I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Shine My Light

The other night, I got up in the middle of the night and noticed how dark the house felt. Everything was still, shadowed, and quiet. Yet I didn’t have to turn on a single light. Why? Because the soft glow of the moon through my bathroom window was enough to guide me. Just a sliver of light—barely there—was all I needed to navigate the darkness without stumbling. I couldn’t help but think about how God did the very same thing in creation. Genesis tells us that in the beginning, there was a dark, lifeless void—until God said, “Let there be light.” That moment changed everything. And even after He separated day from night, He didn’t leave the darkness completely dark. He gave us the moon and the stars—small, flickering lights that pierce the night sky. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 NLT). Sometimes, this world feels like that dark room. News headlines, heartbreak, and the heaviness of life can make it feel like the shadows are winning. But if we belong to Him, His

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I Choose Today to See Through the Lens of the Cross

Sometimes it’s hard to see beyond what’s broken. We look around at the world—or at our own lives—and all we see is what’s been lost, what’s gone wrong, or what hasn’t changed. But the Cross invites us to see differently. Not just to believe that Jesus died for us, but to begin seeing everything—people, pain, purpose—through what He already finished. This isn’t just about how God sees us. It’s about how we’re called to see the world: through the lens of redemption, not ruin. Through resurrection, not regret. Through the lens of the Cross. We often speak of Jesus’ death and resurrection as a personal victory—and it is. But it’s also more. When Jesus gave His life and took it back up again, He redefined reality. He ushered in a new way of seeing everything: a way where mercy triumphs over judgment, where sin doesn’t get the last word, and where hope rises from the most unexpected places. When we speak and live from that truth—from what Jesus has already accomplished—our words begin to carry the fragrance of resurrection. We stop echoing people’s pain and start calling out their purpose. We stop fixating on the past and start pointing to

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I Choose Today to Worship—Even Here

(from Episode 18 of the I Choose Today podcast) I’ve had Isaiah 43:1–2 highlighted in my Bible for years. You’ve probably seen them before too—verses that speak to God’s presence in the hard places. “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” They’re the kind of verses you cling to when life gets hard. But recently, it wasn’t the verses I had highlighted that stopped me. It was verse 4. “Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.” I had to just sit with that. This isn’t surface-level love. This is sacrificial love. Personal love. The kind of love that says, “I see you. I choose you. I gave everything for you.” There have been seasons where I couldn’t grasp that kind of love. Seasons when shame clouded my vision,

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I Choose Today to Be a Mirror

My hope and prayer is that my actions reflect God’s goodness to those who see me. I desire to represent God to those in my sphere of influence—even to those I interact with at the store, at the coffee shop, or those I pass along the street. I want them to see my face reflecting God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit—through my countenance, in my smile, and through my eyes. How do I do this? How can I know and reflect Jesus? John 1:1 tells us how: “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is the Word. Knowing Jesus is knowing the Word of God! How awesome is that? Like any relationship, it grows with time and intentionality. When I first met my husband, we spent all our free time together, getting to know each other—our likes, dislikes, tendencies, mannerisms, and personalities. As the years have passed, we’ve continued to make intentional time for one another, investing in what matters to each other, and growing together. Lasting relationships, like marriage, take time, intentionality, commitment, and love. And as the Church, we are the bride of Christ. That means we

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I Choose Today to See the Story of Relationship

Podcast Episode 16 Recently, during my quiet time, the Holy Spirit gave me an ah-ha moment that I couldn’t shake. It was simple but profound: the entire Bible—from beginning to end—is a story of relationship. Not just truth. Not just rules. But a love story. A pursuit. A God who wants to walk with us. If you’ve studied storytelling, you know every good story has an arc. There’s intention, conflict, a turning point, and a resolution. And the Bible follows that arc perfectly: God created us for relationship. Sin broke it. God pursued us through covenant. He sent Jesus to restore what was lost. And one day, we’ll walk with Him again—face to face. God says it so clearly in Exodus 6:7: “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” This has always been His heart. But somewhere along the way, that message gets buried. Instead of intimacy, many hear: “Follow the rules.” “Serve more.” “Believe harder.” “Do better.” And all of that can drown out God’s invitation to simply be with Him. This truth stirred something deep in me. I feel like I’m carrying a message that could shift how we see God,

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