Basic HTML Version
Since January, the staff here
in our office has been going
through – as one person so elo-
quently put it – life. Losing a car,
major pet surgery, family mem-
bers in the hospital, injuries, sick-
ness, hospital stays, roofing
troubles, and I could go on. One
thing that I have been amazed at
is the continued smiles, and I
continue to hope that all really is
okay.
We all have been there,
when we think we have it tough.
Then we hear about someone
else’s life issues and walk away
with our tails tucked between
our legs realizing how insignifi-
cant our own problems are.
If we have deep roots in the
goodness of God then the small
day to day problems and issues of
life won’t wear on us and bring us
down. Focusing on God’s good-
ness shifts our focus off of the
things that surround and come
against us, and allows us to trust
the God that has proven himself
faithful time after time. Because
he is really good, all of the time.
Last month, I witnessed
firsthand an example of how
someone can really be okay with
whatever happens and not allow
external things to destroy them.
Last month, Justin, the editor of
the Good News, literally walked
away from his car. It broke down
on the side of the road and he
knew it was time to throw in the
towel instead of spending a heap
of money on costly repairs.
Knowing that all would really be
okay, his positive attitude and
past experiences in life of the
goodness of God allowed him
peace to accept what had hap-
pened. Justin is a man I know to
be deeply rooted in the goodness
of God.
We all know those people in
life that are living examples of
certain attributes of God. The
grace givers, peacemakers, com-
passionate
lovers,
humble
hearted and so on. To me, the
one thing they have that helps
them daily show the goodness of
God are the strong roots that an-
chor them. You don’t often see
these people waver when life
comes at them full force or
through constant small attacks
day after day.
In Matthew 13, the parable
of the sower talks about how
some seeds fell by the wayside,
some in stony places, some
among the thorns, and then
some on good ground. The good
ground is where we can really
sink our roots in to get truly pre-
pared for whatever life throws
our way. It brings to mind when
you are at the beach and the sand
is that perfect cool temperature
and you just bury your feet deep
as you can go. It feels great! I
know that might be a funny anal-
ogy, but if you know me I have
lots of analogies. They all make
sense to me.
The last few months have
been so much fun for me as well.
No, it hasn’t been easy, but God’s
goodness has been amazing. I
think I have worked more, slept
less, loved my family more and
experienced more through the
first 60 days of the year than I
would have ever expected.
This month’s issue, with a
focus on missions, helps us all
put things in perspective. When
we consider the plight and daily
sacrifices of others, we can
clearly see how good we have it.
God has been good to each of us
reading this, and we know he has
a plan of goodness and grace for
us all. It is important that we
focus on getting deeper and
deeper in understanding his
goodness.
Please dropme an email and
let me know how you are experi-
encing the goodness of God
today.
Grif Blackstone is the publisher of
Good News, the largest Christian
newspaper in Florida and
president of Blackstone Media
Group, a full service web design
and marketing company. Grif has
helped hundreds of businesses
build an effective brand identity to
help them communicate who they
are to their target market.Email
Grif@GoodNewsFL.org or call
954-564-5378.
Good News - Broward Edition
2 March 2014
PUBLISHER
Publisher:
Grif Blackstone,
GrifB@goodnewsfl.org, Ext. 210
Editor:
Justin Young
JustinY@goodnewsfl.org, Ext. 238
Marketing/Advertising:
Carl Foster
CarlF@goodnewsfl.org, Ext. 231
Justin Young
JustinY@goodnewsfl.org, Ext. 238
Distribution:
To become a free
distribution point for the
newspaper, please contact Justin.
Subscriptions
:
$12.00 per year in
the U.S. (12 issues). Mail payment
with delivery address or subscribe
online.
Circulation:
In Broward, Palm Beach
& Miami-Dade total 59,000/mo.
Distribution starts the 1st of each
month.
Advertising
:
We reach over
220,000 readers each month.
Placing an ad in our publication is
affordable and effective to help
grow your business. Call us today!
The
Good News
is not responsible for
the practices of any advertiser. All
advertising and copy are subject to
approval by the Publisher.
Good News
is a publication of
BMGcreative.com
954.564.5378
P.O. Box 935148, Margate, FL 33093
GoodNewsFL.org
Deeply Rooted in the Goodness of God
- Grif Blackstone -