The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
Heaven Doesn’t Count Like ThatApril 24, 2026 - 7:00 am- The Road Paved with RedemptionApril 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Listening to the Little ThingsApril 22, 2026 - 7:00 am
- What Really Deserves Your TimeApril 21, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Giver is Better than the GiftApril 20, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Peace is Still PreachingApril 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Joy That Won’t Stay QuietApril 18, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Quit Chasing What ChangesApril 17, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Prayers Already in MotionApril 16, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Unlock Life by Letting GoApril 15, 2026 - 7:00 am
Heart of the Artist
- Peace is Still PreachingApril 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Hope in His NameApril 12, 2026 - 8:00 am
- When Forgiveness Writes the EndingMarch 22, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Worship Found Its HeartMarch 15, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Enough is EnoughMarch 8, 2026 - 7:00 am
Stories About Songs
- Peace is Still PreachingApril 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Hope in His NameApril 12, 2026 - 8:00 am
- When Forgiveness Writes the EndingMarch 22, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Worship Found Its HeartMarch 15, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Words Hurt, Truth HealsFebruary 28, 2026 - 7:00 am
When Hope Sits Beside You
Daily Devotional, David HallRachel hadn’t planned to cry at the splash pad, but there she was—sweaty, hungry, and overstimulated as her toddler lost his mind over a graham cracker.
Her baby was asleep and wrapped against her chest, but everything else was a mess. She sat down on the nearest bench, defeated. Her body ached. Her mind raced. She wanted to feel grateful. Instead, she just felt alone.
She watched other moms—some with iced coffees, some chatting with friends—and wondered if she was the only one barely holding it together.
Then a woman slid onto the bench beside her. She was older, maybe in her 50s.
“It’s so hard when you’re in it,” she said, “but it won’t always be this way. You’re doing good.”
Rachel looked over, surprised. The woman gave her a small smile. “I remember thinking I would never make it through either, but I did. You will too.”
Rachel didn’t answer. She just nodded. Her throat tightened, and her eyes stung.
The woman stayed a minute longer, then got up and walked away. But her words stayed. Rachel looked down at her baby, still sleeping, and up at her toddler, now giggling as he splashed again.
What she said didn’t fix the hard, but it reminded Rachel of something she had not felt in a while: hope.
The exhaustion was temporary, and in the meantime, she could encourage herself and others who were facing their own tough moments.
Maybe that is why we go through hard things. Not just so we will survive, but so we will have something realto offer someone else when it is their turn.
If you’re in it right now, don’t pull away. Lean in. It will not always be this way, and when the time comes, let your story become someone else’s strength.
This is hard. But you are doing better than you think. Keep going.
Love Always Finds a Way
Daily Devotional, Lauren Kitchens-StewardMy mom hated flying.
She would grip the armrest during takeoff and talk too loudly over the roar of the engine. She prayed from the moment the plane took off until the wheels were safely turning into the gate.
At the time, I lived across the U.S. from her, and she came to see me often. I can still see her walking down the hallway of my home, suitcase wheels bumping behind her. Her perfume arriving a few seconds before she did. She would give me a big hug and ask what we were doing for supper.
That was the thing about her. She never made a big deal out of it. For years, she just came to see me. Now, her visits live in my memory like golden light. They were acts of love wrapped in plane tickets, missed sleep, and nerves she never let keep her away.
She came anyway.
That simple truth is what undoes me. The fact that she loved me enough to push past her fear.
And that is what helps me begin to understand God’s love.
Because He comes, too. Even when we are messy. Even when we don’t appreciate it. He still shows up. It is not because it is easy, but because we are His kids.
Maybe today is a good day to look at your life and ask: where is God showing up, even when I am not looking for Him?
His love is steady. Relentless. Brave. I don’t ever want to miss that again.
The Love That Defines Me
Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist, Stories About SongsMark Hall had spent years trying to keep up.
He wasn’t the smartest kid growing up—dyslexia made sure of that. Reading was hard, school was harder, and no matter how much he tried, he always felt a little behind. So, he learned to compensate. Work harder. Push more. Don’t let anyone see the struggle.
By the time he became a youth pastor, that mindset hadn’t changed. He poured everything he had into ministry, convinced that if he just gave enough, maybe he’d finally stop feeling like he was falling short.
But one night, long after the last teenager had left youth group, he sat alone with his guitar.
Not to write a song. Not to impress anyone. Just to breathe.
And as his fingers found familiar chords, the words came.
“Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name?”
He stopped.
That lyric was his question. The one that had been chasing him since childhood. The one he had been too busy to face.
Who was he, really? Just some guy trying too hard? A pastor with good intentions but a heart that still wondered if God was really as steady as He claimed to be?
And then, the answer settled over him.
It was never about who he was. It was always about who God is.
For the first time in years, Mark let go of the pressure to be “enough.” He let himself believe that God was not waiting on him to measure up, and He had loved him long before he had anything to offer.
That song—Who Am I?—would go on to remind millions of people of the same truth. But for Mark, it started in that quiet room, on an ordinary Wednesday night, when he finally stopped striving.
And maybe that is a moment you need too.
Maybe you have spent years chasing approval, measuring your worth by what you do instead of resting in what has already done.
But here is the truth: You don’t have to fight for a love that was never based on your performance in the first place.
God’s grace has never been about your ability to hold on to Him. It has always been about His ability to hold on to you.
Lyrics:
Who am I, that the lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the bright and morning star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?
Not because of who I am
But because of what you’ve done
Not because of what I’ve done
But because of who you are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when I’m calling
Lord, you catch me when I’m falling
And you’ve told me who I am
I am yours
Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again?
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me?
Not because of who I am
But because of what you’ve done
Not because of what I’ve done
But because of who you are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when I’m calling
Lord, you catch me when I’m falling
And you’ve told me who I am
I am yours
Not because of who I am
But because of what you’ve done
Not because of what I’ve done
But because of who you are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when I’m calling
Lord, you catch me when I’m falling
And you’ve told me who I am
I am yours
I am yours
I am yours
Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?
‘Cause I am yours
I am yours
“Who Am I”
(Mark Hall)
© 2003 Be Essential Songs (BMI) (admin. at EssentialMusicPublishing.com) / My Refuge Music (BMI) (admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)