Christie Murrow: Easter and Grateful Living

John 11:25-26Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. NIV

This day is the core of Grateful Living. 

That Jesus would choose to humble Himself in the form of a man, knowing the best and worst of our humanity, and then willingly offer up Himself as the one and only Sacrifice for us is staggering. He Who knew no sin became sin on my behalf, and demonstrated love of the highest degree through His death on the cross. 

And had the story ended there, I would forever be in His debt. 

But today? Today is what allows me to actively live a life of grateful living, because this same Jesus, fully God and fully man, defeated death so that I could have eternal life. As Leonard Ravenhill stated:

“Calvary expresses the love of God. The resurrection explains the power of God”.

This is the crux of our faith; not that He died, but that He arose. Timothy Keller puts it this way:

If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that He said; if He didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what He said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like His teaching but whether or not He rose from the dead”.

Photo credit: www.turnbacktogod.com

And so today we rejoice! He has risen from the dead and sits at the right hand of the Father, living to make intercession on our behalf. Death is defeated, and we are free to walk in the power of His resurrected life. And that’s some powerful incentive to live gratefully.

Photo credit: www.thedeliverancedoctor.com

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You can learn more about Christie Murrow on her blog, Charis Designs Jewelry

Christie Murrow: Freedom to Worship

I am profoundly grateful today for the freedom to worship as I choose in this country of ours. It is something I take for granted far too often. Not too long ago, I was horrified to see pictures like this:

of these men being lead to their death because they refused to renounce their belief in God when threatened with death by ISIS. When faced with a decision to deny Him and live, they chose to remain true to the One in Whom they had placed their trust.

And so today, because we DO have the freedom and liberty to publicly worship without fear of reprisal, I want to honor these men who paid the ultimate price for their belief. There are so many places around the world where fellow Christians pay a heavy price for their faith. I am grateful, so very grateful, that here in America, we can worship freely.

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You can learn more about Christie Murrow on her blog, Charis Designs Jewelry

Karen Baruth: The Well-Spent Life

Hi, I'm Karen.  I am a Christ Follower.  The definition of Christian has gotten murky in recent years, so Christ Follower is clearer, I think.  I have a wonderful husband named Ken and we have been married 34 years.  He too is a Christ Follower. We also have two grown daughters who give us joy and blessing.  

Our family recently has had to process the unexpected loss of my Mother in Law.  She was 80 and not in perfect health, but her death came as a surprise to us all.  You always have it laid out in your mind how the scenario will happen.  It never does. I'm not really sure why we even bother to "work it out" ahead of time.  I think it's probably our human nature to have some illusion of control over our circumstances.  

My Mother in Law was also a Christ Follower.  I'd say she was the spiritual leader of the family, always active in her church, studying the Bible and teaching children about Jesus.  That lady knew her scripture.  She would listen to many ministers on the radio and it often was her spiritual lifeline.  She wasn't the perfect Mom or Mother-in-Law at times.  She often struggled with getting victory over difficult circumstances in her life.  She loved Jesus, though, and always came back to that truth.  

She would sit and play the piano on her upright Steinway.  It was precious to her.  I think it was hers from a small child.  She loved the history of her family and ALL the mementos that came along with that.  She had a hard time letting go of most of those things.  It used to frustrate me that she held on to so much, but then I look around my house and see that I have no room to talk.  

I am grateful for the wonderful mother she was to my husband.  There have been some things I've had to "train" him in that she somehow missed.  :-)  Maybe it was more that he listened to me and not her, I'm sure.  I'm really just joking as he is a gift to me.  We are excited to know that we will see her again some day.  We are confident of that.  I will even get to meet her mother and father that she spoke so highly of.  I'm so glad we will have eternity to get to know all the people and stories that we missed out on here on earth.  I think there will be tears of joy.

She had a life well spent.  

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You can learn more about Karen on her blog, Elderberry Street