Surprised by Hope

We love to read. My 'wish list' reading list is always so much longer than I actually have time for. This new one grabbed my attention because I've read quotes by the author and wanted to hear more of what he has to say. The title wasn't even my focus. I started Surprised by Hope by NT Wright thinking I'm pretty secure in all this and not sure if I'm going to gain much from the reading. Then this morning our pastor's message focused on Romans 8 and the hope of what lies ahead for us as believers. I was so confronted by my own limited concept of hope, which I've mistakenly accepted as being content. Not for the first time did I face the fact that I have full confidence and therefore incredible hope for the resurrection and my eternity with Christ, but I often find I don't walk with any hope for the day to day living in this world. How can I walk with so much purpose and yet have no vision? My first assumption is that I'm simply not spending enough time allowing God to put dreams in my heart or asking for His promises concerning my future; my earthly one in which I pray will have enormous consequences in the heavenly one for myself and many others. So I'm starting this week with a prayer for more hope in my life. Hope for the here and now, for the ones I love, for the ones I'm yet meet, hope for my calling and my future, hope for my city and nation. I can't seem to get the phrase "here's hoping" out of my head. So here's hoping I'm teachable this week because I want some vision!