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 The third candle lit on the Advent wreath recognizes the virtue Joy. Charles Stanley says “True Joy is found when our hearts are awakened and therefore our lives transformed by the riches of God’s love. Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. God longs to make you a joyful person from the inside out. He does not want our joy based on circumstances or the fleeting whims of the world. He desires us to wait on Him to fill us up so we can go out and spread that Joy. Allowing yourself to be filled with His Holy Spirit allows your mindset to overflow with satisfaction and hope. That spill over can’t help but positively impact those paths we cross.Unfortunately, many are asking the question, why don’t I have that Joy or where is the Joy in my life? Paul in His letter to the Romans answers those questions. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Why is this the answer? Because we need to look to God for the four virtues of Advent and not what the temporal things the world offers. Many people make the mistake of thinking Joy means being happy. Instead, experiencing Joy means being content and at peace no matter what the experience. Pastor E.V. Hill preached a message on this saying, “We think of ourselves all packed up and ready for God to move us to a happier place. Instead, when God’s moving truck pulls up, we realize He is is not moving us out, He is moving in and has lots to unpack.” For our Joy to be made full, https://biblehub.com/john/16-24.htm we need to get rid of our worries and anxieties so the Lord can bring in Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace into our lives. The more we can remember Jesus is our greatest Joy so we get rid of stuff that is keeping God from entering in to our lives, the more He can be present and teach us His ways.  He wants and desires for us to bloom where we are planted bringing beauty to those who benefit from seeing your Joyful countenance. So on this third Sunday of Advent as you wait on the Lord, ask yourself what is holding you back? What circumstances, fears,anxieties,doubts,etc are keeping you from allowing God to move into your life? Christmas reminds us that finding Joy is possible because : For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (one of 55 Old Testament prophesies fulfilled in Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/old-testament-prophecies.html )May this 3rd Sunday of Advent fill you with Joy. Please subscribe to this blog so you can receive email notifications when new content is posted. I can be reached by email at [email protected] |
If you want to go fast, Go alone, if you want to go far, Go Together!
Jesus sent the disciples out in two’s. Why? Because even though they could have gotten to more places alone, there is power in sharing in the things that come our way, There is added impact when two or more people work together toward a shared goal. https://depree.org/why-did-jesus-send-out-his-disciples-two-by-two/
I have been thinking a lot about this lately. We all need others in our lives. Jenni Marie in Kindred Grace shares that Life was not meant to be lived alone. https://bit.ly/lifeisnotmeanttobelivedalone She asks, “When did you last give up? Were you also alone?” When you have failed in life, were you alone?” She then makes the case of why being a mentor or having one is so important. God wants us to know the value of asking for help versus stubbornly trying to do things on our own. She writes, “As I started to value community, I was able to flourish. I reap the benefits when I ask for help.” When we are blessed to have people there for us, we are exhorted to be the one offering help to someone in need. Jenni shares it “does not need to be limited to a mentor-mentee relationship as might be traditionally expected. Although the formal and in-person relationships are beautiful, only one of my advisors has accepted and embraced the title of mentor. The rest? I doubt they even know how much I lean on them for life and business wisdom.” Even the Apostle Paul needed a Barnabus. https://www.biblestudy.org/apostlepaul/life-epistles-of-apostle-paul/paul-and-barnabas.html He also mentored younger men like Timothy and Timothy would eventually become pastor of the church at Ephesus, and certainly the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy express how much Paul loved and cared for him.
My daughter shared advice with me this weekend that was the impetus for me writing this blog. A friend told her to surround herself with people she could trust from every decade. I turned 70 this month so it is harder to find folks in higher decades than me but as I thought about Katie’s comment, I realized that I am blessed to have dear friends in their upper 70’s :), 80’s, and 90’s who I can go to for advice or just follow the example they set for me and others. I also can say I have people around me from every decade below me down to my two 4 year old granddaughters. I can learn from them and I hope all in their teens, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s etc will be encouraged by what I say or how I live my life that helps them along the way.
I encourage each of us to find people whether younger or older who we can trust to be there for us. I also hope we will look for ways to give back by finding others who would benefit from your mentoring.
Never forget however, that God is with you and therefore, you are never alone. https://biblehub.com/hebrews/13-5.htm Reminds us that God’s promises are eternal, and He will provide love, comfort, and courage so we can live an abundant life in Him and through Him. We live in a fallen world where we are bound to get hurt. But God will never leave us nor forsake us. One of the ways He fulfills this promise is by providing others to walk along side us as we navigate through the blessings and adversity that will come our way. May we all find ways to help others remain thankful in all things.
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Stop Listening to others and Talk to yourself
Do you let others tell you who you are or who you can or can’t be? How can you make sure you live the life God created for you?
There are encouragers in this world but there are also those who want nothing more than to discourage us. They want to “rain on your parade” by saying what you are trying to do won’t work or can’t be done. In many cases, it is because they don’t want you to get to a better place than them. Isn’t it so easy these days to look around and wish you were someone else. Social Media allows you to see people living what look to be wonderful lives and having the kind of success for which you are striving. The discouragers or the people whose lives look so easy can make us feel second rate causing us to think, “I could never be that kind of person”
Listening to or watching others can cause us to go down a mental rabbit hole which causes us to say things like, “I can’t, I will never, There is no way, or I wish.” That is why God says to Joshua, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
The lesson here is we are to speak the right things into our minds and our hearts instead of letting others tell us what kinds of lives we can live. A coach shared this thought process with me years ago. “Do not let others plant bad seeds by saying it can’t be done or that we aren’t good enough. Instead, allow only good seeds to be planted and then pick the right people who will encourage, nourish, and fertilize those positive thoughts. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible” That faith; those good seeds planted in your heart will allow you to slowly but surely cross the T off I Can’t; turning your mindset to I CAN! Why, because you BELIEVE.
So what will you speak into your life today? How will you keep from letting the negative thoughts ( the bad seeds) from strangling the wonderful things you want to accomplish? Meditate on this, the Word of God. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32 Free for what? To live the incredible life God has for you. One that produces abundance beyond anything you can imagine. John 10:10 Then go out and show others that goodness and mercy is what the Lord intends for all of us.
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Have you grown tired? Do you find yourself weary?
Isaiah 40 says, ”Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up like eagles with wings of great length.” https://youtu.be/YfTq-kjTZ5Y I have always loved this verse. It teaches and reminds us that we are to wait upon the Lord’s leading, versus, running out ahead saying, come with me. These days however, I am being taught that we need others to wait on us or sometimes, we need to slow down so that others can catch up. Why? Because we are stronger together versus going at life alone. That is why desiring my word for 2022 Unity is so important. This does not mean we aren’t to step out in faith and lead. in fact, I believe, ”We must sometimes 1st so we can then encourage others to do the same.”
When I was recovering from Guillain-Barre, I went to the track to measure my progress. How many laps could I walk? Would it be possible to run a complete lap? Sometimes my daughter and her son would join me. Bruce was on his bike. Often, he would realize I was far behind so he would stop and wait for me. Two things happened 1) It made me pick up my pace 2) I was encouraged to keep going as he rode along side me. The same thing happened a few months later when I not only ran a lap, I finished a 5K with my friend Kaitlyn who was celebrating almost one year from getting a heart transplant. She had to stop and wait for me so we could finish the race together.
So what is the lesson here? The next time you find yourself frustrated with someone because they are not as far along in their faith journey, understanding the mask/vaccine issues, etc. take the time to slow down and wait for them to catch up. Encourage them as they try to catch up. What if you are the one trying to catch up in the areas already mentioned or maybe gaining perspective from someone that doesn’t look like you or has been treated differently than you? You may need to step it up a bit understanding they have been trying to effect change for a long time and are wondering what took you so long ? Either way we need to strive to understand each other’s stories so we can be reminded we are indeed unique but we are all God’s children. His Word speaks to both.
1Thessalonians 5:11 commands Christians to continue to encourage and lift up fellow followers. ”Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” and…Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. · No temptation or hardship has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. · Cast your cares on the LORD and He and those who love you will sustain and move you forward” We need to do it 1st so we can then do it for others
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“I am just a nobody trying to help others be somebody”
Someone asked me a couple weeks ago, how I view myself and where my life fits into the world. For some reason, with very little thought the title of this post came out of my mouth. I can’t remember making this statement before so I have been wrestling with why I said it. This is not an attempt to be self-deprecating. It is my way via my own self perspective to write something g that will hopefully lift up and encourage you. Another line I have used often is “ God must not want me to be a wealthy person” I feel as though I have a generous heart and I know God loves a cheerful giver, https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/2%20Corinthians%209%3A7 so why every time, when we have have some extra money, does a large expense like a car repair or dental implants occur?
My point in poking fun at myself with these two statements is not where we get in life but how we lived our lives. Abraham Lincoln said it this way..” …in the end, it is not the years in a life it’s the life in the years“. Think about it. How many times have you thought something was going to happen which would take you to a new place and the door closed before you could walk through it? What about being sure you knew what God had planned and something occurred different than that plan? These thoughts increase in these days of following folks on social media. It is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking your life does not measure up. Proverbs 19:21 explains it by saying, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”
We are to be who God created us to be not try to be like someone else. My friend Bud Harper taught me this years ago after a lunch where a man shared how God changed His life. George Kettle https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/george-kettle-obituary?id=5636625 had inexplicably become a man of great wealth and started a program that George H Bush recognized as one of his 1,000 points of life speech. https://youtu.be/SQhbEh8AeSA After the talk, I told Bud that I wished I could be like the man who spoke that day. Bud, normally mild mannered, grabbed me by the tie and said something I have never forgotten. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. God made you to be exactly who you are and does not want you to be anyone else.”
Haven’t we all wanted to be somebody else? Haven’t we all wondered, if only this or that had happened? Maybe not you but I at times, get tangled up https://thankfulinallthings.com/to-what-are-you-being-held-hostage/ thinking about why have things not gone the way I wanted or wishing my life looked more like others. If we allow it, we can be swallowed up by the lie that we are a nobody and that our lives don’t matter.
In God’s eyes, nothing is farther from the truth. Psalm 139:14 in The New Living Translation says we are to acknowledge His ways by saying “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Only then, can He have His way with you so you can go from being a nobody to someone who Isaiah exclaims is “overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels now robed in righteousness and heir to His throne.” Isaiah 61:10 Once we find our confidence and value in Him, He asks us to follow three simple steps. Love Him with all your heart. Love others as He loves you. Let go of what you think you want and trust Him with the outcome. God will then use us to help others realize that like us, they too, are indeed somebody.
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Is God calling you to be a Bridge Builder
How we handle difficulties can encourage others and draw His children closer to Him. Your
Joni Eareckson Tada shares-“God did not take His hands off the wheel of your life for a nanosecond. From start to finish, everything followed God’s plan for you. your trials have much more meaning than you realize. Your problems have more purpose than you can imagine” It could be that what you have experienced will help someone else deal with the challenges they face.”
How we handle difficulties can indeed encourage others and draw His children closer to Him. Your journey can become just the inspiration someone else needs. One of the greatest compliments we can receive is that we are a “Bridge Builder”. That God has gifted us with the ability to be like a bridge when someone gets to what seems like an unpassable place in life. Being the person who helps facilitate a way for the person in need to get across to the other side of the dilemma. When I think about what it means to be a bridge, here are a few things that come to mind.
1) A bridge has to be strong enough to carry the weight of what it is allowing to cross. Therefore, it needs to have a firm foundation. Isaiah 28:16 says,”Therefore thus says the Lord God,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.
2) It also has to be trusted by those using it that it is reliable no matter what the circumstance. If you are seen as a bridge, people will know that when they come to you no matter what, you will be there to walk them over their fears, anxieties, uncertainties, etc. 3) Sometimes a person’s burden may be too much for you to bear so the bridge needs more structural support. Make sure, like Moses in Exodus 17,, you have people committed to lifting you up. “Aaron and Hur were with Moses from the beginning and when Moses struggled to keep his hands lifted up, Aaron and Hur provided the support he needed.”
Like the song sung by Simon and Garfunkel back in my day 🙂 being a bridge to someone allows them to
Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Sail on, sail on, sail on
Your time has come
To shine
All your dreams
Are on their way
Your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
God says our lives can shine even in these uncertain days. filled with Covid19 concerns and, with no doubt, our world is faced with troubled waters. Each of us has a role we can play in allowing God to intervene all of us can experience the peace that “surpasses all human understanding” He promises in Philippians 4. I pray the Lord will make us a bridge so others can find a way over whatever obstacles stand in their way. If being a bridge seems like too much, find someone who is and offer your support as Aaron and Hur did for Moses. That way we will all do our part to help others withstand the burdens that we all face. The result will be God’s kingdom being built up on earth as it is in heaven and strengthening others to do the same.
Pamela Bunn writes in http://www.astherainandsnow.com, When we fix our identitiy in God, and who He’s called us to be, our lives will be permeated with a serenity of Spirit, even when we are flagging, that draws others to our source of strenght.” What better bridge can be built than one that takes us to the God our Father, who art in heaven.
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What have you learned from the Covid19 Quarantine?
My Quarantine version of Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
As I navigate the lonely paths of Covid19, The Lord will be my guide and His presence is all I need
Whether I think it is needed or not, I will use this time for rest and quiet reflection.
So that my soul can be refreshed
As He guides me where He wants me to be used bring Glory and honor to His name.
Even though I walk
through the valley of people wearing masks
I will fear no evil,
He gives my faith confidence so that I can go or do wherever He feels the need to send me.
Knowing even in self-isolation you are with me and won’t forsake me.
Like the shepherds’ rod and staff, your Word and the Holy Spirit will teach and comfort me.
Even in the midst of my adversity, You will abundantly provide all that I need so that I will it be afraid.
Like an anointing, You will bless and protect me from whatever evil that wants to prey on me.
You will fill me with your spirit so that cup of love you want me to share overflows.
I count and trust on the contentment of your love for as long as I am to live.
This assurance brings joy knowing that I will be welcomed and will forever dwell in the house that you went and prepared for me.
Quarantine is hard. I started writing this Friday. What happened to TGIF? Hello! Who else finds themselves asking, “What does it matter that is the weekend? It is another day just like yesterday and the day before, and the day before.” I then ask God, “in the midst of all that is going on, how am I to remain, “thankful in all things?”
A friend’s family recently spent a week on the eastern shore of Virginia for what I found out was their annual spiritual retreat. I loved the idea of it yet realized, that is something I have never intentionally done for an extended period of time. The key word I realized was intentionally because my circumstances have now provided two recent seasons of spiritual retreat. Last year, Guillain Barre Syndrome stopped me in my tracks physically. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrieThis year my Covid19 self-isolation due to my GBS compromised immune system has provided another 5 months of elongated down time for introspection of who I am before God. I read Isaiah 40:31 differently this week. “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.
Notice it says those who WAIT. Webster defines wait this way. “stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens” or “a period of time used to indicate that one is eagerly impatient to do something or for something to happen.” I am sure all of us in some way or another are experiencing the angst of waiting. I hear folks say all the time, “if I just knew when this would all be over it would be so much easier to manage”. Yet wait in this verse means something much more. The Barnes bible commentary unpacks it this way. “The word rendered ‘wait upon’ here (from קוה qâvâh), denotes properly to wait, in the sense of expecting. The phrase, ‘to wait on Yahweh,’ means to wait for his help; that is, to trust in him, to put our hope or confidence in him. It is applicable to those who are in circumstances of danger or want, and who look to him for his merciful interposition.“He refers to those who were suffering a long and grievous captivity in Babylon but this phrase is applicable also to all who feel, because of this uncertainty, that they are weak, feeble, guilty, and helpless.” God says wait and trust in Me. Waiting does not mean doing nothing, Barnes continues, “It does not imply inactivity or laziness, it implies merely that our hope of aid and salvation is in him – a feeling that is as consistent with the most strenuous endeavors to secure the object”. “What are you doing while you wait? Will you look back when (please Lord) this is over with a feeling that you used this time of waiting well?
There are so many stories out there of people who have done extraordinary things in periods of time out. Shakespeare wrote King Lear,’ ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ as London reeled from the foiled Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and an outbreak of the bubonic plague the following year. Paul wrote the epistles Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon from his Rome prison cell. Isaac Newton discovered gravity during an 18 month quarantine. I recently watched Glenn Lundy http://Www.glennlundy.com interview Joe Buckner who spent time in prison. He shared he had no idea that his journaling during his confinement would turn into 2 books and help him become successful in business.https://yorkathleticsmfg.com/blogs/loversandfighters/beautifully-savage-the-joe-buckner-story
It is up to you. You can succumb to feeling sorry for yourself wishing that things could be different or will you wait on the Lord? When we do, He promises to “lift you up with a renewed strength. Allowing you to soar high on wings like eagles. You will go out ready to serve without growing weary” even if it is from the confines of your home using Zoom, phone or mailed hand written notes. You might even drop curbside pick up things on people’ porches.
Who knows. Maybe you will write a book, a blog people read ?, or invent the next greatest thing. What I can tell you is just commit to making a difference and your part of the world will be better for it. If you do nothing else, the time you spent waiting on the Lord will have been time well spent. It’s not too late. As in another place in Isaiah, wait and listen for “the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And be willing to say, “Here am I. Send me!”
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What will you choose?
One of the first days I was in the hospital unable to move due to Guillain Barre Syndrome, a friend asked me, “Do you ever ask Why me? I cannot tell you why but I was in a weird way comforted and encouraged that the question had never entered my mind. Instead, I made the choice to have a mindset of “what do I and the people caring for me need to do for me to get better?”
This blog post came into focus from three very different places this week. First, a good friend talked about “why is it always about what I need, I deserve, I earned and entitled to instead of about what God has done in my life? The second was a brief devotional by John and Stasi Eldredge on “guarding your heart so you prevent negative thoughts from growing in this time of social distancing. Here is the link. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=214262996537588&external_log_id=d77d5d6df9a10b37ff6523ec739b195a&q=stasi%20eldredge Finally, while walking this morning I listened to a sermon, where the pastor challenged those listening, “how has Covid-19 shown you that your identity and security have been in the wrong places?” All three thoughts though different brought to mind the fact we all can choose how we will respond when faced with challenges.
Hasn’t it been a long week? Just a week ago, we celebrated Easter. We sang Hallelujah, He is Risen and found ourselves uplifted knowing we have Hope because God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. A week later, are you still living in Hope or have you gone back into a state of anxiety and discouragement? A week before Easter over 2000 years ago, everyone was shouting “Hosanna in the Highest”. A week later they were screaming “Crucify Him’. In one short week they went from praising Jesus and what He has done to wanting Him dead.
The point is how we choose to live and behave is our chose. Here are some examples of who how we can choose to live our life. Loving vs Hateful, Fearful vs Courageous, Greedy vs Generous, Anxious vs Peaceful, Selfish vs Servant-hearted, Helpful vs disagreeable, resentful vs grateful, bitter vs kindhearted.( *see verses below) Stasi Eldredge shared in the video seeds get planted in our hearts and unless we nourish them positively we can find ourselves succumbing to the attitude “it is all about me”, III, vs desiring to offer hope and light to others.
A year ago, I was in a Rehab Center excited that I had been given the green light to go home. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be there without being able to have visitors. Am I happy that I have been in self-isolation for more than 6 weeks now because of a compromised immune system? No. but I choose to be grateful that this irritation pales in comparison to what others and their loved ones are going through right now. You see, We all have a chose to live our lives out in certain ways. No one can force us to be one way or another. Revelation 3:20 reinforces that very thing. He knocks but it is up to us to answer and open the door. The answer will determine whether you will experience true peace knowing you are living the life God intended for you. One that as Galatians 5:22,23 says produces, ” the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Let’s all go out and encourage others to choose these.
*additional scripture verses. 1 John 4:19 “one who say I love God,” but hates his brother is a liar” “Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!” – Proverbs 21:26.
Michael [email protected] www.thankfulinallthings.com
A chance to hear a little bit of my story
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
If you are a regular follower of this blog, it will come as no surprise when I write “we absolutely need others’ support and encouragement along the journey.” I can’t imagine doing this on my own. It has been the biggest lesson I have learned in my recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome. I was time and time again “comforted in my affliction” and it has given me a new purpose to bring comfort to others so that “they may be comforted. Many of you have asked me to share my story not just from a faith perspective but also as to how this relates to reaching your full potential in life. I have been asked to speak to Realtors, college fellowships, sports teams, real estate/auto management teams, and men’s fellowship groups. I have learned in a new way that GBS has given me a platform because of what I have gone through. You can get the back story of my health challenge that started March 1st by going to https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie/journal Posted below is a talk I gave back in November where I dig deeper into how we are called to help each other using the story of Jesus raising Lazurus from the dead (John 11). In this story we realize that Lazurus can only be freed from his dead clothes with the help of others. I also talk about the four friends who bring a paralyzed man so that Jesus can heal him (John 2). Jesus tells them that the man was healed because of their faith not the one who needed healing. My hope is that it will help you see why I am trying to be “Thankful in All Things” and that if we want to reach our full potential we need the encouragement of others.
Your life can be a candle in the darkness
It has now been 9 months since Guillain Barre Syndrome wreaked havoc on my body which I am still slowly but surely recovering from each day. I still struggle with fatigue and lack of stamina and often go through my day feeling light headed and a bit unsteady on my feet. There are many things I am learning as I deal with this new normal physically, mentally, and spiritually. The one sweet aspect that has been so special is constantly being told that my attitude throughout this significant health challenge has been an encouragement to others. The following are just a few comments I received over the Thanksgiving holiday.
As PTs this is the best part of our job that really makes everything worth it ❤️ It has been so special to be a part of your journey… not everyone battles so courageously.
“One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement. … It is easy to laugh at man’s ideals. It is easy to pour cold water on the enthusiasm. It is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. You have been this for me.
——LOVE this! So true and so applicable to anyone’s journey! you are so right the world is full of discourages and the older we get the duller those dreams get as ppl battle with the hardships of life. It is our job to encourage others. Such a beautiful message Thankyou for reminding the world ❤️
Grateful For all that u have shown and inspired in me! Love you like a brother!
Happy Thanksgiving Mike, to you and your family. Your perseverance and trust in God was very inspirational to many, including my son and me. So happy for you as your full recovery continues. God Bless you.
Thank you Michael. I really enjoyed reading all about your journey after GBS and am grateful for you sharing it and for reaching out to others to provide hope. A truly inspiring story.
Awe, Mike, it was my pleasure to lift you up to the Most High God and I praise Him for the healing he has brought to you ???? Happy Thanksgiving to you, Dottie and your beautiful family
We’re all made better by having you in our lives Michael! Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
and even from a Va Tech fan 🙂 I’ve always admired how you always find the positive with your recovery. Happy thanksgiving MRG and everyone else. And go Hokies ?
If you visit my Caring Bridge site https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie or my Facebook page, there are so many uplifting words for me but also folks sharing how I have offered them hope in their own lives. This has become an unexpected blessing (silver lining) and yes a glimmer of light in what has been a pretty dark time in my life.
As we ponder the Wonder of God’s love over this advent season, remember a candle is lit each Sunday to remind us “unto us a Child was born” who brings us hope. I have experienced Hebrews 11:1 personally which says, ” Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” I am honored that God has used me to offer hope to others who are struggling in one way or another. I hope this blog post will encourage you to be a candle in the darkness. So many folks have made a difference in our lives. I can assure you that choosing to trust God and finding ways to encourage others can make a positive difference in someone else’s life. Why, because no matter how small the light provided by your candle, it will always defeat the darkness around it.
