The Connection Corner

A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.

Love Looks Like a Cookie

Proverbs 3:3 — Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

Eight minutes down the road is when the panic hits.

Kathy had done all the usual prep: shoes on, snacks packed, car loaded. And please—did everyone go to the bathroom? Her daughter Ava nodded. They were ready for their weekend adventure.

Except… guess what?

Unmistakable and urgent, Ava’s voice calls from the back seat. She can’t wait. She can’t hold it.

Parents—if you know, you know.

They pull off at the next exit, and the closest option is a Subway. It’s not ideal, but it will have to do. Kathy hustles Ava inside, heart racing as they rush through the door.

Then the clerk looks up.

“The bathroom’s for paying customers only.”

Kathy’s stomach drops. Her wallet is still in the car. There isn’t time to explain or apologize. Panic presses in—and then, before she can scramble or fall apart, kindness interrupts.

Two young men standing nearby step forward without hesitation. Their voices are calm and certain. They say they’ll take care of it. They buy Ava a cookie, and just like that, she’s a paying customer.

Ava rushes to the bathroom, and suddenly everything is right in the world again.

While they wait, Kathy learns the young men’s names—Latavious and Jalen. She learns they’re football players from the University of Georgia.

To them, it was probably nothing. A few dollars. A cookie. But to her, it was everything. It was being seen in a moment of stress. It was someone stepping in when she couldn’t fix it fast enough.

Scripture gives language to moments like this:

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”

That’s what real love looks like when it’s written deep in someone’s heart. It shows up instinctively. Practically. Without needing applause.

Sometimes love doesn’t look like roses or grand gestures. Sometimes it looks like a cookie in a Subway—offered at exactly the right moment.

As this season fills with Valentine’s cards and big displays, this story reminds us that real love is still alive and well. God’s love is often revealed through ordinary people who choose to notice and act.

So carry kindness close. Keep it ready. Spend it freely.

You never know how much a simple gesture might change everything.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When has a small act of kindness made a big difference in your life?
What does it look like for you to “tie” loyalty and kindness into your everyday routine?
Who around you might need a simple reminder that they are seen and loved?
How can you practice a visible, tangible kind of love this week?

February 6, 2026/by Bri Dunn

From Bully to Brave

Daily Devotional, Jeff Connell

Nehemiah 9:17 — You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.

I’ve never been to a high school reunion. Not once. Not even close.

My high school is in Washington State, outside Seattle, but I moved away after college. Every reunion somehow landed just out of reach. I’d be home visiting my parents weeks before or after—but never on time.

So I don’t have reunion stories of my own. But I’ve always liked the idea of revisiting where we’ve come from.

I came across a story online from a man who did attend his twentieth reunion. He didn’t romanticize it.

“In high school, I was a bully,” he admitted. “I was cruel. Mean. Hard to like.” Then he added the hardest truth—he didn’t like himself either. His home life was painful, so he hurt others so he wouldn’t feel hurt alone.

When the invitation came, he was nervous. He decided to go with one purpose: to apologize. “You’ll never address what you don’t confess,” he told himself. He knew forgiveness wasn’t guaranteed. Some people might not want to see him, and some wounds couldn’t be undone. He barely slept the night before he went.

When he arrived at the school auditorium, he sought out the people he knew he had unfinished business with. One by one, he owned what he had done—no excuses, no explanations. Just apologies.

To his surprise, most of them forgave him. Some barely remembered the details. Others remembered clearly—and still chose grace.

They told him how much his apology meant. How glad they were that he came. By the end of the night, the regret and shame that had followed him for years began to lift—not because the past had changed, but because mercy met him there.

That story reminded me of how God deals with us.

In Nehemiah, the prophet looks back over Israel’s long history of rebellion and failure and declares this truth about God:

“You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.” (Nehemiah 9:17)

A forgiving God. Patient. Compassionate. Overflowing with love. A God who does not walk away—even when we give Him every reason to.

What those classmates offered in a crowded auditorium—God has offered us all along. Not denial. Grace. Not pretending the damage never happened, but forgiveness that restores. Mercy doesn’t erase the past, but it does free the one who receives it.

We carry our mistakes and regrets quietly, assuming it’s too late or that we’re stuck. But God doesn’t wait decades to respond. He meets honesty and repentance with mercy—every time.

So maybe today isn’t about revisiting the past. Maybe it’s about releasing it. Letting grace meet the parts of your story you’ve been running from. Freedom begins there, shaping how you live, how you love, and how you extend that same mercy to others.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Is there a part of your past you’ve been carrying with shame instead of surrendering to God’s mercy?
What does Nehemiah 9:17 reveal about God’s posture toward you when you fall short?
Is there an apology God may be inviting you to offer—or a forgiveness He’s inviting you to receive?
How might releasing the past change the way you live and love today?

February 5, 2026/by Jeff Connell

Holy Ground in Unexpected Places

Brenda Price, Daily Devotional

Luke 15:7 — In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away.

The bass is thumping down the Nashville sidewalk, laughter spilling into the street, and a line of people wraps around the corner.

I know this scene. We all do. Late night. Music. A club promising escape but usually delivering regret. I almost brace myself for what I expect to find.

But step inside, and something feels… different.

It looks like a nightclub. The lights. The movement. The joy. But the air doesn’t feel heavy. No one’s performing. No one’s trying to outrun their pain or drown out their thoughts.

People are dancing because they want to. Laughing because it’s real. There’s no pressure to impress. Folks look comfortable in their own skin—and for a moment, my brain doesn’t know what to do with that.

Now stay with me. This isn’t a typical nightclub. It’s faith-based. And standing here, I realize how easily I’ve absorbed the idea that following Jesus means trading joy for discipline. That holiness and happiness can’t coexist. That somehow delight got left out of the deal.

But that idea didn’t come from Jesus.

Across the room, I hear someone praying. Hands lift—not for attention, but in worship. And suddenly it clicks why this place feels so alive.

This isn’t just a nightclub. It’s called The Cove. It was started by seven young men from Tennessee who believed joy doesn’t compete with God—it comes from Him. They believed celebration doesn’t belong to the world alone, and that a space centered on Christ could still be full of movement, laughter, and life. A place where people leave lighter than they arrived. Where fun doesn’t cost you your peace.

It reminds me of something Jesus once said—that heaven erupts with joy when one lost person turns back to God.

“There is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God…” (Luke 15:7)

Not quiet approval. Not polite applause. Joy. Celebration. Rejoicing.

You can almost picture it—heaven isn’t stiff or silent. It’s alive every time grace wins. Every time someone chooses restoration over running. That’s what I see here.

When people leave this Nashville space, they don’t stagger out hollow or ashamed. They walk out hopeful. Because when Christ is present, even dance floors can become holy ground.

And maybe that’s the reminder for this week. The world told you one thing, but love—real love—doesn’t leave you empty. There is a better joy. One that restores instead of depletes. One that lifts instead of weighs you down.

So wherever you find yourself—a coffee shop, a sidewalk, or even a dance floor—know this: when grace takes center stage, heaven still rejoices… and earth starts to look a little more like heaven too.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Where have you unconsciously believed that following Jesus means giving up joy?
What does Luke 15:7 reveal about how God responds when people turn toward Him?
Are there places or people you’ve written off as “unlikely” spaces for God to work?
How might your life look different if you believed joy and holiness were meant to walk together?

February 4, 2026/by Brenda Price