The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
Faith that Wears Stretchy PantsApril 25, 2026 - 7:00 am- Heaven Doesn’t Count Like ThatApril 24, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Road Paved with RedemptionApril 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Listening to the Little ThingsApril 22, 2026 - 7:00 am
- What Really Deserves Your TimeApril 21, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Giver is Better than the GiftApril 20, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Peace is Still PreachingApril 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Joy That Won’t Stay QuietApril 18, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Quit Chasing What ChangesApril 17, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Prayers Already in MotionApril 16, 2026 - 7:00 am
Heart of the Artist
- Peace is Still PreachingApril 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Hope in His NameApril 12, 2026 - 8:00 am
- When Forgiveness Writes the EndingMarch 22, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Worship Found Its HeartMarch 15, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Enough is EnoughMarch 8, 2026 - 7:00 am
Stories About Songs
- Peace is Still PreachingApril 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Hope in His NameApril 12, 2026 - 8:00 am
- When Forgiveness Writes the EndingMarch 22, 2026 - 7:00 am
- When Worship Found Its HeartMarch 15, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Words Hurt, Truth HealsFebruary 28, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Gift Hiding in Your Faith
Daily Devotional, Tammi ArenderThe day I discovered I could decorate cookies was the kind of day that you press your forehead to the window glass. Cold. Wet. Rainy.
I was little, and let me tell you, growing up, I didn’t spend much time in the kitchen. Baking, cooking, anything involving an apron? That just wasn’t my scene. I was the girl with scraped knees and a dirt-smudged ball cap, more interested in climbing trees than learning how to simmer or sauté.
But that dreary day, stuck inside and restless, I found myself asking, “What can I do today?”
A few weeks before, I had met a woman who was an artist—but not the gallery kind. Her canvas was soft-baked sugar, and her paint was glossy royal icing. I remember her saying, “You don’t have to be Leonardo da Vinci to make something beautiful. You just need to enjoy the process.”
She must’ve seen the doubt in my eyes, because she followed it up with, “Come over sometime. I’ll show you.”
So that rainy afternoon, I took her up on it.
She set out the piping bags and cookies. I followed her lead, awkward at first, like I was writing with my left hand. But hour by hour, the icing began to turn into art. The cookies started to look like something someone might actually buy.
And more importantly, I felt… creative.
Turns out, God had tucked something inside me that I never knew was there. I had always assumed creativity was reserved for the artsy kids with glitter pens and sketchbooks. But here was me, the tomboy, squeezing swirls of color onto little edible canvases and loving it.
Now, I decorate and sell custom cookies through my little online business: Taste of Tallulah. It still amazes me to say it out loud. What started as a rainy day experiment was the start of a God given talent I never knew I had.
And I wonder—what might He have in store for you? Don’t talk yourself out of it.
You don’t need permission from the world to try something new. You don’t even need good weather. Just a little curiosity, a little courage—and maybe some powdered sugar.
What Do You Know, Joe
Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist, Stories About SongsJoe came from a well-off family. They weren’t uber-rich, mind you. But they were comfortable. He grew up going to decent schools. He wore high-end clothes. He may or may not have worn monogrammed underwear.
When he turned 18, he was going to join the military like his dad, the officer, wanted. But there is a well known saying in the military, “You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken excrement.” We are who we are.
Joe just wasn’t the military type. He was creative, he wrote poetry, for crying out loud. So he went to college instead.
Turns out, the poet was a great student. And he realized something important during college: He liked teaching.
So he got a job as a private tutor. It was a fun gig. He taught the children of a good family, and life was shaping up nicely.
Things got even better when he met a girl. She was lovely. Charming. They became obsessed with each other, constantly annoying all those around them with PDA.
It wasn’t long before they were engaged. Joe was probably happier than he’d ever been. They started planning the wedding.
Only days before the big event, there was an accident. It all happened so fast. His bride-to-be drowned. The accident happened right in front of Joe. His was the last face she saw.
Joe was catatonic. He had PTSD. Night terrors. He couldn’t stop seeing her face. His friends and family didn’t know whether he would ever get over her.
The worst part of it all, he often said, was the loneliness. Loneliness is the worst sensation in the human experience.
He finally left home for a fresh start. He took a job in a rural town with a tiny population. A town so small they the city-limits signs were nailed to the same post.
He lived in the sticks. He joined a church. Mostly, Joe kept to himself. He was a quiet guy. He spent a lot of time alone in nature.
Also, they say he helped people. He was a handy guy, so he was always at someone’s house fixing something. He was usually helping the disabled folks in town, and the shut-ins.
He earned a reputation for being a hard worker. Locals tried to hire him, but he had a personal rule he followed. Joe would only work for those who couldn’t afford to pay. He accepted no money.
You know. Just a really good guy.
Then he met Catherine. They had an instant connection. It was one of those relationships that just worked. They started hanging out a lot. He loved her so deeply it hurt. And just like that, the loneliness was gone.
They got engaged. It was the happy ending of a very long grief process. A ray of sunlight. But shortly before their wedding, Catherine developed pneumonia. He was at her bedside when she died.
After that, Joe was a wreck. They say he threw himself into the work of helping others, if for no other reason, than to combat loneliness.
He wrote poetry, too. Lots of it. Late one night, while writing a letter, he wrote one such poem.
The page was dotted with drops of saltwater, smearing the ink in little puddles. The beginning verse of that poem went:
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and grief to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
And anyway, now you know the rest of the story.
— Sean Dietrich
Lyrics:
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer!
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he’ll take and shield thee; Thou wilt find a solace there.
-Joseph M. Scriven, 1855
(Tune by Charles C. Converse, 1868)
Jesus Calls Us Back to Life
Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist, Stories About SongsHave you ever thought about the fact that the primary way that God chose to reveal Himself to us is through story? I think God chose to do this because He knows us best.
One of my favorite stories comes from the dramatic scene in John where Jesus finds Himself at the tomb of His best friend, Lazarus. By the time Jesus got there, Lazarus had been dead for four days.
In Jewish tradition, the soul would hover over the body for three days, but on the fourth, there would be no more hope for any reversal of the loss. This little cultural detail sets up the story to show Jesus faced with an impossible situation.
Surrounded by weeping family and friends, Jesus calls out…'”Lazarus, come out! Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
This is our story! Apart from Jesus, you and I are without hope, without life, and without promise. No matter how far gone we think we are, we can all still hear the powerful and authoritative voice of Jesus calling out to us.
“(insert your name here), come out! Take off the grave clothes and be free!”
Because, just like Lazarus, He has called us back to life!
— Phil Wickham
LYRICS
How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory, whoa!
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Oh God, You are my living hope
Songwriters: Brian Johnson / Phil Wickham