Tag: faith
My Best Friend (Introduction by Brian Goslee) In loving memory of my grandmother, Vera N. Brown (1919-2013) INTRODUCTION I spent seven of years of my youth being raised in a home with my grandparents, my mother, and my brother. My grandmother, Vera N. Brown, was a positive spiritual influence in my life. When I was about 13 years old, she started taking me to a Wednesday night prayer group. It was there that I learned about having a relationship with Jesus Christ, the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit, and the goodness of God our Father. As a teenage..
Recently, I was listening to a remix of a great song called Echo, by Elevation Worship. It reminded me of how the thoughts and words that "echo" in our heads make a big difference in our everyday lives. These echoes affect our moods, our confidence (or lack of it), and whether our focus is on ourselves or others. The thoughts God wants us to have "rattling around" in our heads are positive, accepting, and loving. Sure, God may be in favor of some appropriately corrective thoughts sometimes, but predominantly we are to be reminded often of God's love, acceptance, and..
For the longest time in my life, I struggled with the normal stuff. The “normal stuff” being the search for fulfillment in things outside of God. I looked for fulfillment in trying to be a good dad, my job, my kids’ accomplishments, and my marriage. All of these things provided happiness at times and frustration at other times. None of them led to true fulfillment. In the midst of this, there were two things in my life that I desperately wanted to attain that I thought were unattainable: putting God first and living in peace. I thought I would..
A few moths ago, I had my second heart surgery in a year. Shortly beforehand, we learned that the hospital is not allowing any visitors for surgeries because of the COVID pandemic. When we heard the news, this hit my wife and I hard as we have leaned on each other these past 38 years whenever times got tough. It is safe to say this was one of our toughest times. I became a bit fearful and my mind began to race and then a question came to me: Who has been with you since the beginning? I..