SEPTEMBER 14, 2026

 True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging does not require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.

― BRENE' BROWN

PROVERBS 25-27

19As water reflects the face,

so one’s life reflects the heart. (27:19)

2 CORINTHIANS 6

3We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

JOURNAL 

There is something powerful in the idea that “one’s life reflects the heart.” What I consistently do reveals what is actually being formed within me. Effort, grit, discipline and teamwork are not simply qualities needed to win a game or accomplish a goal. They are outward expressions of an inward condition. They reveal what I believe, what I value and ultimately who I am becoming.

Effort is the willingness to give what I have today. It refuses to wait for perfect circumstances, motivation or recognition. Paul describes hard work, sleepless nights and hunger. There is something sacred about simply giving everything I have to the work God has placed in front of me. Effort says that this moment matters and therefore what I do with it matters.

Grit is what keeps that effort alive when circumstances become difficult. Paul speaks of endurance through troubles, hardships and distress, through glory and dishonor, through good report and bad report. Grit is not pretending that something does not hurt. It is deciding that difficulty will not determine who I become. It is carrying the cross when carrying it becomes uncomfortable.

Discipline gives direction to effort and grit. Jesus says to count the cost before building the tower. There is intention in that. Discipline understands that becoming something worthwhile requires choosing what matters most over what feels easiest right now. It is surrendering comfort, impulses and excuses because I have decided beforehand who I want to become and, more importantly, who God is calling me to become.

Teamwork turns personal strength outward. Paul describes endurance alongside patience, kindness and sincere love. The purpose of becoming stronger is not simply so that I can stand alone. It is so that I can help the people beside me stand. My effort affects them. My attitude affects them. My discipline affects them. When I quit, complain or become selfish, that affects them too. Everything I do either adds something to the people around me or takes something away.

Maybe this is where true belonging is ultimately found. I do not need a team, group or another person to give me my identity. That identity comes from God. But because I know whose I am, I am free to give myself completely to others. I can work without needing recognition, endure without needing sympathy, discipline myself when nobody is watching and sacrifice for the person beside me without asking what I will receive in return.

Effort gives all I have. Grit keeps me going. Discipline keeps me true. Teamwork reminds me that none of it is only about me.

That is a life reflecting the heart. And if the heart belongs to God, then these things become more than pillars written on a wall. They become evidence of His Spirit being lived out through me.

25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

LUKE 14:25-35

SEPTEMBER 13, 2026

 “The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”

 ― Kalu Ndukwe Kalu

PROVERBS 23-24

30I went past the field of a sluggard,

past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;

31thorns had come up everywhere,

the ground was covered with weeds,

and the stone wall was in ruins.

32I applied my heart to what I observed

and learned a lesson from what I saw:

33A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest—

34and poverty will come on you like a thief

and scarcity like an armed man. (24:30-34)

2 CORINTHIANS 5

 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin^b for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

JOURNAL 

Kalu Ndukwe Kalu said that the things I do for myself will disappear when I am gone, but what I do for others remains as my legacy. Maybe the important realization is that legacy is not something I leave behind someday. I am creating it right now, in thousands of seemingly insignificant moments. Every conversation, every task, every problem, every opportunity to work, every person who crosses my path is an opportunity to live. And because these moments will never come again, they are precious.

Proverbs paints the picture of a vineyard slowly being overtaken by weeds. What strikes me is that it did not happen all at once. It happened through neglect. “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands.” Maybe one of the greatest dangers in life is not some catastrophic failure, but simply failing to recognize the value of what is right in front of me. Waiting for something better. Wishing away the difficult parts. Rushing through work. Resenting problems. Living mentally in tomorrow while today quietly disappears.

But what if I could see it differently? What if the vineyard itself is the gift? The weeds that need pulling, the wall that needs repairing, the ground that needs tending. Those things are not keeping me from life. They are life. The work is precious because I am here to do it. The problem is precious because I have been given an opportunity to engage it. The conversation is precious because this exact moment with this person will never exist again.

Paul says that we are Christ’s ambassadors, “as though God were making his appeal through us.” That gives extraordinary significance to ordinary moments. God can make His appeal through the way I teach a student, coach a player, speak to my family, respond to frustration, solve a problem, encourage someone, or simply give another person my complete attention. There does not have to be an audience. There does not have to be recognition. There only has to be a willingness to be fully present and allow Christ to live through me.

Galatians 2:20 takes it even deeper: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Surrender, then, is not withdrawing from life. It is entering life more completely. It is surrendering my obsession with outcomes, tomorrow, comfort, and myself so that I can actually inhabit the moment God has given me.

That may be the secret to an amazing life. Not accumulating extraordinary experiences, but developing the eyes to recognize how extraordinary ordinary life already is. The hard practice. The early morning. The unfinished work. The person who needs me. The unexpected problem. The quiet drive home. The meal around a table. The laughter. The disappointment. Even the struggle. All of it says the same thing: I am alive, God is here, and I have another opportunity to love.

Someday there will be no more vineyards for me to tend, no more problems to solve, no more practices to coach, no more conversations to have, no more people to serve. That makes these things precious now.

So I don't want to merely get through today. I want to receive it. I want to work it, love through it, struggle through it, laugh through it, and give myself to it. I want to see every moment as another opportunity for Christ to live through me.

 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

GALATIANS 2:20

SEPTEMBER 12, 2026

   “I must be willing to give whatever it takes to do good to others. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is no true love in me, and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.” 

― Mother Teresa

PROVERBS 21-22 

25The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,

because his hands refuse to work.

26All day long he craves for more,

but the righteous give without sparing. (21:25-26)

2 CORINTHIANS 4

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

JOURNAL 

Working, giving, and loving are the natural results of being transformed by God’s love. When I truly understand that I am already loved, my attention no longer has to remain fixed on myself, what I need, what I fear, or what tomorrow might bring. I am free to become fully present to the life God has given me today. I can work, serve, give, and love the person standing in front of me. Mother Teresa’s words, “give until it hurts,” challenge me because that kind of love requires more than good intentions. It requires my presence. It asks me to give myself completely to this moment rather than constantly protecting myself for some imagined future.

Maybe that is why surrender has to happen every morning. Yesterday’s surrender cannot live today for me. No matter how faithful, productive, joyful, or present I was yesterday, today is a new life placed into my hands. My heart will follow whatever I feed it. If I feed it fear, craving, comparison, distraction, or concern about tomorrow, I will slowly leave the present moment. But if I surrender again to God, I can return to what is actually here: this person, this problem, this work, this conversation, this opportunity to love.

“There are no days off” does not mean I must live exhausted or constantly striving. It means there are no days that are disposable. There are no ordinary days to rush through on the way to something better. Today is where God is. Today is where I can love. Today is where I can work. Today is where I can give. Even the difficulty of today belongs here. Paul says that although outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Not someday. Not when everything is finally settled. Day by day.

Jesus tells me to remain in His love. That is presence. Remain here. Abide here. Receive His love and then give it to whoever God places in front of me. When I do that, tomorrow no longer needs to be solved today. Yesterday no longer needs to be relived. I simply have to give myself to the life that is happening right now.

Perhaps this is where complete joy is found. Not in finally arranging life so that nothing hurts, but in becoming completely available to God within the life I already have. To work when there is work to do. To rest when it is time to rest. To listen when someone needs me. To face the problem that is actually in front of me. To love without calculating what I will receive in return. To give even when giving costs me something.

Today is not preparation for my life.

Today is my life.

 9As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 

JOHN 15:9-12

SEPTEMBER 11, 2026

 “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to 

succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.” 

― Abraham Lincoln

PROVERBS 19-20

21Many are the plans in a person’s heart,

but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

22What a person desires is unfailing love^b ;

better to be poor than a liar. (19:21-22)

2 CORINTHIANS 3

4Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

JOURNAL 

God's God’s purpose and His Spirit are what ultimately prevail. I can make plans, pursue goals, prepare, work, and try to solve the problems in front of me, but none of those outcomes are ultimately mine to control. What is mine is today. What is mine is the opportunity to be faithful to the light I have been given, to work, to love, and to allow God’s Spirit to be reflected through me in whatever this day brings.

That may be the lesson I take most deeply from 9/11. On that morning, thousands of people woke up believing they were beginning another ordinary day. They went to work, boarded airplanes, dropped children off, kissed spouses goodbye, answered phones, sat in meetings, and began working through whatever problems happened to be in front of them. None of them knew that before the day was over, countless individual stories of courage, sacrifice, fear, love, loss, and heroism would be permanently etched into history.

We remember those stories because we know what happened that day. But how many days have passed since then that I have treated as ordinary? How many mornings have I rushed through because my mind was already living in tomorrow? How many tasks have I viewed simply as something to finish so I could get to the next thing? How many problems have I resented rather than recognizing that the way I respond to that problem is itself part of the story of my life?

Maybe a day is its own life. Maybe every task, conversation, problem, practice, class, relationship, and difficult moment is its own little story. It has a beginning, a struggle, an opportunity to respond, and an ending. I do not have to carry tomorrow while I am living it. I simply need to be willing to work today, and then work the task in front of me as though it matters, because it does.

That changes work from something I endure into something I am privileged to participate in. It changes problems from interruptions into opportunities to practice faith, discipline, courage, patience, and love. I am not bound to win every battle or produce every outcome I desire. As Lincoln said, I am bound to be true. I am bound to live faithfully according to the light I have been given.

Twenty-five years from now, today may seem insignificant. But that is only because I cannot yet see its entire story. The people who woke up on September 11, 2001 could not see theirs either. That is why today deserves to be cherished, not by avoiding work or difficulty, but by entering fully into both. Work the problem. Love the person. Teach the class. Coach the player. Make the call. Face the difficult thing. Give everything this moment deserves, and then surrender the outcome to God.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Perhaps part of that freedom is being released from the burden of controlling tomorrow so that I can finally inhabit today. God has given me this day. My responsibility is not to determine how the story ends. It is to faithfully live the part of the story He has placed in front of me.

And if I can do that, then no day is ordinary...

 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:16-18

SEPTEMBER 10, 2026

    “Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 

"Pooh!" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?"

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you.” 

― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

PROVERBS 17-18

17A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for a time of adversity. (17:17)

2 CORINTHIANS 2

17Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

JOURNAL 

Wow...there is something incredibly powerful in the simple desire Piglet expresses: “I just wanted to be sure of you.” I think that is something buried deep within all of us. We want to know there is someone who will still be there when things fall apart, someone who will not disappear when we fail, disappoint them, struggle, or become difficult to love. Proverbs says, “A friend loves at all times,” not simply when friendship is easy, convenient, or deserved. Adversity is where that kind of love reveals itself.

I have been incredibly blessed to experience this kind of love. Through friends, family, my children, and especially Marcella, God has allowed me to know what it feels like to be sure of someone. I have experienced love without a price tag attached to it, love that has remained through heartache, disappointment, mistakes, and failure. There is an incredible security in knowing, “No matter what happens, I am still loved.” Father, thank you for allowing me to experience Your love through the people You have placed in my life.

But maybe the greatest lesson isn't that I should spend my life searching for people who will love me this way. Maybe God's call is for me to be this kind of love. Instead of asking, “Who will be there for me?” perhaps I should be asking, “Who can be sure of me?” Who knows that when they fall, I will help them back up? Who knows that when they disappoint me, I will not abandon them? Who knows that when they are struggling, broken, afraid, or difficult to love, I will remain beside them?

That changes everything. Love stops being something I am trying to obtain and becomes something I am called to give. Maybe that is part of why receiving unconditional love is such an incredible blessing. It teaches us what love actually looks like so that we can become it for someone else. God loves us faithfully, then places people in our lives who demonstrate that faithfulness, and ultimately calls us to carry it forward. “A friend loves at all times.” Not because the other person always deserves it, but because love itself is the calling.

I have spent much of my life grateful for the people I can be sure of. Perhaps the greater question for the life ahead of me is, who can be sure of me? Father, thank You for the extraordinary blessing of being loved this way. Now teach me not merely to search for this kind of love, but to become it. Let my life be a place where others can reach for my hand and simply know, “I just wanted to be sure of you.” And may the way I live, love, forgive, and remain faithfully beside them always answer, “You can be.”

9Two are better than one,because they have a good return for their labor:10If either of them falls down,one can help the other up.But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

ECCLESIASTES 4:9-10