On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
A week has passed since we celebrated Thanksgiving. I hope that it was a special day for each one of you. Our celebration has changed with the years, beloved parents passed on, children are grown and even the grands are grown. No great-grands as of yet to add excitement to the gathering. Still, it was a good day, we have almost finished off the leftover casseroles and dessert is long gone. The turkey was repurposed into a lemon-turkey soup. Very tasty.
I’ve been thinking about two words of late, maybe and hopefully and how best to use them. Maybe seems to carry a positive and negative vibe, whereas hopefully seems all positive.
For example. since we have health challenges, we could say maybe tomorrow will be better. But that indicates a 50-50 chance of being better, leaving room for doubt. When I say hopefully tomorrow will be better, I see tomorrow in a positive light.
Of course maybe can mean simply maybe. As in, maybe I will go the store today. No emotion involved.
My obsession with the two words may seem well, obsessive, but I think word choices matter. They matter whether they are voiced or thought. For me being hopeful makes life sweeter.
Each year I choose a focus verse for my digital prayer journal. I like to create a headline graphic so that it captures my attention as soon as I open the journal. This year focused on hope. Maybe that accounts for my obsession with the two words, maybe and hope.
I love this song. Family get togethers almost always involved guitars and singing. Precious memories.
After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience. Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites, Judy Wills, Louise Gibson( Now in Glory), Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix
My 2023 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.
Old Things R New 
As I understand it, “hope” in the Bible actually means “assurance.” That’s what Fred told me the original language means. I love the word “hope” but “assurance” in my own life means so much more…I “hope” in the Lord and His grace to me. I am “confident” in His love. Great blog. Thanks.
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I really like Fred’s definition.
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