The Good Day

Kids love visiting the zoo, but what if we could connect what they see to scripture through these wild animals? By helping our children engage with their senses, they can come to realize God, though He is invisible, is MORE real than what they do see.

Valerie Ellis is a mom and teacher who understands how tricky it can be to help kids discover and develop a vibrant, authentic faith amidst life’s many challenges, which is why she is passionate about helping families find simple, everyday ways to engage kids in natural conversations, fantastic children’s books, and fun activities centered around faith and love.

Author of Wild Faith: 52 Amazing Animals that Point to Our Great God as well as others, she’s a former public school teacher and a member of Texas Library Association, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and The MomCo (MOPS). Additionally, she supports her children’s book habit by writing grants for nonprofits in Houston, Texas where she lives with her husband, Josh, and their two boys.

Faith requires us to see differently. To help us understand this concept in a more concrete way, we’re talking with a good friend of mine, Dannah Jo, who has learned and continues to practice this through photography.

How can we see an invisible God? It’s not just a question from young hearts but one we may wrestle with ourselves. Though we cannot see God, we can see evidence of Him and His love for us and evidence of the truth of His Word all around us. God îș teaching us through His creation, we just forget to look for Him. 

My friend and author of The Growing Season: A Year of Down-on-the-Farm Devotions, Sarah Philpott, is joining to share what she has learned from living with her family on their cattle farm in Tennessee.

Sarah Philpott, Ph.D, is the ECPA Award-nominated author of Loved Baby: 31 Devotions Helping You Grieve and Cherish Your Child After Pregnancy Loss. Her other books include: The Growing Season: A Year of Down-on-the-Farm Devotions and her two children’s books: Moo, Moo Nap, Nap and Wake Up Little Seed. Sarah lives in Tennessee on a cattle farm where she raises her four children and is farm wife to her high-school sweetheart.

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How can we see God? How can we see Love? Can we see Him and learn more about Him through His creation surrounding us? Today, my friend, Susie Lipps, who has a background in theology from Fuller Seminary, a passion for leadership and after being “banished” to wine country, her eyes have been opened to understand the Love of the Father and Son for us in a deeper way.

"... that is what life is really all about - our relationship with God. So it makes sense we will see God in everything when we learn to look for God in everything.

And that, my friend, is what I want us to practice together. Because I want to be us to be a people who are green thumbs, not necessarily with plants but with our faith. I want us to be keen observers, taking in every opportunity to see and experience the wonder of God's love in everything around us everywhere we go. I want the blinders to be lifted from our eyes and for us to learn to see what is hidden in plain sight - the great, great love of the Father for all of us."

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. - Romans 1:20

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Growing up, I remember watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. If you’re not familiar with this book or movie, it’s about 4 teenage girls whose stories and lives are all so different, and though they are forced to spend their summer apart, a pair of jeans somehow fits each one, though their figures are as different as their stories. Reflecting on our unexpected friendship, I think I’ve found my own version of this Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Our stories, backgrounds, ages, hurts, habits and hang-ups are all so very different, but our common thread is not denim. It’s the decision to surrender these cares to Christ and walk with others who are doing the same.

As we practice engaging our sense of hearing to experience God, we’re focusing on hearing God as we share vulnerable conversations in safe, Christ-centered community. I’m truly honored to bring you into a circle with a few of the voices who have shared their stories with me. Today, a couple of the ladies I have had the pleasure of meeting through Celebrate Recovery whom I now call dear friends, Kayla and DeLana, are joining us.

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Hard times are no respecter of persons, we all experience these, and like my friend, Sarah Freymuth points out, there are no instructions for times like these and no platitudes or forced positivity will bring us the peace we crave. Sarah is the author of All the Hard Things: 50 Days Through the Valley and is offering truth to help reinforce our faith in God’s intimate goodness. She writes:

“When we stare into a cavern of grief from the loss of a beloved one, or a medical diagnosis with a wicked track history, we’re faced with a faith that either holds up or unfolds, collapses or expands. It can get muddy when the platitudes we’ve held don’t seem to hold up under the sheer force of what’s threatening to knock us down.”

Sarah Freymuth is the content and storytelling manager for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and she writes for numerous platforms, including Proverbs 31 Ministries, YouVersion, (in)Courage, and She Reads Truth. Sarah loves unearthing God’s goodness in places that don’t feel good, with a heart especially for faith and mental health. She enjoys a simple Wisconsin life by Lake Michigan with her husband, Eric, and Beaglier pup, Alfie Hitchcock. Connect with her at SarahFreymuth.com and on Instagram at @sfreymuthawake.

Today, we’re talking about:

• Hearing God through other believers

What if the theology you believed as a kid doesn’t hold water for you now? What do you do then? Kristen Neighbarger is joining us and sharing her journey to faith and finding a sturdy hope, the kind you can build a life on.

Kristen is a recovering fundamentalist who believes that truth, faith, and the sovereignty of God will survive deconstruction and are critical components of healthy reconstruction. She loves literary analysis and reading scripture with an analyst's eye. She lives in rural Ohio with her husband Russ, daughter Kate, faithful dog Lucy, and her grandma's cat Butters. When her parents aren't snowbirds, they join the party in their mother-in-law's suite, affectionately referred to as Cabin B.

Writing weekly on her blog and social media channels, Kristen helps survivors of church hurt, religious trauma, and spiritual abuse heal and find peace in their faith again. She balances deep dives into scripture with narratives from her own life and church experiences, always connecting with her reader and making faith, the bible, and her teaching relatable and applicable to today’s world. In her book, Breathing Again: Finding Peace While Navigating Faith Reconstruction, Kristen guides her readers through their reconstruction journeys while sharing the details of her own. 

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If you’ve wondered if God loves you, if life is worth living, if God has a purpose for your life, Johnnie wants you to know the answer is yes, for he’s asked these same questions too. His is a powerful story of how God pursues us. His reckless love, which we know leaves the 99 in pursuit of the one, even when that means riding through a rolled over humvee with him, visiting you in a hospital when he were under intense isolation, sitting with him while he grieved deep loss and questioned the meaning of life.

And God is pursuing YOU, too. 

While serving in the U.S. Army, Johnnie Williams had a terrible humvee accident, leaving him paralyzed and unable to walk. He eventually recovered from his injuries and competed in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Through all of his ups and downs, he can now see how God was with him all along - and drawing him near.

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What impact could a whisper hold? Do we dare listen to this whisper we’re hearing? My friend, Kathy Izard, admits, “I worried that listening might mean making a huge mistake by veering off my carefully constructed life plan. It turned out, however, that listening would not be a detour but rather my destiny.”

Today, we are practicing engaging our sense of hearing to hear God in the quiet but insistent whispers and tugs on our hearts. If you caught my 12 Books of 2025 Recommendation, you may be just as excited as I am today to get to hear from my friend and author of The Hundred Story Home and Trust the Whisper - Kathy Izard.

Kathy Izard is an award-winning author and speaker who helped bring transformation to Charlotte in homelessness, housing and mental health. Her first of five books, The Hundred Story Home, received a Christopher Award for outstanding inspirational nonfiction. In Trust the Whisper, Kathy shares compelling true stories of twenty people who listened to their “whispers” and the extraordinary events that followed. Kathy inspires people to be change-makers in their communities.

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Have you ever thought or said, “I didn’t sign up for this!” Plot twists come and we’re tempted to wonder where is God in this? Right now, we’re learning to engage our sense of hearing, to hear God through His Word and the stories of those who lived long ago. To help us, my friend, Sarah Frazer, author of “I Didn’t Sign Up for This” is joining us today.

Sarah E. Frazer is a writer, Bible study mentor, wife of Jason, and mother of five. With a background in missionary work and Bible teaching, her passion is to encourage women to start today with a Bible reading and prayer habit. She shares tools and encouragement for Bible study and prayer study on her website, sarahefrazer.com, and at @sarah_e_frazer.

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If you’ve ever wondered if you’ve heard God correctly or if you found yourself waiting for another sign, I’m excited you’re joining us for this conversation today. My friend, Abby McDonald, the author of Surrendering Certainty: Hearing God Today By Letting Go of Tomorrow, is joining us to help us comb through some of the questions and assumptions we have about hearing God’s voice and encourage us to learn to discern the voice of God for ourselves.

Abby McDonald is a writing coach, speaker, and the author of Surrendering Certainty: Hearing God Today by Letting Go of Tomorrow as well as Shift: Changing Our Focus to See the Presence of God. Her mission is to empower women to hear God’s voice in their lives and act on it in faith. Abby writes regularly for Proverb 31 Ministries’ daily devotions team, and her work has been featured in numerous publications. Abby lives with her husband, three children, and black lab in the mountains of western Maryland. Connect with her at abbymcdonald.org.

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In the rush of our days and amidst all the sound pollution we experience, we become numb to sound, especially sounds which come from an invisible source. One we are prone to miss... It, too, is very real, a constant in our presence but we often miss it because we are not tuned in to listen. It's the voice of God.

Even if we trust He still speaks to us today, we miss it in our waking and perhaps our commuting or working or various times throughout our day because our attention is on something else.

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If we are to experience the wonder of God's love - to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, to be filled with the fullness of God, we need to awaken our souls to this Beauty here with us.

In Season 6 of the podcast, this is the invitation for us. We will spend time with each of our five senses, starting with our ears. I'm so hopeful and prayerful of what God has in store for us. May we learn how to fight to be present, and in doing so, welcome the very One who came to give us life.

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With the coming of Jesus, the law was not abolished but fulfilled and their traditions became stale. Feasting on "stale" spiritual nourishment, left them sick. We must cultivate a fear of the Lord. We must live in the awe and wonder of God which comes as we humble ourselves and proclaim, "He is the Son of God!" I am not. God is on His throne and His power is matchless. When we feast on who He is, rather than feasting on how good we are at following Him, then we're starting down the path of humility.

In these weeks leading up to Christmas, we're looking at those who missed Christmas so we can learn how to be a noticer. How can we become aware and spiritually awake so we do not miss the miracles and God's presence in our midst. Today, we're talking about:

•  What can we learn from those who missed Christmas
• Feasting on knowledge and tradition vs. awe and wonder
• The most unlikely one to recognize Jesus as the Son of God

Why did God reveal Jesus' birth the way He did?

 God, beaming as the proud Father He is, He didn't write it in the skies though He could have. He didn't release all of creation to clap their hands and sing for their Creator though He could have. He didn't tell the ones who society held as most important - the kings and political figures, not even the religious leaders as we'll soon uncover. He came to ones He saw as very important and incredibly symbolic - the lowly shepherds.

In these weeks leading up to Christmas, we're looking at those who missed Christmas so we can learn how to be a noticer. How can we become aware and spiritually awake so we do not miss the miracles and God's presence in our midst. Today, we're talking about:

• What can we learn from those who missed Christmas
• Why did God reveal Jesus’ birth the way He did?
• God honors humility - throughout scripture and today too

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Are we keeping traditions this Christmas or are we embarking on a personal faith expedition? Are we asking questions? Is our curiosity growing stronger every day or has it become a bit dull (important but dull, lacking intrigue and fascination) to us? Faith - this belief - is meant to be an adventure!

In these weeks leading up to Christmas, we're looking at those who missed Christmas so we can learn how to be a noticer. How can we become aware and spiritually awake so we do not miss the miracles and God's presence in our midst. Today, we're talking about:

• What can we learn from those who missed Christmas?
• Keeping traditions vs. embarking on a faith expedition
• The key to starting this faith expedition for yourself today

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God has made a way for all of us to experience and notice Him in our midst, but many miss Him just like many missed that first Christmas. The innkeeper, he wasn't all that bad. His actions could be evaluated as moral, even kind - offering the only place he saw available. His limited vision caused him to tolerate inconvenience, unable to fully embrace and welcome it. Doing so, he missed Christmas, the miracle of Jesus' birth, in his own backyard.

In these weeks leading up to Christmas, we're looking at those who missed Christmas so we can learn how to be a noticer. How can we become aware and spiritually awake so we do not miss the miracles and God's presence in our midst. Today, we're talking about:

• What can we learn from those who missed Christmas?
• Welcoming vs. tolerating inconvenience
• The impact of making room for inconvenience today

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Anita Hinkeldey McVey is a midwest farmer’s daughter who grew up in northwest Iowa on a steady diet of faith, family, and food. Her passion for cooking and gardening inspired her to create a blog, Picnic Life Foodie, where she shares her favorite recipes and the fond memories they bring to mind. With their two sons now “out of the nest”, Anita and her husband, Marty, live on an acreage in central Iowa with a large garden, a fishing pond, and an energetic hunting dog named Stark.

Today, we're talking about:

• Holiday baking and memories

• Unique gift ideas for Christmas

• Thinking of God’s Word as a treasured, well-loved cookbook

Lisa launched her first business in 2023. As founder of Celebrate By Lisa Lou, she believes life is meant to be celebrated! Whether that is wrapping gifts for a party or hosting dinner for friends, Lisa’s main desire is to bring people back together through happy occasions and everyday living. She believes a key component to creating healthy families occurs when meals are shared on a regular basis. Her philosophy: Share a meal, heal a family. Heal a family, heal society. With the belief every family has a story to tell, Lisa Lou reveals tales through beautifully curated tablescapes that are sold in her Houston store and online. What is the unique value proposition of her business? One hundred percent of profits are donated to local children’s charities in the Houston area. 

What she cannot convey through a table design, she expresses in writing. Readers will enjoy blog posts on everything from entertaining tips to modern etiquette, and you can watch her short reels on soft skills on Instagram. You can find her blogs and more about the business @lisalouzook. 

Today, we're talking about:

• How to combat the pressure to do it all during the holidays
• Hospitality vs. entertaining - the pivotal difference
• Navigating empty nest with purpose and perspective

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Davy Reeks and Diane Stanley are twin sisters who have been gifted with a singing talent from birth. After pursuing their degrees and singing classical and Opera music, they now serve in their churches and also perform regularly with The Singing Princess of San Antonio, and continues to make little kids' dreams come true as Elsa, Anna, Cinderella and Ariel (to name a few). 

Davy sings Soprano and possesses extensive expertise in performing and instructing a wide range of music genres. She has consistently guided students towards success, helping them secure coveted roles with Broadway Tours and with prestigious equity companies such as Music Theater Wichita, The MUNY, Flat Rock Playhouse, and Lyric Theater of Oklahoma. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with renowned institutions such as San Antonio Opera, San Antonio Symphony, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and Light Opera Oklahoma. Most recently, she held the position of Adjunct Voice Professor at Oklahoma City University's esteemed Wanda L. Bass School of Music. She currently serves as Director of Singer’s Workshop at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX, and teaches private voice at Lopez Middle School. 

Diane is a voice over artist and vocalist of the San Antonio and Austin surrounding area and has previously served as an elementary music teacher. She currently serves as the Children’s Director at Grace Church New Braunfels. In addition to this, she has performed with the acapella quartet, Southern Stride, an internationally ranked quartet, having received 4th place in the BING Harmony competition in Germany (2018). 

Today, we're talking about:

• Singing as Disney Princesses
• The gift of music and the power of using your voice
• A message for all young girls who love Disney Princesses

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Today, we're going behind-the-scenes of some of our favorite concerts and behind the sound. When it comes to music dreams, Nashville is on the minds of many, but one of my good friends I'm proud to say actually did it. He took the leap, made the move, and is living his dream.

Michael Brooks, in less formal terms, is a behind-the-scenes musical ninja. He moved to Nashville to follow his dreams of technical sound production and now gets to tour and serve vocal artists on the road making the songs we love to sing along to at some of our favorite concerts sound even better live.

He's sharing what he's learned along the way and I believe its for all of us, whether we're musically inclined or simply enjoy music. Today, we're talking about:

• Chasing the curiosity to pursue your dreams

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Jason White is learning in his thirties how to see failure for what it really is - not the opposite of success but the result of not trying. Many know him as a worship pastor, but are you familiar with his story and the turns which led him to leading worship on Sunday mornings and weeknight youth and all the moments in between? Want to hear more of his passion behind this calling?

When he's not serving his church family as the Worship Pastor at the Edmond location for Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma, you can find him spending time with his wife and their family. Today, we're talking about:

• His journey from accounting to worship pastor
• The power of worship and Spoken Word
• Songwriting, inspired by Scripture
• Overcoming the fear of failure

Meet TC and Danielle, a married couple who love writing songs and sharing the stories behind them. Their passion is writing tunes that capture the heart of Jesus and reflect His joy and creativity. Right now, they lead worship at two local churches and love hitting the road to share their music wherever they’re welcomed. You can find their music under the name TC & Danielle, and with their worship band, Midtown Worship, wherever you stream your music. 

Today, we're talking about:

• Passion for music (and hats), how it began
• Their love story and calling to pursue music professionally together
• Songwriting and their heart, inspiration, and the truth shared through this gift

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When other kids were collecting baseball cards, Wes Kinsler was collecting things he could take apart. This curiosity has endured a lifetime for him and led him to study many innovations and innovators over the years. Today, he's joining us as we dive into a mini series on the power of music to help us see how music and sound were first recorded. We're talking about:

• The history of recorded sound
• The power of curiosity and the innovation which follows
• Being transported back in time through music

This brother-sister duo is joining me to share how God has used them at Bethany Children's Health Center, specifically with Albert Gray serving as CEO and Carol Gray as COO. What initially looked like a door closing moment, God intervened with very different plans. At Bethany Children's Health Center, children receive top notch care in a state of the art facility. To schedule a tour, please call (405) 470-2233.

Today, we're talking about:

• The story behind Bethany Children’s Health Center
• The power of activating simple faith
• Taking God at His Word and the miracles we know when we do

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Sara Emery serves as the Volunteer Engagement Manager at Little Light House, which is a Christian non-profit in Oklahoma providing tuition-free special education and therapeutic services for children with special needs and their families. Their mission is to glorify God by improving the quality of life for children with special needs, their families and their communities.

Today, we're talking about:

• The story behind Little Light House
• Rejoicing in the trial and witnessing miracles every day
• How YOU can get involved and support!

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Ruthie Rayner has been called into education, serving 34 years with 15 of those as the principal at Stanley Hupfeld Academy, a charter school in Oklahoma City, OK. Driven by her own story of being raised by a handicapped mother and an under-resourced family, she works to lead her team and students to persevere and overcome their circumstances to be all they have been created to be. Today, we're talking about:

• Helping kids overcome the seemingly insurmountable before them
• The story and mission of Stanley Hupfeld Academy
• Ruthie’s story and how this has shaped her purpose as a principal

To get connected and/or serve at Stanley Hupfeld Academy, please call (405)-751-1774.

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A lot has changed in 5 years - new faces, a farm, and a whole lotta growth - but one thing is still the same: time on the porch.
To celebrate 5 years, my favorite people - ‘Dubya and Jenny - are joining me on the pod this week along with our good friend Luke Helms. We’re talking about 5 things I wish I knew before starting the blog.
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Today, my friend, Traci Shnider, is sharing her reflection of Psalm 58 with us and helping us find immense comfort in our God who is just and promises justice - that evil has not won, good and Love have the final word.

Crying out to God - we usually find ourselves here when God's timing and or ways is different from that of our own. Today, a dear friend of mine and Dubya's, R.J. Hester, is sharing his reflection of Psalm 51 with us and guiding us through a prayer David prayed to be strengthened as he waited upon the Lord.

Rodney Hester, known as R.J. to many who know him well, serves at Crossings Community Church in OKC as a Graduate Resident for Kids Ministries. He and Will like to ditch the cordial handshake and wrap each other up in a big bear hug when they see each other. I pray this reflection feels a bit like that - a warm embrace from a good friend.

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Joy and grief, these seem so opposite, yet I've come to learn these two are good friends. Have you noticed in your own life how these seem to coexist? Some of our most joyous times are also met with loss, heartache or grief.

My friend, Courtney Doyle, is sharing her reflection of Psalm 44 with us and drawing strength from scripture as she endures a season marked by "a smile on [her] face and a hole in [her] heart."

Hang in there! It's a phrase we hear quite a bit and likely even use to try to encourage another not to give up hope, but is it really that encouraging? Is it really that hopeful?

We know Hope has a name and His name is Jesus, so this means we gotta go to scripture to see what it has to say about this. To help us, my friend, Cheri Fletcher, is sharing her reflection of Psalm 37 with us.

Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Perhaps you too are familiar with this verse. You've heard it or read it. Perhaps you didn't know it was in Psalm 30, but you've been encouraged by this scripture before.

This week, Luke Helms, a long-time friend of Will and I's and of ours here at The Good Day, is back again and sharing key insight from Revelation on this verse.

Luke lives in Oklahoma City, where he has found a wonderful community of believers at Crossings Community Church. He has an insatiable desire to learn and write about the interconnectedness and symbolism of the Bible. Luke enjoys trying new restaurants, traveling (nineteen countries and twenty-four states so far), and going to Thunder games. He serves as an attorney at a local law firm and serves as Chairman of the Board for Willow Pregnancy Support.

Where are you dwelling today?

I, for one, don't ask myself this question enough. We're more accustomed to hearing, "How are you doing today?" but if we want to understand why we're doing well or poorly, I believe it actually goes back to this first question: Where are you dwelling today?

My friend, Melissa Labieniec is sharing her reflection of the beloved Psalm 23 with us and helping us experience the peace God has for us. You'll want to stick around 'til the end, the last story she shares is powerful and such a good visual for us as we go forward in our ever-changing circumstances.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Melissa is married and has two grown daughters. She has been a Christian for about 25 years now. Utilizing her bachelor’s degree in ministry and leadership (with a concentration in human services) from Grace Christian University, she loves going to church to lead and serve in many capacities. She is also on her local children’s hospital gala planning committee, where she feels she can be of service to children and families in need.

 Melissa is a twice published author with Proverbs 31 Ministries and delights in spreading God’s joy, love and hope whenever she can to women of all ages and all stages of life. You can connect with her on Facebook.

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My attempt to "do-it-all" shines brightest when it's time to carry in groceries. Sure, it's a lot and it's heavy, and yeah, I pushed it in a cart at the store, but now that it's time to carry it in the house, I decide to do this all in one trip. Deep breath.

Do you do this too? Maybe not with groceries but with all the various bags and burdens you carry for the day?

This tendency is something my friend, Bethany Kimsey has experienced too. She's sharing her reflection of Psalm 16 to help us surrender this load we're carrying to God and experience His freedom and the lightness He offers us today.

As a mother to 8 children, Bethany Kimsey has seen God radically change her messy motherhood from weary, anxious, and frantic to peaceful, joyful, and triumphant. She helps weary mothers win the battle against worry and fatigue as they understand their identity in Christ and rest in the hope of the Gospel in community with other moms. As a writer, speaker, and encourager of mothers, she wants to see a generation of mothers who can connect their motherhood to the love of Jesus in real and practical ways so that they can be confident. 

What has your prayer life looked like today? This week? This month? Is it a daily rhythm or has busyness or distraction seeped in and taken your attention away? Usually when this happens, we open the door for worry and fear.

As we're studying the Psalms together again this Summer, I knew I wanted my dear friend, Patty Conrad, to join us and share how she has learned to pray through the Psalms. These words, as ancient and poetic as they may be, can serve as a guide, a practical prayer prompt for us when we don't know what or how to pray. Maybe we're unsure how to approach the throne room of the Almighty. Maybe we know, but we need something to help us make it a daily habit.

Patty Conrad graduated from Baylor University with a degree in Education. She taught special education for 8 years, has been homeschooling for 22 years and currently teaches 1st grade at a private classical school.  Patty and her husband have four boys: two teenagers and two young adults. She enjoys planning, cooking, reading and spending time with her family and friends.

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We don't have to be around a child or children for very long to see their expressions, attitudes, and longing for independence is serving as a mirror to that of our own.

My friend, Anita McVey, is sharing of a time her grand-daughter unknowingly held up this mirror for her and the surrender and promise which came as she reflected on this experience in the light of Psalm 2.

Anita Hinkeldey McVey is a midwest farmer’s daughter who grew up in northwest Iowa on a steady diet of faith, family, and food. Her passion for cooking and gardening inspired her to create a blog, Picnic Life Foodie, where she shares her favorite recipes and the fond memories they bring to mind. With their two sons now “out of the nest,” Anita and her husband, Marty, live on an acreage in central Iowa with a large garden, a fishing pond, and an energetic hunting dog named Stark.

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What does it mean to be blessed? I have to agree with my friend, Becky Beresford - we tend to get a little confused on this one. Not intentionally, but confused nonetheless. Becky is sharing her reflection of Psalm 145 and helping us understand this foundational part of our faith better.

Dr. Gladys Childs understands how our circumstances can try to shake us and make us want to do anything and everything except the one thing we need to do - praise God.

I know - how backwards it sounds! And this is why we're talking about this today. In hopes praise will become the seedling and even more - our very response to life's circumstances - the good and the hard. For our circumstances do not change the foundation of our faith: God is still God.

The cycle of overwhelm. We all know this. The things in the cycle, causing it to pick up momentum vary but the overwhelming result is not a foreign feeling to any of us.

To interrupt this cycle, we need to learn to use our minds to calm and quiet our brains. When we do, our soul finds rest. The truth is life is overwhelming but God has peace for us available to us today. Are we seeking this or surrendering to our circumstance and running the rat race?

This pivot is something my friend, Laura L. Smith has experienced too. She's sharing her reflection of Psalm 131 to help us recenter today and engage in the peace God has for us.

Psalm 124 is where we’re starting this summer and though I’ve chosen this, seemingly by happenstance, simply picking up where we left off from last summer, I don’t believe this is a matter of happenstance.

I believe it’s a Psalm our hearts need to ponder.

Perhaps I’m projecting my teacher days a bit here, but summer is often looked at as a time of refreshment. Not just because we can beat the heat by splashing in a refreshing pool of water with friends, but because the days are longer, our schedules a bit more flexible. We vacate, even if not physically to a new location, we vacate to a less stressed, more relaxed state of mind.

Or at least, we long to.

And what I know to be true is if we want to feel this refreshment mentally - have less to do’s and to be’s on our minds- and physically - our shoulders moving away from our ears, our guts finding healthy rhythm once again... If we want to feel this refreshment emotionally - less weight to carry... Then, we must be intentional to seek this refreshment spiritually. In other words, if we want to be refreshed mentally, physically and emotionally, we have to bring these things to God.

The Psalms are just that. A collection of times when people who lived before us have brought “their things” to God...

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Matt and Katie Harder join to share how God has added to their family through adoption as they live out the command in scripture to care for orphans. Serving in education in the Oklahoma City area, together they have two sons and one daughter, Millie, who they adopted from China. They share their conversations and questions leading up to this decision, their experience with international adoption as well as their many joys and challenges of parenting and how this has grown their faith in deeper ways.

Today, we're talking about:

• Adding to their family through adoption
• Considering domestic vs. international adoption
• Living out your faith in bold ways

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As a mother to 8 children, Bethany Kimsey understands the weariness, discouragement, and stress of motherhood. Her purpose is to equip you to win the battle against worry and fatigue as you understand your identity in Christ and rest in the hope of the Gospel. She helps other moms learn to rest, recuperate, find encouragement, and feast on the truths of God’s Word.

Today, we’re talking about:

• The real delight of godly motherhood
• How to gain God’s vision for your children and family
• The truth you need as your foundation to combat the lies moms hear

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Cheri Fletcher is a dynamic writer, compelling speaker, and the host of the "Your Spiritual Game Plan" podcast. 

Patty Conrad graduated from Baylor University with a degree in Education. She taught special education for 8 years, has been homeschooling for 22 years and currently teaches 1st grade at a private classical school.  Patty and her husband have four boys: two teenagers and two young adults. She enjoys planning, cooking, reading and spending time with her family and friends.

Today, we're talking about:

• Zinger gift ideas for Mother’s Day
• Longing for motherhood and waiting on God’s timing and plan for you
• How to incorporate spiritual truths and disciplines into your family’s ordinary life

C A N D A C E  C O F E R