Everyday Matters by Debbie Griffith

6/30/2021

Honestly Loved

Wednesday Matters- June 30, 2021
Everyday I Want Love

I remember a discussion with girlfriends’ right out of college and the advice was given, “Love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.” Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. Another friend, who had been through a few relationships added, “Debbie, you become who you choose to spend the most time with. Choose wisely.” Girlfriend added, “I mean, if I line up all my ex-loves in a row, I can see the flow chart of my mental illness.” Advice taken.

In life’s journey we all want to be known and loved, and Jesus knows us better than anyone and still loves us. He knows me, my pain, my ache, my disappointments, my shame, anger at myself and the part of my heart that hasn’t fully forgiven others. He knows. HE IS here, waiting to make use of what has happened. He is always on the move. He isn’t wasting time, thinking about all the trouble He has with us or how awful we feel about where we are with ourselves and our troubles. God loves us unconditionally…everyday.

6/29/2021

Peace over Performance

Tuesday Matters- June 29, 2021
Everyday Matter of Fact

The kingdom belongs to people who aren’t trying to look good or impress anybody, even themselves. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. I love the story late author and speaker Brennan Manning shares of his young friend John. “I am reminded of the night little John Dyer, three years old, knocked on our door flanked by his parents. I looked down and said, ‘Hi, John. I am delighted to see you.’ He looked neither to the right nor left. His face was set like flint. He narrowed his eyes with the apocalyptic glint of an aimed gun. ‘Where’s the cookies?’” he demanded.

Real people with real everyday lives that are often very messy is who the kingdom of God belongs to. They’re not planning on how they can call attention to themselves, worrying about how their actions will be interpreted or wondering if they will get gold sticker stars for their behavior. Jesus gets us. He loves us and we don’t need to worry about faking it, or trying to pretend that we get it. He loves us and welcomes as we are…everyday.

6/28/2021

Motherhood

Monday Matters-June 28, 2021
Everyday I Am A Mom

Ah, children. I have four. All boys. I love them, but oh there was the season when someone would remind me to “Enjoy your kids while they’re young … they grow up so fast.” My thought was always, “Good, I can’t wait.” But NOW, I remind other moms with, “The days are long but the years are short.”
The funny thing is my dream was to be a Broadway star. I always thought I’d get married so I could have a husband to support me as I auditioned for shows, but I never really dreamed of having babies. Of course, now I have four, and I now see how God knew me better than I knew me. My children continue to teach me more about love, sacrifice, simplicity, battles, tears and the joy of loving someone so fiercely you’d give your life for them. And now I do get to travel, perform on stage, and many of the stories I share are that of being a wife, mom and the blessings and lessons I’ve learned…everyday.

6/25/2021

Find the Real God

Friday Matters-June 25, 2021
Everyday Real God

I was born in 1967 and I came to know the realness of Jesus when I was seven in 1974. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. My Aunt Ginger explained how Jesus is God, and there was a way to have a relationship with Him. I was so in. I could talk to God and He would listen and then get back to me.

I don’t recall Ginger giving me a list of “you should” and “you should not” commands. It was helping me learn and receive the grace of God and His “I will never leave you,” unconditional love that gave me the choice to want to follow Him, do what He asked and trust in what He promised. I don’t just talk to God, I hear Him. He knows me and I know Him. Ginger showed me how silly, fun and ridiculously crazy good that having a relationship with Jesus is, too.
I am still incredulous that it’s nothing we do to earn God’s love and nothing we do could take away His love…everyday.

6/24/2021

God Will Never Give Up On You

Thursday Matters- June 24, 2021
Everyday Keep On

Often our prayers are ones where we cry about all that is wrong and we list what needs fixing. Just so you know, it’s more than OK to do this. God cares about our pain and all that happens to us. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. But sometimes we stop praying and give up on God because He didn’t answer the prayer like we thought – our sick friend got sicker and the marriage we prayed would stay together ended in divorce. That’s hard.

I’m sorry if that’s been the outcome for you in a prayer, but please remember this truth in your heart. GOD WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU. Nothing you do or don’t will cause Him to withdraw His love. And nothing is too small or too big for Him to take care of. He loves each of us personally. There is something redeemable in your mess and pain right now. Get up, bring a gift to someone this day, a card of encouragement or a muffin, something. Serving someone else will help you…everyday.

6/23/2021

A Call to Love

Wednesday Matters- June 23, 2021
Everyday Called to Love

I am thankful for God’s call on my life to love others. He hasn’t called me to hand out a rulebook or a list of “you should” and “you should nots,” which means He hasn’t called on me to point out the sins of others. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. He knows I have enough of my own stuff to cleanup, and with His grace, how can I afford not to extend this gift to others?

I love people. I want to have fun, be real, love God and love others. But it’s also important to note that at no point does God not stop being holy. Out of His great holiness and power and might and mercy, do we then deny our own sinful desires and bow to Him. Our flesh wants what it wants and more of it. So it’s only by God’s Holy Spirit in us that we can deny the flesh. I know the message of “sin is not in” and love always wins, but true love involves compassion with truth…everyday.

6/22/2021

Unconditional Love

Tuesday Matters- June 22, 2021
Everyday Completely

It’s taken me years to really grasp that God fully knows me and yet He fully loves me, completely, just as am. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. I can live authentically, free and unashamed and I can share this love with others so they too can be set free. What God doesn’t love is sin because it’s a barrier to us having a relationship with Him. Sin wins unless pardoned.

I know that all are welcome at God’s table because we’re all His children. He will never reject or withdraw His love from us, but He does reject sin. Sin is not welcome at the table. God is absolutely holy. In His holiness He must punish sin. We are all sinners. Yet because He is love, He didn’t want to punish us. He offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross to pay the full price for our sin. His resurrection proves He succeeded. The best way to welcome people to the table is through love and by God’s love He will show Himself with all we need to know…everyday.

6/21/2021

God’s Best for You

Monday Matters-June 21, 2021
Everyday Best Friends

“We’re best friends now!” is something I seem to be saying a lot lately. Everyone has a story and I find myself taking the time to listen to people’s stories. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. I always take a selfie afterward too. This fall is Gigi, who is originally from Brazil. She loved this whole concept of “best friends in 30 minutes or less” because when you ask questions and listen to the heart there’s this wonderful joy that turns to love as you begin to fully know a real person and not a performer or poser.

Gigi shared her wild child past living in Brazil and as I listened to Gigi, it was fascinating to hear about her life. For many seasons she lived in darkness, making harmful choices and yet, because of her relationship with God, she has not let her past define her future. She is fully known by God (I mean Jesus knows the good, bad and ugly), loved and redeemed, which enables her to be a huge blessing as a friend, wife and mom…everyday.

6/18/2021

Faith in Anxiety

Friday Matters-June 18, 2021
Everyday Confident Love

Our family was stunned, when years ago, our seven-year-old David, the fourth son, decided to walk down the aisle at church. The pastor invited a child to come forward to read a Proverb. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. As David left the pew he said, “I’m a really good reader.” The truth is most of first grade he had a tutor for reading but progressed so much that by the end of the year the tutor had been dropped. Plus, as a family, David read a lot to us aloud and each time he’d read we’d say, “David, you’re a really good reader” and then we’d hug him. David was confident when he read his verse (never mind that he pronounced a few words wrong).

And I thought, “Think of all the things we could do if we believed what God said to us?” I mean like… how much He loves us, He’s cheering for us, He sees our hearts and knows and cries with us when we’re hurting. Go forward in that confidence, fully known and fully loved…everyday.

6/17/2021

What Does Love Mean?

Thursday Matters- June 17, 2021
Everyday I love Ice Cream

I love Jesus. I would also say that I love ice cream. But did you know that 75 years ago people didn’t say they loved ice cream but instead they’d say they liked it? Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. The word love was so special that it was only used to describe something that was worthy of loving...like another person or God! I mean really, how do we find words anymore to even begin to convey how great and awesome God really is? It’s actually kinda sad that words, like love, which really can only apply to God, get trivialized.

But can I say, “I love the Psalms?” Nothing is more comforting than to read the Psalms aloud like Psalm 116:1; “I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. God loves us so much, right where we’re at, not where we should be cuz we’ll never be where we should be. And there’s nothing trivial about that...everyday.