Author: Jemmie Jems

Under the name Francis Lee, I write interracial Christian romantic suspense. My stories are about finding enduring love when hope and redemption seem unattainable as danger lurks around every corner. My characters learn that where there is darkness, "joy will always come in the morning".

Yet To Be # 65

Behold, I will do a new thing…

Day 1 of April – A New Start

Spring Blossoms

April means to “open”. 

It is the beginning of the growing season when flowers bloom. 

A fresh start.

A new view of life’s prospects with different eyes.

It isn’t always only about the goal, that prospect;

But how to get to it.

The path taken. 

The journey itself.

All the stops and starts along the way to that reward, can also make a big difference.

The goal is the prize, but the way taken makes the reward even more precious, appreciated and far more sweeter.

So, thread softly and don’t be the fool.

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?” Isaiah 43 verse 19

Yet To Be # 64

who against hope believed in hope

#31 of 31 Faith and Hope United

Riverwood

Faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.”

Hope is “the feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

United?

Hope does not exist without faith. Faith is the fuel that drives hope onward.

“For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; (Faith) and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Hope)

Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Faith and Hope United) Mark 11 verse 23 and 24

“And called those things which be not as though they were.  Who against hope believed in hope.” Romans 4 verse 17b and 18a

Yet To Be # 63

Rise up, my love and come away.

# 30 of 31 Walk in My Shoes…

Despair is a bottomless pit of darkness.

Where the icy fingers of fear caress the skin and misery  cuts deep into the bone.

Where there is an absence of emotion, the heart turns to stone.

We can do nothing but to look away from the hurt, from the pain.

From the fear and listen.

Listen clearly and hear that longing in His sacred melody;

That sweet honeyed song of Hope.

Saying, “Rise up, my love and come away.”

( reference: Song of Solomon 2 verse 10)

Yet To Be # 62

He is the rewarder of those who seek him

#29 of 31 Hope, Our Reward

Riverwood.

When Hope is fulfilled there is a reward.

Is the reward the fulfillment of those things hoped for? 

Who fulfills our hope? 

If we wait in patience, looking up with great anticipation, would our reward come swiftly?

Are we all equal in our received rewards?

Are some receiving greater than others? 

The covetous mind is not acceptable.

Looking to the right or to the left only slows our race.

We stumble and we fall;

We miss out on the beauty He places before us as we run.

Keeping our eyes fixed on Him, we see everything He has for us.

And miss nothing, because He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.

“Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope; even to day I declare that I will render double unto you.” Zechariah 9 verse 12

Yet To Be # 60 & 61

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills

#27 /28 Where Did It All Go?

Too weary to think, to wish upon that star.

Dreams remain still and never born.

We go through the motions of praying, asking, begging even.

Faking belief when there are no eyes to see.

Not trusting, caring little or nothing of his desires.

The heart is hardened by the cruel hands of reality.

The soul is cold from the long years of waiting.

Believing in word only having no faith because works are dead. 

Look up and see… 

Who comes leaping on the winds of the morning?   

Hope.

Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is salvation. Jeremiah 3 verse 23

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.  Psalm 121 verse 1

The voice of my beloved. Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. Song of Solomon 2 verse 8

Yet To Be #59

Let not your heart be troubled.

#26 of 31 Hope Never Fails…

Temptation to stop, to close the eyes;

To turn aside from a lifetime of waste.

And hide from the terror of failure is real.

Yet we keep moving.

Keep dreaming.

Making those wistful secrets and unfulfilled desires rise like smoke in the recesses of our burnt out existence.

There is no quenching of their bright embers.

Those sparks of light, glow bright and sure;

Bathing the soul in heat.

Filling the lips with joy and song.

And opening the ears to hear the words of truth and love.

It is Hope that rises and will continue to rise until there is no breath.

Until the grass dies and the flowers fade.

Until the shadows cover the earth.

Until then, let not our hearts be troubled,

For where there is life, there is Hope.

“Let not your heart be troubled and neither be afraid.” John 14 verse 1

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound.” Romans 15 verse 13 ESV

Yet To Be #58

Ride until the heart hears His voice saying fear not. I am with you.

# 25 of 31 Trust Him…

Trust Him where you cannot trace him – G. Feddoes

We look for purpose, a meaning in so many things,

But sometimes there are no answers, only more questions. 

When the eyes are fixed merely on context.

When the knees are bent and aching through endless prayers;

And hope is lost in the dark caverns of gloom.

Don’t give up.

Hold tight to the hem of his garment,

And ride!

Ride until you see the light.

Ride until freedom over takes you.

Ride within His gentle hands where all doubts are squelched.

Ride until the heart hears His voice saying, “fear not. I am with you”.

Then and only then will you truly know, He’s got this.

“Fear not I have redeemed you. I have called you by my name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43 verse 1

Moving Forward…

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Moving Forward…

We have the assurance that we are children of God when we have accepted His only begotten son as Lord and Savior

Yet To Be #57

The intimacies of His character are ofttimes lost within our psyche.

#24 of 31 Give me a blessing…

It will come. Hope is not now, but it is for the future.

“Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water.  And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether (lower) springs.” Joshua 15 verse 19


When our hope is fueled by faith we are drawn to ask with all boldness.

Then, why is there hesitation?  

Because of unbelief?

Do we measure Him by our own strength?

Do we understand or even truly know Him?

Or surely, we know only of Him.

The intimacies of His character are ofttimes lost within our psyche.

We reach out in our learning to understand how the Creator called the things that are not into being. 

How He hung the stars in the heavens and divided the land from the seas.

And how this same God could entreat us to ask of Him, but not just so;

But to ask with purpose, strength of faith and to stagger not with unbelief;

Believing in hope against hope, else if we ask doubting or ask amiss, we may receive nothing.

If only we ask.   

(references Romans 4 verses 17 and 18, James 4 verse 3)

Yet To Be # 56

Christ is our true hope.

#23 of 31 What if…

Hope rocks some serious acquaintance.
Photo St. Vincent, WI by Dale F

What if it doesn’t happen?

What if time passes where days turn into weeks, week into months and months into years, and still there is nothing.

What then?

Does hope die?

Does faith fade?

Has it all been for nought? In vain, as we look up and see nothing?

Hope has no limits. 

There is no ending to hoping, only a beginning and a forever. 

Christ is our true hope.

He is the alpha and the omega; the first and the last. 

In him we have redemption, salvation and life.

He came to give life and to give it abundantly.

There are no limits.  

“O fear the Lord, you saints; for there is no want to them that fear Him.”  Psalm 34 verse 9