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Grace, Salvation Dana Rongione Grace, Salvation Dana Rongione

Grace Changes Everything

We live in a world of transactions. You work, you get paid. You study, you get good grades. You're nice to people, they're nice to you. Everything is earned. Everything is deserved. Everything is based on what you've accomplished or contributed. So we often bring that same mindset into our relationship with God and assume salvation works the same way.

We think we need to be good enough. We think we need to pray enough, serve enough, believe enough, do enough to earn God's approval. We believe grace is something we receive only after we've proven ourselves worthy. And we spend our entire lives trying to tip the scales in our favor, to do enough good to outweigh the bad, and to make ourselves acceptable to a holy God.

But that's not grace. That's works. And it will exhaust you.

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Salvation, Life's Journey Dana Rongione Salvation, Life's Journey Dana Rongione

Did You Forget the Most Important Step?

Let me tell you about the great grocery fiasco of this past week. Jason and I live in a small farming community here in Wales, and our nearest "big" shop contains two small aisles of food, one aisle of household items, and an aisle filled with snacks and booze. So, we do what any sensible, technology-loving missionary couple does. We order our groceries online and have them delivered right to our door. It saves petrol and time, and it rescues me from the temptation of buying a chocolate bar "just because it's there."

Our grocery store's website has this magical little feature called "Instant Shop." It loads your cart automatically with everything you typically order. Milk? In the cart. Tea bags (a necessity of life here in Wales, mind you)? In the cart. From there, we go through and tweak, removing what we don't need and adding what we do.

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Salvation, Faith, Christian Faith Dana Rongione Salvation, Faith, Christian Faith Dana Rongione

Are You Really Trusting Christ?

Throughout our years of hiking, Jason and I have encountered some...well, let's just say... Interesting river and ravine crossings. I remember standing at the edge of a narrow rope bridge one day, staring at the yawning drop beneath it and wondering who in their right mind thought that was a good idea. I could see the bridge. I knew it was there. I could even agree that it was technically "a way" across that great divide, but my knuckles were white on the railing, and my feet were not cooperating. I believed in the bridge, but I didn't yet trust it, at least not enough to march my nervous self right out to the middle of it.

The Step That Matters

That's the difference we often gloss over when we tell people, "Just believe in Jesus, and you'll be saved."

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Salvation, God's love Dana Rongione Salvation, God's love Dana Rongione

A Funeral Wake-Up Call

Last week, I attended my first funeral in Wales, and despite being warned of what to expect, I walked out of the chapel feeling utterly devastated. The experience left me with a heaviness I hadn't anticipated.

I understand that funerals are occasions of sadness and mourning, and for that reason, I typically avoid them as much as possible. But this one affected me differently than I expected. What saddened me most? Was it the crowd of people waiting outside the chapel, not because there wasn't room but rather because they refused to step foot inside the actual building? Or was it the minister who presented the message that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God; therefore, we can rejoice that we will all be reunited in Heaven?

No wonder it's so difficult to reach these people with the gospel!

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Ministry, Wales, Relationships, God's love, Life's Journey, Salvation Dana Rongione Ministry, Wales, Relationships, God's love, Life's Journey, Salvation Dana Rongione

Religion Vs. Relationship

As we minister in mid-Wales, we're discovering a heartbreaking trend that has emptied many chapels across this beautiful country—religion itself.

I can't tell you how many adults have shared nearly identical stories with us. As children, they were bundled off to church or chapel every Sunday without explanation, marched down the aisle in uncomfortable clothes, and told to sit still and be quiet. They memorized prayers and recited responses without understanding why. They were taught how to act but never why it mattered.

"We just did it because we had to," one elderly gentleman told me, his weathered face creasing with the memory. "Mam would've had our hides if we'd refused."

Church services were as dry as month-old scones—formal, repetitive, and utterly devoid of life. The ministers droned on about the stories of the Bible without ever bringing about an application to the people or helping them understand how and why the Bible is still relevant today.

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