Grace | Laurie Coombs

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{Lessons Learned} Rely Upon Jesus

Posted on: February 14th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

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And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven….” – Matthew 18:2-3 Lord, I can’t do this without you, I prayed. Help me. Give me wisdom. Show me the way, and I will follow. I can’t tell you how often I uttered these words throughout my correspondence with Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. I was under no illusion I could take even one step without clear direction from Jesus during this difficult journey. I was terrified to be outside of His will, for I knew things could go very wrong in a situation like this apart from God. Each time I received a letter, my emotions ran high. I wanted to react quickly, with little grace. I wanted to rebuke Anthony. Set him straight. I wanted him…

{Lessons Learned} Jesus Accomplishes the Impossible

Posted on: January 31st, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

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But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” – Luke 18:27 When we follow Jesus, He accomplishes the impossible. [Tweet that] Lord, I pray for Anthony. Help him. Have your will be done in his life, and please, Lord, if he is truly a Christian let him be used by you in prison to turn lives around for your glory. Let him gather your people to you in prison! Lord, help him truly submit to you and your will and help him to be a true strong believer who turns from evil to your light. – My prayer journal, May 2010 I prayed this prayer often as I began correspondence with Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. I prayed for Anthony to come to true repentance. For him to be brought to his knees and to transform him into a strong man of God who gained…

{Lessons Learned} When It Just Doesn’t Make Sense

Posted on: January 28th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

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For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. – Isaiah 55:9 “It just doesn’t make sense,” I said. “I know what God’s calling me to do. I know I need to bring Anthony a bible. But he probably already has one; He claimed to be a Christian at the time of the murder. What good will this do?” I began to pray for clarity; I prayed for grace to follow despite the fact that none of what I was being called to made sense. Ultimately, it was given. I sent an email to a friend at the time and wrote: Frankly, I have no idea to what purpose God would send me there to see [Anthony]…All that I know is that God seems to be leading me in this way, and I feel like I need to follow Him. Crazy? Yes! But…

{Lessons Learned} When Jesus Calls, Follow

Posted on: January 24th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

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We’re called to follow Jesus daily through every little intricacy life has to offer. But there are times Jesus calls us to follow Him to do something much bigger, something that will alter the course of our lives. I have two such events in my life. The first was the call to love and forgive Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. The second was to write about this experience––both on this blog and to begin writing a book––to show others just what God can do when we choose to follow Him. Now, you would think the difficulty came when called to interact with the man who murdered my dad. But when Jesus beckoned me to follow Him toward forgiveness––which I knew would require that I delve into the deepest, darkest parts of my soul––I was given grace to follow immediately, without reservation, without rebellion, without questioning Jesus or reasoning with…

{Lessons Learned} In Order to Follow Jesus, We Must Know Jesus.

Posted on: January 14th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 8 Comments

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Do you trust someone you don’t know? Would you listen to the advice of someone you just met and follow them into a risky situation? I think most people would have enough discernment to get to know someone prior to trusting them. And this translates well into our relationship with God. If you don’t know Jesus, why would you trust Him with your life? Yes, it is true. In order to follow Jesus, we must know Jesus. [Tweet that] Here’s how this played out in my story: When I was called to forgive Anthony, I knew God is loving, and that He was simply asking me to give what He graciously gave me. When I was called to love my enemy, I knew God is good, and that He would only ask me to do something that would lead me to a better place. When I feared interaction with a…

{Following Jesus} Our Light Through the Storm

Posted on: January 7th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

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You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light. – 2 Samuel 22:29 It was Christmas night. After spending the day in our hometown of Carson City, celebrating Christmas with our family, Travis, the girls, and I began the twenty-five mile drive back home. It was dark and snowy. Visibility was poor as the storm clouds enveloped our car. The beam of our headlights proved to be of only minor assistance in guiding our way, for just as quick as the light left our car, it was met with the beautiful fog of falling snow and the haze of the surrounding storm. As we drove, the girls slept in the back seat. Travis and I fell silent as the day’s events settled upon us. In the silence, God began to speak. He began to open my eyes to His truths surrounding me. I love it when…

New Beginnings

Posted on: January 3rd, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

My family and I took quite a bit of time off this holiday season, and we sure made good use of our time together. Besides celebrating Christmas and bringing in the new year, we enjoyed time with friends and family, a day at the movies, skiing, sledding (perks of living twenty minutes from Tahoe), and just enjoyed each other’s company. It’s been nice, but now, we’re back to it. And I’m ready to dive back into writing! New Beginnings As a new year begins, I think it’s an appropriate time to assess where we’ve been, where we currently find ourselves, and where we’re going. To see what worked, what didn’t, and to take a look at the reasons behind these successes and failures. While it’s good to assess each aspect of your life, in a more holistic approach, I’d like to challenge you to take some time, look back over 2012, and deliberately…

Will You Press Through to Get Into the Presence of God?

Posted on: December 20th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

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There is an account found in three out of the four gospels. It is the story of a woman who endured a discharge of blood for twelve years. One thing we must understand is that a condition such as this rendered the woman “unclean.” She would have been a lonely woman, devoid of touch or much companionship at all. Come with me for a moment and imagine…. You are this woman. You cannot touch others, and others cannot touch you. You’re outcasted. Desperate, you spend all your financial resources going to doctors. One after another. But they’re no help. Instead of seeing improvement, you only worsen. Can you relate to this woman in any way? Quite possibly, in some area of your life, you need help. You seek help––help that promises a solution to your problem––only to find yourself right where you began, or perhaps even behind a step or…

A Word From Within Prison {Guest Blog By Anthony, My Dad’s Murderer}

Posted on: December 13th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 7 Comments

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Stories are never one sided. There are multiple perspectives to each story, and I believe it’s important to understand each perspective in order to gain greater understanding of the story itself. A while back, I asked Anthony, the man who murdered my dad, if he would be interested in sharing his testimony on my blog, and he agreed. He told me in the letter including his testimony, “I chose to concentrate on our journey because, well, it’s been the most important event in my life since coming to Jesus.” I would have to agree. Our journey toward forgiveness impacted me and my life in more ways than I can count. Second to coming to Christ, it was the single most defining moment of my life. But enough about me. Here is Anthony’s story. … I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior on Father’s Day in 1996. Changes started happening. I…

The Brilliance and Wonder of It All

Posted on: December 11th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

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God intended for us to discover His loving presence in the world around us. – Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel My two little girls eagerly stood at our glass sliding door last night; a playful neighborhood kitten named Fred was on the other side. Each of the girls held out a string, bouncing it up and down in front of Fred. They would giggle as he pounced time and time again toward the allusive string on the other side of the glass. The scene lasted for quite some time. Bouncing. Pouncing. Giggles…. Pure delight. To be honest, I’m not much of a cat person, but I couldn’t help but smile and giggle, myself, as I watched the scene unfold. Moments like these can be found around us all the time. They’re the moments that can bring us pure joy, show us beauty in the small things (or the big things), and bring us…