2009-09-11T10:55:29-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com http://www.gospel.com/feeds/topics/personal+tragedy http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-hard-times/falling-down-but-not-staying-down-5879 2009-09-11T10:55:29-05:00 When you fall down, be as defiant about getting up and walking again as a baby is. When you belong to Jesus, there is no such thing as a knockout. When you belong to Jesus, failure is never final. Listen to God's words, "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise!" http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-hard-times/the-hammer-in-gods-hands-5800 2009-09-10T11:38:03-05:00 The hammer that hits us in our life can either break us or build us. If we'll turn to God when we're getting hit, looking for His purposes and His message, that hammer can build us into something we've never been before. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-hard-times/banged-up-but-running-well-5781 2009-09-10T10:43:48-05:00 A car can be hit hard and it can be all banged up, but that doesn't have to affect its performance. It's the condition of the engine that counts. You can be hit hard and all banged up, but it doesn't have to affect your performance. It's the condition of your spirit that counts. And God stands ready to jump start your spirit each new day if you'll focus on your Lord and not on your load. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-hard-times/stormy-weather-shutdowns-5702 2009-09-09T11:13:44-05:00 Jesus shows us something better, something higher - a more supernatural way to live, to draw on His grace, to keep giving out His love even when we feel battered, to keep giving out His encouragement, to keep delivering His word, to be all about others when I feel like being all about me; because I will find my life by giving it away. http://hutchcraft.com/A-Word-With-You/Your-Hard-Times/Unexplainable-Changes-5636 2008-08-29T09:37:38-05:00 My friends whose addictions and appetite for what once addicted them were gone overnight, the people who were victims of serious hurt who don't see themselves as victims anymore - they're healers of other wounded people, those who were once sexually irresponsible who are living pure today, the volcanic tempers that Jesus has tamed, the sins of previous generations that have been miraculously stopped in this generation by Jesus. http://hutchcraft.com/A-Word-With-You/Your-Hard-Times/Navigating-Without-Going-Aground-4482 2008-08-29T00:33:07-05:00 Shall we let our kids, or ourselves, watch, read or listen to something because the culture says it's a good thing? Check with God. Turn the lighthouse light on it! Shall we base our view of divorce or sexual standards or entertainment on what "everybody" thinks? No, we'll believe what God says. His one vote decides it, even if millions are going the other way. Shall we compromise just because suddenly the issue involves us or someone close to us? Not unless we want to shipwreck or help them shipwreck. http://hutchcraft.com/A-Word-With-You/Your-Hard-Times/When-You-re-at-the-Edge-4322 2008-08-27T16:45:37-05:00 For you, that might be right now. You are at one of those points we all reach several times in our life -- sometimes several times in a year! You're at the edge -- financially, with a son or daughter you don't know what to do with, or maybe in your marriage. It could be you're at the edge emotionally; you're not sure how much more you can take, or your responsibilities have gotten so heavy that they're taking you to the edge. http://hutchcraft.com/A-Word-With-You/Your-Hard-Times/Paralyzing-Predicaments-4203 2008-08-25T13:03:57-05:00 Even though that horse was scared, she was smart enough to let someone help her. Sadly, she was smarter than many of us when we're hurting or in a predicament. Maybe you're struggling with something right now, but you're struggling alone. You're not letting anyone else in to help you - and you're stuck in your problem. Like that horse, you may not be able to move on unless and until you open up to some help. http://hutchcraft.com/A-Word-With-You/Your-Hard-Times/The-Cross-in-the-Rubble-4139 2008-08-18T15:33:04-05:00 The picture is etched forever in my mind and, no doubt, in the minds of many who worked what they called "The Pile" at Ground Zero - the cross towering over a mountain of rubble. You know, that may be a picture of where you're going to find hope in the "rubble" you're in right now. http://hutchcraft.com/A-Word-With-You/Your-Hard-Times/Someone-Else-s-Fault-4191 2008-08-13T15:33:20-05:00 But it's no joke that blaming someone else is, for most of us, one of our favorite ways to account for something in our life that shouldn't be there - whether it's a bad attitude, a bad habit, a bad situation, a bad relationship.