The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
- Jesus Knew and He Came AnywayApril 13, 2025 - 6:30 am
- The Courage To Follow ThroughApril 12, 2025 - 6:30 am
- Your Story Could Change A LifeApril 11, 2025 - 6:30 am
- God Is Always Cheering For YouApril 10, 2025 - 6:30 am
- When Hope Feels ImpossibleApril 9, 2025 - 6:30 am
- Bloom Where You’re PlantedApril 8, 2025 - 6:30 am
- The Road Back To PeaceApril 7, 2025 - 6:30 am
- From Hardship to HopeApril 6, 2025 - 6:30 am
- When God Says, “It’s Time”April 5, 2025 - 6:30 am
- Choosing Love Over ComfortApril 4, 2025 - 6:30 am
Heart of the Artist
- Your Story Could Change A LifeApril 11, 2025 - 6:30 am
- The Road Back To PeaceApril 7, 2025 - 6:30 am
- God Never Lets GoApril 1, 2025 - 6:30 am
- God Believes in YouMarch 26, 2025 - 6:30 am
- Praise in Every StormJanuary 25, 2025 - 6:30 am
Stories About Songs
- From Hardship to HopeApril 6, 2025 - 6:30 am
- Hope and Victory in JesusMarch 30, 2025 - 6:30 am
- A Deeper Experience of GodMarch 23, 2025 - 6:30 am
- Turning Pain into HopeMarch 16, 2025 - 6:30 am
- A Song of Hope in FearMarch 10, 2025 - 6:30 am
Setting Boundaries for a Better Life
Andy Youso, Daily Devotional, UncategorizedHave you ever promised yourself that this year would finally be different? Maybe you picked a word, set a goal, or made a resolution—then life got in the way. I get it.
A few years back, I set a goal to take better care of myself. Let’s just say it is still a work in progress.
At the time, I was a dad in full survival mode. Leftover chicken nuggets? Sure, I’ll eat them. Kids’ untouched fries? No problem. I told myself I was preventing waste, but really, I was treating myself like a human trash can.
It was not until I hit a wall that I realized something had to change. My health was suffering, and so was my peace. I began to see how my actions stemmed from something deeper: a lack of self-worth.
I had been saying yes to everything—to extra obligations, to people who drained me, to food I did not even want—because I thought my needs did not matter. But that mindset left me physically tired, emotionally burnt out, and spiritually distant from the life God wanted for me.
Little by little, I started setting boundaries. I said no to the leftovers, the unnecessary commitments, and the things that weighed me down. I did not do it to be selfish, but I wanted to make room for the things that mattered most. And you know what? My family got a more present version of me, my health improved, and my heart found space to grow closer to God.
Here is what I have learned: Love is not about doing more. It is about doing what is best. God never asked us to carry every load. He invites us to let go of what weighs us down so we can hold on to what gives life. You do not have to do it all. Set down what is not yours to carry, and trust God to lead you into freedom.
Finding Strength Through Struggle
Daily Devotional, UncategorizedFranklin Roosevelt had always been in control. Wealth, education, political success—he had the confidence and connections to go as far as he wanted. But in the summer of 1921, everything changed.
The fever hit first. Then the aching. By nightfall, he couldn’t make his legs move. It was like someone had reached in and cut the wires. Doctors later confirmed what he feared: polio.
The grief was suffocating. His wife, Eleanor, watched him slip into silence. The once-boundless energy, the easy confidence, the man who strode into every room like he belonged—gone. In his place, a husband who barely spoke. A father who could not chase his children. A man who had spent his life moving forward, now stuck in place.
There were days he did not think he would recover—not just his body, but himself. But somewhere in the waiting, in the stillness, in the unbearable truth of his limitations, he made a choice. If he could not walk, he would fight.
He pushed himself through brutal rehabilitation—not to regain what was lost, but to master what remained. He strengthened his upper body, taught himself to stand with support, and learned to project confidence even from a wheelchair.
The world saw his return to politics before they saw his pain. They saw a leader who had endured. But Roosevelt knew the cost.
By the time America needed a leader strong enough to face the Great Depression, Roosevelt was ready. Not because he had never known struggle, but because he had.
When hardship comes, it is easy to believe that life is over as you knew it. But what if, like Roosevelt, this is the moment you are being shaped for? Strength is not found in avoiding suffering—but in choosing to keep going through it.
Raw Worship, Real Faith
Daily Devotional, Stories About SongsRich Mullins was the kind of guy who showed up to concerts barefoot.
He was not trying to be a rebel—this was just who he was. He couldn’t pretend.
That honesty did not always sit well in the Christian music industry. People wanted polished radio hits and predictable melodies. But Rich’s songs did not fit. His lyrics were jagged prayers, full of doubt, struggle, and desperate longing.
He was disillusioned by what the industry told him to be. Faith, for him, was not about tidying yourself up for God. It was about being raw and honest about a messy life while clinging to a perfect Savior. Were people finding God in all of this, or settling for something shallow?
It felt too clean, too put together. He was not sure he believed in that kind of faith. Jesus had calloused hands. He sat in the dirt. He wept, raged, bled. That was the Savior Rich wanted to sing about, and if it did not sell? Fine. He was tired of worship that felt like a performance.
So he wrote like he prayed—messy, unfiltered, honest.
One day, he scribbled out “Our God is an awesome God.” It was not a masterpiece. It was not even his favorite song. But he meant it.
Somehow, the song caught fire. People sang it in churches and youth groups. It belonged to the brokenhearted, the tired, the messy believers who needed to remember that God was still mighty and still good.
But if you asked Rich, he never saw the song—or his music—as a success story. Success was not standing on a stage. It was not record sales or industry approval. It was a life lived honestly before God. A worship that was not a performance but a hallelujah rising from the dust.
And maybe that is the real takeaway. Worship is not about looking good or sounding right. It is about showing up—barefoot, broken, unsure—and offering everything you have, knowing God is worthy of it all.
Awesome God Story
Rich Mullins’ Awesome God is one of the most beloved anthems in contemporary Christian music, known for its simple yet powerful declaration of God’s greatness. Written in the late 1980s, the song was inspired by Mullins’ deep reverence for God’s majesty and his desire to create a song that would stir people to worship. The verses paint vivid images of God’s power and justice, while the chorus triumphantly proclaims, “Our God is an awesome God!”—a line that has echoed through churches and worship gatherings for decades.
Interestingly, Mullins himself once said, “You know, the thing I like about ‘Awesome God’ is that it’s one of the worst-written songs that I ever wrote; it’s just poorly crafted.” But he went on to explain that sometimes, the message is more important than the craftsmanship. Rather than focusing on crafting the perfect song, he wanted to write something that would make people respond—not to the song, but to the truth of who God is.
That’s exactly why Awesome God has endured as a church anthem. The melody is easy to sing, making it perfect for congregational worship, while the lyrics are a bold reminder of God’s sovereignty and grace. Even though Mullins was known for his poetic and often introspective songwriting, this song stands out as a direct and universal declaration of faith. It’s a song that unites believers, young and old, in a shared moment of praise—one that continues to resonate in hearts long after the music fades.
Awesome God
COMLETE LYRICS TO SONG
When He rolls up His sleeves
He ain’t just putting on the ritz
(Our God is an awesome God)
There’s thunder in His footsteps
And lightning in His fists
(Our God is an awesome God)
And the Lord wasn’t joking
When He kicked ’em out of Eden
It wasn’t for no reason
That He shed His blood
His return is very close
And so you better be believing that
Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God
And when the sky was starless
In the void of the night
(Our God is an awesome God)
He spoke into the darkness
And created the light
(Our God is an awesome God)
Judgment and wrath He poured out on the Sodom
Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross
I hope that you have not
Too quickly forgotten that
Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God