Hope

A simple six-word sentence from a beloved relative "You have never given me hope" led to a two-year intensive search on the meaning of hope. It is a word that is used, often over-used, without any real context. "Give hope this year" or "Give the gifts of hope" or "Hope is springing forth" and especially in the 2020 year of the Covid-19 pandemic, "Hope is on the way!" All of these sound good, but how is hope defined? Can we "give" others hope, if so, how? HOPE What is it? Where is it Found? Looks at hope theologically, Biblically, psychologically, sociologically, and through the ethos of American hope and false hope. Framed throughout are stories from the author's life within and without the church, along with the realization that hope exists in multitudes of ways, many undiscovered by the conscious mind and heart. This work is an attempt, like an archaeological excavation, to unearth the treasures of hope that have been dormant, buried, and unused. Much has been discovered from the past and the present that gives promise for the future. D.B, (Dee) Shelnutt, Jr., author of Songs in the Night: Holding on in the Darkness of Life and At the Welcome Tree (a children's book) loves anything that has to do with family, friends, lake life, reading, writing, working in the yard, traveling, preaching, teaching, studying, laughing/ humor, eating his favorite dish: food, playing games with his grandkids, UGA Bulldawgs, and learning to paint. A retired pastor in the United Methodist Church, he served for forty years in various cities in North Georgia. His lifework has been in Biblical hospitality and multi-cultural relationships (how to welcome the stranger in our midst). Website: www.deeshelnutt.com Email: deeshelnuttjr@gmail.com