Debby Thompson
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WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

Guest Post by Jane Glenchur

He should have spent the rest of his life in prison as a convicted murderer. Instead, he spread the news about God’s mercy and grace.

His army was greatly outnumbered by the enemy’s vast army. They should have been defeated. Instead, they celebrated God’s victory.

She dreamed of her upcoming marriage only to be surprised by an unplanned pregnancy. Her fiancé and family could have condemned her. Instead, they celebrated her son’s birth.

Paul, Gideon and Mary had something in common. The odds were against them, but God’s odds were for them. They are for you as well.

Are you facing impossible odds today? Too many bills and not enough finances? A prodigal child that has disappeared from your life? A broken relationship that looks like it will never be restored?

I saw God beat impossible odds when my high school-aged daughter was about to fly out on a mission trip to Thailand. Sadly, two of the girls in her group were denied boarding passes because their passports would expire less than six months after returning home. One of the moms asked me to pray for a miracle—that the airline would permit them to fly anyway. Impossible, I thought, but the tears in her eyes compelled me to pray with her. I watched as her daughter approached the ticket counter and engaged an agent in conversation. Then a supervisor took over. What was impossible one minute became possible the next. Boarding passes were issued and the girls ran to the gate just in time to make the flight before the doors to the aircraft closed.

As a medical student on call for neurology, I was awakened in the wee hours of the morning to see a new admission: a comatose young man had suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm. His mother stood next to his bed praying Scriptures over him. After much testing, the prognosis was hopeless. He would forever be in a vegetative coma, unresponsive to any and all stimuli. Against all odds, his mother and I prayed for his healing. Many prayers and months later he left the hospital walking and talking!

Praying for unbelieving loved ones can be particularly stressful, especially when we don’t see any change year after year. Often my prayer for my mother was simply, “Lord, don’t let her die unsaved.” It took 39 years before she finally accepted Jesus, five months before moving to heaven.

Whatever the need, whatever the odds, it pays to persevere in prayer.

We are assured that with man these things are impossible, but with God all things are possible. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not change (Matthew 19:26, Malachi 3:6). Instead of feeling hopeless, meditate on God’s promises and be hope-filled.

When the odds seem against you, God is for you.

Prayers need not be complicated. Mary’s prayer, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” was simple (Luke 1:38).

Simple prayers can produce powerful results.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

How would you answer one or all of the questions Jane asks? Are you facing impossible odds today? Too many bills and not enough finances? A prodigal child that has disappeared from your life? A broken relationship that looks like it will never be restored?

When have you seen God show up for you when the odds seemed against you?

Jane Glenchur is the author of Simple Prayers, Powerful Results: A Six-Week Bible Study on Discovering God’s Wisdom and Will (Warner Press) and Seven Secrets to Power Praying: How to Access God’s Wisdom and Miracles Every Day (Chosen Books). After eight years of practicing dermatology, the Lord called her to be a stay-at-home mom—her best job ever! Prayer is Jane’s passion. She is an intercessor, speaker and Bible study teacher. She has been a team leader on five mission trips to Brazil with her two children. She currently serves on the board of trustees of GIFT Ministries.

*These stories are excerpts from my six-week Bible study Simple Prayers, Powerful Results: A Six-Week Bible Study on Discovering God’s Wisdom and Will (Warner Press, 2024).

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2024 Blog Post Collection

Photo Credit: Mt. Everest, taken by Larry Thompson Chruch Movements trip to train young pastors

Happy Blessed New Year!

May 2025 be the best, yet, of your amazing life.

Please grab a cup of coffee and peruse the list of last year’s blog posts. By clicking on any title, you can read or reread the entry.

Thank you for joining me on this pilgrim journey as together we seek to focus on Living With Eternal Intentionality®. Ours is a two-way conversation, so don’t hesitate to offer feedback. And, I welcome your suggestions for future topics.

An Eternal Perspective of 2024

The Open Door That Matters

My Designer Boots

A Valentine for God

International Muffin Day

A Daddy-Daughter Leap Year Memory

A Riveting Statement

St. Patrick’s Prayer

I Hate Slot Machines

Christ Followers, Step Up!

Imagine Emmaus!

Don’t Be Afraid to Cry

Citrus Trees Are Tricky to Grow

Lost Skill, Be Still

Healthy Living Habits for Today

I Call Her Mama

We Just Have to W.A.I.T.

Lessons From a Navy Seal

Stand Firm. Resist the Devil

Do You Love Me? Summer Series, Part 1

Summer Series, Part 2

Summer Series, Part 3

Mining For Contentment

When We Dance With Change

A Fight For My Right

The Fragrances of Christmas

A Goal for This New Year

The Fragrances of Christmas

I’ll never forget the December day in the 1980’s when my friend Linda Dillow met my incoming flight from communist Poland and drove me to an urgent appointment she arranged with her dentist for me in downtown Vienna. After the painful repair, she and I treated ourselves to a sensational experience. With dusk descending and a gentle snow falling, we strolled up and down the aisles of the Austrian Christkindlmarkt where festive aromas exploded. Smells of nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and anise hung in the air. In this fairytale setting, mulling spices brewed and warm chestnuts roasted. Beneath the lights of the centuries old Rathaus, a one-of-a-kind feast for the senses emerged that still comes alive within me more than forty Christmases later.

What about you? Does the smell of cinnamon take you back to baking cookies in your grandmother’s kitchen? Who stood beside you when you built your first-ever gingerbread house? When did it dawn on you that the scent of fir meant Christmas tree? Indeed, yuletide spices and memories have a way of coalescing to create a holiday wonder all their own.

Yet, in this season of sensory delight God quickens our spirit to ponder another fragrance: The Fragrance of Christ. Perhaps more than ever, our current spheres of influence desperately need this Aroma.

Sad faces Slumped shoulders Painful conversations Need the Fragrance of Christ

A short paycheck A long illness Need the Fragrance of Christ

A craving to feel understood A quest to be included A yearning to be heard Need the Fragrance of Christ

A broken heart A shattered dream Need the Fragrance of Christ

A desire to be seen A longing to be encouraged A cry to be affirmed Need the Fragrance of Christ

A fear of the future A disappointment with the past An emptiness in the present Need the Fragrance of Christ

Real people, real budens, very real realities. So, as we walk the aisles of life this Christmas season — as our taste buds savor peppermint and spice, as we sing about frankincense and myrrh — may we diffuse The Aroma that meets every need, heals every hurt, answers every question, calms every fear, soothes every anxiety, satisfies every longing, and even offers the oil of gladness, The Fragrance of Christ.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

What scents remind you of the Christmas season?

How would you articulate the Fragrance of Christ?

When do you feel the Fragrance of Christ might be most needed in your holiday schedule?