Toni was born and raised in a small town in Oklahoma.She graduated from East Central University with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics.After college, she returned to her hometown to marry her best friend, Charles.Toni is a stay at home mom to their three teens, two boys and a girl, whom God led them to homeschool.Her goal is to raise her children to love and serve the Lord.They live on a farm where they grow produce to sell at several farmers markets.She also plays the piano at church and teaches piano.
I love finding great deals and “saving” lots of money. The more the items are discounted, and the bigger the sale, the happier I am. I call it “retail therapy.”
Recently, I went shopping with a friend and we found a sale that was not 50% off, not 75% off, but discounted 90% off. Can you believe a sale like that? I was shocked! This was not random, ugly, leftover clothing. This was high end clothing and shoes. I left the store with over $1,200 worth of clothes and shoes for about $120.00. I bought four pairs of boots, a vest, a sweater, a dress, a nightgown, two women’s shirts, a pair of men’s pants, and a men’s shirt. Everybody got something except my husband. (Well, he got the credit card bill.) It took hours to go through everything, find my sizes, and make my selections.
Salvation is not Discounted
On the way home, my friend and I talked about how we had never seen anything like that sale. We went on to talk about how it is wonderful that God did not discount our salvation. There was no clearance sale for our salvation. He did not sacrifice grain, a dove, a goat, or a bull. God gave His all and paid full price. He sacrificed the Lamb, His perfect son who was without sin. He gave His One and Only Son for our sins so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16). God loves us that much! All we have to do is accept His gift.
We are so lucky that God is not a “bargain hunter.” Our salvation is not discounted! He loves us more than I love a sale!
Do you know God’s love?
Have you accepted His gift of eternal life?
If you want His gift, contact us and we can help you take the next step.
Toni was born and raised in a small town in Oklahoma.She graduated from East Central University with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics.After college, she returned to her hometown to marry her best friend, Charles.Toni is a stay at home mom to their three teens, two boys and a girl, whom God led them to homeschool.Her goal is to raise her children to love and serve the Lord.They live on a farm where they grow produce to sell at several farmers markets.She also plays the piano at church and teaches piano.
Let me start off by saying I am not normally a compassionate person. I see things in black and white; there are no gray areas. I believe that criminals should pay to the fullest extent for their crimes. I see stories on the news and don’t understand why they allow plea bargains. Throw the book at him.
I was recently the victim of a crime. I do not want to get into the specifics and have changed some details to protect everyone’s identity. I was some place and some young people were helping me unload. I walked up and caught a young man going through my purse. I was in such shock; I just stood there and watched him for about 30 seconds. I finally asked him what he was doing. His reply was, “I didn’t take anything.” I then asked him why he was going through my purse. He said, “I was going to bring it to you.” I told him that he did not need to go through my purse to bring it to me. He just kept telling me that he did not take anything.
Another young man that I knew came up right after and asked me what happened because he could see that I was upset. He told me I needed to report it to a supervisor. I asked what the perpetrator’s name was and he told me they would know. (The perpetrator apparently had a history of issues.) I was taken to the supervisor along with the young man. She told me I could press charges and would give me his information to give to the police. I was still in shock. He admitted to going through my purse and insisted that he did not take anything. I know nothing was taken because I was not carrying cash, but I definitely felt like my privacy was violated because I saw him going through my purse. It is an indescribable feeling.
The supervisor asked me what I wanted to do. At first, I wanted to call the police and have him arrested and sent to jail. At that moment, God spoke to me! I looked up at her and out of my mouth came, “Idon’t know. But I do know that right now I want to pray with him and for him.” There were four of us in the room, including the young man. I think they were all shocked as I was. We all stood up and joined hands as I prayed for him. I asked God to bring him out of this path he was going down. By the time I was done, we were all crying. I hugged him and told him that if I pressed charges that it would be for his own good and not out of spite (this is so unlike me).
I thought about it the rest of the time that I was there. He lost his position there and came up to me to apologize and ask me not to press charges. I do not know if he was sincere but I decided not to press charges. I told the supervisor of my decision and asked her to contact him and let him know what I had decided but that there was a stipulation: I wanted him to go to church.
Mercy: noun. 1. Compassion or forgiveness toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. Synonyms: leniency, clemency, compassion, grace, pity, charity, forgiveness, forbearance, quarter, humanity.
I have thought about this so much lately. I never show mercy but as we approach Christmas, I am reminded that God showed us MERCY! He did not have to, but because He loved us He sent His one and only Son, so that we may be saved (John 3:16). Had God not shown mercy and grace, we would all be trying to work our way to Heaven and still come up short. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 (NASB). We do not deserve His mercy, but He gives it to us through His Son Jesus Christ.
This experience has not changed my view on criminals. I still see black and white. But, it has me rethinking how I interact with people. I should be trying to make a difference and be more merciful.
I do not know if this young man has made any changes to his life. I may never know what effect that morning had on this young man. I do not know what all was going on his life to bring him to this point. I do know that I was obedient to God and prayed for this young man and I still continue to pray for him. Hopefully, that prayer, that morning, in that office, will stay with him and eventually make a difference in his life.
Please join me as I continue to pray for him.
Have you ever shown mercy in a difficult situation?
Toni was born and raised in a small town in Oklahoma.She graduated from East Central University with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics.After college, she returned to her hometown to marry her best friend, Charles.Toni is a stay at home mom to their three teens, two boys and a girl, whom God led them to homeschool.Her goal is to raise her children to love and serve the Lord.They live on a farm where they grow produce to sell at several farmers markets.She also plays the piano at church and teaches piano.
I have lived long enough to see many tragedies…the Oklahoma City bombing, September 11, numerous school shootings, plane crashes, earthquakes, the Moore tornadoes. Life seemed to stand still as we were all gripped by these tragic events as they were reported on television nonstop. I had a family member who lost everything in the last Moore tornado. I volunteered in Bridge Creek after the May 3, 1999 tornado. I was affected by all of them but none like the tragedy that unfolded recently in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
I know it seems small in comparison to some of the others but not to me. For those of you who are from Oklahoma, let me start by saying, my blood does not bleed orange, it bleeds red (Boomer Sooner). But all the rivalries aside, this affected all of us. It seems to be such a senseless tragedy…no terrorism, no crazy person with a gun, no malfunction or pilot error, no natural disaster.
My oldest son is a freshman at Oklahoma State University (I know, we failed as parents) and was at the parade. I was on the phone talking to a friend when I saw the crawler on the TV scrolling by with the headline “An incident has just occurred at the OSU Homecoming Parade. Multiple agencies responding.” My heart raced. “Incident” could mean anything! With all the school shootings lately, that was the first thing that went through my mind. I could not call my son fast enough. That was the longest 30 seconds of my life. He answered on the second ring. I was screaming and crying, “Are you okay; where are you?” Luckily, he was not at the intersection where the tragedy occurred but he was close enough to know what had happened and was headed back to the dorm and was going to call me then. (Side note to any young person reading this, CALL YOUR MOM FIRST, WHEN YOU ARE IN A SAFE AREA.) I could hear the anxiety in his voice. We only spoke for a moment because I was trying to calm down and did not want him to know exactly how panicked I was. His dad called him about an hour later to make sure he was all right. He did later text me that he was at the game and his phone was nearly dead so he would not be answering any text messages or phone calls so I shouldn’t worry. I think he realized how worried I was. Another side note to young people – KEEP YOUR PHONE CHARGED!
I sat and watched the news as they released more information. I checked online for any news. I watched as the news showed helicopters landing at the trauma centers. I was not into football that day! I could only think of the tragedy, the lives lost, and the lives forever changed.
Facebook has had so much posted about this – some good, some bad. So many people have been so supportive of Stillwater. I have been brought to tears as I see and read these…the flag at half-staff, the OSU flag carried at the OU game, the photos of the orange sky over Oklahoma that night, and of course the time of prayer at both OSU and OU before their games that day. This tragedy has united us all.
As I write this, we do not know what the condition of this young 25-year-old woman was at the time of this tragedy. All we know is that something was wrong with her at the time. And now, her life is forever changed.
There were also about fifty other lives changed that day. Changed. That does not include the families of the victims. Some will never see their loved ones again. Some are still in the hospital fighting to survive. The victims ranged in age from one to 76. I cannot even fathom what these families are going through.
As people debate what happened, my focus turned to eternity. Did these victims have a relationship with Christ? I believe that the two-year-old baby, Nash Lucas, is in the arms of Jesus. His parents donated his organs so that another child may live. But, what of the other three? One was a beloved, retired college professor, Marvin Stone and his wife, Bonnie Stone. It was reported that she possibly gave her life to save a small child. The last was a student from India, Nakita Prabhakar. She was a student at the University of Central Oklahoma working on her Master’s degree. Her family is half a world away. Also, what about the ones still hospitalized? Do they know Christ? I pray that this tragedy brings opportunity–opportunity for Christians to witness. I pray that the students that were there that day will see that they are not invincible. One day, they will die, and where will they spend eternity?
#StillwaterStrong Photo credit – Connie Smith
And, what about Adacia Chambers and her family? There is so much being said about her. We do not know her condition at the time but this is something she and her family will have to live with the rest of her life. What was going on in her life that led to this. Does she have a relationship with Christ? I know it might be difficult, but we should be praying for her and her family also. She needs our prayers too.
Oklahoma as a state has banded together after this tragedy. I pray that we continue to come together to pray and support all who were affected by this tragedy. All I can say now is something I could not even say when I took my son for his college visit or his orientation: “GO POKES!”
Do you have a personal relationship with Christ?
If you want to know that you will spend eternity in Heaven, all you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart. It’s as easy as ABC. Admit that you are a sinner. Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and God raised him from the dead. Confess with your mouth that Jesus died for your sins. All you have to do is pray. If you have questions or need help with this, please feel free to contact me.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:16-18
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do. At first, I wanted to call the police and have him arrested and sent to jail. At that moment, God spoke to me! I looked up at her and out of my mouth came, “I don’t know. But I do know that right now I want to pray with him and for him.” There were four of us in the room, including the young man. I think they were all shocked as I was. We all stood up and joined hands as I prayed for him. I asked God to bring him out of this path he was going down. By the time I was done, we were all crying. I hugged him and told him that if I pressed charges that it would be for his own good and not out of spite (this is so unlike me).
