I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Worship—Even Here

Molinda Hern July 26, 2025

(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 Speak Life

Molinda Hern July 1, 2025

I’ve heard an analogy many times over the years—one I’ve repeated myself because it sticks with me so deeply: A hummingbird and a vulture fly over the same desert. One searches for life, the other for death. Both find exactly what they’re looking for. Isn’t that just like our words? The way we speak—to ourselves and to others—has the power to bring life or to tear it down. What we search for in people and situations often reflects the posture of our own hearts. And what we speak into the lives around us can shape realities we may never fully see. Some of the words spoken over me growing up were meant to kill. Not physically, but emotionally, spiritually. Words that tried to crush my self-worth, belittle my dreams, and silence my voice. But God. The more I’ve sat with Him in prayer, soaked in His Word, and allowed His truth to speak louder than the lies, the more those old words have lost their grip. God placed encouragers in my life—people who speak life, not just to me, but over me. They remind me who I am in Christ and, more importantly, who He is in me. And you

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I Choose Today to Follow—Flaws and All

Molinda Hern June 28, 2025

My husband and I were having one of our morning coffee conversations when he shared something that left him unsettled. He had been reading in Genesis about Abraham and Isaac—how both of them lied to King Abimelech, each claiming their wife was their sister out of fear. And then, after Sarah died, Abraham took more wives and concubines (Genesis 25:1–6). It made us pause. How could someone like that be chosen by God? It’s a question many of us have asked. We read these stories and wonder: why would God use someone so obviously flawed to carry out something so holy? Abraham—the father of our faith—wasn’t flawless. He came from a family of idol makers (Joshua 24:2). He made mistakes. He doubted God’s promises. He lied out of fear. And yet, God chose him. Their failures show that even those chosen by God are flawed. This is not an endorsement of their behavior—it’s a reflection point. A reminder that God works through real, messy people to accomplish His perfect will. If anything, their shortcomings highlight just how incredible God’s grace and patience really are. God called Abraham to go—to leave his home, his comfort, and everything familiar. Not because Abraham

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I Choose Today to Keep His Name Holy

Molinda Hern June 17, 2025

How many times have we read or recited the Lord’s Prayer without really paying attention to the first line? I know I’ve skimmed past it plenty of times—eager to get to what feels like the “meat” of the message: asking for my daily needs, seeking forgiveness, and asking for protection throughout my day. But that first line? That’s where it all begins. Jesus teaches us to pray like this: “Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy.” (Matthew 6:9) So, what does it actually mean to keep His name holy? And because this is a prayer we’re meant to return to daily, maybe the better question is: How do I keep God’s name holy today? Tomorrow? And every day after that? How do I live in a way that reflects His holiness to those around me? If I’m honest, it feels like an impossible task. On our own, we couldn’t keep His name holy. But we’re not on our own. Because of Jesus—because we’ve been adopted as God’s children—we’ve been made holy in Him (Hebrews 10:10). And as we walk in step with the Spirit, He empowers us to live in a way that reflects that holiness to

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I Choose Today to Believe I am God’s Beloved Child

Molinda Hern June 14, 2025

You know the Bible tells us how much God loves His Son. He created all things through Him, for Him. He delights in Him so much that He didn’t move heaven and earth for him, He made heaven and earth for Him! That is a lot of love! And since He SO loves us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die so we can be coheirs with Christ as God’s children. When God sees you, when God sees me, He see us through the lens of Christ, whom He made heaven and earth for, whom He delights. So does that mean He loves and delights in us the same as He loves and delights in Christ? Yes! But here is the thing, do we honestly believe God loves us that much? Delights in us that much? Because it seems too good to be true, right? I mean, I’m sure God loves us, but not that much, right? Metaphorically, it’s like God looks at us through glass—and that glass is Jesus. What He sees is not our mess or our mistakes, but the righteousness of His Son. Scripture tells us we are hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3), clothed in Him (Galatians

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