The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
Proof that’s Still StandingJune 4, 2026 - 7:00 am- Faith After the FalloutJune 3, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Longing Less, Living MoreJune 2, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Running Home to RestJune 1, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Joy Fills RoomsMay 31, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Dinner Table DiscoveryMay 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Love That Didn’t Look AwayMay 29, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Discipline, Desire, DelightMay 28, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Loved Louder than LabelsMay 27, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Rest for the RingmasterMay 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
Heart of the Artist
- When Joy Fills RoomsMay 31, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Paddleboards and PraiseMay 24, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Silence Finds a SongMay 17, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Blood-Bought Glow UpApril 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Peace is Still PreachingApril 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
Stories About Songs
- When Joy Fills RoomsMay 31, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Paddleboards and PraiseMay 24, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Silence Finds a SongMay 17, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Blood-Bought Glow UpApril 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Peace is Still PreachingApril 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
Listen to the Bells of Hope
Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist, Stories About SongsThe fire consumed everything. His wife’s screams still haunted Henry’s mind. That was two years ago, but grief has no calendar. Sitting in his study on Christmas morning, Henry’s world still felt like ash.
War raged across the nation, and his eldest son, Charles, was recovering from a near-fatal bullet wound. The bells outside chimed peace on earth, goodwill to men, but they only deepened his bitterness. How could those words ring true in a world like this?
Yet the bells refused to stop. They tolled relentlessly, refusing to be ignored. Listening, he felt it—a faint, rebellious hope.
That morning, he took up a pen—not because he had answers, but because he had to confront the questions. As he wrote, the words to the now famous carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Morning” came slowly, painfully:
“Then rang the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep.’”
This Christmastime, may those same bells find you too. When grief feels endless and joy feels far away, listen. Hope has a sound—it’s faint at first, but it grows stronger the longer you lean in.
The psalmist once wrote, “I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul.”
Maybe that’s what Henry heard that morning—the reminder that God had seen it all. And maybe this Christmas, it’s time for us to believe it again. To let hope keep ringing, not because the pain has ended, but because it hasn’t taken us under.
Because even now, hope will not let us go.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Heard The Bells On Christmas
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men
And the bells are ringing (peace on Earth)
Like a choir they’re singing (peace on Earth)
In my heart I hear them (peace on Earth)
Peace on Earth, good will to men
And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on Earth, ” I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men
But the bells are ringing (peace on Earth)
Like a choir singing (peace on Earth)
Does anybody hear them? (Peace on Earth)
Peace on Earth, good will to men
Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
(Peace on Earth)
(Peace on Earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men
Then ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on Earth, good will to men
And the bells, they’re ringing (peace on Earth)
Like a choir they’re singing (peace on Earth)
And with our hearts, we’ll hear them (peace on Earth)
Peace on Earth, good will to men
Do you hear the bells, they’re ringing? (Peace on Earth)
The light, the angels singing (peace on Earth)
Open up your heart and hear them (peace on Earth)
Peace on Earth, good will to men
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth, good will to men
TRADITIONAL VERSION:
Love and a Cup of Cocoa
Brenda Price, Daily DevotionalWe just love our teachers. Don’t you. They work so hard. They are so awesome. I say that often—but sometimes, I meet someone who reminds me exactly why I mean it.
There is a teacher I know who started noticing one of her sixth graders lingering in the hallway after school. Every day, she would see him there—quiet, backpack hanging off one shoulder, tracing circles on the tile with his shoe while the building emptied.
At first, she figured he was just killing time. But then she learned his mother worked late, leaving him with nowhere to go, no snacks, and no one to help with homework.
It would have been easy to send him to the office or tell him to wait outside. But she did something small that turned out to be extraordinary. She opened her classroom, made a mug of hot cocoa from her own kitchen, and invited him in. They sat side by side, working through math problems that once felt impossible to him.
Soon, the word spread.
Two kids became five. Five became a dozen. Parents started dropping off snacks. Local businesses sent supplies. And the laughter of children began spilling out into the hallway where silence used to be.
That empty room transformed into a safe place for students to learn, belong, and feel loved. They called it the Homework and Hot Chocolate Club.
I watched that story unfold and thought, “This is what love looks like in motion. It is not grand or complicated. It starts with a single open door, and a simple ‘you can hang out here.’”
It reminds me of the verse in Romans 12, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
That’s exactly what this teacher did. She didn’t wait for a program or a plan. She just opened her hands to what God placed right in front of her.
And it leaves me asking myself—what if the simplest way to show love is to offer what is already in our hands, trusting God to turn a cup of cocoa into someone else’s miracle?
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Beauty That Does Not Fade
Daily Devotional, Tammi ArenderI am steering my cart down that aisle—you know the one. The aisle that always catches your eye no matter how focused you think you are. For me, it’s the skincare section.
It’s Black Friday, and sure, I should be looking for the next gift on my list right now. But there’s something about this aisle.
I lean over and pick up a box that claims to lift, smooth, and firm—basically a miracle in moisturizer form. I laugh under my breath. “I’ve got more serums than sense,” I tell myself.
Still, I reread the label.
The truth is, I’ve been struggling with this whole “gravity” thing, and every new product feels like a promise to win back what time has taken. Honestly, I could probably pay a car note with what I’ve spent chasing that fountain of youth.
But then, quietly, something in me resists. I’ve been praying about this—about learning to age gracefully, about not letting the mirror dictate my peace. And right there, I realize I don’t need it.
So, for the first time in a long time, I put the box back. Just like that. It seems small, but it feels like a big victory.
As I push my cart toward the next aisle, I think about how all of this—the sales, the shimmer, and the temporary glow—fades so fast. God’s promises are better. They don’t peel or expire. They hold true and stand the test of time.
And maybe that’s the reminder I needed most today: that “not one of all the good promises the Lord made has failed” (Joshua 21:45).
Every word He has spoken stands. So while the world may chase what fades, let’s hold onto the real beauty is found in contentment and trust. Because if I know one thing is true, God’s promises will never run out.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT