<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">I apologize for sending my devotions to the NFL list. At 5:30 in the morning sometimes my fingers don't work as well as they should.<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature"><div dir="ltr">Peggy Fleischer<div>Second vice president national Federation of the blind of Florida</div></div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Dec 5, 2024, at 4:36 AM, Bill Outman via NFBF-L <nfbf-l@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style>@font-face { font-family: Helvetica; }
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Well, it doesn’t have anything to do with blindness directly, though our blindness issues could be included in the sentiment. Peggy sent it to the Communities of Faith list with a CC to NFBF-L, don’t know if she meant to do that. At least now some are aware that venue exists if they are interested in such things, but know going in that it is Christian oriented. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Still, it is valuable to remember we can still have hope even in a time of frustration, uncertainty and turmoil. I know a lot of us are in a deep state of concern on a lot of issues including those directly relating to blindness given the political changes we are seeing. There can be sharply differing opinions on whether that change is good, and the election results indicate it is less of a mandate than some are portraying.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Not everyone takes things on a faith basis, but keeping hope alive is all we can do, the alternative is to capitulate to whatever status quo we are concerned about. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Bill Outman <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> NFBF-L <nfbf-l-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>marion.gwizdala--- via NFBF-L<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, December 4, 2024 11:48 AM<br><b>To:</b> 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List' <nfbf-l@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> marion.gwizdala@gmail.com<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [NFBF-L] Devotions for December 4<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Not really sure what this has to do with blindness and the NFB. I did not realize this was a religion oriented discussion list.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Marion Gwizdala<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> NFBF-L <<a href="mailto:nfbf-l-bounces@nfbnet.org">nfbf-l-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Peggy Fleischer via NFBF-L<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, December 4, 2024 5:53 AM<br><b>To:</b> Communities Of Faith Nfb Florida <<a href="mailto:nfbfl-faith@groups.io">nfbfl-faith@groups.io</a>>; NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <<a href="mailto:nfbf-l@nfbnet.org">nfbf-l@nfbnet.org</a>>; NFBFDaytona <<a href="mailto:nfbf-daytona@nfbnet.org">nfbf-daytona@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Cc:</b> Peggy Fleischer <<a href="mailto:peggy.lynn.fleischer@gmail.com">peggy.lynn.fleischer@gmail.com</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> [NFBF-L] Devotions for December 4<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt"><strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Psalm 137</span></strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Hope When Things Go Wrong in the World</span></strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Yesterday, we said <strong><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">hope is the wholehearted, evidence-based conviction that God is making the future better than the past or present.</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">But what about when all the evidence this Christmas tells you the future might only bring more pain? When forces outside of your control, like war, the economy, and sickness, cause chaos all over the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">If you’re asking this question, you’re not alone. Around 500 years before Jesus, the people of God were invaded, captured, and forcibly deported to a faraway nation. They were separated from their families, homes, and, for many, their hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Their forced migration is called the exile, and its trauma influenced countless Scriptures.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Today, you’ll read a lament (a pain-filled song of praise) by a few of these people. These exiles were musicians, but after their capture, they were taken as servants or slaves to work at a farm in a nation called Babylon. Their captors asked them to play the music of their people, and they responded with despair, saying something like, “How could we sing songs of hope and praise to God when we’ve experienced so much pain?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Global events outside their control made hope feel impossible. Can you relate?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">When things go wrong in the world, it feels like evidence that God is against us, ignoring us, or He’s left us behind. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout their time in Babylon, the people of God not only survived, but learned to thrive. They discovered God was present in their pain, and God still had a plan for their future.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">In fact, one of the most famous Bible verses (Jeremiah 29:11) is about God’s plan for His people in exile. In that verse, He promises to give them hope and a future. And God delivered on His promise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Your pain isn’t evidence God doesn’t care or is far off. It’s evidence that God is still working on His plan to make all things new.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">True hope doesn’t ignore the pain of life. Instead, it trusts God’s plan despite the worst life has to offer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Yes, it’s a slow process. And it’s normal to get frustrated with God’s timing. But when we look at the experience of the exile, we see the evidence of God’s faithfulness in the middle of pain and in the fulfillment of His promises.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Pause and Pray:</span></strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><em><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Lord, thank You that even in the darkest of times, You are working for good. Help me to have hope even when things are hard in my life. Help me to share the hope I have in You with those around me. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus. Amen.</span></em><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">Reflect or Discuss:</span></strong><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:16.5pt;line-height:21.6pt;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-touch-callout: none"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">What is one thing in the world that makes things feel dark? How do you hope God will work good through that thing?<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">Peggy Fleischer<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">Second vice president national Federation of the blind of Florida<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>NFBF-L mailing list</span><br><span>NFBF-L@nfbnet.org</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org</span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBF-L:</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/peggy.lynn.fleischer%40gmail.com</span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>