Every morning is a fresh reminder of God's faithfulness. No matter what yesterday held, His mercies are new, and His hope never runs out. Today, I'm delighted to share an excerpt from my friend Jennifer Dukes Lee's new book, How to Love Your Mornings. My prayer is that these words encourage you to meet the Lord with fresh expectation and discover His grace waiting for you at the start of each new day.

“Put your backpack on the table. Hand over your camera, your phone, and anything else in your pockets.”

A short pause and then, “NOW!”

A Chinese police officer barked orders at me with force. He stared at me without blinking while I complied.

“So, what brought you here today?” 

I was a therapist trainee at a counseling center for one of the largest churches in America, and my caseload was rife with unhappy couples, struggling teens, weary singles, and people with bouts of depression and anxiety everywhere else in between. 

Have you ever been halfway through a conversation when you suddenly realized that you weren't listening at all?

You were looking at the person. You were nodding at all the appropriate moments. You might have even thrown in an occasional "uh-huh" or "I understand." But if you are honest, your mind was already crafting your response. You were preparing your defense, gathering your thoughts, or deciding exactly what you wanted to say next.

We never know how God might use a simple act of kindness, a genuine friendship, or a faithful prayer to change someone's life forever. In today's guest blog, author, speaker, and pastor Cara Shine shares her remarkable journey from growing up in a Jewish home with painful misconceptions about Jesus to discovering His love through the compassion and prayers of faithful Christians. Her story is a powerful reminder that the way we love others matters—and that God often uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

Healthy friendships don't happen by accident—they are built through intentionality, time, and care. In this thoughtful excerpt from Friend-Wise, author and speaker Becky Harling reflects on the life-changing lessons she learned during her battle with cancer and how that season clarified what truly matters most. Becky shares why complacency can quietly erode even our most meaningful relationships and offers biblical wisdom for cultivating friendships that are deep, life-giving, and lasting. Her words are a timely reminder that the friendships God has entrusted to us are treasures worth investing in.

One of God’s greatest gifts is the legacy of faith that is passed from one generation to the next. In this heartfelt excerpt from Twenty-four + One: A Mother’s Story of Faith, Love and Miracles, Ash Ruddy shares a deeply personal Mother’s Day story and reflects on the faithful women who helped shape her life. Her words are a beautiful reminder that when life feels uncertain, the faith of those who have gone before us can become an anchor for our own souls.

The prophet Habakkuk lived during a season of moral decline, political unrest, and spiritual confusion. As he looked around at the culture in which he lived, his heart was deeply troubled. Violence was rampant. Justice seemed absent. Evil appeared to be flourishing unchecked.

My daddy was a wise man. Long before social media influencers and life coaches were telling people how to live, my father offered simple wisdom that has stayed with me for a lifetime.

One of the phrases I heard repeatedly while growing up was, "Carol, show me your friends and I'll show you your future."

Grief touches every one of us eventually, and yet when sorrow first arrives, we often feel so alone in it. We wonder if anyone truly understands the weight we are carrying.

That is why I am so grateful that the Bible speaks honestly about grief.

Scripture never minimizes human suffering, and it never asks us to pretend that painful seasons do not hurt. In fact, Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” I am always comforted by that description of our Savior. Jesus understands heartache. He understands what it means to weep. He understands what it feels like to stand in the middle of pain.

Jodi Snowdon joins us on the blog today with a beautiful reminder for every weary and hurting heart: God still shines through broken places.

With honesty and hope, Jodi shares how the Lord met her in seasons of grief, disappointment, and heartbreak—and how He can bring beauty from our shattered pieces too. Friend, your brokenness does not disqualify you from being used by God. It may just be the very place where His light shines the brightest.

I remember as a little girl spending long summer evenings on a swing set in our backyard. I would pump my legs furiously, leaning back as far as I could, trying to make my toes touch the sky. There was such freedom in those moments. Such delight. I never measured whether I was doing it correctly. I never worried about performance. I was simply enjoying the experience of soaring higher and higher into the warm summer air.

Years later, I sensed the Holy Spirit whispering to my heart that prayer was always meant to feel more like that than like another obligation waiting quietly on a checklist.

We can tell so much about a woman’s faith by the way she handles pain. Not when life is easy or when everything is going her way, but in those moments when her heart is aching, when disappointment has settled in, and when life feels unfair and unkind. It is in those sacred and stretching seasons that our faith is truly revealed.

Sometimes, God uses a single moment to change the trajectory of a life—and this story is one of those moments.

Many of us are familiar with Joni Eareckson Tada—her courage, her gifts, her radiant testimony—but what you are about to experience is something more personal. It is a glimpse of how one life, fully yielded to Christ, can ripple into thousands…even tens of thousands…of other lives in ways that only eternity will reveal.

As you read Ruth Schleppi-Verboom’s words today, you’ll encounter more than a memory; you’ll witness the quiet power of a life transformed by Jesus. Joni Eareckson Tada has impacted countless lives, and this personal glimpse reminds us that even one encounter with authentic joy can awaken something eternal within us.

There are seasons when life feels full, steady, and blessed—and then there are moments when everything changes without warning. The story of Job holds both.

As Randy and Rozanne Frazee lead us through his journey in an excerpt from their latest Bible study, Encountering God's Love from Genesis to Revelation: A 52-Week Bible Study, we are invited to see what Job could not: the tension between our Lower Story of pain and God’s Upper Story of purpose. Job lost everything, yet he chose to offer God something rare and beautiful—broken praise.

Not because he understood, but because he trusted. As you step into this story, consider this gentle question: when life doesn’t make sense, will you still trust the heart of God? Job’s story reminds us that even in the ashes, God is still at work—writing a greater story than we can see.