MAY 5, 2026

   "Are you capable of forgiving and accepting in love a world which has disappointed you by not being perfect, a world in which there is so much unfairness and cruelty, disease and crime, earthquake and accident? Can you forgive its imperfections and love it because it is capable of containing great beauty and goodness, and because it is the only world we have?...And if you can do these things, will you be able to recognize that the ability to forgive and the ability to love are the weapons God has given us to enable us to live fully, bravely and meaningfully in this less-than-perfect world?” 

― Harold S. Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People

1 KINGS 10-11

1King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.(11:1-6)

LUKE 24:1-35

1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8Then they remembered his words.

9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

JOURNAL 

It is so easy to get consumed with the challenges of life. Not just distracted by them, but absorbed to the point where they begin to define how we see everything. There are moments when I catch myself wishing it all away, imagining a version of life where there are no problems, no tension, no uncertainty. A life where everything works out exactly how I want it to. On the surface that feels appealing, even justified. But the more I sit with it, the more I see the danger in that way of thinking.

That version of life is not real. And when I begin to expect it, I set myself up to become frustrated, bitter, and even angry when reality does not cooperate. The deeper issue is that many of my wants are not grounded in truth. They are shaped by comfort, control, and self-interest. I want ease. I want clarity. I want outcomes that favor me. But life does not operate on my preferences, and Scripture never pretends that it does.

When I look at Solomon, I do not just see a man who made poor choices. I see someone who had everything most people believe would eliminate struggle. Wisdom, wealth, influence, favor. Yet even he drifted. His story is not unrealistic. It is painfully honest. It reminds me that the problem is not external circumstances alone. It is the condition of the heart. Even in the best situations, the heart can wander when it is not anchored in truth.

David’s life shows something similar. A man after God’s own heart who still made decisions that brought real consequences. His story does not sanitize failure. It reveals it. But it also reveals something deeper. God works within the reality of human weakness, not outside of it.

Then I come to the empty tomb. The women walked toward it carrying spices, expecting death, expecting to finish a process that felt final. Everything about their reality pointed toward loss. But what they found did not match their expectations. The stone was rolled away. Jesus was not there. In the middle of what looked like the ultimate defeat, God revealed something far greater than what they could see or understand.

That is where this begins to shift for me. The beauty of life is not found in the absence of problems. It is found in seeing what God is doing within them. If I spend my energy wishing away hardship, I will miss the very places where God is revealing something deeper. Something stronger. Something more real than my limited understanding.

The world is not perfect. It never has been. There is unfairness, loss, sickness, disappointment, and things that do not make sense. But it is also the place where grace shows up. Where love is revealed. Where redemption becomes visible. If I only focus on what is broken, I will become hardened. If I begin to accept reality as it is, not as I wish it to be, I can start to see the goodness that exists within it.

Forgiveness and love are not passive responses to a broken world. They are active choices that allow me to live fully within it. They keep me from becoming consumed by what is wrong and open my eyes to what is still good. They allow me to trust that even when I do not understand, God is still working.

Loving God with all my heart, soul, and strength is not about escaping reality. It is about stepping fully into it with trust. It is about anchoring myself in something deeper than my circumstances. When I do that, I begin to see differently. I begin to notice beauty where I once only saw frustration. I begin to find purpose where I once felt resistance.

The challenges do not disappear. But they no longer define everything. They become part of a larger story. And in that story, there is still goodness, still growth, still grace.

4Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^a 5Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

DEUTERONOMY 6:4-7

MAY 4, 2026

  “I see a world on the edge of a blade. Without balance, it will fall.” 

― Victoria Aveyard

1 CHRONICLES 11-13

15Three of the thirty chiefs came down to David to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 16At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 17David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 18So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the Lord. 19“God forbid that I should do this!” he said. “Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it.(11:31-33)

JOHN 9:1-23

1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

JOURNAL 

There is something powerful woven throughout Scripture that I can miss if I’m not paying attention. The moments that end up shaping everything are rarely grand on the surface. They are small, ordinary, almost forgettable scenes—a man longing for water, a blind beggar sitting on the side of the road, mud pressed into someone’s eyes followed by a simple command to go and wash. And yet those moments echo through history and shape the faith of billions. That is what stands out to me. The masterpiece is not built in the spotlight; it is built in the details of today.

David’s mighty men did not become legendary in one dramatic act. Their greatness was forged in loyalty, in presence, in choosing devotion in moments no one else would have noticed. Even the story of the water from Bethlehem is not really about water. It is about honor, sacrifice, and recognizing the weight of what others were willing to do. David saw that and refused to treat it casually. In the same way, Jesus did not bypass the blind man in search of something bigger. He stopped, engaged, and used something simple and ordinary to reveal something eternal. What looked insignificant became a moment that displayed the power and heart of God.

That is the invitation in front of me today. As I step into a new week, I do not need to chase something massive to live a meaningful life. The question is much simpler and much more challenging at the same time: what ordinary moments today can I turn into something extraordinary? The answer is not found in striving for recognition or chasing outcomes. It is found in obedience. It is found in refusing to dismiss the small things and instead giving my full attention, effort, and heart to what is right in front of me—a conversation, a responsibility, a moment to choose patience over frustration, presence over distraction. This is where the masterpiece is formed.

Balance comes into this as well because I can easily drift in either direction. I can begin to think too highly of myself and believe I need to do something great to matter, or I can go the other way and believe that what I do does not matter at all. Both are wrong. The truth is that my life matters deeply, but not because of scale. It matters because of faithfulness. The challenge is to live fully engaged in today without making it about myself.

I do that by staying close to God, not occasionally but daily, through small, consistent rhythms of Scripture, prayer, and quiet surrender. When I drift from that, I start chasing the wrong things or minimizing the right ones. David struggled when he was isolated, and the disciples struggled when they relied on their own understanding, but over and over God met them when they returned, when they surrendered, and when they chose to keep showing up. That is the pattern I want to follow.

So today my focus is simple. I want to do what is in front of me with excellence, treat the small things as sacred, choose obedience over convenience, and stay connected to God in every moment, not just the big ones. Because the truth is, the ordinary moments of today are not ordinary at all. They are the brushstrokes of the masterpiece.

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

ROMANS 12:1-2

MAY 3, 2026

 “We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work” 

― Thomas A. Edison

1 KINGS 6-7

51When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.(7:51)

LUKE 23:27-38

32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”^c And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

38There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS

JOURNAL 

Solomon finished the temple—a masterpiece crafted with devotion, detail, and great cost. What began with David’s vision was brought to completion by Solomon’s obedience. The temple was filled with treasures set aside for God—gold, silver, fine furnishings—all devoted, all holy. It was the culmination of sacrifice and faithfulness, a physical space where heaven and earth would meet.

But centuries later, heaven and earth would meet again—this time not in a building, but on a hill called Golgotha.

Jesus, the true temple (John 2:21), was nailed to a cross between two criminals. He was stripped, mocked, and left to die. Instead of being surrounded by gold and priests, He was surrounded by sneers and soldiers. Yet even there, Jesus did what Solomon could not: He became the offering. The temple required gifts; Jesus gave Himself.

His entire life was lived in service and love—never in selfishness. And this, I confess, is where His life confronts mine. While Jesus gave everything, I often find myself pulling back. Retreating. I avoid discomfort. I look for ways around the struggles of honesty, love, and hard work. At its core, sin is often a step backward—a refusal to press into the challenges of obedience and truth.

But Jesus doesn’t confront me to shame me. He confronts me to free me.

The cross reveals not just my sin, but His mercy. Jesus looked at those who crucified Him and said, “Father, forgive them.” That same mercy reaches me. And with it comes a promise: “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Through Christ, I’m invited to stop running and start building—just like Solomon did. Only now, the temple is my heart. I can offer the ordinary pieces of my day—my honesty, my work, my presence—as sacred acts of worship.

Joy isn’t found in escape. It’s not hidden in the next big moment. It’s here—in the now. In choosing love over selfishness, service over comfort, and truth over convenience.

Today is a new altar. Will I place my best on it?

22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

COLOSSIANS 3:22-24

MAY 2, 2026

 “Our story is not only about exile and oppression and suffering. It is the story of thriving, of triumph, and of great faith. It is the story of a people that laughs in the face of deepest despair, that stubbornly clings to life and to joy even in the face of horror and death. We take our pain and turn it into poetry. We take our misfortune and transform it into opportunity.” 

― Daniella Levy

1 KINGS 3-5

7“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 15Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.(3:7-15)

LUKE 23:1-26

13Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” [17]^a

18But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” 19(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

20Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

22For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”

23But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

JOURNAL 

Jesus stood before Pilate, silent and blameless—yet condemned. Pilate, though uneasy, looked for a way out. He knew Jesus was innocent (Luke 23:4), but the pressure of the crowd was louder than the whisper of truth. Public opinion—fickle, loud, and charged with fear—overpowered the still, small voice of justice. And so, the sentence was handed down. Jesus would die.

What a contrast this is to Solomon’s story. In a dream, God invites Solomon to ask for anything (1 Kings 3:5). He could have requested power, riches, or victory over enemies. But Solomon, aware of the weight of leadership, asks for wisdom. He knew that guiding a people was beyond his own ability. And because he asked for wisdom—not wealth or fame—God gave him both. Wisdom, it turns out, was the key to everything else.

This comparison stirs something in me. I wonder—how often do I, like Pilate, let fear and the opinions of others dictate my choices? How often do I, instead of asking for God’s wisdom, anxiously try to control the outcome on my own?

If I'm honest... more than I care to admit. That’s why I need time in God’s Word and in prayer. Without His voice grounding me, the world's noise grows too loud. On my own, I am swayed. But with Him? Scripture reminds me, “God gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). With His Spirit, I can face anything.

Each day is a fresh canvas. I hold the brush—but what story will I paint today? One driven by fear and anxiety, or one led by the quiet, steady hand of God? Will I surrender to the crowd, or will I surrender to Christ?

May I seek Him in every question, every challenge, and every blessing. Because true wisdom—the kind that sees beyond today—can only come from Him.

 26To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.

ECCLESIATES 2:26

MAY 1, 2026

  “Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.” 

― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

1 KINGS 1-2

9Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, 10but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.

11Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it?(1:9-11)...

2“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go" (2:2-3)

LUKE 22:54-71

54Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

57But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

58A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

59About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

60Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62And he went outside and wept bitterly.

JOURNAL 

Lately I have been face to face with something that runs deeper than I want to admit: the pull to medicate and the desire to smooth out discomfort without having to walk through it. Addiction is not just about substances; it is about the universal human longing for peace, love, and harmony. We all want that, and when we find a way to feel it instantly without relationship, without effort, and without sacrifice, it becomes incredibly hard to resist. That is where the danger lives, because when we reach for something that gives us relief without requiring anything from us, we are not just escaping pain, we are slowly disconnecting from the very things that produce real joy.

At the same time, not all pleasure is the problem. God created enjoyment, rest, laughter, and even simple pleasures as good gifts. The distinction is not pleasure itself but the role it plays in our lives. Enjoyment that flows out of a healthy life, rooted in love, discipline, and relationship, strengthens us. But pleasure used to escape life, avoid growth, or replace what is real slowly weakens us. It becomes a substitute instead of a supplement, and that is where things begin to unravel.

God did not design us for shortcuts. He designed us so that love, meaningful work, and relationships, especially when they require sacrifice, actually shape us. They change us and even affect us physically. There is a reinforcement that happens in our minds and bodies when we choose what is good instead of what is easy, and that kind of joy does not spike and disappear but steadies and deepens over time. When we chase the chemical version of that feeling, whatever form it takes, we cheat the system, and cheating any system always comes with a cost. At first it feels like freedom and relief, but over time it hollows us out and leaves us shallow, dissatisfied, and searching for more of something that can never truly satisfy.

C.S. Lewis wrote that gratitude looks to the past and love to the present, while fear and desire are always reaching ahead, and that feels especially true when I think about addiction. Addiction pulls us out of the present and promises something better, easier, and immediate, but it never actually delivers life. Real life is found in the present, even when the present is hard. When I read about Adonijah trying to take the throne, I see someone grasping for control and trying to force an outcome instead of trusting God's design. It looked right on the surface, but it was disconnected from truth. In contrast, David’s charge to Solomon was simple: walk in obedience and stay aligned with what is true, trusting that this path, even when it is slower and harder, leads to life.

Peter felt this same tension. In the courtyard, sitting by the fire, faced with fear and pressure, he chose the immediate escape and denied Jesus to avoid pain. In that moment he medicated his fear with self-preservation, and it broke him, not because he was weak but because he stepped outside of truth to find relief. I see that same pattern in myself. Every time I look for a way to feel better that avoids the work of love, the risk of relationship, or the discipline of obedience, I am choosing a shortcut over something real, and it never leads where I hope it will.

The truth is that the present moment is where everything happens. It is where God meets us and where real joy is formed, not in escape or numbing or chasing a feeling, but in staying present, engaged, and connected to what is true even when it is uncomfortable. God is not found in the shortcuts; He is found in the process. He is found in the honest conversation, in the difficult decision, in choosing love when it would be easier to withdraw, and in the discipline of doing what is right when no one is watching. That is where joy lives. It is not loud or instant, but it is real and it lasts.

So today I remind myself that I am not looking for relief that costs me my depth, and I am not chasing peace that requires me to disconnect from truth. I am choosing the kind of life that is built, not manufactured. The kind of joy that comes from God cannot be faked, rushed, or replaced. The easy path will always be there calling for my attention, but I know where it leads, so I will stay here in the present, in the tension, and in the work, trusting that this is where real life begins.

31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
MATTHEW 6:31-3