I know I’ve written before about prayer, specifically about how important it is for your relationship with God and how beneficial it is to bring the things weighing on your heart to Jesus. But this devotion is going to be a little different. Instead of talking about praying for ourselves, I want to talk about the power of praying for someone else.

My dad has always been one of my favorite people. If anyone reading this knows him, especially our relationship, you know that he has always been the biggest supporter of my sister and me. He pushes us to do our best in everything, even when we don't want to.

I hear people say all the time that they need to clean up their lives before accepting Christ, or that they’re afraid that once they follow Him, they won’t be able to keep doing the things they do now.

I started teaching a little over a month ago in a public school, one that many people in the county would label as “bad.” But it’s also the school I grew up in, so in a way, it feels like coming home. Still, seeing it from a teacher’s perspective instead of a student’s has been completely different.

In the past, I hated Valentine’s Day. All it did was remind me how alone I felt, no flowers, no date, just couples shoving their lovey-dovey stuff in my face. Yeah… not fun.

It’s a New Year! That’s exciting, right? Maybe you’re hoping to learn a new hobby, start working out more, or eat less junk food (I’m really trying, too). Either way, most of us have things we’re looking forward to this year. Or maybe… you’re a little nervous.

 I get anxious sometimes—like the weight of the world is pressing down on me, and there’s no way to stop my mind from spiraling with all the darkness I see around me. Honestly, these past few weeks would make anyone feel that way.

 School starts back in a few weeks, and my little sister is heading off to college. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous. I think about walking on campus almost every day—about the games, the friends, and those late-night Cookout runs. I miss it. I miss all of it. But lately, that ache has hit a little harder. That chapter of my life is over, and now I’m in a new one—adult life. With a job. And responsibility.

 Life has felt a little different since I graduated. Not bad—just different. I don’t see my friends every day like I used to, and the days feel slower. Learning this “new normal” hasn’t been easy. All the things that were once part of my daily rhythm are no longer there, and that shift can leave you feeling unsure, like you don’t quite know what’s next.

In the world today society likes to tell us females that we shouldn’t want to be feminine, that being feminine means we’re weak, inferior, or less than our male counterparts. Well, the bible shows us that being feminine is beautiful, it doesn’t make us weak. If anything, it makes us strong. I mean as women we have to deal with intense pains once a month, and the only way to get out of it is to give birth to a whole human, so yeah, I’d say we’re pretty strong. 

My Monday morning started as any would. I woke up, ate and then I headed to the library to get some work done before I went to class. What I didn’t know was that I would be in that library for over three hours.

To my Grandpa: