I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Open the Door to More

One of my favorite things is to have a meal with family and friends. For a long time, I had wanted a big round table—one where everyone could visit easily, rather than being limited to just the people sitting near them at a rectangle table. A few years ago, I finally got my table and have put it to good use! For our Bible Study group, we share a meal together each week before we have our study. We sit around our large round table, relaxed, sharing stories, sharing our desires, hopes, and sometimes our pain. We bond over each other’s experiences; we laugh together, cry together, dream together. We open up our hearts to each other and give a glimpse of ourselves. Sharing a meal with them is an intimate time of connection around this large round table. One of my favorite times of my week. Have you ever had that experience with your family and/or friends? Does it bring a smile to your face and joy in your heart like it does mine? Now, imagine that same warmth, that same connection—but with Jesus Himself. Jesus wants this type of opportunity with you too. He said it Himself in

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I Choose Today to Celebrate His Legacy

Today, my son would have turned 31 years old. Though his life was brief, it left an eternal imprint on my heart. The memories I have of him are tender, precious, and irreplaceable. Losing him to SIDS was a heartbreak that shook my soul, but his life continues to shape the way I love, live, and trust God. Grief is a journey, one that doesn’t truly end but evolves as time passes. What I’ve learned along the way is that God meets us in the middle of our sorrow. Psalm 34:18 reminds us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” This has been my experience: God’s presence has been my refuge, His promises my anchor. As I reflect on my son’s life today, I am reminded of the lessons his brief time on earth taught me. His life, though short, revealed the beauty and depth of love—a love that doesn’t end when life on this earth does. His legacy reminds me to cherish the small, fleeting moments and to trust God with every step, even when the road feels impossibly hard. Grief has a way of opening our hearts to see the world

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I Choose Today to Lean on Jesus in My Pain

As a mom, I never want to see my daughter hurting. Over the years, whenever she would be hurting, I would cry out to God. Most of the time I would offer to take her place in her pain. I wanted to take her pain so she didn’t have to experience it. I love her that much. You know, there is someone else who loves her even more than I do. In fact, not only does He love her, but He loves all of us enough to want to stop our hurting. His name is Jesus. Jesus did just what I described above. He took on our hurt, our pain, even our mistakes and rebellion, and He died for us. Isaiah tells us, “But [in fact] [Jesus] has borne our griefs, And He has carried our sorrows and pains… and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.” (Isaiah 53:4a & 5b) Maybe you have cried out to Jesus to take away your hurt, your pain, and yet, you still feel it. Maybe you are experiencing the same problems and circumstances that cause you pain. But even if He doesn’t change your circumstances (yet), He can

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I Choose Today to Tidy Up

When I clean, I have been known to be a shover. I shove things in drawers, closets, cabinets, whatever I can do to hide things so my space looks tidy. On the surface, everything appears tidy, but inside those drawers, closets, and cabinets, there’s a mess that still needs to be dealt with. Being a shover of our mess when it comes to life, is not the way to go either. Because sooner or later, that mess will demand to be addressed. Unaddressed hurts or mistakes can seep into our actions, attitudes, and even relationships, catching us off guard. Often, we don’t realize how much the mess we’ve buried affects the way we respond to others. For example, when I have made a mistake or been hurt by a situation, instead of dealing with it directly, I tend to shove it down and ignore it. This leads to all kinds of issues. Believe it or not, our mess tends to manifest in ways we don’t even realize. This mess reared its ugly head when my husband gave me feedback about something. I had an inordinate response that was completely over the top! So why did I have that kind of

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I Choose Today to be Christ’s Hands and Feet: Go

As we continue to see the example Jesus left for us regarding how He used His hands and feet, I want to turn to where He went. In Jesus’ three-year ministry, He went to the people. He went from town to town teaching people – Matthew 9:35 – “Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom.” He met their physical and spiritual needs – ”… And He healed every kind of disease and illness.” Matthew‬ ‭9‬:‭35‬b ‭NLT‬‬ Jesus went to people’s houses and built relationships with them (even sinners!) – Mark 2:15 – “Later, Levi invited Jesus and His disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)” He sought out the unclean and those who recognize their need for a savior. Mary Magdalene, Matthew (Levi), Zacchaeus. He was even chastised for eating and communing with such sinners. But that didn’t deter Jesus from going to the people; the ones who broken and needed healing. He intentionally  “…came to seek and to save the lost.” He went to

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