The other day I put a Christian music playlist on YouTube and sat down for a little one-on-one with the Lord. But as I was listening, a commercial interrupted the music, and rather than being annoyed, what I saw made me smile. A grandpa was in his workshop carefully painting and assembling a small table.

I remember when I was younger, I heard about missionaries doing amazing things around the world, almost thinking of them as “super Christians.” I would hear stories and testimonies of healings and miracles and long for that kind of faith. It took a while for me to realize the Spirit that filled those ambassadors of Christ was available for everyone. But why couldn’t I see the same things happening in my life?

We all know that God’s ways are not our ways, but often it is really difficult to see good in an event where our lives are turned upside down and we are left stunned by unexpected bad news. Just recently, one of my grandsons in Hawaii had such an experience. Stay with me and read on.

There are moments in life when we feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or alone. It’s in these times God often brings encouragement in the most unexpected ways. Sometimes it’s a comforting word from a friend, a passage of Scripture that speaks directly to our situation, or a quiet assurance in our hearts that we are not forgotten.

As 2026 gets underway I’m foregoing any new resolutions; I can never seem to keep them anyway. But this little verse from 2nd Corinthians has inspired me to shift my focus a bit. Are there seen things, motivated by unseen things, that deserve my attention this year?

Throughout our lives, we are asked to give of ourselves. As children, you likely were asked by your parents to set the table for dinner, pick up your bedroom, or clean the bathroom. As adults, we may have a family to care for and support;

For me, the most difficult part of writing a devotional is deciding what to write about. The Holy Spirit always shows me where I am to go, but sometimes it just takes longer to realize where He is leading me (which may be part of His plan all along). This time around, I did not have a topic just come to mind—as occasionally happens—where the whole devotional flows out.

During Christmas time growing up, I always admired that the adults in the family, instead of doing a gift exchange, would donate to a charity of their choice in honor of the person they would have given the gift to. Then during the gift exchange, they would talk about why they chose that particular charity.

Several months ago, I came across a box in our garage that contained brown, faded newspaper clippings, old programs, and other miscellaneous items from my childhood that my mother had saved. And it only took looking at a few of the items to realize that there was a pattern to my early life: School. Girl Scouts. Church. Repeat.

I’ve been reading a mostly-daily devotional for a couple years now called New Morning Mercies – A Gospel Devotional by Paul David Tripp. I say ‘mostly daily’ because on occasion life gets in the way; whether it be a doctor’s appointment, a game (or two) on my iPhone, or nothing in particular.

The author of the passage below is unknown. It was supposedly found on a dead soldier in the Civil War and was shared with me by one of our church family, whom most of you probably know:

I asked God for strength that I might achieve, but I was made weak that I might humbly obey.

I asked for help that I might do greater things, but I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

One of my favorite Thanksgivings was when our children were in elementary school. We knew we were going to be gathering with family in the afternoon, but God profoundly put on our hearts to do something for others that morning. At that time, McDonald’s was doing a throwback to their 29-cent hamburgers and 39-cent cheeseburgers. Remember that?! 

Over a year ago, my daughter introduced me to the New York Times game Wordle. The player has six opportunities to guess the word of the day before the puzzle closes. Part of the fun for me (along with finding the word) is sharing my score with my “Wordle Crew”—my daughter and her husband in Chicago, my sister in Cincinnati, and my niece and her friend in Charlotte, North Carolina.

I once had a sign on the bulletin board in my office that pictured a runner straining for the finish line and underneath were the words “Finish Well!” I had placed it there as a reminder to continue strong in ministry to the last day.

If you are reading this, then it’s likely you are a Christian. If you are a Christian and believe God is sovereign and in control, then it follows that you also believe He has a plan for each of us (remember the sovereignty thing!). Do you ever wonder what that plan is? Another way of phrasing this is, “Do you wonder what God’s will for you is?”

Recently, our family celebrated my wonderful father’s 80th birthday. It was such a special time gathering with family and friends and honoring Dad’s goodness. As I was preparing the blessing I was going to give at Dad’s party, I reflected back to his rock bottom moment that happened almost 10 years ago. 

Throughout the Bible, God’s people are referred to as sheep, often not in a complimentary context. The prophet Isaiah rails: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray…” (Is. 53:6), affirming the fact that sheep are known for wandering off and getting lost.

One thing I’ve never been much good at is loving myself.

I’ve seen it before as an egotistical practice. Prideful; self-centered; self-serving. It’s probably because I hadn’t thought of self-care as a means of self-sacrifice.

As I grow older, I am constantly reminded that I am human and frail. My body parts seem to malfunction more frequently and take longer to heal. I seem to have pains in places I did not know I had. I'm apparently falling apart and find myself realizing the process is not going to stop until it does.

All of my life, I have loved everything water…a pool, the beach, the lake, the river. When I was little, my dear grandfather taught me how to swim and I would swim for hours, every day of the summer. He called me his ‘water princess’ and I felt like the pool was my palace.