A Message To You, Dear Reader

Grace and peace to you, dear readers! 

Today, I'm leaving with my family on a long-planned and awaited family cruise to Alaska, and I will be returning on June 23, which means I will also take a break from the Daily Devos. 

I'm mostly packed at this point, but there are always a hundred things that need doing before we go out the door, like the family from the movie Home Alone rushing to get to the airport.  Hopefully, we won't leave anyone behind! 

As much as I love writing the Daily Devos and sharing them with you all, it seems right to be fully present and let my mind rest with the rest of me.  

However, I wanted to take a moment before I leave to share how much it means to me to do this.  Because sharing these reflections with you almost every day has changed my life. 

Writing and sending the Daily Devos began over eight years ago when I decided to try it out during the season of Lent. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the folks receiving them each day encouraged me to continue, so I did. 

They didn't know that getting up early in the morning to read, reflect, and write had become a spiritual practice for me and would eventually become one of the few I persisted in doing for longer than a few months! 

The audience for the Daily Devo has grown over the years, but the impetus behind why I do it hasn't changed a bit. 

I enjoy reflecting on and sharing spiritual matters, and I've learned that many of the things I share resonate with more people than I ever thought possible.  We're all in this together, my friends.  

I'm super humbled by the fact that so many of you not only read these Devos, but that you do so regularly.  

So, on the one hand, I'm grateful for a bit of a break during the summer months when I'm either on vacation or study leave, or both, but I'm also a bit wistful that these moments we share won't be happening for a bit. 

I can tell you that when I'm away from my regular daily reading and reflecting, I will be taking notes, and you will be sure to find reflections on what I experience along the way in your inboxes soon.  

If you can't live without some Daily Devo in your life, you can scroll down and find the link to my author's page on Amazon and pick up one of the devotional books I've compiled from past Devos.  

If that sounded like a bit of shameless plugging, it was.  

Until we resume our little shared moments, I hope you find inspiration, encouragement, and hope in your life.  Take care of yourselves and one another.  We have this one life and are meant to live it to the fullest and practice the very best things in preparation for what comes next. 

May it be so for all of us, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always.  Amen.