I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Trust the Power of the In-Between The Ordinary Series – Part 6

As believers, when it comes to Easter, we focus on Good Friday, when Jesus died for the sins of the world, and Easter Sunday, when He rose from the grave to defeat death once and for all. Both of these days deserve every ounce of our awe and celebration. They are the visible markers of love and victory—the cross where the price was paid and the empty tomb where death was disarmed. But what about the day in-between? What about Saturday? That ordinary, quiet, grief-stricken day between the heartbreak and the miracle. The day when heaven seemed silent and hope felt buried. The day most of us skip over… but shouldn’t. Because even though it looked like nothing was happening, everything was already in motion. Scripture gives us a glimpse behind the veil: “He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, He went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits…” —1 Peter 3:18–19 Jesus didn’t wait for Sunday to start moving. He didn’t rest in death. He descended into the very den of death itself—and declared victory. To the author of death. To the powers of darkness. To the realm

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I Choose Today to Recognize the Good

“Every good and perfect gift is from above…” James 1:17 (NIV) I don’t always recognize the good. Not because it’s not there, but because I’m often too distracted to notice it. But God’s goodness? It hasn’t stopped flowing — even when life has felt heavy, or lonely, or hard. It’s not always loud or obvious. Sometimes it looks like a kind word, an unexpected text, a quiet morning, or strength for one more step. I remember when I was really sick for a long time. I had friend just show up with some soup and vitamins. She sat with me and just chatted for a while. It didn’t fix anything, but it reminded me that God hadn’t left. That even in my hard moments, His goodness still found me. Moments like that have changed the way I see things. Because when we train our eyes to look for His goodness, we begin to realize how present He’s always been. Romans 8:28 says that God works all things together for good — not just the pleasant or easy things. That means the pain, the waiting, the uncertainty — none of it is wasted. He’s working even when we don’t feel it,

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I Choose Today to Be Anchored in the Middle

The Ordinary – Part 5 This morning, during my quiet time, one word kept surfacing and pulling at my heart: The middle. It kept circling—gently, quietly, but persistently. Like the Lord was inviting me to lean in and listen. So I did. And this is what came out: What happens in the middle? In the middle of an asked and answered prayer. In the middle of a crisis. In the middle of the ordinary. In the middle of healing. Forgiving. Trusting. Believing. Growing. Being still. Surviving. Thriving. Crying. Mourning. Trauma. Tragedy. Sickness. Uncertainty. Loneliness. Hoping. Waiting. The middle isn’t usually where we want to be. We love beginnings—the excitement, the spark, the newness. We long for endings—the relief, the closure, the breakthrough. But the middle? The middle feels slow. Unsettling. Foggy. Often painful. And sometimes… silent. But here’s what I’m learning: The middle is where most of life happens. It’s where our faith gets stretched. Where our roots grow deep. Where transformation begins to unfold—not in an instant, but in the unseen, ordinary, day-by-day steps. And I think that’s why so many people get lost in the middle. Because without an anchor, without hope, it’s easy to drift. Easy to

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I Choose Today to Practice

The other day I was watching the show Amazing Race. The participants were challenged to learn a dance from another culture and then perform it in front of judges who would determine whether or not they got all the steps and nuances correct. They would pick an instructor to teach them what they needed to know. But it wasn’t until they went out to preform the dance, did they understand where they needed to practice some more. Watching their instructors was not enough, they needed to practice and refine their skills to succeed. This reminds me of what Paul says in Philippians 4:9, where he encourages us to put into practice what we’ve learned in our faith. “Keep putting into practice all you have learned and received from me-everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Just like the contestants on The Amazing Race, we can’t just watch others live out their faith—we have to step out and do it ourselves. We can read the Bible, listen to sermons, and learn from great teachers, but at some point, we have to apply what we’ve learned. And just like those contestants,

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I Choose Today to Refuel

Anyone who has ever driven a car knows the tension of watching the fuel gauge dip lower and wondering, Do I have enough to make it? Maybe you’ve even miscalculated, convinced you could push just a little farther—only to end up stranded, waiting for help. Looking back, the reason for not stopping to refuel often boils down to I didn’t have time. But that logic quickly falls apart when we realize that running out of fuel actually cost us more time, energy, and stress than simply stopping would have. The same is true in our spiritual lives. If we don’t take time to refuel, we risk running on empty—pushing ourselves until we are drained, anxious, or worse, unable to move forward in what God has for us. Even though I study God’s Word, listen to sermons, podcasts, and teachings to equip me for writing and speaking, I can’t rely on those things alone. If I don’t take intentional time to personally refuel with God—to be filled with His Spirit, wisdom, and power—I’ll find myself depleted, running on fumes, and unable to fully step into what He’s calling me to. Even Jesus, while fully God, operated in complete dependence on the

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