AUGUST 4, 2026

  “ We have lost many things as we've passed through the battlefields of this war-torn world ... One of our greatest losses is the gift of wonder, the doorway into the kingdom heart.” 

― John Eldredge

PSALM 73-74

 23Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.24You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.25Whom have I in heaven but you?And earth has nothing I desire besides you.26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (73:23-26)

ROMANS 5

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^a have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^b boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we^c also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

JOURNAL 

Today I cannot help but think of Frosty the Snowman. Every time he comes to life his first words are, "Happy Birthday!" He awakens as though every day is a gift, every breath is a miracle, every moment is something to celebrate. Maybe that is how God intended us to wake each morning. Not burdened by yesterday, not consumed by tomorrow, but opening our eyes with childlike wonder to the incredible gift of another day.

With Marcella's birthday today, I am reminded that one of God's greatest gifts is not simply life itself, but the privilege of sharing it with people we love. Birthdays are more than markers of another year. They are invitations to pause and marvel that this person exists, that our stories have been woven together, and that we have been given another year of shared moments, conversations, laughter, hardships, and memories. It is easy to become so focused on goals, problems, and outcomes that we lose sight of the miracle unfolding all around us.

The battle Scripture describes is, in many ways, a battle for wonder. My darker nature wants to reduce life to transactions, control, fear, self-protection, and getting what I want. It pulls my eyes away from God's presence and toward my own agenda. But God's Spirit continually invites me back to awe. To see that He is holding my right hand, guiding me with His counsel, pouring His love into my heart, and surrounding me with countless evidences of His goodness. Wonder is not childish. It is the doorway to gratitude, worship, humility, and love.

Perhaps taking up my cross daily is also choosing to wake each morning saying, "Happy Birthday." Today is a new creation. Today is another undeserved gift from God. Today is another opportunity to love well, to serve others, to notice beauty, to embrace suffering with hope, and to become more fully the person God is shaping me to be. When I live this way, I stop merely existing and begin experiencing the Kingdom that has been available all along. Every sunrise becomes an invitation to wonder, every relationship becomes sacred, and every ordinary moment becomes another chance to celebrate the miracle of simply being alive in God's presence.

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

AUGUST 3, 2026

 “And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.”

― Donald Miller

PSALM 70-72

5For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since the youth6From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. (71:5-6)

ROMANS 4

1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness'^a

JOURNAL 

Paul (Saul) spent the first part of his life imprisoned by the perspective of a bad story. His identity, his theology, and even his certainty were shaped by fear, pride, and a belief that righteousness could be earned. Then everything changed on the road to Damascus. God did not simply change Paul's direction. He gave him new eyes. The world, God, and even Paul himself were no longer seen through the lens of fear and self-righteousness, but through faith. His name changed because his story changed.

The same invitation is before me every day. So much of life is about perspective, and perspective is only found when I am fully present in today's moment. If my mind is consumed by yesterday's disappointments, tomorrow's fears, or the opinions I have already formed, I become blind to the countless ways God is speaking, leading, and revealing Himself today. My own assumptions become the greatest obstacle to seeing what God wants me to see. That is why I need to release my perspectives every morning and ask God for clear eyes, an open heart, and the humility to be changed.

Faith is not simply believing that God exists. It is trusting that He is a good Father who is writing a story far greater than the one I could write for myself. Abraham was declared righteous not because he achieved perfection, but because he trusted God. Righteousness is not something I accomplish. It is the fruit of surrendering my life to the One who sees the entire story while I only see the page I am living today.

When I approach each day this way, uncertainty is no longer something to fear. It becomes the setting where God most often surprises me. Every challenge, every interruption, every unexpected conversation becomes another opportunity to discover His wisdom, love someone well, and participate in the story He is writing. My responsibility is not to control the plot or determine the ending. It is simply to remain faithful in today's chapter.

That also frees me from carrying the impossible weight of the entire world. I do not have to solve the problems of billions of people or orchestrate the future. My calling is much simpler, though no less significant: deny myself, follow Christ today, seek His voice in this moment, and faithfully love the people He places in front of me. My family, my friends, my neighbors, my students, my players, and even strangers are all part of today's story.

Great stories are never written by characters who cling to comfort or refuse to change. They are written by those willing to step into uncertainty, trust the Author, and embrace whatever comes next. God is writing a new story in my life every single day. My prayer is that I never become so attached to my own perspective that I miss the beauty of His.

23Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 

LUKE 9:23-25

AUGUST 2, 2026

  “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” 

― John Wooden

"Don't blink, just like that your six years old and you take a nap...trust me, friend, a hundred years goes faster than you think, so don't blink..."

- Kenny Chesney

PSALM 68-69

 32The poor will see and be glad—

you who seek God, may your hearts live!

33The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. (69:32-33)

ROMANS 3

5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”^a 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism.

JOURNAL 

Before the day begins, I want to treat it as a blank canvas. Rather than filling it with my plans, expectations, worries, ambitions, memories, or regrets, I want to empty my heart before God and submit everything to Him. None of those things are necessarily wrong. Many of them are good gifts from God. But they are not meant to become the voice that directs today. They may or may not be what God has for me in this moment. So I release them, trusting that if they belong in today, His Spirit will bring them back in His timing. In that surrender, the clutter begins to fade, and I become more aware of reality as it actually is. My attention returns to the present, and it is here that I experience God most deeply, because this moment is where He has promised to meet me.

The older I get, the more songs like "Don't Blink" remind me how quickly life passes. It feels like yesterday that I was six years old, then playing football in two-a-days before school started, and now decades have slipped by almost unnoticed. The next ten, twenty, or fifty years will pass just as quickly if I am given them. That realization does not make me anxious. It makes today sacred. I do not want to waste it by living in yesterday's regrets or tomorrow's fears. I want to seek God's direction for this day alone, trusting that obedience today is the only place where life can truly be lived. Like an artist approaching an empty canvas, I want God to paint today's masterpiece through me rather than trying to force my own design upon it.

Romans reminds me that God looks not at grand intentions but at the persistent direction of the heart. Psalm 69 promises that those who seek Him will truly live. Jesus says that fruit reveals the tree. That fruit is not produced by striving to control life but by remaining connected to the One who gives it. My prayer is simply that today I would empty myself enough for His Spirit to fill me, guide me, and shape every conversation, every decision, and every ordinary moment. If I can do that, then regardless of what tomorrow holds, I will have done my best to become the person God created me to be, and this single day will not have been wasted.

 16By their fruit you will recognize them. 

MATTHEW 7:16

AUGUST 1, 2026

  “Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.” 

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

PSALM 65-67

 8Praise our God, all peoples,let the sound of his praise be heard;9he has preserved our livesand kept our feet from slipping.10For you, God, tested us;you refined us like silver.11You brought us into prisonand laid burdens on our backs.12You let people ride over our heads;we went through fire and water,but you brought us to a place of abundance.(66:8-12)

ROMANS 2

28For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

JOURNAL 

The more I read Scripture, the more I see that God has always been after the heart. Romans says that true change is not outward but inward. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. That means obedience is not simply following rules. It is becoming aware of God's presence in every moment. When I am aware of Him, I naturally begin to trust Him, love Him, and follow Him.

I am also realizing that this awareness only happens in the present. God is here, not in the regrets of yesterday or the worries of tomorrow. His presence surrounds me in creation, in people, in my work, and even in my struggles. The more I live in this moment with Him, the more I see that obedience is simply responding to what He is already doing around me.

That is why meditation can be such a powerful practice. It begins with something so simple: my breathing. Every breath reminds me that I am alive only because God sustains me. My lungs take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide through a process that has been happening every moment of my life, yet I rarely stop to notice it. The air around me, the trees that produce oxygen, and the intricate design of creation are all continual reminders that God's sustaining presence surrounds me. Meditation simply brings my attention back to what has been true all along. It begins with my breath, and there, in the quiet awareness of this present moment, is where Scripture continually points me to find God.

When I give in to fear, shame, regret, or anxiety, I lose sight of God. Instead of trusting Him today, I start trying to control tomorrow or hide yesterday. The future becomes my security, or my past becomes my identity. Sometimes I become more concerned with what other people think than what God thinks. In those moments, those things have become my god.

Psalm 66 reminds me that God used every trial to refine His people. Even the difficult seasons had purpose. They were not abandoned. They were being shaped. That is what allows me to trust Him instead of trying to control my circumstances.

Jesus said that whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for His sake will find it. I think that begins every single day. I surrender my plans, my fears, my regrets, and my need to control. Then I simply seek God in this moment. That is where faith grows, where obedience begins, and where real change takes place.

24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save their life^f will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 

MATTHEW 16:24-25

JULY 31, 2026

  “Be true to yourself.

Make each day your masterpiece.
Help others.
Drink deeply from good books.
Make friendship a fine art.
Build a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.” 
― John Wooden

PSALM 62-64

1Truly my soul finds rest in God;

my salvation comes from him.

2Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.(62:1-2)

ROMANS 1

 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

JOURNAL 

The evidence of God surrounds me every moment of every day. His eternal power, wisdom, beauty, and love are woven into every sunrise, every living thing, every relationship, and every breath I take. To recognize that reality is to recognize my rightful place in His story. I am not the author. I am not the center. I am a small but meaningful part of the greatest story ever told. The more I acknowledge His greatness, the less I become consumed with myself, my fears, my ambitions, and my circumstances.

The difference between a wasted day and a meaningful one is not productivity alone. It is surrender. When I begin the day clinging to my own plans, my own outcomes, or my own sense of control, I inevitably drift. Hours disappear. Important work is postponed. My thoughts become scattered, my emotions begin to lead me, and I slowly stop becoming an outpost of God's kingdom. I may stay busy, but I am no longer living with purpose. I do not deserve victory because I am no longer pursuing it through faithful obedience. Instead, I am chasing comfort, certainty, or outcomes that were never mine to possess in the first place.

But when I surrender the day before it even begins, everything changes. I stop asking God to bless my agenda and instead ask Him to lead me into His. My responsibility becomes wonderfully simple: faithfully steward this moment. My thoughts, my attitudes, my words, and my actions become today's offering. Every decision becomes an opportunity to walk in the Spirit of power, love, and discipline that God has already given me. As I obey, I become an outpost of His kingdom wherever I happen to be—in my classroom, on the football field, in my home, in my work, or in a simple conversation with another person.

John Wooden said to "make each day your masterpiece." That masterpiece is not created through extraordinary accomplishments but through ordinary faithfulness. It is built one surrendered thought, one obedient decision, one act of love, one disciplined choice at a time. A masterpiece is simply a day lived in complete dependence upon God. It is a life that increasingly reflects His character instead of my own ambitions.

Ironically, surrender is not the loss of purpose but the discovery of it. The more tightly I grip my own plans, the less fulfilled I become. The more freely I place the day back into God's hands, the more meaningful every hour becomes. My life becomes purposeful not because I controlled the outcomes but because I faithfully walked with the One who already holds them. That is what it means to deserve victory. Victory is not achieving my preferred ending. Victory is living every moment in obedience to God's Spirit, trusting that He alone is writing a masterpiece from the ordinary days I place into His hands.

11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,” declares the Lord

JEREMIAH 29:11-14