The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
Faith in the In-BetweenMay 13, 2026 - 7:00 am- Let Go of What Can’t Love YouMay 12, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Stretching Makes Faith StrongMay 11, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Love in the Little ThingsMay 10, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Beauty in the Slow DownMay 9, 2026 - 7:00 am
- From Complaints to CallingMay 8, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Blueberries and Blessings AboundMay 7, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Purpose in the PainMay 6, 2026 - 7:00 am
- God in the Scary MomentsMay 5, 2026 - 7:00 am
- Lessons Baked by LoveMay 4, 2026 - 7:00 am
Heart of the Artist
- The Blood-Bought Glow UpApril 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
- 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
Stories About Songs
- The Blood-Bought Glow UpApril 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
- 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
Peace is Still Preaching
Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist, Stories About SongsSome stories don’t begin with peace. They begin with the storm.
That was true for Hope Darst when she walked into the songwriting room. Anxiety swirled around like a storm she couldn’t outrun. And her friend and co-writer, Mia Fieldes, was carrying her own struggles she couldn’t shake on her own. Things like disappointment, fear, uncertainty.
“We need to write a song about peace.” Mia said, breaking the silence.
It was not because either of them felt it, obviously. But it was because they didn’t.
So, they began writing. Not for a performance. Not for applause. But as a declaration over their own hearts. You may have heard the chorus:
“Peace be still. Say the word and I will set my feet upon the sea ‘till I’m dancing in the deep. Peace be still. You are here so it is well. Even when my eyes can’t see, I will trust the voice that speaks. Peace. Peace over me.”
Hope had to sing those words over herself long before anyone else ever heard them. there’s power in moments like that—when we let the peace that comes from Christ rule in our hearts, not just visit when life feels calm, but take authority even in the middle of the storm.”
When we come in agreement with the storm-calmer. The peace that comes from Heaven is greater than our emotions, and it speaks a better word.
Maybe today, you’re carrying something heavy—fear of what’s next, anxiety that won’t quit, disappointment that lingers. What if peace didn’t wait for circumstances to change? What if you let it settle in your heart and rule your thoughts and choices even when the waves are still crashing around you?
It can. So just declare it today.
Peace.
Peace over me.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Lyrics
I don’t want to be afraid
Every time I face the waves
I don’t want to be afraid
I don’t want to be afraid
I don’t want to fear the storm
Just because I hear it roar
I don’t want to fear the storm
I don’t want to fear the storm
Peace be still
Say the word and I will
Set my feet upon the sea
Till I’m dancing in the deep
Peace be still
You are here so it is well
Even when my eyes can’t see
I will trust the voice that speaks
I’m not gonna be afraid
‘Cause these waves are only waves
I’m not gonna be afraid
No I’m not gonna be afraid
And I’m not gonna fear the storm
You are greater than its roar
Oh I’m not gonna fear the storm
No I’m not gonna fear at all
Peace be still
Say the word and I will
Set my feet upon the sea
Till I’m dancing in the deep
Peace be still
You are here so it is well
Even when my eyes can’t see
I will trust the voice that speaks
Peace, peace over me
You speak peace
Let faith rise up
O heart believe
Let faith rise up in me
Let faith rise up
O heart believe
Let faith rise up in me
Let faith rise up
O heart believe
Let faith rise up in me
Oh let faith rise up
O heart believe
Let faith rise up in me
Peace be still
Say the word and I will
Set my feet upon the sea
Till I’m dancing in the deep oh
Peace be still
You are here so it is well
Even when my eyes can’t see
I will trust the voice that speaks
Peace, peace over me
I hear You speaking
Peace, peace over me
Oh peace
Over me
You speak peace
You speak peace
Over me
You speak peace
You speak peace
You speak peace
Joy That Won’t Stay Quiet
Daily Devotional, Tammi ArenderYou know the song.
“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart…”
If that song doesn’t put a smile on your face, you might need to splash a little cold water on your cheeks and pour yourself another cup of coffee.
I grew up singing that in Vacation Bible School, standing in a line of wiggly kids doing hand motions like we were directing traffic. And even now, years later, that tune still pops in my head from time to time.
And I’ve got to tell you. that song didn’t just fall out of the sky.
It was written back in 1925 by a traveling evangelist named George William Cooke. The world he lived in had just come through World War I. Families had buried sons. Influenza had taken millions of lives also. People everywhere were wondering if the world had lost its mind.
And right there in the middle of all that heaviness, this preacher writes a little song that basically says, Joy can live somewhere deeper than your circumstances.
Not in the headlines.
Not in the economy.
Not even in how your morning is going.
It’s way deeper. Jesus. Down deep in my heart.
And I think that’s why it stuck. Because life will give you plenty of reasons not to feel joyful. Bills show up. Relationships get complicated. But we have to find our joy in Him.
Let the Lord be your strength. Trust Him. Scripture says He will be your help and your shield. Let your heart leap for joy at the thought of that.
And maybe today—before the emails start flying, before the errands pile up, before the news tries to steal your peace—you could take just a moment and remember one way the Lord has carried you through.
When you remember His goodness, joy has a way of rising back to the surface and making you say “Wow!” And who knows…
You might find yourself humming along to those old VBS songs too.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Quit Chasing What Changes
Daily Devotional, Denise PaganoThe world upgrades itself while you’re not looking.
I’m standing inside a McDonald’s that barely resembles the one burned into my memory. Touchscreen kiosks glow. Orders appear on screens. Nobody really talks anymore. It’s all faster. Smarter. Updated.
And I can’t help but think about 1974.
Back when McDonald’s sold paper gift certificates in little booklets. My mom bought some for me. I remember the feel of them in my hands. Mom would grin and say, “I’m going to hide these so well, you’ll never find them.”
Here’s the problem.
She hid them so well that to this day we still haven’t found them. We’ve laughed about it for years. Somewhere out there, there is a Happy Meal waiting with my name on it, but those certificates are probably dust by now.
It makes me think about how much of my life I’ve spent chasing what is sure to change and expire. Trends. Approval. The next upgrade. The next version of me that finally feels like enough.
But here’s what I’m learning: God’s love never expires.
God promises that even if the mountains crumble and the hills slide into the sea, the faithful love of God will not change. His mercy toward me is not fragile.
Everything else updates. He doesn’t. His grace doesn’t glitch, and it doesn’t expire at the end of the fiscal year. It was paid for long ago, and it remains.
I may never find those McDonald’s certificates, but do you know what? I’ve found something better. And friend, maybe today, instead of chasing what keeps changing, you can take comfort knowing that God’s love is the same today, yesterday, and forever too.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT