Sound Bite
“The gift of forgiveness sets us free. . . . Keeping bitterness and resentment inside of you is like you drinking the poison and hoping the other person dies. . . . You cannot be born again if you insist on living in the past.”
—Pastor Brian McMahon in a sermon delivered at the Fletcher Seventh-day Adventist Church in North Carolina.
 

Photo
At the 2010 General Conference session in Atlanta our son Elliott (not yet 2 years old) was fascinated with Hope Channel’s mascot, Hopey. Near the end of the meetings he consented to have his picture taken with Hopey while safely in Grammie’s arms. 
 
From then until now, he includes “Hopey and the Hope Cannel (Channel)” in nearly every prayer we pray. If Mommy, Daddy, or anyone else is responsible for prayer and forgets to pray for “Hopey and the Hope Cannel,” he is sure to remind us and insist that we pray again. 

He proudly wears his Hope Channel pin to church each Sabbath.
 
In these pictures are 23-month-old Elliott and his grammie (Bobbie Millburn) with Hopey, and Elliott praying for Hopey and Hope Channel while sporting his Hopey pin.
—Marlene Colburn, Lumberton, Mississippi
 
 
Adventist Life
Although mid-60s in age, our youthful-minded pastor relishes mountain biking. One such church event was scheduled for September 11. The pastor invited one young man, about half his age, to join the party. Without question the younger stated he couldn’t because it was his wedding anniversary.
 
“Disaster?” the pastor queried with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
 
“Not really,” the younger replied, “but that is only half the issue. My wife was born on October 22. Neither date is a disaster or great disappointment,” he assured!
—Herb Pritchard, Ocala, Florida
 

Following the August 23 earthquake that jarred the East Coast of the U.S., Hope Channel’s Susan Marcellino returned to her task of restocking marketing materials in the storeroom in Silver Spring, Maryland. The first box she encountered was full of audio CDs by Hope Channel vice president Gary Gibbs. The presentation’s title: “How to Survive the Shaking.”
—Scott M. Steward, Florence, Oregon
 
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This article was published November 10, 2011.