these past few weeks i have been reading through hebrews and finding it so rewarding and challenging! do you ever read something so much that it almost loses its power. sometimes i feel like that is how the Bible is. i have read it so often that the words don't sink in as much as they should, i just kind of glaze over them. but for some reason, the words of hebrews have really come alive for me. there are a handful of verses in particular that i really stuck to and felt a connection to. one is hebrews 6:19 "we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." first in clarification, this verse is referring to the hope that we have in God's promises as his heirs and children, but more important i just love the picture that this gives. maybe its because i grew up living near a lake and spending a good amount of time out on boats that i connect with the picture of an anchor. but i love this! i love that the hope we have in Christ is the solid thing we can throw down to hold us in place in the midst of storms, gentle currents, tides, etc. what a strong and solid foundation He is! the second verse that really stuck my heart is hebrews 8:5 "... and moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: see to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." how often do i meet with the Lord in a mountain top experience where He shows me great things that He is asking me to do. and then, how often do you go down from the mountain top, back to the valleys of every day life and either tweak what He told me or dismiss it all together because of doubt, fear, or insecurity. when God asks for specifics, i need to give specifics! i think that is why God was so adamant about making the israelites write things down. he knew that we get off that mountain and we no longer want to, desire to, or believe in the very things He showed us while on the mountain. but if we write it down when it seems so real, we can come back to it time and time again as truth. i've heard it said that we need to remember in the dark what the Lord tells us in the light. what a good principle! the last passage i'll leave on today with is one of my personal favorites: hebrews 12:1-3 "therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entagles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."