Bible devotionals

Just Us

Posted on by Betsy

Today’s lectionary passage is known as the Servant’s song. Isaiah paints a beautiful portrait of the soon-to-come messiah and gives us insight about what the messiah will do and how the messiah will act. I imagine it came as a surprise to hear Israel’s savior described as a servant. The people were expecting a conquering warrior, one who would defeat their enemies and restore their nation. Indeed, when Jesus did come, his gentleness and meek nature confused the Jews and they chose to wait for a better messiah to come along, In fairness, if we were asked to describe Jesus’ messiahship in one word, few would choose ‘servant.’ Redeemer, Savior, Master, Healer, Teacher, Son of God, Lord, yes, but servant?

And yet, that is exactly what Jesus did. He came to serve.

Isaiah 42 (Common English Bible)

 But here is my servant, the one I uphold;
    my chosen, who brings me delight.
I’ve put my spirit upon him;
    he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He won’t cry out or shout aloud
    or make his voice heard in public.
3 He won’t break a bruised reed;
    he won’t extinguish a faint wick,
    but he will surely bring justice.
4 He won’t be extinguished or broken
    until he has established justice in the land.
The coastlands await his teaching.

Isaiah made it clear that justice was the focus of Jesus’ ministry. God made it clear that justice is part of his very character and nature. Justice requires right relationships with others where everyone is treated with dignity and fairness. Impartial judgment, accountability for the unjust, restoring wrongs, and upholding God’s moral law of loving God and loving neighbors are the foundation of justice. Listen to the words in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 32 (New Revised Standard Version UE)

For I will proclaim the name of the Lord,
    ascribe greatness to our God!

4 The Rock, his work is perfect,
    and all his ways are just.
A faithful God, without deceit,
    just and upright is he.

God is faithful and without deceit. His servant Jesus came to bring justice to the nations in his name. And Jesus calls us to serve one another in his name. In fact, being a servant to others is how Jesus defines greatness.

Matthew 20 (The Message)

24-28 When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”

Godless rulers throw their weight around, allowing power to go to their heads. They are the servants of “just us.” Look around you and you will find them everywhere. But we are called to a higher response: We are called to be the servants of justice.

How will you live that out today? What can you do to bring fairness, equity, and impartiality to someone who needs justice?

This is a call to action. May we be people of Micah 6:8 who “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord.”

Walk Humbly by Kathy Schumacher

Your Light Has Come

Posted on by Betsy

Epiphany is celebrated on January 6 every year. It is a day that recalls the arrival of the Wise Men in Bethlehem. They followed the glorious Epiphany star that had arisen over the town on the night of Jesus’ birth and remained there as a guide in the darkness. It became symbolic of the light that beckoned people to step out of their own darkness into the glory of Christ.

When we say we have “had an epiphany,” we are letting others know that a lightbulb has gone off in our brain and we’ve had an enlightenment.

Today’s lectionary passage takes us back to Isaiah’s words, which foreshadow the Messiah’s arrival as a light that would come upon the darkness of the earth:

Isaiah 60 (Common English Bible)

Arise! Shine! Your light has come;
    the Lord’s glory has shone upon you.
2 Though darkness covers the earth
    and gloom the nations,
    the Lord will shine upon you;
    God’s glory will appear over you.
3 Nations will come to your light
    and kings to your dawning radiance.

Verse 3 places us squarely at the scene in Bethlehem, where we kneel in wonder with the kings. Isaiah describes the glory of Christ as a “dawning radiance”. Let’s pause there for just a moment. It is the daily dawning radiance that dispels the darkness of night. Imagine our world without the sun! We would not survive. We need its warmth, its brilliance, and its constant presence in our days to light up our pathways. That is exactly what Christ does. He is the constant presence in the darkness of today’s reality that lights our pathway … straight back to him.

4 Lift up your eyes and look all around:
    they are all gathered; they have come to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
    and your daughters on caregivers’ hips.
5 Then you will see and be radiant;
    your heart will tremble and open wide,
    because the sea’s abundance will be turned over to you;
    the nations’ wealth will come to you.

Isaiah reminds us that we can be radiant, too. God’s glory shines through us when we lift up one another in “care, prayer, and share.”

We are invited to care for the things God cares about … the marginalized, the hungry, the animals, the poor, the addicted, the imprisoned, the planet … these are the things God cares about.

We are invited to pray for the hurts and concerns of those around us and pray for forgiveness of our sins. We can lift up our nation and pray for our future. We can pray for our leaders, our children, and those in faraway places.

And God is counting on us to share our abundance with people who don’t have anything. Food banks, homeless shelters, nursing homes filled with lonely people … these are places where we can share ourselves and be a light in someone’s darkness.

6 Countless camels will cover your land,
    young camels from Midian and Ephah.
They will all come from Sheba,
    carrying gold and incense,
    proclaiming the Lord’s praises.

How will you respond to this call to be a dawning radiance today? Arise and shine! Your light has come.

Light Path by Michelle Robertson

No Longer My Own

Posted on by Betsy

I am no longer my own, but yours.

Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, praised for you or criticized for you.

Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service.

And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it also be made in heaven. Amen.

This wonderful prayer is known as the Wesley Covenant Prayer and is recited in many United Methodist churches on the first Sunday of the new year. Wesley wrote it as a reflection of his parents’ affection for puritan values, and it was adopted from that tradition. In many ways, this prayer reaffirms our baptismal vows to reject the evil forces and spiritual wickedness of the world and put our whole trust in God’s grace. Ponder that for a moment. What does it mean to put your whole trust in God? The covenant prayer is a statement of being wholly and completely sold out to our Lord with no holding back. We find its biblical roots in Luke 9:23:

Luke 9 (Common English Bible)

23 Jesus said to everyone, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me.

The Covenant Prayer is a prayer of affirmation.

It is a prayer of hope

It is a prayer of faith.

It is a prayer of surrender.

Read it again slowly and then let us agree to make this our prayer for 2026. We are no longer our own, but his. Let that be ratified in heaven.

Reflect and Rejoice

Resolve

Posted on by Betsy

New Year’s resolutions aren’t my favorite thing. Researchers tell us that within six weeks, most of our resolve fizzles out, and we are back to our old habits. Why bother?

I am much more in favor of making life changes based on the Scriptures that speak to us. Take a look at today’s passage. This calls us to change our lifestyle immediately in response to the Gospel … and become sheep.

Now for those of you who follow a certain political rhetoric that implies that sheep are mindless, subpar creatures who blindly follow what their leader tells them, you are right. And I, for one, just want to be a sheep. The Lord’s sheep.

Matthew 25 (The Message)

The Sheep and the Goats

31-33 “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

And BAM … there it is. There is the only New Year’s resolution you need. There is the Master’s instruction for self-improvement for 2026. Visit the prisoners. Drop in on the sick. Clothe the cold people. Volunteer and support your community homeless shelter. Feed the hungry through your community food bank. Be the change.

41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

Just as following the voice of the Master brings blessings into your life, refusing to do as he bids will result in consequences you don’t want to face. In the end, we will all be held accountable to the Gospel demands. Let that sink in.

45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

Let us covenant to do better in 2026 in all of these sheepish things. May we give of ourselves in ways we never have before, and may others be blessed by our efforts.

Nativity Play Sheep at Community Presbyterian Church, Celebration, FL

The Misfits

Posted on by Betsy

The day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day in the British Commonwealth. It is said to originate from two different sources. One legend says that Boxing Day was a day when the servants of Lords received a box of small gifts and Christmas dinner leftovers. They were given the day off to travel to their homes with said boxes. Another tradition suggests that it is a reference to the Feast of St. Stephen, whose feast day falls on December 26th. Stephen was one of the men selected in the Book of Acts to ensure that the distribution of alms was done equitably, including the Greek widows who were being neglected. On the Feast of St. Stephen, clergymen took the alms that were dropped in boxes at the church on Christmas Day and deliver them to the poor in the village.

In both cases, Boxing Day is a celebration of offering charity to the marginalized.

What a lovely reminder as we bridge Christmas and New Years Day. Those who have received much are invited to give much.

Luke 14 (The Message)

12-14 Then he turned to the host. “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people.”

In this parable, Jesus seems to speak right into the type of Christmas that many of us experienced. We gave to our friends. We supped with our family. We received riches. We offered things to people who are able to offer things back.

But the way to be a blessing on Boxing Day is to box something up and give it to someone who had a scant or non-existent Christmas. Christ instructs us to invite the misfits and those from the wrong side of the tracks. Who would you invite?

Your community has homeless people living in it. Your community has families who rely on assistance to make the most meager ends meet. There is need where you live.

What will you do on this Boxing Day?

God calls us to share what we have. Dig deep. Open up your eyes, your heart, and your wallet. Christmastide has only just begun, and it is always better to give than to receive. And this kind of favor is returned as you are blessed by your giving. You get to be a blessing today, and you will be blessed again at the Resurrection.

Happy Boxing Day!

Christmas Garden

Snugly Wrapped

Posted on by Betsy

Imagine this story. A very young woman is taken from her hometown by her fiancé to satisfy the tax register requirements of a hostile government. She is extremely pregnant and near term. The only means of transportation is an old donkey that stumbles over the rocky paths and hilly terrain. As her body prepares for the impending birth, her pain and discomfort increase with each step. This miserable journey was about 90 miles. Let that sink in.

The local hostel is filled with people who are also being forced to register for taxation. But the weary couple finds a space out in the barn, where at least there is some shelter from the wind.

Luke 2 (Common English Bible)

2 In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. 2 This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. 3 Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. 4 Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. 5 He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.

A rough feed-box served as a bassinet for her baby. It is hard to imagine giving birth under such circumstances. No doctor, no midwife, no pain medications, no sterile bed, no sutures … just the man who refused to send you away (as was his right) encouraging life out of your travel-worn body as you experience the excruciating pain of delivery. Firstborns usually require long labors. Hers must have felt like a lifetime.

But with the instinct of every new mother, this teenage girl found cloths and wrapped her son snugly. Perhaps these cloths came from her own body, as she removed her head wrap and scarves to provide his first baby blanket. Perhaps the only donkey saddle she had was a worn-out blanket, which she now swaddled around her baby’s shivering shoulders. Her love for her son wrapped him as well. She finally knew the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies and the proclamation of the angel Gabriel nine months earlier. The comfort of those words wrapped her snugly as she fell into an exhausted sleep.

8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. 9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.”13 Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

There was nothing snugly about the sudden and terrifying appearance of a host of fiery angels suddenly appearing and hovering over the ground like some horrific scene from a science fiction novel. The humble shepherds, dozing by their warm nighttime fires, were jerked to their feet and filled with an overwhelming desire to flee down the hill toward safety. But the winged creature spoke to them with the strangest direction: Don’t be afraid. Go and see. Your Savior is born. Look for the snugly blanket.

And so they did.

Close your eyes for a moment and think about Mary. Now imagine people in our own lifetime who are cold, homeless, traveling a road they did not choose for themselves, frightened, oppressed by a hostile government, and anything but snugly. Jesus came to bring warmth and security for even the least of these. Ask yourself this: How can we help? What will I do?

Don’t be afraid. Go and see, then go and tell. Take a snugly blanket with you to offer to someone cold, in the name of Jesus. It is the best way we can honor what his mother did for him.

Snugly

This is Christmas

Posted on by Betsy

Let’s talk about Christmas movies. Which one is your favorite? I love a lot of the old ones, and every year I especially enjoy Miracle on 34th Street (only the original!), It’s a Wonderful Life, and Christmas in Connecticut, if only for the marvelous outfits worn by Barbara Stanwyck. Every once in a while a new movie will be added to my list, and this year I was pleased to add This is Christmas. I knew it would be good when my oldest daughter texted her dad and me emphatically recommending that we watch it. You can find it on Amazon Prime.

This is Christmas tells the tale of London train commuters who sit in the same railcar every day as they go to work. I read a review that argued that this is impossible. That lady has never been to church. You know you all sit in the same pew on the same side every Sunday! People are creatures of habit. But this is a necessary plot device. A young commuter named Adam realizes that he sees the same faces every day but knows nothing about his fellow travelers. He especially wants to know about a traveler named Emma. So one day he boldly stands up and addresses everyone in the car, inviting them to a Christmas party he was going to put together.

The story enfolds from there as we see people making real connections with each other and form a true community. The party takes shape as each one offers to contribute their unique gift to the event. Paul would have been pleased. They become a true Romans 12 community:

Romans 12 (Common English Bible)

3 Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. 4 We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. 5 In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. 6 We have different gifts that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. 7 If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. 8 If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful.

They become a “found family” for each other and actually get to know one other. Ask yourself this: How well do you know your neighbors? Your co-workers? The people who wait on you every day in the store, coffee house, or restaurant? I have been guilty of knowing every dog’s name on my street but not every dog parent. We can do better!

This ‘journey on a train’ story becomes a journey into what makes us truly human. Forgiveness, solidarity, understanding, and redemption play a big role in the movie, just as in life. Obstacles and hardships, old hurts and new pain are all overcome by the compassion and warmth of people who now identify as a group that belongs to each other. The writer of Hebrews captures this idea of interdependent community best, offering this suggestion:

Hebrews 10 (Common English Bible)

24 And let us consider each other carefully for the purpose of sparking love and good deeds. 25 Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Instead, encourage each other, especially as you see the day drawing near.

Let us make that our rallying cry today. Consider others carefully. Spark love. Spark good deeds. Meet with friends and neighbors and get to know them. Encourage others.

After all, this is Christmas.

Community Fountain

One More Candle

Posted on by Betsy

One more candle.

During the season of Advent, we mark off the Sundays by lighting candles in our churches that remind us of the hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus came to bring. We have only one more to light before Christmas Eve. Are you ready?

Advent is a season of listening to the messengers. What have you heard so far? The prophets of the Old Testament wrote about a much-needed messiah who would come to save their people. Their prophesies set the stage for Jesus. Listen to Malachi’s words about a messenger who would come to announce the arrival of the savior:

Malachi 3:1-4  (Common English Bible)

Look, I am sending my messenger who will clear the path before me; suddenly the Lord whom you are seeking will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you take delight is coming, says the Lord of heavenly forces. 2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can withstand his appearance. He is like the refiner’s fire or the cleaner’s soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. They will belong to the Lord, presenting a righteous offering. 4 The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in ancient days and in former years.

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and was written to address the religious, spiritual, and moral laxity that had overtaken the Israelites. The people had returned from their Babylonian exile seventy years prior, and the temple had been rebuilt. But they had fallen into laziness and cynicism about their relationship with God. Their disaffection led them to bring “polluted offerings” to the temple, breaking the covenant law about first fruits, which required that only the finest and unblemished offerings be presented. (Malachi 1:7). Malachi speaks directly to their powerless worship and warns that judgment is coming.

It was always the mission of the prophets to bring God’s message of God’s covenant relationship to the people and the expectations that came with it. God established a covenant through Abraham, reinforced it through Joseph, and defined it through Moses. The covenant promise continued through the major and minor prophets and always carried both warnings and hope. Their work involved warning against social injustice and the worldly powers that oppressed God’s people, but it also included words of hope about their future deliverance and a peace that would last. The prophetical writings breathed hope into humanity’s present condition, regardless of the century they were written. Malachi warned that in order for a righteous offering to be presented, a cleansing fire will occur first, beginning with the slack priests (the Levites) who should have been leading the people in true worship.

We see Malachi’s prophecy fulfilled in Jesus, who came and will come again to do the final and ultimate refining. Those who repent and believe in him will never perish but will become a righteous and pleasing offering to God through the unblemished First Fruit of the Son. (1 Corinthians 15:20).  Jesus is the final candle, bringing a light that cannot be extinguished by any darkness of the soul.

Only in this way can any of us endure the day of his coming.  Sound scary? Hang on … hope is also coming. John the Baptizer, the messenger chosen to clear the way for Jesus, shows us the way: repent, for the kingdom is at hand.

This call to repent sounds as though we have confused the season and are jumping to Lent. But the call to repentance is seasonless. Malachi reminds us that a refiner’s fire is coming and we need to be ready.

As we make ourselves ready in this last week, let us not neglect to make our hearts ready as well. “Suddenly the Lord whom you are seeking will come to his temple,” says Malachi.

As we light the final candle in our Advent wreath this Sunday, let us make the temples of our souls ready and waiting.

Advent Wreath by Becca Ziegler

The Pursuit of Happiness

Posted on by Betsy

Today we will dive into Psalm 146, the assigned lectionary passage for this week. As soon as I read the first sentence, it began to sound a lot like the preamble to the American Declaration of Independence. The phrase “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” appears in the preamble, which describes the fundamental rights that governments are created to secure. While Jefferson’s words were aspirational, they did not carry the full weight and force of the law. However, the Constitution has such authority, and both the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments address this, guaranteeing equal protection of “life, liberty, or property with the due process of law.”

Surely our country’s founders understood what it takes to live a prosperous life. Constitutional guarantees were designed to protect those things with the backing of the law. When a nation turns its back on the law, everyone suffers.

The psalmist in today’s passage lived in a time when Israel had turned its back on the Law. In the midst of national suffering, he penned these hopeful words of praise, directing the people back to the true source of happiness. This is the first of the last five psalms, a collection known as the Praise Psalms.

Psalm 146 (New Revised Standard)
The person whose help is the God of Jacob—
    the person whose hope rests on the Lord their God—
    is truly happy!
6 God: the maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
God: who is faithful forever,
7     who gives justice to people who are oppressed,
    who gives bread to people who are starving!

We have seen all throughout history that governments will deny rights to their own people in pursuit of personal agendas. The rich get richer and the poor deeply suffer. Only God can bring justice to our land. People will fail us miserably and spectacularly.

The Lord: who frees prisoners.
8     The Lord: who makes the blind see.
    The Lord: who straightens up those who are bent low.
    The Lord: who loves the righteous.
9     The Lord: who protects immigrants,
        who helps orphans and widows,
        but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!

10 The Lord will rule forever!
    Zion, your God will rule from one generation to the next!

We, including those in power, should straighten up those who are bent low, protect immigrants, help orphans and widows, give justice to the oppressed, and give bread to the starving. It’s right there in black and white.

What can you do in your community today to live up to this? Can you bring happiness to someone in the name of the Lord?

Lord, help us to help others. Then we can be truly happy.

Winter Berries by Kathy Schumacher

Wonderfully Made

Posted on by Betsy

A three-year-old received a beautiful Adidas track suit as a gift. It resembles the track suits of the past, making me think of the old show The Sopranos and the fellows’ affection for track suits. I remember loving track suits in that era and hope they come back in a big way. This particular three-year-old just loves his track suit and feels especially empowered when he wears it. He told his preschool teacher that his “twack soot” made him cool and went on to say that he was so sharp in it, he could cut cake like knife. Now that’s a kid with a healthy self-esteem!

I wonder when we lose that. Somewhere around the awful self-conscious years of middle school we begin to hear the whispers of our mean and insecure classmates, and we question whether we are still cool and sharp enough to cut cake with our looks. Somewhere along the way we lose sight of the fact that we are made in the image of God. Somehow we forget that we are part of God’s wonderful works.

Our psalm today comes from David. It is a beautiful expression of the wonder and awe he had about God, God’s creation, and the intricacy of the human body. He marvels at how God knows everything about him and that his presence is inescapable. There literally is no place we can go to escape from God’s spirit. Our bodies are stunning in their design, all wrought by the very hand of God.

Psalm 139 (New Revised Standard Version)

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.

This is a reminder today that if you are feeling down about yourself, stop it. If your negative thoughts overwhelm you, shout this Scripture back into that darkness. If you feel unworthy, remember that it is by the blood of the Lamb that you are made worthy.

You are a child of God! Precious, holy, and valued. Hold on to that.

May you feel sharp enough to cut cake like a knife today.

Wonderfully Made by Jamie Mathis