I left church today with my page covered in notes...words circled, thoughts squeezed into the margins, and arrows pointing everywhere. Have you ever heard a message that felt like God was speaking directly to you? That was this one for me. Our pastor was teaching from John 15, where Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” Like Pastor Tim said, the branches that are bearing fruit are the ones God prunes so they can bear even more. That really stayed with me. Pruning...

You may be wondering what the two books I'm holding have to do with each other. At first glance, probably nothing. One is When Helping Hurts, a book I read a couple of years ago about poverty, charity, mission work, and helping those in need. The other is The Bravery Effect, a book about courage, growth, resilience, and how adversity often shapes us into who we become. Different topics. Different authors. Different messages. Or so I thought. The more I reflected on them, the more I realized...

No book to process. No journal to organize my thoughts. No music to shift my mood. No distraction to escape myself.