Written by Bill Grandi on June 12th, 2024
My morning Encounter Time included reading Psalm 77. As I read and highlighted a thought developed and as I pursued it, it became clearer. It is not profound but I share it with you this morning. I’d like to ask you to open your Bible to Psalm 77 and read each section as I have delineated and then formulate your own thoughts.
The problem we face: Psalm 77:1-3
The questions that linger: Psalm 77:4-9
The scenario we replay: Psalm 77:10-12
The answer we remember: Psalm 77:13-15
Whether we are talking whatever B.C. (when this psalm was written) or 2024 A.D., times haven’t really changed. After listening to people say the Bible is outdated and not applicable to today’s world, I chuckle when I run across a passage like this and realize how contemporary it is. The problem, the questions, or the scenario hasn’t really changed. But most importantly, the ANSWER hasn’t changed. And that I can “take to the bank.”
Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: Christian Living, God, God's Plan, God's Word, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Suffering, Trials
Written by Bill Grandi on June 11th, 2024
Truth disclosure: I am writing this on Monday afternoon. You will see why in just a moment.
I just spent an incredible couple of hours with some inspiring people. I met Gavin probably close to 10 years or so ago at the Y. Just a few days prior to that he had just lost his sister when a box truck mowed her down while cycling. Until then I did not know him or his sister.
Fast forward to the middle of 2023 and in walk Gavin, Jenna and their children to a church service. I knew they were going to another church and my philosophy/policy is never to be accused of being a “sheep stealer.” They were accompanied by their other children who immediately went to our children’s department and loved it! In their arms was a little girl they named Gigi. Oh, I forgot to tell you that they have three biological children (all boys), adopted two children they had fostered, were fostering another cute little girl and were also fostering Gigi. The one was given back to mom within the past month, but Gigi was a special child. In more ways than one. She is one of most smiling children I have ever seen with the brightest blue eyes you will lay eyes on (pun intended). Those bright blue eyes have a special trait which identifies her as a child with Williams Syndrome (I encourage you to look it up on your own). Thanks to Jenna’s fighting for her, Gigi was given a fighting chance to live. And live she does! She is two years old now-a little small for her age but quickly developing a personality all her own and slowly learning to walk and talk. When Gavin and Jenna began attending the church I pastor (Owen Valley Christian Fellowship) we immediately began praying for her and for them.
This morning at 10:00, Gigi officially became Gloria Jane (_____). “Gloria” because she is a light to the world. “Jane” because that is her birth mother’s middle name. What a joy it was to be there and to witness the love they have for her, but also her sibling’s love for her. They asked if I would support them in prayer since Gavin’s mother, who is a medical doctor and the pastor of a local church, could not be there. I was honored to do so. And then I noticed she was able to make it and whether they had asked or not, I would have gladly stepped aside for her to pray. Afterwards, Jo and I were invited to a cookout at their house. It was fun meeting some of their friends and extended family.
Gavin and Jenna are perfect examples of Christ-followers who feel about children the way Jesus feels. There is no doubt that Jesus had a warm, tender heart toward children that knew no bounds. The way we treat children today has to truly break His heart. To see children thrown away as unwanted has to make Him cringe. And weep. To see them abused and mistreated surely makes His blood boil. Thank you Gavin and Jenna for showing Jesus by loving children and making them your own. I’m glad I was able to be a witness to this act of love.
Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: Adoption, Christian Living, Family, Humility, Jesus, Kindness, Love, Parenting, Reflection, Story
Written by Bill Grandi on June 10th, 2024
This past Friday I received a text from someone who was passing something along to me. As soon as I read it I thought it would be good to share with you:
You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee? “Because some bumped into me!!”
Wrong answer.
You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in your cup, you would have spilled tea.
Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.
Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.
So we have to ask ourselves…”What’s in my cup?”
When life gets tough, what spills over? Joy, gratitude, peace and humility? Anger, bitterness, victim mentality and quitting-tendencies?
Life provides a cup, YOU choose how to fill it.
Today let’s work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, resilience, positivity; and kindness, gentleness and love for others.
As the person who sent this to me said: “I love this analogy!” I would agree. The Scriptures back up this analogy. “Live by the Spirit,” Paul writes in Galatians 5:25. That follows his description of a life of the flesh versus the life of the Spirit. “Be filled with the Spirit,” Paul writes in Ephesians 5:18. Jesus spoke about how a person speaks from the overflow of his/her heart.
So the question remains: If you are shaken, what will spill out?
Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Lifestyle, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Story
Written by Bill Grandi on June 6th, 2024
I thought I would be doing a post on Jacob wrestling with God. But something else has come to the forefront and takes importance. Some of it is not my words. They come from a blogging friend whom I have come to love at a (very long) distance and respect. Her husband, Dick, is a pastor and she has had (and still does have) her own blog. I’m going to put two links I would ask that you read. You may comment here or you may follow her and email her personally. That being said, I would still like to hear your thoughts.
There is a lot of ruminating and discussion going on in the church world concerning what our culture is demanding we accept. Probably the one affecting us the most is the whole Alphabet soup of letters and the acceptance of that lifestyle. While I am willing to accept anyone who walks through the doors of the church, and can be friendly to anyone, I cannot and will not affirm their lifestyle. There is a difference between acceptance and affirmation. That is not hatred. That is not judgment. It is standing on the Bible as the infallible, inerrant, Spirit-inspired Word of God. To compromise that is (in my mind and heart) to deny the faith. We are urged to “defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.“ (Jude 3). To read the next verse tells you why: “I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (emphasis mine) Can anyone say 2024? (And they have the nerve to say the Bible is so out-dated).
Pam writes from the heart. I will let her two blogs tell you her story.
Read this one first: https://2encourage.blogspot.com/2024/06/changes-in-umc.html
Read this one next: https://2encourage.blogspot.com/2024/05/try-little-kindness.html
Here was my email to Pam: Well…you sure did it in! 🙂 And I totally agree with you on both. Although not a member or any way affiliated with the UMC, I ache for those, like you and Dick, who want to stay true to God’s Word and find yourself on the outside not even being able to look in. I suspect there are many grieving with you over what is lost and probably will never be recovered. I have to think that what they deem a “world reaching decision” will, in actuality, destroy the UMC. One cannot compromise with the world and expect good results. I John 2:15-17 shows us that. In our effort to be “kind” we have fallen on the slippery slope and done a free fall.
Prayers for you and Dick to find your niche and place of service.
In all honesty, I stand firm with Dick and Pam and what I wrote. I see the downfall of the UMC and others of that ilk in the years to come. All one has to do is look at the more liberal denominations and see their decline in all ways in order to see the devastating affect of compromise. We are not “kind” if we withhold the truth of God’s Word and the results of rejection of it, and even more, Jesus.
I would like to know what you think. Feel free to comment here, but may I also encourage you to encourage Pam (and Dick).
{All Scripture from the New Living Translation}
Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: Choices, Church, Compromise, God's Word, Leadership, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Sin, Truth Telling
Written by Bill Grandi on June 5th, 2024
One of the hardest things for most of us to do, i.e. yours truly, is to surrender. Coming in first is so ingrained in us that coming in second is not seen as an option. Athletes are taught to win and most often, win at all costs. I have no doubt that type of thinking is behind the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). We want to win! No, we HAVE to win!
This battle doesn’t even have to play out on the baseball field or basketball court or at an Olympic event. It can be seen in the classroom. A home. While driving (can anyone say road rage?). Even a store. It is seen in a battle of wills. “I will not bend to your rules.” Is that not what temper tantrums are all about? I was in a grocery story last week and I saw this fleshed out in front of me. I watched a mother and son battle it out. He could not have been older than 3. He wanted. She said no. He still wanted and she still said no. He knocked things off the shelf in defiance. She bent to pick them up. He took off with the cart and she went after him. I saw some fire in her eyes. (I also know the solution to that but I’m guessing that would not have been a good time to tell her. 🙂 ). I wonder if she was trying gentle parenting? Aaaah but that is a story for another time.
In Genesis 32 (take a moment to read verses 22-32) we have a titanic-type battle-a wrestling match between Jacob and God. What a classic story worth taking a closer look at. Perhaps tomorrow.
Until then, yours and my best reaction to the battle of wills is surrender. To stop fighting God for supremacy. Jacob was a head-strong, conniving, devious man. That’s the story of his whole life up until the wrestling match. Only a surrender to God will change that.
Sounds familiar.
Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Humility, Lifestyle, Opinion, Reflection, Story, Strong-willed, Stubborness, Surrender
Written by Bill Grandi on June 4th, 2024
Have you ever met someone whom you then know for years and don’t realize the impact you both have on each other? That is what happened to me back around 2006. One of the women in the church I pastor had a grandmother in a local nursing home. One day I went to visit her and in the process met her daughter. Her name was Carole.
Today, I have the privilege of conducting Carole’s funeral. Over the years my friendship with Carole deepened. I was there when her mother passed. I was there when her husband suffered from Parkinson’s and dementia and then passed. She attended another church in another town but that didn’t matter. After her husband of 50+ years passed, she began attending the church I pastor with her daughter and son-in-law. She was more traditional (hymns, suits and ties, etc) but she came anyway, until her health wouldn’t allow her. But I went to visit her in her home and would laugh and chat with her, and pray with her before I left. The past year or so had been one of excruciating pain and virtually being home bound, but she still had joy. (She made sure, even in the Hospice House bed, that we knew that before she became non-communicative).
Last Friday morning Carole met Jesus. I am convinced He met her with open arms. I suspect standing beside Him was her husband and her mother as part of the welcoming committee. Sure, there is speculation in what may actually happen, but it doesn’t matter. We can dream and speculate. But there is one truth that remains: Jesus has prepared a place for her-a mansion some call it-but I wouldn’t care if it was a shack. It’s a home in heaven.
My life is richer because of Carole. I have been told her life was richer because of me. I guess being asked to do her funeral is proof of that. 🙂 My last words to her when I left the Hospice House on Thursday (the day before her death) were “I love you Carole. I’ll see you later.”
I will.
Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: Death, God's Plan, God's promise, Heaven, Jesus, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Story
Written by Bill Grandi on June 3rd, 2024
Happy Birthday Tami!
49 years ago God blessed Jo & me with a bundle of joy. When the doctor came to me to tell me that mom and baby were fine, I asked him what it was. He said, “A little girl.” I replied, “Oh.” I guess I took for granted I would have a son. 🙂 But that initial disappointment quickly dispelled when I saw you and held you. Your mom had too many tubes in her arms to hold you so I was privileged to feed you and hold you, i.e. feel like I was going to break you in half. A head full of dark hair (I think you took all of mine) and little fingers that wrapped tightly around mine sealed the deal (as if I would have changed anything). What a joy it has been to be your dad as I have watched you grow from the little baby to a sports-minded (even though it is the Braves) beautiful young lady who gave her heart to Jesus and continues to serve Him. I wouldn’t trade one second of your 49 years for any amount of money in the world.
You are not around today since you decided to take a relaxing (and much needed) vacation to TN to visit old friends and to be alone to recoup after a brutal school year full of health and professional challenges. Just know this: even though miles separate us today, love has no boundaries. I am proud of the lady you have become. The Christ-follower. The daughter. The friend to others. The teacher who truly cares about her students. The person kids love and look up to because you made them each feel important. You have a gift and I’m glad to see God is using it, because you are letting Him.
I love you. Thanks for letting me be your dad.
Posted in InTheShadow | 4 Responses »
Tags: Family, Father/daughter, God, God's Plan, Love, Opinion, Parenting, Reflection, Story
Written by Bill Grandi on June 3rd, 2024
I’m sure you have noticed that we all go through different seasons in our lives. Life seems to be a series of ebbs and flows, of hills and valleys, and in my case, highs and lows, heartaches and sheer joy. As a pastor I have experienced, I think, just about every life situation. The past two weeks have been some of the wildest times of ups and downs I have ever experienced in my 50+ years of ministry. No details but simple words will tell you all you need to know: cancer, strokes, hospice then death, kids’ baseball games, kids going to church camp, a college student being baptized, disappointment over a setback on an addiction, grad parties, surgeries, a daughter’s birthday (which means I am getting older)…you get the picture.
People often ask me how I cope with all of this. My job is not a physical one like so many; mine is more mental and emotional. Two ways: on a surface level I go to the Y and ride a bike. I call those my stress relievers. On a deeper, more spiritual level I cling to verses like I read this morning: Psalm 59:16-17- “But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.” Sometimes I run to Him and hold on for dear life. I cling tenaciously. Sometimes I run to Him and simply let Him love me. I can sense His arms around me. I like a quote I just read:
Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated. He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture more natural to Him is not a pointed finger but open arms. (Dane Ortlund from Gentle and Lowly quoted in Shepherding the Shepherd by Lee Eclov-p.39)
I can’t do this on my own. Neither can you. I have a place (a refuge) where I can go. Do you?
Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: Choices, Christian Living, God, Jesus, Mercy, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Story, Trials
Written by Bill Grandi on May 30th, 2024
I cheated. I wrote this post ahead of time just in case I did not make it back home Wednesday and we decided to stay the night somewhere. Here were the thoughts I postponed from yesterday’s post to give an update on Janna.
WHAT DO YOU THINK CONSTITUTES A GOOD FAMILY?
Of course, the answers are many. Here are a few: Empathy. Sympathy. Teamwork with teammates. Honesty. Taking responsibility. Accepting responsibility. Forgiveness. Space to allow for mistakes. The freedom to make mistakes and admit them. Love (obviously). Faith. Prayers. Shared shoulders. And the list goes on.
Now…consider the church as a family. The very same characteristics of a blood family are also to be there for a different kind of blood family.
In Isaiah 1 the people of Judah were acting very “unfamily-like.” Their outward actions were blatant displays of disrespect. Yeah…that happens in real families. To put it very bluntly, their outward actions did not show the state of their heart. Or maybe they did?
How easy it is to put on a show at home and with our church family. Jesus said the religious leaders’ lips said one thing but their hearts were far from Him. It is called “going through the motions.” Family members do that. Church family members to that also. They act like they like you, but what they do and say behind your back hurts like fire.
Frankly, self-concern replaces other-concern. It destroys families. It devastates church families. Arguing and fighting, even over petty things, plays havoc on a family’s unity. It does the same for a church family.
Don’t be a “ruiner;” be a builder.
Posted in InTheShadow | 4 Responses »
Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Church, Family, Forgiveness, Friendship, Humility, Interactions, Leadership, Lifestyle, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection
Written by Bill Grandi on May 29th, 2024
Since I am leaving for Ohio shortly, I thought I would take a few moments to update you on Janna’s surgery. Thanks to all of you who prayed for her. She (and Tami) were born with my eyes. That is bad. I began wearing glasses in 4th grade and if it hadn’t been for new material coming out I would have been walking with a permanent downward look to my head. Yes, my glasses were that thick. Coke bottle thick. I wore contacts for a number of years but my vision stopped being sharp with them so I went back to glasses permanently. Then I (finally) developed cataracts which allowed me to have eye surgery and no longer need glasses! (And all the angels in heaven rejoiced with me! 🙂 ). I wear readers for up close and when I preach I wear a pair of glasses with a lens which allows me to read and look up and see people sharply instead of being a blur. I think they would prefer I not see them sitting with their eyes closed or pretending to listen. Just kidding. I have no one in the congregation who does that!
Anyway…a little over a year or so ago Tami’s eyes got so bad she had eye surgery. They were worse than mine. Her eyeballs were shaped like footballs so the normal lens implant would not work. Now she only has to wear a thin pair of glasses to see in the distance or to drive. Janna’s eyes were bad but not as bad as mine and Tami’s. She had a lens implanted in each eye-one for distance and one for close up. She has astigmatism (courtesy of yours truly) in both eyes so the doctor said he put them in just perfectly. When she looked up (she was awake the whole time) and could read the clock, she shouted loud enough I’m thinking we could have heard her if there weren’t a number of doors between us. She immediately tested 20/40 and that will get better as her eyes and vision settle in. She goes back this morning for a one day follow-up and then Jo and I will be taking her back to Ohio. This doctor is so good he was willing to work with an eye doctor in Columbus, OH to do the other follow up visits.
Thanks again for praying for her. But the preacher in me can’t and won’t let this go. The importance of sight cannot be diminished. One of my mother’s concerns was that she would go blind. Taking away a person’s sight, while it can be overcome, is a big blow, especially if that person loves to read for example. But consider this: there are thousands of people who lack sight. Not physical sight, but spiritual sight. While they may have 20/20 visually, they are blind spiritually. The idea of sight in the Bible is a constant. Moses wanted to see God. David said, “Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Jesus said that “He was the light of the world” and in Matthew 5:14-16 He said, “You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Light dispels darkness. Followers of Christ have the light of Jesus in them; those without Him only have darkness. Be light to someone. Show them THE LIGHT…Jesus…can take away their darkness and bring light to their life.
Again, thanks for your prayers. Thanks to Dr. Fornefeld and his amazing team at Clariti in Bloomington, IN. I highly recommend them (so much so Janna came here). Above all, I thank God for His marvelous gift of sight and for giving men and women the ability help people see better. And I pray you will know the Light of the World.
{Note: All Scripture is from the New Living Translation}
Posted in InTheShadow | 4 Responses »
Tags: God's Word, Jesus, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Sight, Story, Thankfulness
