Joseph Habedank’s mother, Leah Griffis, recently suffered a life-threatening heart attack while waiting to board a plane. Airport paramedics were close by and performed CPR on her.
Since the incident on 5 November, it has been touch and go. However, Joseph says things are moving in a positive direction.
Joseph shared an update saying his mom’s ventillator was taken out and she’s breathing on her own and she’s awake and, “she’s very loud.” He explained that “she’s not quite talking, the tube being in her throat, they told her she wouldn’t be able to talk for a little bit but she’s trying really hard because anybody knows my mom knows she likes to talk.”
The family’s next prayer request focuses on communication. “That’s kind of our next kind of prayer request is that she can start communicating with us because you can tell she’s in a little bit of pain because of the probably from the broken ribs and also being intubated that long really messes with your throat so we’re hoping she can start communicating soon,” Joseph said.
The family is also facing difficult decisions ahead. Joseph asked for prayer as he and Lindsay “are trying to decide when we can go home and so we want to make sure we we have wisdom when it comes to that so it’s always hard you know trying to figure out what’s right so appreciate your prayers.”
Joseph concluded by saying, “This has been a good day.”
We are grateful for this good news! Please continue lifting Leah along with all of her family up in prayer.
Brian Free shared the meaning behind Assurance’s new song, “Behind My Praise.” He explains, “Behind our praise are the valleys we’ve been through, the mountain tops we’ve had to climb, the mountains we had to crawl over, climb over, and the good times, the bad times, and all those things, everything that we experience in our life brings us to the point where we really should, as a Christian, know how to praise him, know how to lift him up, know how to thank him for all that he’s done, because we all have so much to be thankful for. And that’s what the song talks about it, and it does it in such a great way. And I love singing. It’s just a wonderful song.”
Provided to YouTube by Daywind Records Behind My Praise · Brian Free & Assurance Grateful for the Gospel ℗ 2024 Daywind Records Released on: 2024-09-20
This idea is found in the message of James 1:2–4 (NIV): “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Our hard times, the valleys and mountains, shape our praise. They teach us how to worship with real depth and thankfulness.
I hope you’ll pardon me sounding long-winded, but I’d like to give a little more of my understanding of these verses. They teach that believers should view trials and hardships as opportunities for growth rather than reasons for despair. These challenges test one’s faith, and through enduring them with patience and trust in God, a person develops spiritual maturity and strength. The passage emphasizes that perseverance in the face of difficulties leads to completeness and maturity, meaning a well-rounded and steadfast faith that lacks nothing. Ultimately, James encourages believers to see suffering as a refining process that deepens their relationship with God and shapes their character.
The lyrics of “Behind My Praise” speak directly about this experience. They tell us about the struggles that come before praise: valleys God brings us through, mountains we never thought we could move, and wilderness places in bloom.
To be thankful and to praise God fully means to remember where we have been and what He has done for us. “Behind My Praise” is a reminder for believers to lift their voices with gratitude, knowing that every trial has brought them to this moment of thanksgiving.
The song was written by Kristi Ralon Fitzwater, Marcia Henry, and Josiah Palmer. Listen for Behind my Praise throughout the day on Texas Gospel Canada!
BEHIND MY PRAISE – BRIAN FREE & ASSURANCE (Kristi Ralon Fitzwater, Marcia Henry, and Josiah Palmer) Behind my praise, there’s a valley God has brought me through Behind my praise, there’s a mountain I never thought I’d move Behind my praise is a wilderness in bloom I can’t hold back ’Cause I’ve seen what God can do I’ve seen oceans roll back at my feet I’ve watched giants cower in defeat Because of God and His amazing grace I live to tell the story behind my praise Behind my praise Are the tears He’s wiped from my eyes Behind my praise Are the answers to my desperate cries Behind my praise Is the dawn that broke the night I can’t hold back the joy I have inside ’Cause I’ve seen oceans roll back at my feet I’ve watched giants cower in defeat Because of God and His amazing grace I live to tell the story behind my praise Every story I have lived through Has given me the faith To trust Him as the author Of every future page And I’ve seen oceans roll back at my feet I’ve watched giants cower in defeat Because of God and His amazing grace I live to tell the story behind my praise Because of God and His amazing grace I live to tell the story behind my praise
Welcome to the Texas Gospel Canada Top 30 Songs of November 2025! This list is meticulously compiled based on the actual number of plays each song received in the previous month (October.) The Texas Gospel Top 30 is proudly submitted to top Southern Gospel publications including The Singing News and SGNScoops.
1 So Much To Thank Him For – Mylon Hayes Family – Independent 2 So Many Reasons – Tribute Quartet – Daywind/New Day 3 I Will Sing – Hoppers – Gaither Music/Capitol Christian 4 Hold On To Hope – Southbound – Daywind/New Day 5 All Is Well – Exodus – Independent 6 I Speak Jesus – Karen Peck & New River – Daywind/New Day 7 I Am The One – Jeff Tolbert & Primitive Road – Independent 8 Joy Is Gonna Come – Erwins – StowTown/Provident-Sony 9 Show Me The Way From Here – Paid In Full – StowTown/Provident-Sony 10 The Way That He Found It – Justified Quartet – Big Picture Records/New Day 11 Stepping Stone – Tim Livingston – Diamond Mill Music 12 Sow The Good Seed – Greater Vision – Daywind/New Day 13 I Know What Jesus Can Do – Browns – StowTown/Provident-Sony 14 Free – Brian Free & Assurance – Daywind/New Day 15 The Only Way He Knew How – Jeff & Sheri Easter – Gaither Music/Capitol Christian 16 Soul Set Free – Kingsmen – Horizon/Crossroads 17 Homeward Bound – Legacy Five – StowTown/Provident-Sony 18 The Other Side – Craguns – ARS/New Day 19 Hit The Altar – Poet Voices – StowTown/Provident-Sony 20 Never Been Another – Whisnants – Independent 21 Up Above The World So High – Inspirations – Horizon/Crossroads 22 A Million Reasons – Perrys – StowTown/Provident-Sony 23 The Well – Taylors – StowTown/Provident-Sony 24 Pray – Mark Trammell Quartet – Crimson Road 25 For My Good – Peach Goldman – StowTown/Provident-Sony 26 Still Faithful – 11th Hour – Sonlite/Crossroads 27 Stand Tall – Hyssongs – ARS/New Day 28 Now Lazarus Can Sing – Mark Bishop – Sonlite/Crossroads 29 Satisfied – Jonathan Wilburn – Daywind/New Day 30 That Somebody Was Me – Guardians – Daywind/New Day
Rushing ahead without waiting on God can lead to problems. When we act on our own, we often miss His timing. But when we follow God’s lead, we move only when He says it’s time. The first few steps may feel uncomfortable or uncertain, and sometimes, even later steps can feel just as challenging. Still, God may shift our path. He may ask us to turn in a new direction. We are called to trust Him, even when it doesn’t make complete sense.
God doesn’t leave us alone to figure things out. He promises to lead us, not just at the start, but all the way through.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will advise you with My eye upon you.
Hebrews 3 reminds Christians to strengthen one another so that sin does not harden their hearts. Encouragement is more than kind words meant to make someone feel better. In the New Testament, the word translated as “encourage” comes from a term that means to come alongside and give instruction or warning.
Encouragement does include compassion, kindness, and support, but it also involves speaking truth about sin. Real care for others is not only about lifting them up but also about helping them see when harmful choices are shaping their lives. Scripture even says that the wounds of a friend can be trusted, meaning that honest warnings given in love are one of the strongest acts of friendship.
Jesus gave direction in Matthew 18 that if someone sees a fellow believer in sin, they should approach them with concern, address the problem, and guide them back toward holiness.
True encouragement, then, is both gentle and serious. It comforts, but it also cautions, pointing people away from sin and toward the life God calls them to live.
But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
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