Daily Joy

A Few Weeks Ago A few weeks ago, my husband and I decided to enjoy a date night at the Toyota Center. The Lakers were playing the Rockets, and anyone who knows my husband, you already know he was hyped. He’s a hardcore Lakers fan—hardcore, like “before LeBron, back in the Kobe and Shaq days” hardcore. Meanwhile, I love basketball, but I’m more of a spectator than a die-hard fan. Growing up in Illinois, I was all about MJ (because let’s face it, Michael Jordan was everything), but I haven’t had a team since then. Even though I don’t have a team, I do love a good theme, so we showed up in full Lakers gear. Purple and gold, head to toe. It was giving solidarity. It was giving fandom. And then, we walked into a sea of red. Toyota Center, home of the Houston Rockets, was packed with fans who had one mission: to let us know we didn’t belong. It was playful—comments here, side-eyes there—but after a while, you start to feel it. Like, okay, we get it. We’re the outsiders. And yet, it didn’t c...

Day 2: Surrender the Weight Scripture : Hebrews 12:1 (NIV) — "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Devotional : I once heard someone describe life as running a race with bags strapped to your back. Each bag represented something different—fear, shame, insecurity, and bitterness. Some were small and easy to carry, but others felt like stones. That image stuck with me because I know what it’s like to feel weighed down. If I’m honest, there have been seasons when I held onto things I knew God was asking me to release. A grudge I couldn’t let go of. The pressure to meet everyone’s expectations. The guilt of mistakes I couldn’t forgive myself for. I told myself I needed to carry these things, but deep down, I knew they were slowing me down. God doesn’t call us to run weighed down. He calls us to run free. The moment I decided to surrender those weights to Him, something shifted....

  Day 1: Identify the Noise Scripture : Mark 5:40 (NIV) — "But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him and went in where the child was." Devotional : When Jesus arrived to heal Jairus' daughter, He stepped into a room filled with people who laughed at Him. They didn’t just doubt His power—they mocked it. But Jesus didn’t waste His breath trying to explain Himself. He didn’t stop to convince them why their laughter was misplaced. Instead, He cleared the room. Because Jesus knew one thing for certain: the miracle couldn’t happen in that kind of atmosphere. Every year, I take a moment to clear my own space. It’s not a New Year’s resolution or a trendy detox—it’s a spiritual reset. I log off social media, stop scrolling, and start searching for God. I ask myself, “What am I holding onto that’s holding me back? What’s distracting me from the plan God has for me?” And then I start letting go. Thi...

I don’t know about you, but there’s something about the start of a new season that feels heavy with possibility. It’s like God is holding the blueprint to the next chapter of your life, waiting for you to make space for Him to move. But here’s the truth: stepping into what’s next often requires clearing out what’s now. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. For years, I carried the weight of old habits and limiting beliefs, hoping God would show up and work miracles in a space that was already overcrowded. I prayed for clarity while clinging to distractions, asking God to bless me while still holding on to what He told me to release. One day, I found myself crying out to God, frustrated by the lack of a breakthrough, and I felt Him gently whisper: Make room for Me. It wasn’t loud or dramatic, but it was enough to stop me in my tracks. That whisper made me realize I’d been asking God to fill a space that was already too full. I started to do the hard work of clearing the room—not just ...

  Day 5: The Promise Fulfilled Scripture: Habakkuk 2:3 (NKJV) "For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." Devotional: There’s something powerful about the word “appointed.” It’s not vague or undefined. It speaks to intention, to a moment already marked on God’s calendar. The promise God has spoken over your life isn’t up in the air—it has an appointed time. And though the waiting feels like forever, the truth is, it’s never indefinite. God’s promises come right on time—every single time. Let’s talk about the Israelites at Jericho. God had already promised them victory, but the process didn’t make sense. Can you imagine walking around a massive wall, day after day, seeing no cracks, no signs of progress? Seven days of waiting. Seven days of wondering, “Is this even working?” They had the promise, but they also had to trust the process. Here’s t...

  Day 4: The Beauty in God’s Timing Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV) "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Devotional: God’s timing is a mystery. Sometimes, it feels like you’re standing still while the world moves forward, or like the answer to your prayers is always just out of reach. If you’re anything like me, waiting can leave you with questions. Why not now? Why the delay? I’ve wrestled with these questions as I’ve waited for the blessing of a child. Each month felt like another delay, another unanswered prayer. It’s in those quiet, tear-filled moments that God gently reminds me, “I’m still working. My timing is perfect.” He’s taught me that what feels like a delay isn’t a denial. It’s a part of the process, a brushstroke in the masterpiece He’s creating. Think about Sarah and Abraham. God promised them a child, but the years stretched o...