It’s Important That You Know This

May 13, 2025 Gracie

Your Faith – It’s Important That You Know This

It's important that you know this

It’s important that you know this – God loves you, and He always will.

Even when your life is difficult at times, You are not truly alone.

God isn’t going anywhere.

Who is man to deserve such a loving Heavenly Father?

It’s hard to even imagine the depths of God’s love.

Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross we are redeemed from the eternal punishment that we rightly deserve.

This beautiful quote from Joni Eareckson Tada is filled with encouragement . . .

There is a word that marks the love of Christ, and that is excessive. His love for you overflows all reason, all expectations, all your hopes and dreams. For Christ to lay down his life for you tells you that his covenant is no schoolboy pledge or head-of-state agreement or legal contract. Christ’s love is riddled with powerful emotion. For him to die for you is for him to be delighted in you.
Let Christ’s passion for you stir the depths of your yearnings for him. Let yourself be drawn to him today, not only because of his sacrifice for your sin but because of his desire for your soul. – Joni Eareckson Tada, Christian author and CEO of Joni and Friends¹

We are His children, and even though we often fail Him, He offers us forgiveness. There is no love more pure or greater than His.

Recently, I came across a poem that captures the unwavering nature of God’s love for us. With a huge thank you to Deborah Ann Belka, I’m happy to share it here.

No Other One

I know no other Savior,
no other who would forgive
nor collect in His bottle
the tears I have to give.

I know no other Shepherd,
no other to show the way
nor when I am in the valley
listen to what I have to say.

I know no other Lamb,
no other who peace brings
nor one who can lead me
to those life giving springs.

I know no other Light,
no other shines so clear
nor one when I am afraid
can take away my fear.

I know no other Creator,
no other with the skill
nor one who loves me
like I know He always will.

I know no other God,
no other one has come before
nor one who’ll come after . . .
for my God is forever more!

1 Kings 8:60

“That all the people of the earth
may know that the Lord is God,
and that there is none else.” – King James Version, Public Domain

He knows us inside and out, the good and the bad, and yet, offers us infinite grace and compassion.

Thank You, Heavenly Father

for who You are, and that You so deeply care for us

May our lives be a shining reflection

of Your goodness and mercy

to those around us.

¹Quotation is from Joni Eareckson Tada, 1 John 4:19 Commentary, [2024] Courtesy of Precept Austin, Web. Accessed 19 April, 2025.

²Poetry courtesy of Deborah Ann Belka, “No Other One.” [online post], June 13, 2023, Web. Accessed April 20, 2025. Retrieved from https://poetrybydeborahann.wordpress.com/

Agree to Disagree: Valuing Differences

During an argument, have you ever said something to a loved one that you regret?

Perhaps you’re thinking,

I want to take back the harsh words, but it’s too late

Regret is a powerful teacher.

This may be up for debate, but I think it’s never too late.

Is it really worth breaking up a close relationship due to different points of view?

It’s okay to agree to disagree.

It's okay to agree to disagree

Agree to Disagree: Missed Moments to Heal

Recently, I came across an excellent poem that touches on the subject of how we respond to disagreements. If pride on both your parts threatens an important relationship, is it really worth it?

Here, the author shares a simple yet powerful collection of thoughts that are worth considering.

Point of View

I’ve heard it said, “Don’t go to bed
While hanging on to sorrow.
You may not have the chance to laugh;
With those you love tomorrow.”

You may not mean the words you speak
When anger takes its toll.
You may regret your actions
Once you’ve lost your self-control.

When you’ve lost your temper
And you’ve said some hurtful things,
Think about the heartache
That your action sometimes brings.

You’ll never get those moments back,
Such precious time to waste,
And all because of things you said
In anger and in haste.

So if you’re loving someone
And your pride has settled in,
You may not ever have the chance
To say to them again,

“I love you and I miss you
And although we don’t agree,
I’ll try to see your point of view,
Please do the same for me.”

– Unknown

Embracing The Beauty of God’s Sunsets

A glorious Texas sunset

An unnamed poet once wrote, “Sunsets are just little glimpses of the golden streets of heaven.”

I don’t think I could have said it better. 🙂

Have you ever witnessed a sunset that takes your breath away?

Praising God for His beautiful sunsets

To God be the Glory!

As the day comes to a close, the sun’s last ray’s delicately kiss the horizon for one last time, and the sky overhead descends into darkness.

Simple quiet moments reflecting on this and the beauty of God’s sunsets are priceless.

Thank you God for the perfect ending to another day!

Beyond
Poet: Unknown

The sunset’s crown of radiant gold
And robe of amethyst
Had paled to twilight gray and cold
And trembling veils of mist;
Then, up in the heaven the white moon sailed,
And, gleaming in her wake,
Her silvery shimmering garments trailed –
A shining way, in shadows veiled,
Across the dusky lake.

The darkness quenched the sunset hues;
Day, shrouded, sank in night;
Yet through the gloom and through the dews
Still trailed that track of light.
No wind bore upward hymn or prayer,
No step throbbed on the sod,
And yet my soul saw opened there –
Cross lake, o’er mount, through ambient air –
A shining path to God.

O coward soul, that fears to miss
The glow from out thy sky,
That shrinks from sorrow’s touch and kiss
When shades are drawing nigh, –
Beyond the night’s o’ershadowing form
Light gleams on wave and sod,
And thou mayst climb – thy robe and crown
Faded and in the dust laid down –
That shining way to God.

Not My Home

September 24, 2024 Gracie

This World is Not My Home

Not my home

Have you ever heard someone say “this world is not my home”?

As a Christian, I hear that a lot.

No doubt, the world continues to descend into evil.

The fallen world will have you think that “anything goes.”

No thanks.

We long for the coming of our Savior.

Our Homecoming

Evil will not exist in our heavenly home.

The wickedness and idolatry we are witnessing present day will one day, in God’s timing, be a thing of the past.

Until that glorious day of His reappearing, we can rest in His promise to lead us to our heavenly destination.

That is great news!

We have so much to look forward to!

And here’s even better news – as much as we can look forward to the defeat of evil, nothing will compare to meeting our Lord and Savior in person.

He is the reason we can rejoice!

Complete in Christ

Complete in Christ,
to God now accepted
only through Him
are we perfected.

Believers are we,
of His work on the cross
no longer are we
in our sinful ways lost.

Complete in Christ,
new life we’re given
now that our sins
He has forgiven.

A heavenly deposit,
His spirit lives within
an assurance to us
one day we’ll be with Him.

Complete in Christ,
with a new destination
all because He gave us
the gift of salvation!

Colossians 2:10

And ye are complete in him,
which is the head of all
principality and power: – King James Version
Public Domain

~ to GOD be the GLORY ~

# # #

¹Poetry courtesy of Deborah Ann Belka, “Complete in Christ.” [online post], September 14, 2024, Web. Accessed September 20, 2024. Retrieved from https://poetrybydeborahann.wordpress.com/

Jesus Walked Among Us

August 20, 2024 Gracie

Yes, It’s Real: Jesus Walked Among Us

If you want to think about something truly amazing, how about the fact that Jesus walked among us?

That is, in earlier Biblical times, God’s only Son walked along the same ground as humanity.

It’s almost incomprehensible.

A view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Here, from the book of John, is perhaps the most well-known verse from Scripture.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16, (NASB).¹

Jesus, both God and man, is the ultimate expression of the depths of God’s love for us.

Who are we to deserve such a gift?

His sacrifice on the cross exemplifies the ultimate act of love.

Through no works of our own, He offers believers a path of free grace which leads to our salvation.

He didn’t die for Himself. He took sin upon Himself. He died for those who did not deserve it. When we put our faith into who He is, Jesus Christ, the God-man, and we put our faith into what He did for us, then righteousness, His righteousness, is now written to our account. You cannot be righteous in yourself. To think that you can earn your way into heaven is to put yourself on equality with God, and you cannot do it. The only man who ever did it was the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, putting our faith into Him. Then His righteousness and His life come to live in us. Now He can produce through us what we could have never done ourselves. – Precept Austin commentary.²

Jesus Walked Among Us: He is Real

We know from the Bible that when Jesus walked among the people, He showed them great love and compassion.

He comforted the brokenhearted.

Why would we think He would be any different today?

He hears your prayers and mine.

As of this writing, Jesus has not yet returned, but He is coming!

In the meantime, set your sights on His victorious return.

I hope the following poem will encourage you as it did me.

Look To The Cross
By Catherine Pulsifer

In the stillness of the night, you hear the call,
Jesus beckons, He invites one and all.
Up high in heaven, God’s Son does reside,
Yet on earth, His love for you does abide.

Look up to the cross, where Jesus bled,
For you, for me, His precious blood shed.
In simple faith, just believe and see,
The saving grace He offers for free.

No need to search in distant skies,
For Jesus is near, He hears your cries.
He walked amongst us, in human form,
To guide us through life’s tempest and storm.

God’s love is so deep, it knows no end,
His mercy and grace, they always mend.
So come to Jesus, with a heart open wide,
In Him, true peace and joy abide.

Through His word, a message so clear,
Jesus, our Savior, always near.
So heed the call, don’t hesitate,
In Jesus, find your eternal fate.