If becoming a Christian meant we instantly stopped messing up, never said the wrong thing, never lost our patience, and always responded with perfect grace…✨ church parking lots would be the most peaceful places on earth ✨(and yet… here we are). So when we read: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”— 2 Corinthians 5:17

Gratitude has a way of softening the heart. It slows us down long enough to notice what has always been there—God’s steady hand, His quiet provision, His goodness woven into both the beautiful moments and the hard ones. Today, I’m writing from my heart about gratitude—not the polished, picture-perfect kind, but the daily, practiced, sometimes tear-filled kind that whispers, “Thank You, Father,” even when I don’t fully understand.

There’s something so sacred about food shared after a long day’s work — especially when it’s cooked with love and served with purpose. I often think about one of my favorite Bible moments found in John 21:1–14 — the story of Jesus appearing to His disciples after His resurrection. They had gone back to what they knew — fishing. The waves lapped against the boat, the sun rising slowly as their nets came up empty again and again. These were seasoned fishermen, weary in both