DISCOVERING HOPE

Images for Study Leaders

AVAILABLE IMAGES:

PROMO

  1. DHCover: High-res image of book cover
  2. DHBookAd2: Cover image and back cover copy
  3. DHPromoImage: Image of open book held in hands

FORWARD

  1. DHHopeSpringsExultant: (p.8) “Hope springs exultant on triumphant wing.” Robert Burns
  2. DHDifficultJourneys: (p.9) “On our difficult paths we need truth to speak louder than the lies of despair.” Monica Kaye Snyder

WELCOME

  1. DHEveryJourney: (p.10) “Every journey begins with the first step.” Unknown
  2. DHThereIsAlwaysHope: (p.11) “No matter how dark the days, how wild the storm, how deep the valley or how long the winter, there is hope. There is always hope.” Cindee Snider Re

SMALL GROUP ETIQUETTE

  1. CJSmallGroupEtiquette For use with (p.76)

CHAPTER 1

  1. DHBeautifulDay: (p.12) “Give each day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.” Mark Twain
  2. DHDoingLifeTogether: (p.13) “Sharing our stories is a vital part of doing life together.” Cindee Snider Re
  3. DHDayTheLordHasMade: (p.14) “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.” Psalm 66:16
  4. DHOneMomentThatMatters: (p.15) “What is one moment that matters?”
  5. DHHardestThingAboutChronicIllness: (p. 16) “What is the hardest thing about chronic illness?”
  6. DHEachOfUsHasAStory: (p.17) “Each of us has a story – a unique, valuable, integral part of the whole story of God. Your story is important. It matters.” Cindee Snider Re

DHPrayer1: (p.17) “Lord, in the right time, in your perfect time, give me the courage to share my story, to write the words of a story I may not yet understand, but a story You are writing through every heartbeat of my life.”

STORY MATTERS

  1. DHWhereHopeBegins: (p.19) “Story is where hope begins.” Cindee Snider Re
  2. DHUnexpectedBlessing: (p.20) “What is the most unexpected blessing of illness?”
  3. DHIllnessInFiveWords: (p.21) “Describe chronic illness in five words.”
  4. DHGlimmerOfHope: (p.21) “What if your story offers a glimmer of hope to someone standing at the edge of hopelessness?” Cindee Snider Re

CHAPTER 2

  1. DHTheJourney: (p.22) “The journey is better than the inn.” Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
  2. DHSavorTheMoment: (p.23) “Savor the moment, soak in the beauty, breathe deeply and feel the immensity of God.” Cindee Snider Re
  3. DHPrayer2: (p.26) “Lord, give me the courage to take off my masks, the willingness to surrender my fears. Teach me to slow down, savor the moment, soak in the beauty and breathe deeply of each moment with You. Amen.”
  4. DHSomethingAlwaysSings: (p.27) “Even in the mud and scum of things, something always, always sings.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

CHAPTER 3

  1. DHWillingToBeInconvenienced: (p.28) “You love as well as you are willing to be inconvenienced.” Ann Voskamp
  2. DHCordOfThreeStrands: (p.29) “We were created…to be the cord of three strands that is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12
  3. DHInconvenience: (p.31) “We are called to open the door to inconvenience.” Cindee Snider Re
  4. DHOnlyLearnInSuffering: (p.33) “Is it possible that there are things we can only learn in the darkness, in hardship, in suffering?” Cindee Snider Re
  5. DHFruitOfFaith: (p.33) “Joy is a gift, the fruit of faith, offered right where we are, in the darkness, in the suffering, in the trials.” Cindee Snider Re
  6. DHPrayer3: (p.33) “Lord, help me to ask for help when I need it and to remember I am created for community. Remind me that I don’t need to search for joy in hard times, because it’s already there, a gift of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.”

CHAPTER 4

  1. DHWelcomeSummerRain: (p.34) “Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.” Langston Hughes
  2. DHHumorOasis: (p.35) “Humor can become an oasis of God’s perfect peace and joy in the midst of life’s storms.” Cindee Snider Re
  3. DHStinkLikeTheGrinch: (p.35) “I’m never going to ______and I’m going to STINK LIKE THE GRINCH!” M. Re
  4. DHBrightMoments: (p.37) “God has graciously sewn laughter into our days, bright moments tucked among the shadows of illness and pain…” Cindee Snider Re
  5. DHBellyLaughed: (p.37) “When was the last time you unexpectedly belly laughed?” Cindee Snider Re
  6. DHPrayer4: (p.39) “Lord, open my eyes to the laughter dancing at the edges of my days. Give me courage to shed the heavy and embrace Your delightful gift of humor. Amen.

CHAPTER 5

  1. DHSingleStep: (p.42) “A journey of a thousand steps begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu
  2. DHWhatIfIllness: (p.46) “What if illness – the stripping away of our health, our dreams, our understanding of who we are and what our future holds – is really a gift?” Cindee Snider Re
  3. DHPrayer5: (p.46) “Lord, You walked this earth for a purpose – to save all of humanity, even me. Teach me to trust that Your love for me is eternal and unchanging, that I may walk with confidence through the trials of life, knowing You are with me every step of the way. Amen.
  4. DHCourageIsFound: (p.47) “Courage is found in unlikely places.” J.R.R. Tolkien

CHAPTER 6

  1. DHOnlyPrayer: (p.48) “If the only prayer you said in your life was ‘Thank you’ that would suffice.” Meister Eckhart
  2. DHHardTimes: (p.51) “Hard times, when held with open hands and a tender heart, can prepare us for the future.” Cindee Snider Re
  3. DHDayTheLordHasMade: (p.52) “This is the day that Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
  4. DHThankGod: (p.52) “Today, thank God for one thing, however small, however seemingly insignificant.” Cindee Snider Re
  5. DHPrayer6: (p.53) “Father, I am humbled that You are grateful for me. Today, may I simply be grateful for You.”

CHAPTER 7

  1. DHAllAtOnce: (p.56) “You don’t have to take this day all at once, one step, one breath, one moment at a time is enough.” Unknown
  2. DHItsGod: (p.57) “It isn’t our circumstances that make life worth living. It’s God.” Cindee Snider Re
  3. DHMidstOfPain: (p.57) “In the midst of pain, we begin to understand the price Jesus paid for our salvation.” Cindee Snider Re
  4. DHGrievingIsHard: (p.60) “Grieving is hard and necessary and sometimes takes far longer than we ever imagined.” Cindee Snider Re
  5. DHPerseveranceBlessing: (p.61) “Could…our persevering through a life we didn’t expect, don’t want and didn’t choose, actually bring blessing?” Cindee Snider Re
  6. DHPrayer7: (p.61) “Lord, help me to experience hope and taste joy in the midst of life with chronic illness. Remind me in a thousand tiny ways that perseverance brings the promise of Your blessing.”

REFLECTIONS ON PSALM 130

  1. DHEssenceOfGodInLament: (p.64) “We hear the essence of God spoken through the tone and experience of lament…mercy and forgiveness, never abandonment, even in the deep and the dark.” Julie Sheridan Smith
  2. DHLament: (p.64) “Lament has a role and a purpose in our relationship with God.” Julie Sheridan Smith

LAMENT

  1. DHLament: (p.65) “True lament isn’t an expression of weakness, whining or self-pity. It’s an authentic expression of faith.” Cindee Snider Re
  2. DHPushingPainAside: (p.65) “Pushing our pain aside…diminishes our human experience.” Cindee Snider Re

CHAPTER 8

  1. DHChangeOurAttitude: (p.70) “Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different.” Katherine Mansfield
  2. DHVerseToGuide: (p.73) “What Scripture verse could become your pillar of cloud or fire – words or a promise to guide you through the wilderness of illness?” Cindee Snider Re
  3. DHNextStep: (p.73) “What is your next step?”
  4. DHPrayer8: (p.73) “Lord, thank you for light enough for the next step. Give me the courage to press on – one step at a time – as you reveal Your purpose for me on this journey toward hope in chronic illness.”
  5. DHAStepForward: (p.74) “As practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward.” Vincent Van Gogh

PRAYER CARD

1.DHPrayerCard: Color image of Prayer Card (p.81)

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