The Best Gospel Is the Life You Live: A Story About Rescue, Grace, and Our Heavenly Father
Sharing the Gospel Through Everyday Life
When it comes to sharing the word of Christ, sometimes your own life is the best gospel. Jesus used stories and parables that made sense to the people around Him, stories of fishermen, farmers, and families, because those were the professions and situations they could relate to.
In the same way, our everyday experiences can reflect God’s love and grace more powerfully than we realize.
A Weekend Back Home
This weekend, I traveled back to my hometown to visit my parents. I was reminded of the time my sister and I helped them sort through 60+ years of memories and accumulated treasures. We called it the “Project Purge,” and while it was no small task, it was a sweet way to spend time with them.
Since then, I’ve been going back home every six weeks to spend time with them. This visit happened to fall on my father’s birthday, which makes the weekend feel even more special.
As usual, we all ended up swapping “Dad” stories, some funny, some touching, and one, in particular, stood out. I thought you might enjoy it too.
A Dad Who Came to the Rescue
Back when my sister was in art school in Atlanta, she’d go out behind the studio to paint props for photoshoots. One day, she got a little too creative and painted a peace sign on the asphalt in the parking lot. Needless to say, the school administration was not thrilled.
They called her in, gave her a stern talking-to, and told her she had to remove it immediately. The problem was, she had no idea how to get paint off a parking lot.
So, she did what any daughter would do: she called Dad.
Now, you might expect him to show up with a scrub brush and some heavy-duty cleaner. But that’s not how our dad rolls. Nope. He came with a full crew of men, put out safety cones, and sealed the entire parking lot with blacktop.
What was a small ask turned into a big act of love. He didn’t just help. He rescued her in a way that only a father would.
Who Do We Call When We Need Help?
As children, we turn to our parents when things go wrong. But what about when we’re adults, when life gets messy, overwhelming, or completely out of our control?
Who do we call then?
The answer is simple:
We call our Heavenly Father.
Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV)
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Our Father in heaven hears our prayers. He doesn’t just give us enough. He gives us immeasurably more.
Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
A Father Who Gives All of Himself
I am beyond grateful to have been raised by a wonderful earthly father, someone who went above and beyond for us more times than I can count. But as good as he is, he’s still human.
Our Heavenly Father?
He’s infinite. He gives us all of Himself, every time we call on Him.
“An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.” – A. W. Tozer.
Now that is the kind of Father who comes to the rescue in ways we could never imagine.
To God Goes The Glory!
Have A Blessed Day!
Let’s End With a Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the gift of both earthly and Heavenly love. You know our needs before we even ask, and You delight in showing up for us in ways that exceed our expectations. Thank You for being a God who rescues, a God who gives more than we deserve, and a God who never grows weary of hearing from us. Help us to live our lives as a reflection of Your goodness, so that through our words and actions, others may come to know You.
Amen.
Thank you for this!
I love your message this Sunday, I appreciate them all but this one hit close to my heart. I had a good laugh about your father helping your sister. I had a father who was a wonderful God fearing man. My husband was also a wonderful God fearing man and helped all of us but my daughter especially. He died 13 years ago and to this day she still wishes she could talk to him when she has a problem. She told me she missed him just hugging her and saying it’s going to be alright. She said because it was always alright. Probably from his prayers to our Heavenly Father but she felt safe snd protected by her Dad. I feel safe and protected by my Heavenly Father all the time. God Bless you!!!!
He sounds like he was a wonderful man, husband, and father. You and your daughter were blessed with a good one!
I really like your fashion & beauty tips throughout the week, but your Sunday messages are always a special treat on the week-ends!
Tania, what a wonderful post. My Dad was a great father and was always there when I needed him. I miss him. My heavenly Father is always here for me too. Hope you are having a wonderful time with your family.
Those were inspiring words. Far more so than the message delivered by my pastor this morning!
What a sweet story. A good and Godly daddy is such a heavenly treasure to be sure! Thanks for the great reminder of how our Heavenly Father cares for us!
What a great rescue!
So often we forget to ask for help from both our father and our heavenly Father.
Love it Tania-sure miss my dad he was the best.
I love this so much. Your dad sounds so much like mine. And yes our Heavenly Father is always there to intercede and help. We have to but ask : )
My husband and father to two adult children passed away last July at 69. That’s the kind of father he was always there for his children and grandchildren.We miss him more than words can describe. There’s a big hole that will never heal.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Love this! My Dad had a full life and lived to 96. He’s been gone 4 years now and I still miss him every day! At least I know I can always call on my Heavenly Father for love and support!
Loved the story about your sister and how you tied it in with the devotion
😭 … such a sweet story!
thank you, Tania, for sharing your story. you are right in that we experience things in life that may seem daunting at the time, but it’s those lessons that God teaches us His grace and mercy. Your ‘Father’ is my Father too – don’t know what I would do without HIM.
Sunday Blessings,
Nancy
We all have a wonderful heavenly, Father.
Amen!
Hi Tania,
I look forward to all of your posts. The Sunday devotional is so inspiring to me. Your sweet memories of your Dad brought me tears of reflections of my Dad. You bring more than fashion sense to your followers.
Thank you from Northern VA.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
Loved the story of your Dad, Sister and a parking lot.
That is how our God shows up for us.
Amen. 🙂
What a beautiful story! Both my parents are gone but I still think about the sacrifices they made for their kids. And yet it still doesn’t compare to all that our Father does for us. Thank you for sharing and encouraging.
Enjoy the time with Dad & Mom during your visit. The post resonated 2 points with me: your *gratitude* for your *awesome* Dad. It reminded me to reflect on my Dad & our Heavenly Father. Have fun and laugh a lot with your parents. Cheers.
Happy Sunday. When people would ask if I had AAA for road side assistance, I used to say “No, I’ve 1-800-Call-Dad.” Now, as he gets old, but not frail, he is still my hero. My Heavenly & Earthly Fathers are always watching over me and my family. I can never thank them enough, but try to by being the best person I can be.
I love that! What a cute saying.
This made me smile.
Enjoyed it!
Beautiful! Every day I hear Mass on my PC & on Sunday I’m in Church I say the Rosary honoring the Blessed Mother Mary along with Jesus I raised my children alone at 1 & 5 yrs after we fled our home My Father was gentle and kind He gave all to his Family I keep a picture of Jesus before me Through the years He saw us through Today those children are 55 & 51! They were at my 33 year sober anniversary celebration yesterday! My daughter bought the home I live in My son is a rock The Lord is Our Shepherd…Thank you Tania for the opportunity to post this Testimony Thank You God Father Son and Holy Spirit
Your Sunday posts are my ❤️ favorite!
As always – thank you for your wonderful words
That is so true. Our GOD is an awesome GOD.
Tania, What a great story about your dad. It is so comforting to know that our Heavenly Father is always available for us and just waiting to help us. All we have to do is ask, let it go, and believe.
Dear Tania. Thank you for this sweet, uplifting reminder of the love we have here on earth and the abundant, unconditional love that God offers us every, single moment. I enjoy your posts so much! Please don’t stop 😊. Sheila
I was blessed to have a Dad that was always there for me just as my Heavenly Father is there for me now. Unfortunately my son’s father was not that kind of caring father for him but I am blessed now to see him be an amazing father for his daughter. Don’t know where he got it from but I rejoice in it knowing my granddaughter is safe and loved just as I was.
Love the rescue story of your Sister’s painting in the parking lot. Not all of us are fortunate to have carrying parents when growing up. That is another story and I have lived through it with therapy. Any-ways have a blessed Sunday and keep the suggestions and articles coming.
We all might not have had a wonderful earthly father, but we all have a heavenly Father who love us.
Thank you Tania, you sure have a way with words. I needed this words today.
Tania, I always love your Sunday blogs! Your dad sounds like a very special man, keep enjoying him! Love the prayer at the end, such a great reminder our God always recues, is always there no matter what, we have to the have eyes, to see, the ears to hear Him! Have a relaxing Sunday!
Beautiful message. Thank you, Tania. Have a blessed week.
I really enjoyed this last post. I am not a religious person but your message really touched me.My father has since passed away, and I miss him everyday. I also believe I will see him again.
Thank you
Thank-you for this story…
Tania, thank you for today’s message and the wonderful story about your Dad! You and your siblings are beyond blessed to have the parents you have!!! Happy Sunday🙏❤🙏
I’m so blessed to also have an earthly father who is always here for me. What a beautiful thing it is you and your family are doing for your parents. God is good!!!
I’ve just completed a 7 week course on Psalm 23 by Jennifer Rothschild.
Those 6 verses are jam packed with our Father’s love! And being chased by His goodness and mercy! What an incredible God we serve!
Thank you, Tania!
Tanya,
This is a god wink for me . We are going through a terrible time with our daughter right now . So complicated . This helped me soo much this morning . Thank you very much . I’m sure I’ll be reading this all day and the next . Thank you for sharing ! It’s a beautiful story . Simple but powerful for me .
Erin, I hope the situation with your daughter gets better. We all go through tough times, but the Lord is with us the whole time.
Hi Tania,
What a sweet post about your Dad. My Dad died when I was 21. But I have some wonderful memories. It is so wonderful that we have our Heavenly Father to call on when we need help.
I love your Sunday posts . They are always inspiring.
Hope you have a beautiful day.
This was so touching. I teared up thinking of my own father.
Thank you for sharing.
Love what you wrote today! God bless you.
Thank you, I really enjoy your Sunday posts as much as the ones during the week! Have a wonderful day!
Thank you, Tania. My dearest friend was given some devastating news yesterday and without God I don’t know how she would survive. We pray for her and her son, trusting God to show us the path forward
I’m so sorry about your friend, but I am happy they know the Lord.
What a beautiful story of the love of a father. Let me share a small story about my father. Growing up I had three older brothers. 12, 10, and 6 years older than me.
All of them were always kind and generous to me but for the most part the two older were gone a great deal. It fell to the one closest to me to care for me when parents were away. We fought, he made up games for me. A really great caretaker but we fought. Once I shoved him through a glass windowpane. I was expecting friends to come over the next day.. This was in the early 60’s. Dad had nothing on hand to fix it so he had to make a trip into town(we were very far out)to get what he needed. Normally he would have patched it then waited for a convenient time. Because he knew that this was an embarrassing situation fo me he went the extra miles just for me. That’s what fathers do. Just think how much more our Heavenly Father does for us.
Mu goodness, I hope he was okay. It is nice to hear that your father came to your rescue.
Have a blessed day! Thank you for the Sunday posts! Love reading them each Sunday before I head out to church.
A beautiful reminder about our heavenly Father. Thank you, Tania.
Thanks for the message! Enjoy every moment you have with your Dad. I lost my Dad way too early. My Dad loved the Lord and as a believer I know I will see him again some day❤️
A wonderful story about your dad and such a good lesson about our heavenly Father❤️
I love the prayers at the end of your post, thank you for them 🩷Have a Blessed Day!
What a heartfelt message today! Thank you for taking the time to share with everyone.
I love your daily posts.
Definitely My Heavenly Father! He is faithful. I love that song Trust in God.
Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord and He heard me.
Thank you Tania love your Sunday posts!
I love that verse.
Wonderful post. Thank you.
I love this story!! My siblings & I also have many stories of when our dad rescued us. My dad has Alzheimer’s & I sure miss the man he was to us. He’s still in there at times, but it sure is hard to watch his decline. Oh & man do I cringe at the thought of the purging we will have to do at my parents. Many might consider them hoarders. Yikes!! Thanks for all you wonderful blogs!!
Our parents are hoarders, too. They parted with a lot of things when they moved to a smaller house.
What a wonderful story and thank you for sharing. Our Heavenly Father is our anchor in the storm. Hope you have a blessed day too!
Tania, every time you tell a story about your family, I can always feel the love and respect that you feel for them coming through with your words. You honor your father and mother the way Jesus teaches us to do. Thank you for your Sunday messages, I always look forward to reading them as they always seem to hit on a note of something that has happened or something that I need to be doing better about daily. Have a great week and glad you had some time to spend with your family and especially your father on his birthday.
I love my family, and I’m so glad that it shows in my posts.
Great message and one that is difficult for me and others. I did not have the earthly father of every child’s dreams or even one that came close to what a child needs. These messages always make me sad of what I missed.
Who is the man in the picture? I feel I overlooked something 🙂
I’m sorry, Penny Jo, that your dad wasn’t everything you needed. Thankfully, the Lord is a fabulous father, who loves is. That is my dad from many years ago.
Thank you for sharing this story!
What a beautiful message you shared today! Thank you.
Thank you for sharing this touching story. It made me reflect on the many times my earthly parents came to my rescue. What a wonderful way to start my day!
🫶🏻