From Grim to Glorious

April is always a flower-filled month with new growth bursting forth all around us.  It is also when Holy Week and Easter occur, and we are reminded of the grim to glorious transition from death on the cross to the resurrection and promise of everlasting life! Hence the title for this month’s newsletter.

For this reason, I felt this month’s episodes demanded extremely good guests with powerful stories about overcoming adversity. They did not disappoint!

My friend and fellow Brazos River Authority Board Director, Dr Austin Ruiz, is one of the mightiest men I know.  Not due to his physical stature but due to his towering strength and faith when confronted not once, but twice, with extremely grim medical diagnoses. Leukemia and sepsis both nearly took his life but he persevered through two long battles  with the help of the Holy Spirit when Satan was whispering he should just give up!  Throughout these combined three year battles, I never heard Austin complain or feel sorry for himself, even after losing both of his lower legs to amputation!  He is walking under his own power today on his prosthetics as a testament to his faith.  If you are being tempted by Satan to throw yourself a pity party, listen to this episode first!

My new friend and brother in Christ, Dr Michael Sprague, is the Louisiana State Chaplain and President of Grace Adventures.  He was the head pastor of a church in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina devastated that city, his church, and his home.  As he said in his book Disaster: Betting the Farm on God in Life’s Storms, “You never know  Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have, then you discover Jesus is all you need.”  Michael offers another fantastic testimony of how God gets us through our darkest days and blesses us in ways that we could never have imagined when we go all in with Him.  If you need encouragement, this is the episode for you.

Lastly, I hope you have noticed some upgrades in my newsletter formatting with the new banner up top among other smaller tweaks.  I have enlisted the professional help of my college pledge brother Don Dulin through the generosity of my donors. Last month I announced the brand new website but we were still working out the inevitable bugs so I wanted to remind you to please check it out now that it is humming along. You may visit the new website at the same address, www.thesavagepath.com. Also, I have a new email address to be more consistent with my branding.  It is david@thesavagepath.comI am eager to engage on topic or guest suggestions, so please reply in email or via the  website to submit any ideas.

In Christ,

David L Savage

Wrestling With a Grim Diagnosis

The first official day of Spring was March 20th, and we are entering Holy Week with Palm Sunday this weekend. Both help us to blossom ourselves both spiritually and physically, so I thought this episode should be one that promises hope and healing.

Featuring Dr. Austin Ruiz

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Fires, Floods & Freezes: Wrestling With Risk Management

The genesis of this episode began with my utter exasperation shopping for new homeowners insurance after receiving a 100% increase in my premium over last year’s rate. As I examined  …

Featuring Dr. Michael Sprague

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