I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to See Through God’s Lens

My husband and I recently finished some projects for my office. One of the projects is a soundproofing wall panel. It turned out beautifully, but there is a flaw—an imperfection. The flaw isn’t visible unless it is viewed from a certain angle. Now that I know it’s there, the flaw is all I see. Even though the flaw is obvious to me, not one other person who has seen the end result has noticed it. It’s the same with our own flaws: I’m too tall, too big, don’t speak well, not creative, don’t have any talents, not smart enough, good enough, or quick-thinking enough. Sound familiar? Or maybe the flaws you see in yourself are different. When you look at yourself, those flaws are all you see—you cannot seem to unsee them. When we continue to focus on our flaws, we end up putting limits on our lives, our effectiveness, and our uniqueness. We see others differently—we notice their talents, beauty, and abilities and compare them to our own flaws. We get stuck in this cycle. Even though, as the co-creator of the wall panel, I can see all the flaws, the panel hasn’t lost its usefulness or intent. Same

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I Choose Today to Cling to Our Jesus

When we are going through suffering, pain, loss, tragedy, trauma, it can seem like there is no hope, no way past this pain, no end. And maybe one of the worst feelings of all is feeling like we are alone. I am intimately acquainted with all of these emotions; all of these feelings. I know what it feels like to be in the waters of grief. A friend of mine explained grief this way, “Grief is like waves; sometimes the waves are low and just tickle our feet, but other times the waves are so high that they nearly drown us.” When I lost my son to SIDS, the waves of grief were relentless. Some days, I could only manage to whisper His name through the tears. But even then, I knew I wasn’t alone. What do we do with all these overwhelming emotions and the ache of feeling alone? We call out to the One who walks with us. Call to the One who bore our suffering on the cross. Our Jesus. There is a song called Our Jesus, by Amanda Cook (link below). In the chorus she sings, “Oh, how gracious is the God who came to us

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I Choose Today to Be Deeply Formed by God

Recently, I learned about a wonderful tool to get closer to the Lord. It is called Contemplative Prayer. We are called to a deeper faith—a life shaped by contemplative prayer, self-examination, and transformation through God. It’s not just about doing the right things; it’s about being molded by God’s presence so that we can love as He loves, extend grace and mercy like He does, and walk fully in the purpose He has called us to embrace. Throughout Scripture, we see God use seasons of stillness and waiting to prepare His people. David, Moses, and Joseph all experienced times of solitude and transformation before stepping into the roles God had for them (1 Samuel 13:14, 16:13). David was known as a man after God’s own heart even before he became king. Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness tending sheep before leading the Israelites out of slavery. Joseph endured 13 years in difficult circumstances, growing through prayer and self-examination, before he was elevated to save nations from famine. These seasons weren’t wasted—they were essential in forming their hearts to align with God’s purpose. As Psalm 46:10 reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Contemplative prayer is about

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I Choose Today to be Protected

Protected. We spend a lot of time, energy and money trying to protect ourselves. I know for instance, in our home we have smoke alarms that also detect carbon monoxide, sprinklers in case a fire breaks out, and an alarm system on our home in case there is an intruder. But all these things are reactive. They tell us when danger is happening not before the danger even exist. We strive to protect ourselves, but God offers a deeper kind of protection, one that knows the danger coming and goes beyond our ability to anticipate it. That’s exactly what God originally designed for us. In the garden, God protected Adam and Eve from the effects of sin. But when they ate from the tree of knowledge, they became exposed to sin and evil on a personal, intimate level. Though sin is now part of our world, God remains our protector, offering His presence and guidance in the middle of the brokenness. Though sin is now a reality, the good news is that God remains committed to being our protector, as David reminds us throughout the Psalms. Psalms 121:5-8 shows this. Verse 5 says, “The Lord watches over you, the Lord

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I Choose Today to Prevail

Have you ever struggled? Struggled with a relationship, finances, your weight? Struggled with a decision—choosing between your way or God’s way? Or maybe even with faith itself, wondering how God could be good with so much hardship happening around you? I know the feeling. One of the deepest struggles I’ve faced was trusting in God’s goodness after experiencing the heartbreaking loss of my son to SIDS. I can still remember the rawness of those moments: yelling, crying, and wrestling with God. It felt like I was struggling alone, silently holding pain that no one else could understand. In reflecting on my own struggles, I found deep encouragement in the story of Jacob wrestling with God (Genesis 32:22-32). Jacob’s story is about much more than a physical struggle; it’s about an internal wrestling with identity, sin, and faith. Jacob’s encounter with God teaches us some powerful truths about working through our struggles. 1. Perseverance in the Struggle: Jacob wrestled with God all night and refused to give up, even after being injured. His persistence shows that prevailing isn’t about overpowering God but about enduring with faith. We often face the temptation to quit when things get tough, but Jacob’s story reminds

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