The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
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
Don’t Judge the Book by its CoverSeptember 9, 2026 - 7:00 am
A Refreshing Plot TwistSeptember 8, 2026 - 7:00 am
Can You Sit with MeSeptember 7, 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
Secure Even When Scared
Daily Devotional, Tammi ArenderI recently stepped way out of my comfort zone. I let my 14-year-old nephew talk me into doing a ropes course. You know, the kind with obstacles suspended high in the trees—tightropes, swinging bridges, and shaky ladders that seem much farther off the ground once you’re standing on them.
You’re secured in a harness the entire time, always clipped to a safety cable that’s designed to keep you from falling. But your brain doesn’t care about that. Your brain is convinced you’re about to plummet to your death.
Even my nephew came to one section and said, “I can’t do it.”
I smiled and said, “Yes, you can. You can’t fall. That harness has you safe and secure.”
But there was no convincing his fear.
So I reassured him again. “Just focus on taking one step at a time. Put one foot in front of the other. Don’t listen to the fear.”
Then I reminded him of something even bigger than the obstacle in front of him: he wasn’t up there alone. I’d prayed for him before we ever climbed, and I knew God was with us.
I said, “That harness is holding you. And more importantly, God is with you. Just take the next step.”
And he did.
Watching him take that next step made me think about all the scary and uncertain things we face in life. We stand at the edge of a diagnosis, a difficult decision, a loss, or a new calling, and our minds immediately imagine all the ways we could fall.
But what if we remembered we’re held by Someone stronger than our fear?
Just like that harness never let go of my nephew, God never lets go of us. He says, “Be strong and courageous.” He promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
So whatever is in front of you today, don’t let fear make the decision. Take the next step. Courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s choosing to trust the One who’s holding you.
Because you’re not walking alone.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Sweating But Still Smiling
Daily Devotional, Denise PaganoOkay, it’s officially that time of year in Louisiana where you walk outside and immediately feel like somebody wrapped you in a hot, wet blanket. Like… why is the air sweating?
That’s how it feels.
I saw some people online sharing ways to beat the heat. Cold towels, frozen drinks, staying inside from noon until—I don’t know—September. Honestly, I think some of us are one electric bill away from moving directly into the freezer aisle at Walmart.
I would be.
But you know what I love? No matter how miserable the heat gets, we all still seem to find joy.
Kids running through sprinklers. Snow cones dripping down your arm. Porch conversations after the sun finally goes down a little bit. Somebody grilling even though it’s 104 degrees for absolutely no reason.
And maybe that’s because joy was never waiting for perfect conditions.
Friend, life gets uncomfortable sometimes. Heavy. Exhausting, really. We spend so much time wishing things were easier, cooler, lighter…different.
But I’ve noticed that some of life’s sweetest moments don’t happen when everything is comfortable.
They happen when we become aware that God is right there with us in the middle of it.
It’s almost like the more we stay aware of His presence, the easier it becomes to notice His goodness. Not because life suddenly gets easier, but because His presence changes us. Scripture says, “In your presence there is fullness of joy.”
That’s the kind of joy that isn’t dependent on the weather, your circumstances, or whether everything is going your way.
His presence has a way of filling ordinary moments with something extraordinary.
So if you’re melting today, try not to miss the good thing right in front of you.
Don’t just look for relief.
Look for Him.
You might discover that the joy you’ve been searching for was already closer than you thought.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Heart Change Happens Here
Brenda Price, Daily DevotionalIt’s funny when I think about that conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.
Nicodemus asked Jesus, “So how does someone get born again? Can a grown man really enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time?”
What a question.
But the more I think about it, the more I realize Nicodemus was looking in the wrong direction. He was thinking about starting life over on the outside, while Jesus was talking about something much deeper.
Following Jesus isn’t about getting a fresh start from the outside in.
It’s about receiving a brand-new heart from the inside out.
Listen, it doesn’t have to be all bells and whistles or some dramatic testimony.
You don’t have to wait until you’ve cleaned yourself up. You don’t have to become “good enough” before you come to Jesus.
Bring Him the mistakes. Bring Him the shame. Bring Him the sin you wish you could undo. Bring Him the questions you still don’t have answers for.
Jesus doesn’t tell you to fix yourself first.
He simply invites you to come.
Grace meets you exactly where you are, but it loves you too much to leave you there.
He forgives you, changes you, and gives you strength you never had on your own. He begins healing what sin has broken and shaping you into the person He created you to be.
That’s what being born again really means. It’s not becoming a better version of the old you.
It’s allowing God to make you into someone new.
So, if you’ve been waiting until you have it all together, stop waiting.
Bring the mess. Bring the shame. Bring the questions. Bring your heart.
Surrender it all to Jesus, trust Him with it, and let Him begin the work that only He can do.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT