by Garris Elkins | Jul 17, 2020 | Courage, Deliverance, Healing, Honor, Justice, Kingdom of God, Leadership, Mercy, Power, Spiritual Warfare, Trust, Truth
There are times when a punch to the nose of a bully is all that will stop their quest for dominance. As a chubby insecure pre-puberty kid, I remember landing a punch on the nose of our playground bully after repeated calls for him to leave me and others alone. After...
by Garris Elkins | Jul 9, 2020 | Culture, Faith, Favor, Fear, Healing, Honor, Hope, Humility, Peace, Pride, Restoration, Revelation
As I prepared our lunch of wild salmon, I used a mortar and pestle to crush together the ingredients of garlic, cilantro, and green onion to create a rub that would be applied to the salmon filet. I began to imagine the flavor they would bring in harmony when...
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 | Jul 1, 2020 | Grace, Healing, Honor, Integrity, Justice, Leadership, Mercy, Pride, Reconciliation, Relationships
When I was a cop every once in a while, I would be assigned a ride-along. A ride-along is a civilian who has been cleared to ride with a patrol officer to see what life was like on the streets. Of all the people that rode along with me, each one left that experience...
by Garris Elkins | Jun 29, 2020 | Discernment, Discipleship, Discipline, Faithfulness, Freedom, Healing, Honor, Peace, repentance. hope future, Restoration, Truth, Wisdom, Word, Worship
It’s a bit after 2:00 am. A few minutes ago, I woke up and could not go back to sleep. I had a few things on my mind I needed to deal with so, I quietly got up and went into our living room to talk with the Lord. A few minutes after rising, I started my audio bible...
by Garris Elkins | Jun 23, 2020 | Culture, Discernment, Discipline, Favor, Grace, Healing, Honor
Today, an angry man sped past Jan and me on our morning walk. It happened at a four-way stop and was a bit too close for comfort. Instead of offering him a vulgar gesture or a word of cursing, we blessed him. Everyday angry, depressed, and fearful people will...
