Happiness always seems to be somewhere else. We tell ourselves we’ll be happy when we reach some goal or finally find the time, but the goal keeps moving and the time never comes. Happiness isn’t a matter of timing. It grows from the small things we do each day.

When we try to take an honest look at ourselves, Pride whispers, “You don’t need to look,” and Fear warns, “You’d better not.” But pride and fear are only wisps of smoke. When we push them aside and look anyway, we find relief and a confidence beyond words.

We may hold back forgiveness because it seems too kind for those who hurt us. Why should we let them off the hook? But forgiving dissolves the resentment we carry. We don’t have to rush it or force it. When we’re truly ready, we forgive to set ourselves free.

Grace is gentle and full of love. When we feel scared or closed off, it won’t last. We can take a walk, feel the earth beneath us, and ask God to help us open up. Gently and with care, life will lead us back to an open heart and a soul aligned with love.

We don’t always know what’s best for us. Sometimes our own issues cloud the present so much that we can’t see what to do. Those are the days to pray, trusting that our prayers are heard. Prayer is always with us, and it is how we change and grow.

Speak, for your servant is listening. Earbuds in.
Hear you Saturday, 10 pm ET.

Bad days help shape who we become, teaching us patience and perseverance. We only notice them because they stand out among so many good days. Everyone has them, so we’re never alone, and one bad day doesn’t have to lead to another.

When we were young, anything seemed possible. It isn’t immature to keep dreaming of things unlikely to happen. We still make wishes on birthday candles. With the years, we accept that some things are possible and some are not. And still we hope.

Clinging to old relationships built around our worst habits sabotages our growth. Is that loyalty, or our old compulsion finding a convenient excuse to stay close to what harms us?

It costs us nothing to say hello, give a hug, or listen to someone’s pain, yet it might make all the difference. Love lives in small, ordinary kindnesses, and spirituality in a smile that is real. We give what we were given, and we were given a great deal.

Many of us tried every well-traveled road to fix ourselves: every new method, every quick fix, every fad the world was on. But there was always an end, and every time we found ourselves back on the same old path, with the same consequences.

In the middle of a tough time, it’s easy to forget there’s a purpose. A few threads of a tapestry look random up close, but step back and a picture appears. Our experiences are not random. Faith grows like a muscle, each time we trust what we can’t yet see.

No one gets in. No one was ever out.
See you Saturday, 10 pm ET.

Feelings we repress don’t go away. They linger until we give them their due, sometimes blocking our view of the truth. When we look back on our day, we can ask not just what happened, but how we felt. We may not tell anyone else, but we need to tell ourselves.

We all have days when the world seems against us and one bad thing leads to another. But a bad day can be a gift. It may tell us to slow down, change course, or lighten up, and it can teach us things about ourselves we might otherwise have missed.

Now is a good time to pursue our interests and nurture relationships, both new and old. We know how quickly our circumstances can change, and that knowledge nudges us to expand our experience.

Awareness brings freedom. Instead of feeling trapped in an endless cycle, we see that we play a hand in creating our lives. Our past no longer has to dictate our future. We’re free to move beyond old limits, make new choices, and keep consciously evolving.

None of us is immune to life’s troubles. Whether we lose a job, a home, our health, or a dear friend, we all suffer at some point. Filling our lives with good people and meaningful activities gives us support when times get hard, and the strength to move on.

Doing the inner work takes courage. For many of us, just getting up to face the day’s challenges takes courage too. We can give ourselves a hug for hanging on one minute longer. That minute becomes moments, and before we know it, we’re living one day at a time.

Trusted friends can help us sort healthy relationships from unhealthy ones. To keep growing, we may need to step away from old emotional entanglements. Leaving a harmful relationship can be as hard at first as breaking any habit, and it takes the same restraint.