by Garris Elkins | Aug 26, 2018 | Courage, Culture, Discipline, Honor, Kingdom of God, Mercy, Reconciliation
Speak honorably about people during their lifetime as you would speak about them at the time of their death. The opportunity to honor others, even those with whom we might disagree, will reveal the depth of our character. Honor is a language that takes time to learn....
by Garris Elkins | Aug 23, 2018 | Change, Courage, Death, Deliverance, Faith, Fear, Future, Hope, Marriage, Peace, Prayer, Relationships
As I sat in my writing chair a bit after 4:00 am this morning, I had the window open listening to the sounds of the night. Off in the distance, I heard the wail of a siren responding to someone who had called for help. The sound of the siren was piercing the darkness...
by Garris Elkins | Aug 10, 2018 | Courage, Death, Deliverance, Discipleship, Family, Fathers, Fear, Miracles, Obedience, Peace, Spiritual Warfare, Trust, Truth, Vision., Worship
God has stopped a spiritual wildfire you did not know was burning. He did this so you could continue focusing on your current assignment without interruption. God has been doing this throughout your life, most of the time without your knowledge of the pending danger....
by Garris Elkins | Aug 7, 2018 | Courage, Culture, Deliverance, Discipline, Faith, Fear, Kingdom of God, Peace, Restoration, Revelation, Spiritual Warfare, Vision.
On both sides of the political spectrum, we are continually being told by talking heads what we are to be alarmed by. If you have no crisis in your life just tune into your favorite flavor of news commentary and before the first commercial break you will be knee deep...
by Garris Elkins | Jul 31, 2018 | Courage, Death, Deliverance, Discipleship, Faith, Kingdom of God, Leadership, Peace, Spiritual Warfare, Trust, Vision.
When I was a cop, I had to disarm people who wanted to kill an innocent bystander or me. As a Hostage Negotiator, I disarmed people using words crafted from proven negotiation tactics. When I worked as a street cop and later as a SWAT officer, I disarmed people at the...
by Garris Elkins | Jul 25, 2018 | Courage, Creativity, Faith, Family, Fear, Future, Hope, Kingdom of God, Leadership, Restoration, Revelation, Transition, Trust, Worship
It is interesting to experience the tug in our heart when we visit a place that holds significance in our personal history. In 1981 as a young couple with two little kids and a couple of cats, Jan and I left a known life in Oregon to embrace a new and unfamiliar life...