This is an adapted excerpt from Take Heart: God's Comfort for Anxious Thoughts by Lindsay Hausch.

A daily rhythm of time in God’s Word and in prayer is a way to abide in God. As we do these things, He rearranges our hearts and aligns them with His. This is a way to soften and prepare for the storms that test our hearts and our faith. For me, there are days when this happens over coffee at the breakfast table with kids chomping down their bananas, chatting and clambering for my attention. Sometimes, this is all that my season of life can accommodate, and so I take what I can get. I’ve learned that waiting for the “best” time for daily devotions means they don’t happen.

Who is this God who allows suffering, loss, and pain? Why did He let you be tossed into the miry pit of misery anyway? If that is how God works, why would you want to have anything to do with Him? For one important reason: in this hurting and broken world, there is no one else who can lift you out and bring you through.

“You can’t be like everybody else. You’ll have to work twice as hard for half as much.”

This blog post is adapted from Equipped: The Armor of God for Everyday Struggles by Rev. Christopher Kennedy.

I’m a pretty active and avid social media user. I’m not a part of the generation that has grown up with social media all around, but I did get my first email account when I was 12. I used it to message my cousins and other close friends before I was allowed to get a Facebook account. I know the power of social media. I’ve seen it used for good as a means to fund a child’s dream or help a family down on its luck. I’ve seen communities form and friendships flourish. But I’ve also seen it create rifts. With such a powerful tool, sin enters. What is good can also sour.

We Christians know that when we witness to Christ’s resurrection and salvation, we do so with the help of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we need to be aware that our social media use affects our witness. Here are three tips for making sure your social media posts are used for God’s glory.

Today, we turn to The Christian Year of Grace for answers to questions about the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord.

Although many traditionally associate February with love on Valentine’s Day, the best love ever received is the love that God shows to His creation each day. What a true blessing it is to be so deeply loved by the Creator, who sent His Son to pay for our sins! The Bible is full of examples of God’s love throughout its pages.

It’s the time of year that I love and loathe. I love the new and the fresh and the possible. But I’m not great at making plans or evaluating what happened over the last twelve months. I’m not great at setting goals or working out how to achieve those goals. Yet planning and evaluating are natural things to do at the end of a year, and although I’m looking forward to 2021, I feel pressure to plan the work I will do. I am much better at flying by the seat of my pants than establishing a plan for my work.

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:1–2