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

Welcome to "The Next Chapter"! It's been a while since I've written here - life has been busy, challenging and changing! But it's time to move on to "The Next Chapter" as retirement opens up opportunities to share my on-going journey of applying daily Divine downloads to what I'm going through, learning through, healing through and sharing with others with the intent and hope that it might help them too. My name is Tracy Medling. I’m a wife, a mother and grandmother, a sister

This morning when I woke up, with a smile on my face before I even opened my eyes - my brain reconnected with a song I heard on my way...

I read a devotional this morning in Our Daily Bread that talked about The Whispering Gallery in St. Paul's Cathedral in London. It spoke...