Blog
Each generation receives prophetic words spoken over them by the fathers and mothers of faith from the generation before. Jan and I have received such words from people like Dick Mills, Jean Darnall, and others who carry a similar heart. They spoke hope-filled words...
God designed us to heal in our brains. Dr. Warren, a neurosurgeon, wrote that as soon as we are ready to change, our brain is ready to change. Neuroplasticity shows that how we respond to a person rubs off on them. They pick up our emotional state and begin to make...
It is wisdom to judge our own hearts. Judging what is just and right is to have a conscience shaped by God’s truth. As we face the issues of the day, our God-shaped conscience bears witness. Our conscience takes a stand and testifies to what is true or not about our...
We are called to enter the battle over our cities and lift them up higher. And there is a measurement we can use to discern the spiritual condition of our city, state, and nation: Corporate godliness and righteousness (all that is just and right) brings a benefit to...
There is something much deeper that we can all possess beyond personality types, family dynamics, lineages, and inheritances. Those who know God can learn to discern spiritual realities. Ignoring important truths distorts our thinking. Human interpretations of reality...
I have been impressed with the openness of many in the generations after ours who communicate openly and honestly and are willing to listen to wise counsel. At that earlier age, my parents' generation influenced me with its value of rugged independence and...
The Father imparts His gift of revealed truth to His sons and daughters who listen to His corrections. When we resist or refuse the wisdom these corrections bring, it is a sign that we don’t really trust anyone—even the Father. Trust was broken long before, and it...
I pray for this gift: “Ears to hear and eyes to see— both are gifts from the Lord” (Proverbs 20:12). That gift reminds me of a life-threatening event I experienced in 1992. I was flying IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) thousands of feet above the Earth in solid clouds,...
It would be interesting to take a poll to see how many of us have been influenced by a parent, teacher, or friend who was willing to admit a mistake and ask for forgiveness—someone with a teachable heart who taught us by example what it meant to have integrity. There...
I’ve been pondering what it looks like to live only by God’s word—like Jesus did. He said that without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). How can we gain the essence of such wisdom? We can come out of darkness into wisdom’s light when we live in awe, reverence, and...
We live with a hope that is a certainty. God links us to eternity and immortality with Him. Jan and I have been pondering what it will be like to pierce that veil. We’ve processed the loss of our parents and dear friends. We have been part of multiple families who...
Many of us have a growing awareness of the need and desire to stand firm in the shaking, planting seeds for the future to grow. What can we endure and succeed under pressure? How can we bear fruit, and even be ever blessed, ever prosperous for the following...
I wonder what my response would be if I heard Jesus tell me what He told all the disciples: “Garris, you will desert me.” Even thinking about those words hits me in the pit of my soul. I know that whether in thought, word, or deed, I am capable of doing just that....
When I started in pastoral ministry many years ago, most of us wore jackets and ties to preach on Sunday morning. Some even wore suits. Recently, I looked at some old pictures of me from the early 1980s, and by the fashion standards of the day, I looked just fine....
As I was rummaging through a storage drawer, I found an old patch from my days as a cop. The patch was a recognition gift for the participants on our pistol team at the CHP Combat Match in Sacramento in 1975. That event was over 50 years ago. It wasn’t by...