Daily Devotionals

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to serve for three weeks at a Christian summer camp for orphans in the Ukraine. This camp was right by a river and mountain, and in the side of the mountain was the Sviatohirsk Cave Monastery. While we were there, we were able to tour the monastery, which...

Growing up, I was blessed with the gift of watching a godly marriage in action. My parents served each other on a daily basis. They loved each other through every situation that life handed them with laughter and support. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to see their dating life in...

Baking is an exact science, especially when you make pastry dough. Pastry gets its flakiness from the layers and layers of butter rolled out between layers and layers of dough, but the process to get to those layers is painstaking. The butter and water added to the dough must be extremely cold...

I crave order in my life. Everything should have a place and should always be returned to its location. My calendar is color-coded. I have a system for how I read books and do chores and plan meals. Some might even call me a control freak. I would say that I just prefer everything in life to be...

My husband and I recently celebrated 20 years of being married. It was a sweet day, filled with little things that have become some of my favorite parts of marriage. Just a short 24 hours after that day, several life challenges came our way. It seemed like we could not catch a break. From car...

Whenever I know that I am going to meet someone for the first time, I immediately research them on the many social media platforms. I want to know who they are, what their interests are, and how they present themselves to the world. Bios are especially intriguing to me because you must label...

Motel 6 has a famous ad campaign that says, “We’ll leave the light on for you.” In Luke chapter 10, a young lawyer asks Jesus the definition of neighbor, and Jesus famously answers him with the parable of the Good Samaritan. This parable is well-known by believers and many...

I jumped out of bed, startled by the morning light. My alarm hadn’t gone off. Quickly, I grabbed my phone to see why. My phone would not even turn on. It was unplugged, and the battery was dead. About that time, my sweet teenager stuck her head in my room to ask to borrow a sweater, and I...

Grapevines will grow in nearly any kind of soil or climate, so most people believe that growing grapes is fairly easy. However, when the vines are first planted, they require a ton of care and attention for them to be able to produce fruit annually. In fact, in the first two years after planting...