest of the photos are ones my niece took recently on her trip to Hawaii to visit her daughter who lives on the Big Island and studies and rescues sea turtles. 🙂

American Robin
Bridled Titmouse
Hermit Thrush
Arizona Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker
Burrowing Owls
Love this view with the lighthouse!
Another Ocean View
Sea Turtles
Green Sea Turtles
Waimea Canyon

Advent Hope Breathers

Trudy Den Hoed30 Comments

Advent – A Season of Anticipation

We wait, we watch, we hope:

⭐️ As we celebrate the Lord Jesus’ humble birth on this earth because He loves us so deeply

⭐️ For our hearts to open wide to receive the Tidings of Great Joy, either for the first time or by renewal

⭐️ In eager expectation for the second coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ

“And the Word became flesh,
and dwelt among us,
and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14

Advent Bible Verses

⭐️ 6 Passages to Read for Advent

⭐️ 25 Hope-Filled Advent Bible Verses

⭐️ Bible Verse Advent Countdown for Kids – Free Printable from Happy Home Fairy

Advent Quotes

“The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.” ~ Henri Nouwen

“A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes – and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“You could more easily catch a hurricane in a shrimp net that you can understand the wild, relentless, passionate, uncompromising, pursuing love of God made present in the manger.” ~ Brennan Manning

“Let’s approach Christmas with an expectant hush,
rather than a last-minute rush.”
~ Author Unknown

Songs of Hope

🎶 10 Songs of Hope to Prepare Our Hearts for Advent

🎶 12 Traditional Christmas Carols

🎶 I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
by Casting Crowns

Nature Retreat

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
Psalm 19:1

Some beautiful sunset photos one of our granddaughters took. 🙂
I love watching the sunrises from our bedroom window. It’s amazing how not one scene is the same and it can change so quickly.
God Is With Us!
One of our sons was at a home ministry conference and someone driving past took this photo. Can you see the cross?

October Hope Breathers

Trudy Den Hoed39 Comments

Remembering God’s Faithfulness

“Everything about God is great, vast, incomparable. He never forgets, never fails, never falters, never forfeits His word. To every declaration of promise or prophecy the Lord has exactly adhered, every engagement of covenant or threatening He will make good.” ~ A.W. Pink

“There is more safety with Christ in the tempest than without Christ in the calmest waters.” ~ Alexander Grosse

“The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you today and every day. He will either shield you from suffering or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.” ~ St. Francis de Sales

“In the darkest hour, when I cannot breathe
Fear is on my chest, the weight of the world on me
Everything is crashing down, everything I had known
When I wonder if I’m all alone

I remember, I remember
You have always been faithful to me
I remember, I remember
Even when my own eyes could not see
You were there, always there…”

Nature Retreat

“The natural world provides humanity with untold gifts.
It cleans water, pollinates plants and provides
pharmaceuticals, among others.
Thirty trillion dollars worth of services,
scot-free to humanity, every year.”
E. O. Wilson

Pollinators Are Important

I loved going to this pollinator plot. Sometimes we don’t realize the impact pollinators have on our environment. And it inspires me to be a pollinator of love and kindness in this world. 🙂






Did you know that squirrels stash away so many nuts that they forget where some of them are hidden? These forgotten nuts often grow into trees, meaning they play a role in conserving our ecosystem!

 “The squirrels hoard nuts
and the bee gathers honey,
without knowing what they do,
and they are thus provided for
without selfishness or disgrace.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.