This morning, waking up with recent conversations running through my head, I am reminded that who you listen to matters. Who are you listening to? To which voices are you giving space in your head? I was reflecting on my growing up years, looking at who I gave credence and attention to – and what the results were at different times in my life. More often than not, when I listened to people my own age at the time, my outcomes were not as beneficial as when I listened to more “

The words drift through on the lilt of the melody… “And the people sing, Holy! To the King of kings, Holy! You are lifted high, Holy! Holy Forever!” As I drift from asleep to awake, verses flow from two different books, “Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up; Do you not perceive it? …” (Isa. 43:19) and “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will no

I’m CONVINCED my refrigerator is hiding things from me! Seriously! Have you ever gone in to get something you’re pretty sure you had in there, and while you’re looking, found a fuzzy, blue green lump that you have NO IDEA what it used to be? Maybe by the shape you can kind of guess, but you’re not really sure. The WORST is finding a partially filled milk jug, and as you lift it up, you can tell even though it’s still white, it’s no longer a liquid. UGH! You bring it over to t

Going to bed last night (at 10:30) and waking up this morning, the thoughts in my head are of repeated failure and repentance – again. Getting back from multiple errands yesterday, while listening to some great teaching on how to walk in obedience and defeat sin by walking in the love of God, I made dinner, watched a TV program with my husband and … spent 4 hours scrolling again. The information I promised to send to a friend earlier in the day is still unsent. The exercise I

Distractions. One of the least intrusive sounding words… It’s not harmful, it’s just a distraction. It’s not a thief of your precious time and attention, it’s just a distraction. It’s passive, unobtrusive, … could even be seen as a break from the hamster wheel we can’t seem to get off of sometimes. It’s not a big deal, it’s just scrolling on social media for a little while to get my second wind… then I’ll get back to it. Admitting it might be a problem, telling myself I would

I woke up, the second time this morning, with a very different song in my heart, drawing me out of my sleep to worship, to thank God for the day and get ready for my morning prayer time with my friends. It is no secret by now that I usually wake up to a song, and it usually is a worship song or a hymn. This one wasn’t – at least it wasn’t meant to be originally. It is also no secret that some secular songs we’ve heard for years can just as easily – and sometimes more appropri

You Hedge Me In, Behind and Before 11-20-25 I woke up this morning surrounded by pillows, one under my head, a fluffy one under my left arm, one around my legs and a stack of two more behind me. It was comforting, warm and softly … restrictive. Part of a verse rose to the surface of my mind as I tried to move, to adjust myself in my bed, “You hedge me in behind and before…” I am awake Lord, thank You for another day, I want to hear more… I look it up and smile, of course that

Mark Gungor "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" Waking up this morning , I have two things going off in my brain: Phil Wickham’s song, “The Battle Belongs to You” and a narrative about marriage. Years ago when a local church we weren’t attending offered a marriage seminar by Mark Gungor called “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage”. Years ago, Steve and I went to both the Friday night and the all day Saturday sessions – and it changed the trajectory of our marriage. I know,

11-15-25 This morning was an early morning, sprawled out but still under the warm covers, with Elton John’s song “I’m Still Standing” running through my head. Not the whole song, I’d never learned all the words, but the chorus and the part about being a true survivor and feeling like a little kid runs through my mind and I’m thanking God that He’s gotten me to this point – and is continuing to lead me, as I contemplate how to start today. “Standing” leads to the passage in Ep

11-14-25 This morning I woke up and started journaling, not sure where it would go today. 2 chapters into my continuation in Ezekiel (a book I know is important for me personally, but often didn't get through in my reading plans), trying to glean things I hadn’t seen before. I stopped to pray that I’m not just doing this mindlessly, checking off the boxes of, “read a couple chapters, check!”. A couple verses after I said that prayer, I got to verse 17 and read, “All hands wil