IN life I find that my expectation is framed by what takes up my thinking the most.

If I choose to let my focus be on positive and uplifting ideas and concepts then I have a healthy expectation that life is worth living despite the challenges we face.

As a Christian, the comfort and hope I find in the scriptures, nourishes my expectation of good things happening for me and for those around me.

When I focus on what is going wrong, on seemingly delayed answers to prayer, or if I focus on tough circumstances, temporary setbacks, rejections and traumas, I find I have little expectation for good to be seen.

Each one of us can make a decision with the time we have been given to either invest it in hope or to be ‘glass half empty’ personalities. I want people to be inspired and uplifted when chatting with me – I don't want to suck the life out of people with negativity and miserable conversation. I believe this reflects the heart of most followers of Jesus.

The Bible states that "hope deferred (delayed) makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12).

I believe that the sacrificial work of Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross is a tree of life to us. Through Jesus' suffering on the cross we can receive fresh hope and a fresh start in life. We can know freedom from fear and shame and start to live well.

The desire to be loved resonates throughout every fibre of our beings. I believe this desire is fulfilled in knowing God, who is Love.

With this focus we can be the kind of people to build up and encourage those around us.

We can allow God, by His spirit, to paint His image of love and mercy on the canvass of our hearts and we can see that hope, that inner image, become a reality in our lifestyle and through us into the world we live in.