by Garris Elkins | Nov 3, 2019 | Apostle, Change, Church, Church planting, Courage, Discipleship, Discipline, Reformation, Revival, Teaching
After spending 46 years sharing the same bed with Jan, we have learned how to discern the difference between our sleeping sounds and when one of us is beginning to wake up. Early this morning, I quietly called out to Jan, “Are you awake?” She replied, “Well, it sure...
by Garris Elkins | Nov 1, 2019 | Courage, Faithfulness, Fear, Future, Hope, Mercy, Peace, Pride, Resurrection, Spiritual Warfare, Transition, Word, Worship
You feel like you are being stretched to the breaking point. That is not what’s taking place, nor is it the purpose of what you are experiencing. God is not causing your pain. That is your response to the rigidity and inflexibility He wants to remove. He is...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 31, 2019 | Courage, Creativity, Faith, Family, Favor, Fear, Future, Hope, Relationships, Trust, Vision.
For the last 46 years of marriage, I have wanted to provide a life for Jan that would give her security and comfort. That meant going to work when I didn’t feel like it. Getting enough life insurance just in case I passed away before the kids were raised and our home...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 25, 2019 | Church planting, Courage, Creativity, Culture, Discernment, Freedom, Future
Jan and I just finished a 20-year assignment. God revealed that assignment to me one morning in Athens, Greece, in 1998. He awakened me early and invited me into the kitchen of a condo we were renting. I sat down with my cup of espresso and literally took...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 24, 2019 | Change, Courage, Dreams, Faith, Faithfulness, Future
The Lord gives me a word to carry for each season. It is a personal word but also a word I share in each setting where I am invited to speak. I minister the essence of the word with specific additions of content that would apply to a particular audience. The word I am...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 23, 2019 | Apostle, Church, Courage, Five-Fold Ministry, Gifts, Kingdom of God, Leadership, Women
When Jan and I first came to Medford, Oregon 20 years ago, to pastor what would become Living Waters Church, we were met by a strange phenomenon. Our valley was a stronghold for male-dominated church leadership. A woman behind a pulpit preaching was anathema to many...
