God Makes A Way

December 6, 2022 Gracie

God Makes A Way

Have you ever heard the expression, “God finds a way”?

The truth is – if it’s in His will, God makes a way.

I remember after our tragic family accident in 1997 (you can read about it here), our lives were completely turned upside down.

While grieving and still recovering from the tragedy days before, there were also many difficult decisions that we had to make, constant phone calls with friends and family, plus my husband wanted to attend the out-of-state funeral.

When my husband left, we needed someone to stay with me since I couldn’t walk at the time. Thankfully, in His gracious way, God prompted one of our cousins to volunteer to do just that.

My left leg was in a heavy knee-to-ankle boot for about three months. There was no way I could drive to work like that.

At the time, I was working at a Fort Worth TV station – which wasn’t even close to where my husband’s job was located. After not being able to work for a few weeks, I was starting to worry about being let go from my job.

After much prayer, God’s grace shone His brilliant light on us once again.

A co-worker at the TV station unexpectedly offered to pick me up half-way every morning.

As only God can do, the arrangement worked out perfectly and my co-worker and I forged a bond and then a close friendship that is now just as strong as ever.

We had so many wonderful faith-filled conversations on those drives.

I am forever grateful for experiences like that which affirm God’s grace and compassion.

God makes a way right when it seemed like there was no way.

When faced with seemingly impossible situations – we need to remember that, nothing is impossible for God.

Our Sovereign Lord, if it is in His will, is the God of our impossibles.

Brandon Heath God Made A Way

Recently, I was checking out new Christmas music and came across a song that I couldn’t wait to share.

Just in time for the Christmas season, Dove Award winner, Brandon Heath, released a new song duet with the incredibly talented Tasha Layton.

Here is “God Made A Way.”

I hope this song blesses you as much as it does me.

“God Made a Way” debuted on YouTube on November 22nd of this year. As of this writing, it has garnered over 3000 views on the social media platform.

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It Wasn’t Me But Should Have Been

June 21, 2022 Gracie

Hey Boss, It Wasn’t Me

Do you have a pet peeve?

One thing that drives me crazy is to be blamed for something I didn’t do.

I remember back at one of the TV stations where I worked there was an intern who was answering phones in the newsroom. Unfortunately, she was rude to a caller.

Rightly so, the caller called back, asked to speak to the senior producer and complained.

The senior producer stormed out of her office, into the newsroom, and called all of us to the carpet for this intern’s mistake.

Loudly and angrily.

Wait a minute. It wasn’t me who did that!!

It didn’t matter, all of us were yelled at.

I made the mistake of shaking my head a little in frustration.

The boss saw me and then I also got into trouble!!

I can laugh about it now, but this reminds me of a good point.

It Wasn’t Me But Should Have Been

Remember this Bible verse from 1 Peter?

²⁴and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. – 1 Peter 2:24, (NASB).¹

In that verse from Peter’s address to the early church, he affirms that it is Jesus who, by His matchless grace, bore our sins to save us from eternal death.

It was our sinless Messiah on that cross who willingly took on the blame that, in reality, falls on us.

Blessed is the Lamb of God, “who takes away the sin of the world.”² (1 John 1:29)

The depths of His love are immeasurable by any human terms.

A Poem About God’s Grace

Recently I came across a poem I wanted to share written by gifted author, Louis Gander.

It’s a beautiful reminder of God’s grace and mercy towards man.

But Should Have Been 4-2-22

They slept and slept with weary eyes

while Jesus prayed with teary eyes.
He prayed in earnest while they slept,

but answered faithful. He’d accept.

It wasn’t me.

The night was looking mighty grim.

Then came, they, and arrested Him.

The charge was simple: blasphemy.

He didn’t plead nor disagree.

It wasn’t me.

And this is how the story goes:

They stripped Him of His humble clothes.

With bone-tipped violence He was whipped

and ev’ry time His skin was ripped.

It wasn’t me.

It wasn’t something He could toss.

He dropped that very heavy cross.

None could stop them, stop them now

as sweat poured off His heavy brow.

It wasn’t me.

They mocked Him with a crown of thorns.

The hate, the words, the sword, the scorns.

It’s hard to fathom these details,

then sore, He bore barbaric nails.

It wasn’t me.

His sacrifice was perfect love

both here on earth and Heav’n above.

It could have been a total loss

but Christ, Himself, endured that cross.

It wasn’t me.

God’s solemn will would then prevail,

and tore from top to bottom, veil.

Yes, Christ was hung for my sins then.

It wasn’t me… but should have been.

http://www.ganderpoems.org/³

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³Poetry courtesy of Louis Gander, ©2022 Louis Gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, “But Should Have Been.” [online post]. From Gander Story Poems, n.d. Web. Accessed June 18, 2022. https://www.ganderpoems.org/2022/04/but-should-have-been-4-2-22.html

Our Exceptional God

The Right Stuff

October 12, 2021 Gracie

The Right Stuff – How Can I Get It?

The Right Stuff – The Mercury Seven¹

Do you have “what it takes?”

In other words, do you have “The Right Stuff?”

I know, I know . . . there’s a movie by that name, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

Even better, to get “it” we don’t have to be astronauts venturing into space!

Specifically, I’m talking about what it takes to be a courageous Christian.

Navigating today’s troublesome world takes Courage, with a capital “C.”

We live in a dying, lost world.

We need Courage because, going forward, we’ll be persecuted for our faith.

As a former news reporter and longtime researcher, some of the disturbing things I hear about that are coming our way (or being proposed for the future) are so demonic that I continue to pray for a spiritual revival.

But, only God knows “if” another spiritual revival is in our future.

The alternative, Christians already know about.

This may be the time in our history that this Church Age will continue to progress to a fever pitch of evil coming from the wicked.

Since the Rapture hasn’t happened yet, (Come Lord Jesus!), we need to spend our remaining time on this planet telling the world about Him and teaching the younger generation about salvation through Jesus Christ.

Additionally, whatever your spiritual gifts or talents are – make sure you give glory to God in all things and let that be known.

It’s important to realize that the time for staying quiet about your belief in Jesus Christ is over.

God Loves us, but Judgment is Coming for the Wicked

God is sovereign so He allows sad things to happen in our world.

On the other hand, because He is a good God, this is a time of “great harvest.”

With that in mind, here’s some good news.

More and more people are coming to Christ all over the world as they take off their media-driven blinders and see the differences between Good and Evil.

As an illustration, think about some of the movies you’ve seen where a coach gives an inspiring speech to his battle-weary football team.

This is a good analogy because it describes what we’re facing now.

As Christians, we are on a team: Team Jesus.

We are coming up against powerful adversaries, but none are more powerful than our Sovereign God.

Decide Which Team You’re On

Satan will pull out all of the stops in order to distract you, alarm you, cause you doubts, get you to sin, beat you up with feelings of insecurity and loneliness, and much much more.

Be ready.

To illustrate, I really like what Christian author Susie Larson said about Courage, so will share it here.

I hope this is helpful to you going forward.

Daily Blessing
Courage means you get back up again after you’ve been knocked down. Courage means you face your fears and move past them. Courage means you stand up and remain confident in the face of your bullies. Jesus was the King of Courage, and He lives inside of you! Refuse to let your enemy kick dirt in your eyes or spew lies in your ears. Do you remember who you are? YOU are a child of the Most High God. You are someone heaven knows. YOU are profoundly important to the greater Kingdom story. So rise up and engage your faith. Face your day with fierce confidence and courageous strength. God is with you!
1 Corinthians 16:13 NLT ~ Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. – Susie Larson, Christian Author.³

The Right Stuff

Above all, have Courage, Christian friends.

We are on the winning team against Evil!

The Apostle Paul’s teaching about God’s grace is for all of us.

Romans 5:8-11

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¹ “The Right Stuff, photo courtesy of NASA on The Commons, no restrictions, public domain, 17 March, 1960, via Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Accessed and retrieved October 9, 2021.

²Susie Larson devotional, courtesy of susielarson.com., “Take Courage”. Daily Blessing. October 7, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.susielarson.com/daily-blessing/2021/10/7/take-courage

Our Exceptional God

Ignoring The Warnings

February 26, 2020 Gracie

Ignoring the Warnings

heeding the warnings

Have you ever seen those anti-smoking commercials on television?

I think we can all agree that they’re hard to watch.

The ones that I’ve seen feature a lung cancer patient whose throat has been ravaged by years of smoking. It’s hard to look and listen as the patient reveals his or her regret over not quitting the habit sooner.

Whether you’re able to watch those commercials all the way through or not…the message is clear right at the beginning. These people are physically suffering and will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives.

Their fate is assured.

Do you ever wonder why they didn’t heed the warnings?

I believe there’s an analogy here to pay attention to.

The Spiritual Battle for Hearts and Minds

It saddens me that many people are ignoring the warnings and rejecting an even more important message.

Why don’t lost people care about their eternity?

Don’t they realize how serious this matter is?

For their sake, I wish they would realize the spiritual and eternal danger in store for those who don’t believe.

Those ignoring the warnings will face God’s Judgement.

Do you know of any lost people in your life? They need your prayers.

Life After Death

Life after death

How amazing is God’s grace?

As sinners, we don’t even deserve salvation, but through His grace, eternal life is assured to those who trust in Jesus Christ and His righteousness alone.

God’s promised salvation finally and fully came in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is Christ alone who is righteous. It is Christ alone who has lived a life free from sin. And it is He alone who willingly took the sinner’s place on the cross of Calvary, bearing the guilt and punishment we deserve. Trusting in Him alone is what saves sinners, not self-help programs, nor human striving after righteousness and God’s approval. – Robert L. Deffinbaugh, Pastor and Bible teacher, Bible.org contributor.

A Humble Mindset

Do any of these excuses sound familiar?

I have all the time in the world

No mythological creature in the sky tells me what to do

Your God is a bully

The Bible is full of errors

Not much gratitude or humility in those statements, is there?

Our sins are ugly and offensive to God.

True Christians recognize this.

Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us. – John Stott, Christian pastor (1921-2011.)

Who’s on First?

With all the distractions in this world, it becomes even easier for us to put the Creator of the heavens and earth in second place when He should be first.

ignoring the warnings

We make idols out of things like self-image, celebrities, jobs, media “influencers”, material possessions, relationships, and our own versions of what we think God should be.

As desperately lost people, we deserve His wrath.

But, as true Christians, we recognize what sin is.

We repent by transforming our inherent wicked hearts, trusting that God is sovereign, and that we are pardoned through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Robert Deffinbaugh quote

Eternal life through Jesus Christ is a free gift from God and it can be yours!

If you haven’t yet done so, I urge you to contact a Christian friend or loved one or visit with the pastor at a local bible-believing church.

Tell them you want to learn about Jesus.

You need someone you can talk to who esteems the sovereignty of our Holy God and also believes that the Bible is divinely inspired and sufficient for us.

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¹John Stott quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

² Robert L. Deffinbaugh quotations, courtesy of bible.org, from the series “The Dark Days of Israel’s Judges – A Study of the Book of Judges – – Israel’s Sodom and Gomorrah (Judges 19-21). 12-13-09. Web. Accessed 20 February, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.icr.org/article/mankind-pinnacle-gods-creation/

Christian A Cappella Music

August 28, 2019 Gracie

Christian a cappella music

Singing For Joy

A long time ago when I was a television reporter, the news director once said I had a “mellifluous” voice.

Yeah, I had to look that one up. Lol!

It means, “flowing like honey.”

That was a pretty nice compliment, but I’ve been flowing like honey for several years now and have yet to be discovered.

I digress. 🙂

Singing is a big part of me.

In previous posts, I’ve mentioned how much I love singing, especially singing in church choirs.

It’s pure joy knowing that God hears us praising Him.

It also excites me to think that, sometime in our future, we believers will be together praising the Lord for all eternity.

⁶Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! – Psalm 150:6, (ESV).

Christian A Cappella Music

A few days ago, I was searching for beautiful and inspiring Christian music to share and I came across David Wesley’s YouTube channel.

Eureka!

Talk about heart-stirring Christian a cappella music, I found some real treasures.

David Wesley is a talented vocalist and music producer. In many of his YouTube performances, he’s a one-man-choir, recording himself singing the different vocal parts of a chosen worship song.

In a few other standout melodies, he created a virtual choir – bringing together people who have never met each other from all over the world.

I can’t wait to share this song with you. It’s a favorite Christian song of mine, “In Christ Alone,” written by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty. Wesley’s arrangement of it is genius in my opinion.

I don’t know how he did it, but his arrangement features singers not only from the USA, but also from Germany, Poland, India and Australia – to name just a few of the countries represented.

In my humble opinion, listening to this virtual choir is a foretaste of Heaven.

I suggest you turn this one up, close your eyes and let these lyrics defining God’s grace flow over your soul like the still waters in Psalm 23.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Singing for an audience of One Who deserves our highest praise.

You can find other beautiful arrangements on David Wesley’s YouTube channel and, for purchase, on iTunes and Amazon.

All glory to God!

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Christian Music

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