The focus for today's devotion is straightforward: to pause and give thanks. Below you'll find Scriptures along with a few reflective exercises designed to help you express gratitude for the growth that has occurred in your life…

We all have flaws; none of us immune to struggles. We often receive this statement in two vastly different ways. Some of us relate immeasurable more to our weaknesses than our strengths, to the point where we define ourselves by our shortcomings. This mindset, where all you can see are your faults, leads to despair…

Sometimes life brings interruptions that are far more serious than being interrupted in the middle of a conversation or someone knocking on the door during our favorite television show…

Leveraging the hard stuff is not merely enduring it; it's about embracing it. We tend to run from our struggles, seeking refuge in distractions or denial. But when we face them head-on, when we find the courage to name our sufferings and share our failings, something transformative occurs. It's in the raw honesty of exposing our wounds that healing begins to take place, and hope springs up like a well in the desert.

For as long as I can remember, my youngest daughter Paige has been into crafts. She loves to cut, color, and create. Everything in her mind is an art project. So much so, that I probably should buy stock in Hobby Lobby now…

At the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus gave His disciples their marching orders: to spread the Gospel of grace wherever they went. More than that, He instructed them to walk in faith alongside those they met and taught. Today, we are invited to do the same—to share God’s love and mercy with everyone we encounter, and cultivate meaningful, faith-based relationships.

God wants to use YOU, not despite who you are, but because of who you are. How incredible is that? You see, when God crafted you, He made something one-of-a-kind. You are like no one else, and that's your superpower. In His love, He gave you a purpose only you can fulfill. You are an original masterpiece.

If my math is correct, I could grab a turkey leg at Thanksgiving, kick up my feet, and not have to come back into the office until after the ball drops welcoming 2024. Not to brag, but I have that much vacation time saved up. Considering my childhood hero was Cal Ripken, the consecutive game record holder in baseball, it's no wonder that I struggle to take a day off from work…

In a world driven by relentless comparison and self-doubt, it's easy to lose sight of the profound truth that God has endowed each of us with a unique set of gifts, talents, and circumstances. Our existence, every facet of it, is a divine provision meant not just for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others as well. Yet, far too often, we question whether we have anything of value to offer the world around us.

In our journey of faith, one concept that often eludes us is the idea of leverage. Leverage is not about our striving or our efforts; it's about stewardship, a posture of curiosity, availability, and openness. Leverage is what happens when we make anything we have available for anything God wants. It encourages us to look inward and consider how we can make the most of the gifts God has entrusted to us.

An odd entry on my Bucket List is visiting the world-famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, where the reality television show Pawn Stars films…

We all have that one friend or family member who is a know-it-all and somehow an "expert" at everything under the sun. I know I do. To protect their identity, I will call this person Michael Jordan…

The cold weather is creeping in… and my seasonal depression has begun to rear its ugly head. I am far from the first (or the last) Christian to wrestle with depression. Especially in the winter months, a lot of us struggle. The activities that usually bring us joy feel like a chore. We don’t live—we survive. Taking care of ourselves becomes a herculean task. We wrestle with the urge to isolate ourselves, to cancel our plans and lock ourselves away. But isolating ourselves rarely has the desired effect. Being alone can seem like a solution, but it can feed into the problem itself.

I want to thank whoever came up with the "brilliant" idea of Powerschool, which enables students to have 24/7, real-time access to their grades. Being the parent of a daughter who has a super-driven Type A personality, you have added a great deal of unneeded angst and stress to our household…

One day, when my cousin was in elementary school, my brother and I found ourselves talking to her about what she was learning in math class. She was quick to tell us all about how she’d mastered her multiplication tables. She was so proud of herself! We were so impressed with how well she was doing and how thoroughly she understood the concepts she was being taught. Though, my brother (a true math geek) decided to upend my cousin’s entire world. 

All it takes is turning on the television to realize we live in a crazy world. We get bombarded with news about the crisis in the Middle East, political unrest, racial disunity, a troubled economy, and many other unsettling tidbits. Discord and disagreement seem to define our days. The talking heads have our heads spinning and reaching for the aspirin or, at the very least, the remote.

Maybe because we're a few years removed from it. Still, many random things took place in 2020 that we've somehow forgotten - Murder Hornets, Tiger King, UFO videos, Baby Yoda, the death of Mr. Peanut, and Kanye West running for president. Those are just a handful of the bizarre events that defined this year. But one of my favorite oddities from 2020 was when unsolicited seeds from China showed up out of the blue in people's mailboxes. Agricultural officials warned recipients not to put them in the ground because they were unsure of what would happen.

After a long day at work, I plopped down on the couch, flipped on the television and tried to unwind when suddenly something went swooshing by me. WHAT WAS THAT? I wondered if I was delirious and seeing things out of pure exhaustion. I went back to flipping channels, and then ZOOM...something buzzed by me again. I knew I wasn't going crazy when I heard a thud and some very loud squawking…

One night when my wife was studying for nursing school, she looked up from her textbook and said, "I think you have Prader-Willi syndrome." Just like that, she went back to reading without explaining what horrible disease was plaguing my body. So, I did what any semi hypochondriac would do; I headed over to WebMD to self-diagnosis myself…

How do we honor God in matters concerning money? When we venture to answer this question, we often start by assessing our relationship with our personal finances. Though it is critical to evaluate whether our private saving, spending, and giving is honoring to God, we must also assess how money colors how we see others. A lot of us have classist views that we rarely confront or challenge.