The Connection Corner

The Dinner Table Discovery

Psalm 139:16 — You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

The best God-conversations happen at our dinner table. I’m going to let you in on one of them.

It was after dinner, and we were still sitting around the table when my five-year-old eagerly exclaimed, “Guess what, Mama? Guess what, Daddy? I talked to God in my dream today at naptime!”

If I wasn’t all ears before, I was now. I probably had the same look on my face as a child during story time. So, I asked what anyone would ask, “What did God look like? What was He saying to you?”

To my surprise, she turned to me and said so clearly, “He looked familiar.”

“What does familiar mean?” My husband asked.

She answered, “You know—like my friend at school. I know her. She is familiar to me.”

“That’s right,” I added. “You know your friend, so she’s familiar. And the same is true for God.”

I continued, “God knew you before you were even born. Before a single day of your life had passed, He already loved you and had His hand on your life. So maybe it makes sense that He felt familiar to you.”

That night, my momma heart felt like it grew three sizes bigger. I was reminded of something simple but powerful in that moment—children don’t strive to know God the way we often do. They simply trust that He’s near.

To them, God isn’t distant or complicated… He’s familiar.

Maybe that’s the invitation for all of us—to come back to that kind of faith.

Because when we make space for Him, even around something as ordinary as a dinner table, we may just find that God is closer—and more familiar—than we ever realized.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When was the last time God felt familiar and close to you?
What makes you sometimes view God as distant or complicated?
How does Psalm 139 change the way you think about your identity and worth?
What can you learn from the simple faith and trust of a child?
How can you create more space in your everyday life to notice God’s presence?

May 30, 2026/by Kirstie Ford

Love That Didn’t Look Away

Bri Dunn, Daily Devotional

Matthew 25:44-45 — Then they will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?” And he will answer, “I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.”

You’ll never regret being kind, even to a stranger.

Kelly is halfway through her coffee at the little diner when she notices them—two women at the counter, moving in opposite directions. One is paying her bill, ready to leave. The other has just sat down, phone pressed to her ear, but she isn’t really talking. She’s crying and barely holding it together.

She hasn’t ordered any food. She’s just…sitting there.

The older woman pauses on her way out. Kelly could almost see the questions cross her face— Should I say something? Should I not?

But she steps in anyway.

“Do you need a hug?” She says simply.

That’s all it takes. The younger woman breaks, and they hold each other right there in the middle of the diner.

“I don’t know what you’ve got going on,” she says, “but it doesn’t matter. You seem like you need a little encouragement.”

Then she calls the waitress over. “Order her whatever she wants. I’ll pay for it.”

And they sit there together quietly for a moment.

Kelly keeps thinking about what she witnessed. She knows that feeling—knowing you could encourage someone and feeling prompted in your heart to do it. That feeling is so easy to ignore. So easy to second-guess and stay seated.

But what if those moments carry more weight than we realize? What if every act of kindness toward someone hurting is also an act of love toward Jesus Himself? What if noticing people matters more than we think it does?

That morning didn’t look like much.

Just a hug. A meal. A woman who didn’t look away.

And maybe that’s what today can look like for you too. Because simple obedience, offered in love, can change everything for someone in need.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When was the last time you felt prompted to encourage or help someone?
What usually keeps you from stepping in when you notice someone hurting?
How does seeing acts of kindness as service to Jesus change your perspective?
Who around you today may simply need to feel seen, loved, or encouraged?
What is one simple act of obedience and compassion you can offer someone this week?

May 29, 2026/by Bri Dunn

Discipline, Desire, Delight

Daily Devotional, David Hall

Psalm 34:8 — Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!

I grew up in the nineties, and I don’t know if I imagined it, but…we were all told vegetables were gross.

I mean, on cartoons they avoided broccoli at all costs, so I treated it like the plague. In the school cafeteria line, I would pile my tray with anything but the vegetables.

It was probably just marketing, but it’s funny because years later, I became a high school teacher. And I finally tried veggies in the school cafeteria.

And they were… good.

Like, genuinely, they were the best seasoned thing on the menu. I stood standing there thinking, “Wait—have I been wrong about this my whole life?”

It wasn’t just the cafeteria. Every summer, my mom would make tomato pie. And depending on who you are, that either sounds incredible or completely disgusting.

To me it looked gross, so it was gross. No further investigation needed. Because…vegetables…am I right?

But no. I tried it for the first time in college and it changed my life! My momma is a good cook, but it’s one of the best things she makes.

It’s funny—and a little sad—how easily we opt out of some of the best things in life without ever really trying them. We write them off before we experience them.

Honestly, spiritual disciplines can feel like that too. Prayer. Scripture. Solitude. Worship. Sometimes they sound more like eating your vegetables than experiencing joy.

But every time I lean into those things—even a little—I find something I didn’t expect. Peace that steadies me. Clarity that wasn’t there before. A sense that I’m not alone.

Maybe that’s why we’re invited not just to believe God is good, but to experience it. “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” He says. And somewhere along the way, we discover, what first felt like discipline starts to turn into desire.

And desire… turns into delights.

So, I want to encourage you to seek God’s face today through spiritual disciplines. Because it really is so good!

Disciplines develop your spiritual appetite. Yes. You’ll end up hungry for more.

Please don’t miss out on the most incredible parts of life simply because they are branded to you as “boring” or hard.

No. Taste and see that they lead to the sweetest and most un-boring thing of all.

God’s presence.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What spiritual discipline have you avoided because it seemed boring, difficult, or unappealing?
When have you personally “tasted and seen” God’s goodness in an unexpected way?
What keeps you from slowing down enough to experience God’s presence consistently?
How have small, faithful habits helped strengthen your relationship with God?
What is one practical way you can seek God’s presence more intentionally this week?

May 28, 2026/by David Hall