Tag Archives: death

A reflection on what keeps relationships strong, especially when life gets heavy. There are a lot of words we throw around like we fully understand them—empathy, compassion, and trust. But when life gets heavy, those three aren’t “nice ideas”… they’re lifelines. They’re what keep friendships from falling apart, families from breaking, and people from feelingContinue reading “Empathy, Compassion, and Trust: The Three Things That Hold People Together”

Scripture:“Blessed are those who live in Your house; they are always praising You.”— Psalm 84:4 Devotional It’s easy to let my joy rise and fall with what I have—or what I don’t have. Some days I’m fine… and other days I notice what other people own, what they’ve accomplished, how “easy” their life looks, andContinue reading “Joy That Doesn’t Depend on Stuff”

Verse of the Day “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.” — Matthew 16:25 Devotion There’s a reason this verse can feel upside-down at first. It goes against everything our natural instincts scream at us: hold tight, protect yourself, keep control, andContinue reading “Joy in the Lord: The Life We “Lose” to Truly Find”

A reflection from church — December 28, 2025 Church this morning felt like one of those “God is setting the tone” kind of Sundays. It was the last Sunday of 2025, and you could feel that end-of-year energy in the room — grateful, reflective, and a little bit like, okay Lord… what are we doingContinue reading “When God Asks You to Go Where You Don’t Want To”

“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” — Nehemiah 8:10 There’s a certain kind of quiet that shows up when the holiday season starts winding down. The music fades, the busy days slow down, and sometimes that’s when grief tries to speak the loudest. It’s like the world gets still enough for our heartsContinue reading “Serve the Lord Joyously — Daily Devotion”

Verse (Luke 2:20, ESV) “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” There’s something powerful about the last part of the Christmas story that people don’t always talk about: the shepherds didn’t stay in the moment. They didn’t build a shrine. TheyContinue reading “Daily Devotional — Luke 2:20”

RECOVERY, UNITY, SERVICE December 23 Our Twelfth Step—carrying the message—is the basic service that AA’s Fellowship gives; this is our principal aim and the main reason for our existence. THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 160 I thank God for those who came before me, those who told me not to forget the Three Legacies:Continue reading “Today’s AA Daily Reflection”

There’s this funny thing about being an adult: you can wake up one day and realize your life is basically work, responsibilities, sleep (hopefully), and trying to keep your head above water. Somewhere along the way, the fun stuff gets pushed to the side. That’s why finding a hobby isn’t just “something to do”—it canContinue reading “Finding a Hobby When Life Feels Heavy (or Just Boring)”

For a long time, I thought loving other people meant putting myself last. I thought it meant saying yes when I wanted to say no.It meant accepting disrespect because I didn’t want conflict.It meant over-explaining, over-giving, and over-apologizing… even when I wasn’t the one in the wrong. But eventually I learned something that changed everything:Continue reading “Self-Respect Comes First: Learning to Love Yourself So You Can Love Others”