by Garris Elkins | Jan 13, 2019 | Faith, Family, Father, Fear, God, Hope, Intimacy
Those who write the headlines do not always portray the truth. This applies to the news, but more importantly, it applies to you and how you think God sees you. What others broadcast about you is not the real story of your life. Only God knows your heart. He is the...
by Garris Elkins | Jan 7, 2019 | Courage, Death, Deliverance, Discipleship, Discipline, God, Identity, Obedience, Revelation, Spiritual Warfare, Trust, Truth
My first night as a rookie-cop-in-training, I was lost in many ways. It was all so new and unfamiliar. I was thrust into another world. With so much coming at me I felt like a thirsty man trying to take a drink from a fire hose running at full blast. That first...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 24, 2018 | Courage, Creativity, Destiny, Faith, Freedom, Future, Gifts, God, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Restoration, Revelation, Women
Each morning, Jan walks into our living room where I sit in my writing chair. As a ritual, I rise and hug her, my face pressed into the right side of her neck. I kiss her and take in her fragrance. We always linger in our embrace. It seems to reset our life before the...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 24, 2018 | Dreams, Eternity, Gifts, God, Intimacy, Love, Restoration, Verse
It’s all art, this creativity. We write soul-poetry looking over still water as loons cry our verse written upon early morning mist parchment. Touching smooth river stones we sculpt, arranging little rock piles in river shallows balancing their...
by Garris Elkins | Oct 23, 2018 | Apostle, Church, Courage, Eternity, Father, God, Holy Spirit, Kingdom of God, Leadership, Love, Promotion, Reformation, Teaching, Tranistion, Wisdom, Worship
Yesterday, a hero of mine passed away. Eugene Peterson was known to many for his translation of the Bible called, The Message. I was able to correspond with Eugene a couple of times over the last few years. We talked about writing and leadership. He said he looked...
by Garris Elkins | Aug 22, 2018 | Discipleship, Discipline, Father, Forgiveness, Freedom, Giving, God, Honor, Justice, Kingdom of God, Mercy, Obedience, Peace, Pride, Restoration, Wisdom
The word “they” has been used to distance people from each other ever since the first tribe went to war with a neighboring tribe. The problem with the word is the separation it creates between people. I have used the word in negative tones and so have you. Here is...