The Connection Corner

A Better Chapter is Coming

Psalm 52:9 — I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people.

April 11th is circled on my calendar, and I find myself smiling every time I see it.

That is the day my Anthony is getting remarried.

If you’ve ever walked with your child through heartbreak, you know a date like that carries weight. There were years that felt very heavy for him because he walked through a horrible, horrible divorce. The kind where you’re on the phone late at night and you hear it in his voice—the heartbreak, the disappointment, the questions.

As a mom, I wanted to fix it. I really wanted to rewrite the story and fast forward to the happy part.

But I couldn’t.

But what I could do was pray. I could trust God and keep reminding my son who he was when he started to forget.

And now here we are. He is about to stand at the altar again, not rushed or reckless, not trying to prove anything. He’s steady and certain and relying on Jesus. And, you know, something I really appreciate and respect about this younger generation is that you guys don’t just bounce back. You process, you heal, and you choose carefully because you want something that lasts.

My Anthony did that.

As April 11th gets closer, I find praise rising up in me before I even see the full picture. I am learning to thank God for what He has done, to hope in His name, and to say out loud that His name is good—even before the vows are spoken.

Because God never asks us to control the story. He asks us to pray and to trust Him with it. So yes, on April 11th, I won’t just be watching Anthony get remarried. I’ll be watching God prove He was writing a better chapter the entire time.

So, if you’re also in the middle of a chapter you didn’t choose, keep trusting. Keep hoping in God’s name. Keep praising Him before you see the ending.

Because He is faithful to turn heartbreak into hope when we place the story in His hands.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What “date on the calendar” are you waiting for right now?
Where have you wanted to fix something that only God could heal?
How have you seen God remain faithful in a long or painful season?
What would it look like to praise God before you see the full outcome?
Are you willing to speak about God’s faithfulness openly, not just privately?

April 8, 2026/by Denise Pagano

Remember Before You Rush

Daily Devotional, Kirstie Ford

Psalm 103:2 — Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

Have you ever wanted the benefits of being in God’s presence… but didn’t actually carve out time to be with Him? I know I’m guilty.

Lots of days go like this. It’s mid-morning, and I’m already behind—getting myself and the girls ready for school, the laundry buzzer going off, and my phone lighting up with reminders I forgot about.

I exhale, “I’ll pray in the car.”

I don’t.

See, it’s easy to prioritize what I can see over what I can’t. Schedules, notifications, and to-do lists that multiply overnight. Meanwhile, the presence of God waits patiently. I keep making this trade—presence for productivity. What’s eternal for what feels urgent.

The problem was never that God left. It was my attention.

So, I found myself wondering how many times the word “remember” shows up in Scripture (Clearly a Google-worthy question). The answer? 172 times. That stopped me. If God repeats something that often, you know it matters.

And here’s what I’ve learned: to reset my focus, I have to consciously remember all the ways He has cared for me so I never forget the good things He has done. I have to think on the ways He has rescued, restored, and redeemed. It fills my heart with wonder and turns to praise.

Not just in words—but in how I live, what I prioritize, and where I place my attention.

And that is how I put Him in His rightful place.

The next morning, the phone still lights up. The schedule still waits. But this time, I turn it face down. I give God the first unhurried minutes of my day.

Not because I have to. Because remembering Him first changes everything—my focus, my heart, and my day. And when we give Him first place, we discover our own hearts finally have room to breathe.

So today, don’t wait until the chaos dies down. Turn the phone down. Open the Word. Pause long enough to remember and let the presence of God shape the moments that follow. Watch how starting with Him first changes more than your morning—it changes your life.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What tends to take your attention first thing in the morning?
Where are you trading God’s presence for productivity right now?
What are a few specific ways God has been good to you recently?
How does remembering those things change your heart?
What would it look like to give God your first, not your leftover, time?

April 7, 2026/by Kirstie Ford

Who Gets Your Yes

Brendan McClain, Daily Devotional

Romans 6:12-13 — Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

Boink.

That was the sound of me body-slamming my arch enemy.

Luke was built like a seventh grader. My scrawny fifth-grade self had no chance.

I don’t even know why I hated him. I just remember my friends venting about him during our daily bathroom break. Somewhere between their complaints and my own pride, I started praying that God would give me the strength to knock him unconscious.

With great love and mercy, He denied my request.

Instead, I awkwardly flailed around while the entire school drank a big cup of secondhand embarrassment. It ended with me flat on my back in the middle of the kickball field.

But do you know what? My real problem wasn’t Luke. It was my pride and the voices I was listening to.

I wasn’t defending justice. I wasn’t standing up for truth. I was presenting myself—my hands, strength, and energy—to serve that grudge controlling me.

And that’s how it always works.

But that’s not who I am anymore—I’ve been given a new life, and that changes what I do with it.

Sin doesn’t kick the door down. It whispers. It invites. It says, “This will feel good. This will make you strong. This will prove something.”

In scripture, we are warned not to let sin reign in our lives and not to hand over our bodies as an instrument for unrighteousness. Instead, offer yourselves to God—like people who’ve been brought from death to life—and let every part of you become an instrument for what is right.

You see, if we keep letting the wrong things control us, that’s playground theology with adult consequences.

If we don’t decide who we belong to, the loudest voice will decide for us.

Look at Jesus on His way to the cross. The crowd was loud. The pressure was real. The easy path would have been to bend and protect Himself or to give the people what they wanted in the moment.

He didn’t. He refused to let the crowd steer His obedience. He would not offer Himself to the spirit of the mob. Every step He took was aligned with His Father’s will.

Just as Jesus refused to follow the crowd’s destructive voices on His way to the cross, we must resist worldly influences and walk in God’s wisdom instead.

So today I want to encourage you, before you repost, before you repeat the joke, or before you step into that compromising conversation—pause. Ask yourself whose voice you want to follow. Offer your life to God and tune out the rest.

Because sin will always shout, but you don’t have to answer to it.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What voices tend to influence your decisions the most right now?
Where are you tempted to react out of pride, frustration, or impulse?
What does it look like for you to “offer yourself to God” in a practical, everyday situation?
How does remembering your new identity in Christ change the way you respond to temptation?
What is one moment today where you can pause and choose God’s way instead of reacting?

April 6, 2026/by Brendan McClain