The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
The Treasure You Can’t SeeSeptember 19, 2026 - 9:00 am
Healing the Hidden HurtSeptember 18, 2026 - 7:00 am
Stop Second GuessingSeptember 17, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Hot Water TestSeptember 16, 2026 - 7:00 am
Don’t Rehearse The RegretSeptember 15, 2026 - 7:00 am
Look Up, It’s Not OverSeptember 14, 2026 - 7:00 am
Come As You AreSeptember 13, 2026 - 7:00 am
Leave Hope Wherever You GoSeptember 12, 2026 - 7:00 am
United We Still StandSeptember 11, 2026 - 7:00 am
Jesus Cares About That TooSeptember 10, 2026 - 7:00 am
HEART OF THE ARTIST
The Secret to Being BlessedSeptember 6, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
Meet Me in the ValleyAugust 9, 2026 - 7:00 am
Holding on Through HeartbreakJuly 5, 2026 - 7:00 am
Faith That Falls ForwardJune 18, 2026 - 7:00 am
STORIES ABOUT SONGS
- Come As You AreSeptember 13, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Fight Nobody SeesAugust 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
One Way Through the ChaosJuly 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Gospel Still Changes EverythingJuly 12, 2026 - 7:00 am
Stories About Songs
- Come As You AreSeptember 13, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Fight Nobody SeesAugust 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
- One Way Through the ChaosJuly 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Gospel Still Changes EverythingJuly 12, 2026 - 7:00 am
Faith that Puts on Work Boots
Bri Dunn, Daily DevotionalThe things you do for the people you love often cost you something. If you have ever worked in a school, you know exactly what that means. Those kids—your students—they become yours, too.
Henry Darby understood that personally. He loved his student body but he also saw a reality that could not be ignored. Many of them came from homes with unpaid bills and empty pantries. He saw the tired faces trying to pretend everything was fine.
School resources could not cover what it would take to help them all. Neither would his salary. So, he prayed about it and did the only thing he knew to do. He took an overnight job at Walmart.
He would stock shelves from ten at night until six in the morning three nights a week. Then he would go home, clean up, and head straight back to school.
Every single paycheck went to support his students. Many of them received fresh groceries and school supplies while others went home with what they needed to keep the lights on at home.
It was hard work that felt never ending. Sure. But he loved those kids, and he did it anyway.
He could have said, “Someone else will handle it.” But he didn’t. He showed up. He stepped in. He carried a part of their burden. In doing so, he taught so many teenagers what real love looks like.
When I first heard about Mr. Darby, I began to see the difference between care and action. seeing a need is never enough. Love shows itself in action. Sometimes, it is messy, tiring, and inconvenient, but that is exactly what makes it real.
It reminds me of the words from 1 John 3:18: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
That is what Mr. Darby was living—quiet, steady love that did not need to be announced. It just needed to be done. Love that keeps showing up when no one is watching. The kind that looks ordinary until you realize it is the most extraordinary thing of all.
Maybe that is the point. To live in such a way that when we see a need, we do not look away. We do not just hope it gets better. We get involved. Because sometimes, the best way to speak love is not with words at all. It is with what we do.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
One Plate at a Time
Daily Devotional, Tammi ArenderMy favorite cook was Effie Mae Prewitt. She was my mom’s mom. We called her Ma-mae.
I can still see her standing at the stove in her kitchen — that worn skillet and the smell of butter melting before sunrise. She would hum some tune from church and was never in a hurry.
Her pancakes were perfection on a plate. Soft. Golden. Warm. I remember begging to spend Friday nights at her house, just so I could wake up to those pancakes and Saturday morning cartoons. That was better than a trip to Disney World.
I’d sit at her kitchen table, legs swinging, while she slid a fresh stack onto my plate. She would ask simple questions — how I was doing, if I’d slept well, if I wanted more syrup — and she’d listen like every word mattered.
Back then, I didn’t know she was teaching me something more important than a recipe. She was showing me what love looks like when it’s served hot off the griddle.
Now she’s gone. The kitchen’s quiet, and there’s no one to ask, “What are you cooking?” I miss her hands — always doing something kind for someone else.
When I think back on memories of her, I just think about the gospel. You know? In its simplest form — feeding the hungry, comforting the lonely, loving people. That’s what life is all about right?
I want the love I share to overflow the same way Ma-mae’s pancakes overflowed with warmth and care.
Philippians 1:9-10 comes to mind: “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.”
So, how about you? It’s in those small, daily acts that Jesus’s love becomes visible through us. No matter how simple, I believe that whatever you do in love will warm hearts and change lives.
After all, that’s how Ma-mae did it — one plate at a time.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Give a Cup of Kindness
Bri Dunn, Daily DevotionalI was feeling good that morning and treating myself to my favorite oat milk latte. You know—my favorite little drinky-drink. Sometimes it just tastes better when somebody else makes it.
I smiled, thanked the young guy behind the counter, and headed out the door. But when I was back to my car standing outside, I took one sip and immediately knew it. This was whole milk. Oh no.
My stomach cannot handle that. I know it sounds bougie and dramatic, but it is just the truth. So I made somewhat of a U-Turn, cup in hand, and quickly made my way back inside.
When I busted back in through that coffee shop door, I saw the expression on that poor barista’s face. His eyes were so wide.
Oh no, she’s back!
That look stopped me. Then I realized how often people probably come in angry, ready to lash out. And suddenly I wanted to make sure my face, my tone, and my posture told a different story.
So, I smiled and said as kindly as possible, “Hey, I realized there’s whole milk in there. I need oat milk. No big deal. I’ve got a few minutes. Do you mind remaking it?”
He blinked like he did not expect that. Then he nodded and remade it.
Before long, he handed me back my drink, and his face had the biggest smile. Not only that, but he gave me a larger drink than I ordered.
That simple exchange felt like such a win. I am so thankful that I did not treat him rudely. People make mistakes. We all do, and I praised God because I actually responded with kindness.
And you know, that is really what the Luke in the Bible was talking about. “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” It sounds simple, but it is hard sometimes, especially when you are tired, or stressed, or your latte comes out wrong.
God shows up in those moments and teaches us patience and kindness. I could have snapped, but instead, I made a friend. So maybe today, if someone messes up or gets on your nerves, remember that little verse. You do not know what small thing might make lift someone up—or what God might grow in your own heart while you are at it.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT