The Connection Corner

What is Your Life Preaching

Matthew 5:16 – In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father.

The first sermon I really remember was not told from a pulpit. No. It was from a six-year-old boy standing on a fireplace.

He was preaching into a purple and green toy microphone that came from McDonalds. And though I barely understood what he was doing, I have never forgotten it.

That boy was my cousin, Waylon. He has lived his life on the autism spectrum, and while most may see limitations, I have only ever seen his faith. And he never stopped preaching.

Today, you can still see Waylon living out the sermons he preached as a kid.

On Wednesdays, you would find him on stage at church playing his bongos. On Sundays, you would see him with hands raised high. If you asked anyone at Hodge Assembly of God, they would tell you without hesitation that he was the “head usher.” At home, Waylon kept a stack of Jimmy Swaggart tapes spinning. He listened, he learned, and he soaked it all in.

And he even has the coolest job, tailor-made for him.

He rides with the local police unit, spending time with the elderly, visiting people who are too often forgotten. He talks, he listens, he reminds them they still matter—to him and to God. And in his own way, he is still preaching sermons.

I look at his life and realize how much it shaped my own. His unwavering example helped lead me to my work at Always Uplifting 88.7 The Cross. Because I believe, like he does, that every single moment matters.

One song can meet someone at just the right time. One story can change a life. One gift from a listener can make sure someone else hears the hope they need most.

And that is the question left in my heart after sharing his story: what sermon is your life preaching? Because the truth is simple, and it is urgent: life really is about sharing Jesus. Make every moment count.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When people look at your life, what kind of “sermon” do they see?
How can you let your light shine today in a way that points others to Jesus?
Who in your life has quietly shown you what faith looks like in action?
What small act of love or service could become someone’s reminder that they still matter—to you and to God?

October 20, 2025/by David Hall

Safe in the Arms of God

Daily Devotional, Stories About Songs, Tammi Arender

Psalm 46:1 – God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

Some days you don’t realize how badly you need someone until you nearly lose your footing. I think that’s why Lauren Daigle’s song “Thank God I Do” has sunk so deep into my heart.

When she first shared the story behind it, it felt like she was putting words to things I’ve known myself. She was on top of the world, in the middle of a massive tour, when everything shut down in 2020.

She thought it would be a short pause—but weeks turned into months. What she described wasn’t just disappointment, it was a crumbling. Panic attacks hit her hard, and she found herself at rock bottom, unsure who she even was anymore.

She said her mom and a friend sat with her through a seven-hour panic attack. No judgment, no shame. Just presence. And out of that experience, she wrote this song.

She said it was the clearest picture of God she’d seen in a long time. She could feel God holding her steady through the people who simply prayed. That struck me: God shows His nearness not always in lightning bolts, but sometimes in the simple company of people who refuse to leave your side.

That’s what the song reminds me of every time.

“You’re my constant, my steadiness, you’re my shelter, my oxygen.”

Those aren’t just lyrics. They’re a testimony. They’re the sound of someone realizing they are not as alone as they feared.

I’ve carried that into my own life, too. There have been times when the ground under me felt fragile, when I didn’t know how to put myself back together. And yet, I can look back and see God’s fingerprints in the people who showed up, in the peace that somehow settled in, in the safety I found in Him.

When the world feels shaky, it’s easy to believe you’re slipping away. But this song reminds me of a greater truth: God is the home I can always return to. He steadies me. He holds me safe. And for that, like Lauren, I can only say—thank God I do.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When have you felt the ground beneath you start to shake, and how did God show up for you in that moment?
Who in your life has been a steady reminder of God’s presence when you needed it most?
Psalm 46:1 calls God “an ever-present help.” What does that mean to you personally?
How might you be God’s presence to someone else who feels unsteady right now?

Lyrics:

I’ve seen love come and
I’ve seen love walk away
So many questions
Will anybody stay
It’s been a hard year
So many nights in tears
All of the darkness
Trying to fight my fears
Alone so long alone

I don’t know who I’d be
If I didn’t know you
I’d probably fall off the edge
I don’t know where I’d go
If you ever let go
So keep me held in your hands

I’ve started breathing
The weight is lifted here
With you it’s easy
My head is finally clear
There’s nothing missing
When you are by my side
I took the long road
But now I realize
I’m home with you I’m home

I don’t know who I’d be
If I didn’t know you
I’d probably fall off the edge
I don’t know where I’d go
If you ever let go
So keep me held in your hands

You’re my safe place
My hide away
You’re my anchor
My saving grace
You’re my constant
My steadiness
You’re my shelter
My oxygen

I don’t know who I’d be
If I didn’t know you
Thank God I do

I don’t know who I’d be
If I didn’t know you
I’d probably fall off the edge
I don’t know where I’d go
If you ever let go
So keep me held in your hands
I don’t know who I’d be
If I didn’t know you
Thank God I do

October 19, 2025/by Tammi Arender

Already Loved

Daily Devotional, David Hall, Heart of the Artist

Jeremiah 31:3 – I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

The day I lost one hundred pounds, I expected fireworks.

I had imagined it over and over: stepping onto the scale, seeing the number, and somehow feeling more loved by God than I did before. In my mind, I thought He would put His arm around me and whisper, “Now you are worthy. Now you are enough.”

But there I was in my own bathroom, standing barefoot on the scale, and nothing about God’s love had changed one ounce.

It was the same steady love I had known the day I could barely bend down to tie my shoes. The same love that was there when I sweated just from peeling an orange. It was the same love that never flinched when I turned to food because I did not know what else to do with my sadness.

The truth settled in slowly like the way a sunrise sneaks over the horizon. I had not earned more of His affection by shedding pounds. And the irony of it made me smile.

I was chasing a reward I already had. Yes, the discipline mattered. Yes, the growth was worth celebrating. But none of it increased the love of God that had been constant from the start.

I stepped off the scale lighter, not just in body but in heart. And it left me wondering: how many of us are still waiting for some future breakthrough to feel loved, when we are already standing in it?

— Micah Tyler

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Have you ever believed you needed to earn God’s love through performance or progress?
How does Jeremiah 31:3 challenge the way you see your worth?
What would it look like for you to live today as someone who is already fully loved?
Where in your life is God inviting you to rest, rather than strive, in His affection?

October 18, 2025/by David Hall