by Garris Elkins | Oct 7, 2020 | Forgiveness, Freedom, God, Hope, Prophetic, Repentance
When I was a kid growing up, I remember seeing my mom carrying a large basket full of freshly washed clothes and sheets. She would walk into our backyard and hang the articles on our clothesline. We had no clothes dryer. When mom brought our clothes and sheets back...
by Garris Elkins | Sep 25, 2020 | forgiveness, Freedom, God, Hope, Love, Mercy, Prophetic, Redemption, Restoration
While pursuing God is of utmost value after we become aware of His presence and give our lives to Him, we need to remember it was His pursuit of us that initiated our relationship with Him in the first place. Scripture is filled with examples of God’s pursuit of...
by Garris Elkins | Sep 24, 2020 | forgiveness, Freedom, Kingdom of God, Prophetic, Relationahips
Toward the end of my mother’s life, I sat down with her for three days and taped interviews about her life experiences. One topic that emerged during our conversation was the issue of race relations. My mother grew up in the deep South during the 20s and 30s. My...
by Garris Elkins | Sep 22, 2020 | Church, Culture, Discernment, Discipline, Family, forgiveness, Freedom, Honor, Prophetic, Relationships, Truth
It never ceases to amaze me (and I admit, at times, it can frustrate me) how easily some people can read into something I wrote or said and allow their bias to be the interpreter of my intent. Our bias is a powerful filter that can cause us to interpret the purpose of...
by Garris Elkins | Jul 8, 2020 | Family, Fathers, Favor, Fear, Forgiveness, Freedom, Honor, Hope, Identity, Love, Marriage
On July 4th, Jan and I had the honor of officiating our daughter’s wedding. Toward the end of the ceremony, I had Anna and Jared exchange rings. I explained to them wearing my wedding ring for the last 47 years was a daily reminder that I belonged to someone – to Jan....
by Garris Elkins | Jun 18, 2020 | Deliverance, Discipleship, Family, Favor, Fear, Forgiveness, Freedom
Jan and I have learned and God has faithfully reaffirmed, a powerful life-lesson after each painful betrayal we experienced. We learned that betrayal is a doorway into hope and resurrection. This was only possible if we did not allow our hearts to grow hard, cold, and...
