The Button Box
How will we be remembered? Depth not length, is important. Not how long you take to talk but how much you say. Not how flowery and eloquent you sound but how sincerely and succinctly you speak … that’s what is important … that’s what is remembered. Two memorable minutes can be more effective than two marathon hours. (Chuck Swindoll in The Quest for Character) There were three constants in Grandma’s house when I was a child. I could always count on Grandpa sitting at the kitchen table with a portable radio, earplug in place, as he listened to the Detroit Tigers baseball games. There were the puffy and sweet homemade sugar cookies filled with a moist raisin center. And then there was the button box … an old cardboard box filled to the brim with every kind of button imaginable. I remember seeing my Grandma cutting all the buttons off an old work shirt one afternoon. I asked her why she bothered since she already had so many in her box. Her eyes opened wide in disbelief and she said, “You never know if you might need just this size button.” She then held up her most recently orphaned button. After that, I never questioned Grandma about her practical ways. She was just too nice. Anyway, my brother and I had our own uses for that old box of buttons. Time and again, we’d visit and make our way to Grandma’s small store of toys. This meager selection consisted of a partially rusted blue truck similar to the Tonka’s of today; a box of Lincoln Logs (which I still can’t master well enough to build a suitable log cabin); and several thick books filled with cherished stories about King Midas, The Water Babies, and a lonely little girl visiting a farm. After we’d played out our imaginations, we’d begin to slowly meander around the house with something more dreadful than trouble on our minds … boredom! I guess it was just instinctive, but Grandma always could tell the right moment to pull out the button box. She would call us out to the kitchen where Grandpa still sat, earplug in place; and we would start stringing buttons. What fun we had making all kinds of different designs and sometimes fighting over a particularly unusual button. I can’t remember ever going to my Grandparents’ house without spending time stringing and re-stringing buttons. It seemed a shame to spill them all out once our string was full, but then again Grandma would remind us that the buttons weren’t going anywhere and would be waiting for us the next time around. Over fifteen years have passed since Grandma died, but every day I have a reminder of the simple joys of childhood inspired by this loving and creative lady. On my kitchen counter, in a glass jar, lovingly sits the same buttons waiting for some child to get bored and start stringing. The memory of the righteous is blessed.Proverbs 10:7) About the author: Michele Howe is a book reviewer and writer with a women’s lifestyle column, “Embracing Life’s Curves” with Syndicated Writers of America. Michelle’s books include: Going It Alone: Meeting the Challenges of Being a Single Mom, Prayers for Homeschool Moms, Prayers for New and Expecting Moms, Prayers of Comfort and Strength, and Prayers to Nourish a Woman’s Heart. Check out her books online!
Don’t Trust a Shadow
Why do we chase after what is not substance? There are companies devoted to creating and maintaining “image.” Actors, athletes, politicians, executives of major corporations – it is not unusual for them to have someone in charge of their public persona, their image, their reputation. At one level, I understand the task of such companies or persons. Given the fact that celebrities are marketable in terms of their names, it is not absurd to think that somebody needs to be monitoring what is being said or put on the Internet. Just think, for example, of the image-name value of Tiger Woods. There is another sense, however, in which image and reputation are quite secondary. One could even say they are unimportant. Since we are just one week past Presidents’ Day, I will let Abraham Lincoln make the point here. “Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow,” Lincoln is reported to have said. “The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” The man who is almost always selected by both scholars and ordinary folk as the best president in America’s history knew whereof he spoke. He might have spoken with a tinge of melancholy in his voice. It likely came from deep thought about the turmoil his role in history forced him to suffer. Called a “buffoon” by people from his own political party, Lincoln was hardly thought to be the man for the job as the Union was about to be severed. Then, as the Civil War raged, politicians, newspapers, and conversations in village squares indicted him for his ineffective leadership and bumbling prosecution of a war. His tall, gangly frame and big ears led to caricatures and comparisons to an ape. The early signs were not favorable to the greatness we ascribe to him now. Lincoln lived through the horrible time of the Civil War with personal integrity intact. He wept for the fallen – Rebels as well as Yankees. He was determined to uphold the human dignity of all – blacks as well as whites. He planned to restore the Union with healing grace rather than hateful revenge. Some scholars cite his second inaugural address as his greatest speech: With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations. Lincoln believed it was the tree that was to be trusted, not the shadow. That it was real character that mattered, not others’ opinions. He was right. Just ask anybody who has trusted image over character. God’s wisdom says it this way: Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. (Proverbs 10:9 NIV) About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades and served as a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities. He was a former president of Rochester College and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lipscomb University. He was the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles. His commitment to a non-sectarian presentation of the gospel touched countless lives.
Today’s Verse – Job 23:10-11
He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. —Job 23:10-11 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… How we long for Job’s words in this verse to be our true confession. We are not yet gold, but long to be. We are not yet fully following the LORDs steps, but are trying to follow faithfully. We have tried not to turn aside from God’s ways, but we sometimes falter. Thank God for his grace until our intentions and desires are fulfilled in our genuine discipleship. Until that day, we pursue Jesus as we seek to reflect his character and compassion, trusting in the Holy Spirit to do the work of transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18) so that the following may be true of us as it was in Jesus: He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. My Prayer… Magnificent Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, I confess my sin and my inadequacies in following your paths completely. Forgive me as I commit my life to serve you in holiness and joy. Thank you for your grace, which covers my sin and perfects in me the character of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of my Savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
02 Mar 2026
A posture of gratitude is important. An attitude of praise and thankfulness is key as we go about our day. We may be experiencing difficulties, but let us remember to praise the Lord no matter what we are experiencing. Psalm 145:1-7.
Beware of Befriending your Fears
What is your fear keeping you from doing? Don’t be afraid! It is me. (John 6:20 ERV) I happened to be in Dallas a couple of Friday’s ago and went to breakfast with a copy of The Dallas Morning News. A story on the front page caught my eye and led to a second, related story on the following page. A major newspaper in a major American city was fascinated with the phenomenon of loneliness. “Woman lived alone, with only her fears” declared the below-the-fold headline. The article gave sketchy information about a woman whose mummified body was found and tentatively identified on Wednesday of last week. Police investigators say the body had been there for over a year. Water service had been shut off in April 2005 for nonpayment. There was no electrical service. There were bars on the windows, and there had been a city citation for litter and high weeds last fall. Nobody remembers seeing the woman who bought the house 20 years ago for more than a year now. They thought she had moved away and simply left the house unoccupied for all this time. Early investigations profile a timid woman who told a waitress at a cafeteria where she had been a regular for years that she longed to live a happy, healthy life and have a family. But, she was so certain nobody would like her that she wouldn’t let the waitress set her up a date with her brother. She wouldn’t go out at night because she was afraid of being bitten by mosquitoes. Her life was dictated by her fears, and she died alone. Her body was not discovered for over a year. There are reasonable fears that everyone has, but we address them. We move on with things that must be done. We integrate our lives with other persons for the sake of mutual support. We take the risk of forming relationships. Human beings are created in the image of God, and the God of Christian Scripture is a social being. Father, Word, and Spirit have existed from eternity past in perfect community. The triune deity has created us with the innate drive to produce, share, and live in community as well. While times of solitude are often helpful to creativity, loneliness is both unhealthy and painful. For the shy and isolated, it must be horrible to reach out. To take the risk of rejection. To put themselves in social contexts that make them feel insecure. But it is a risk worth taking! And those of us who find it easier and more natural to be outgoing certainly have the responsibility of making space in our lives for others. Compassionate with their awkwardness. Sensitive to their fears. In order to be missed, we must make friends with more than our fears. No person has ever seen God. But if we love each other, then God lives in us. If we love each other, then God’s love has reached its goal – it is made perfect in us. … Where God’s love is, there is no fear. Why? Because God’s perfect love takes away fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear. So God’s love is not made perfect in the person who has fear. (1 John 4:12-18 ERV) About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades and served as a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities. He was a former president of Rochester College and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lipscomb University. He was the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles. His commitment to a non-sectarian presentation of the gospel touched countless lives.
Glow in the Dark Spiders
Inevitably, the darkness will weigh on them, exhaust them, and feel altogether overwhelming to them. Then, they can come to the light to re-charge, but they can’t glow in the light! My son got to pick a toy out of the treasure box last week at preschool. For the third week in a row, he brought home an ugly, plastic, glow-in-the-dark spider. (Because two are not enough.) I was “thrilled” to see that he had now grown attached to another tiny toy that he’d lose, then cry hysterically when it couldn’t be found in our always-clean-and-tidy home. As happened the first two times around, he sprinted to his closet as soon as we got home shouting, “MOMMMM!!! COME ON!!! MOOOMMM!!!! LET’S SEE IF IT WOKS!!!!” Then, we stood there in his tiny closet, oohing and ahhing together at the faint green glow. Throughout the next few days, until we lost them all – or “the cleaning lady” threw them away – he’d take one of those spiders into his closet and shout for anyone within earshot to come and look. It blew his mind every single time. But every now and then, he’d notice the glow starting to fade. He knew what that meant. He’d go set it under the lamp on the side table because it needed to soak up some more light before it could glow again. He’d leave it there for a while, then come grab it, run back to his closet, and yell out again, “MOMMMM!!! COME LOOK!!!! IT’S BWIGHT NOW, MOM!!!!” It never got old. I’m lying. It did. It did get old! That spider was MADE to glow, to shine its light in dark places. That is its purpose. That’s what makes it awesome. It was created (probably in China) to be a *glowing* spider, not a boring, un-glowing spider. Now, you might see that spider laying in the middle of a well-lit room and assume it’s just an everyday, run-of-the-mill plastic spider. If you saw it in the light, you’d never know it was special because IT DOES NOT WORK IN THE LIGHT. Glow-in-the-light is not a thing, you guys. Okay, so of course, yes, you know where I’m going with this. We are the spiders. Blah blah blah. But ALSO: So are our kids. Our kids are (eventually) meant to shine in dark places. Our prayer is that our home is a place of light. A safe haven. A place that constantly reminds our kids of their belovedness and their belongingness and their complete and total need for Jesus. SO THAT… they can glow. SO THAT… they can shine in dark places. SO THAT… they can go out among the hurting and the broken and the hopeless and be who they were created to be. SO THAT… someday, we can let go and trust completely (or fake it and pray, at least) that their light will outshine the darkness outside. But, we also know that inevitably, the darkness will weigh on them, exhaust them, and feel altogether overwhelming to them. Then, their light will start to fade. Because they are not the source of the light, only the reflector of it. They’ll have to plug back into the source of light. They will need to fill back up with the goodness of a loving God and be reminded of his truths and his promises. And then, again, we’ll have to let them go. Or, if you’ll indulge my dorkiness, let them *glow.* The temptation is to keep them in the light. To hold them close and position them safely in the comfortable, expected, savory, happy, Christian places, where light constantly surrounds them and their light doesn’t feel threatened. But, they can’t glow in the light. Glow-in-the-light is not a thing, y’all. We are meant to glow in the dark. So are they. Jesus said it: You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). Jesus lived it: When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:16-17).
Covered Signs
Are we keeping the grace of God hidden from outsiders? In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them. (Philippians 3:14-15) Weather in early “spring” in Central Texas can be quite exciting. Recently after several days of beautiful weather, a howling “Blue Norther” came roaring through as an Artic air mass ripped down off the face of the Rockies and through the plains of Texas. Forget about the hat, we had to hold on to our hair so it wouldn’t blow away. Of all the things I was expecting to see with the cold front, one made me laugh and feel sorry at the same time. A nearby apartment complex had placed all these “cutesy” signs about the amenities of their apartment complex all along the perimeter of their chain link fence. Their property faced a little to the northeast, so when the cold front came through, each sign was neatly folded in half over itself when the wind caught the leading edge of the sign. Every single one of those “cutesy” signs was folded over and covered. All twenty plus of them suddenly became covered signs – absolutely worthless and humorously ugly. Nobody could read their cute messages about their touted amenities. The only message they shouted was, “This place is such a loser, it can’t even put out signs properly!” I know I look at life oddly, but as I stopped at a nearby light and chuckled at the situation, a sudden stab of conviction stung my heart. “That’s us! That’s the Christian community! That’s the Church about half of the time! The best we offer many of those on the outside are covered signs! No wonder so many of them think Christianity is for losers!” We are the recipients of God’s grace. We know the price our Father was willing to pay so we could be adopted into his family. We know that death, though still a painful interruption in our lives, no longer has the final say about our future. We have a family who shares our values and that future. We have support, friendship, purpose, and joy. The Holy Spirit of God lives inside us. We can go almost anywhere in the world and find people who share a similar faith and who will treat us like family. We don’t have to have “cutesy” signs to declare the goodness of God; we get to live it every day! We do, however, need to quit covering these signs! What do I mean? How do we cover our signs? We cover our signs in many ways. We don’t share our joy in the Lord because we don’t live joyfully. We ignore the folks in our church families that need help. We argue and fight about frivolous and non-essential matters. We treat each other rudely and sometimes even crudely. We let our petty selfishness destroy the unity of the Body of Christ. We let our culture mold us instead of being the source of our culture’s salt and light. We go to church in neighborhoods we don’t serve, and when those neighborhoods become too unlike us, we leave them to die in their own squalor. We spend more money on our conveniences than on our mission in the inner cities and to third world countries. We get all razzed up about having the Ten Commandments in public places, but don’t obey their intent in our private residences. We are covered signs! We make ourselves into a religious complex for losers. With all the discussion, hoopla, controversy, and publicity over Jesus’ sacrificial death with the release of the movie The Passion of The Christ, we need to have a heart to heart talk, a genuine come to Jesus meeting, with ourselves. We need to repent for covering our signs. We need to ask God to remove the covering we’ve placed over the grace he has poured into our lives and ask the Holy Spirit to open our lives so we can be fully accessible islands of grace that are visible signs of God’s Kingdom. O Lord Jesus, we bid you come! And if, dear Lord, that coming not be your final return that brings about your fully recognizable glory to all people, then we bid you come and help us remove the covering off the signs of your grace so richly deposited in us. Shine so brightly upon us that we cannot help but reflect your glory and demonstrate your grace! To you belongs all praise, honor, and glory, not only forever and ever, but today in our lives. Amen. About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. —Psalm 73:25-26 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What can truly fulfill and sustain you? Maybe the best way to answer that question is by asking another: What can we keep when our bodies are placed silently in their graves at death? Only our relationship with God, our Christ-like character, and our loving relationships with Jesus’ disciples are permanent. These last beyond the grave. So, if these are lasting, then why would we displace them for anything that isn’t lasting? Earth’s treasures fail, wither, dissolve, and decay. What we have in God is forever! My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. My Prayer… Mighty Yahweh, Strong One of Israel, Keeper of the Covenant and Fulfillment-Maker of every prophecy, you are my hope, my strength, and my future. I live this day in wide-eyed amazement that the Keeper of the Universe knows my name, hears my voice, and cares for me. Thank you for being my past, my present, and my future. You are the Great I Am. You, O God, are the strength of my heart forever! In the name of Jesus, my Immanuel, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Letting Hatred Go…
Why do we hold onto the things that poison us the most? [Jesus said,] “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels. Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions (Proverbs 18:1-2). Forgiveness is setting the imprisoned bird free, then realizing that you were the imprisoned bird. (Traditional & Unknown) “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18). “Your hatred of her is unjustified,” the teacher said as a man ranted about his ex-wife. “What do you mean unjustified?” he spit out. “You have no idea how she treated me, the things she’s said to me, or the #$#@$@# things she continues to do. It’s my God-given right to hate her.” I’m taking a class for couples who are divorcing or are recently divorced that have too much conflict. Actually, let me restate that: the judge ordered that we take it. It’s like a finishing school of sorts for something that is, well, finished, or at least theoretically should be. The class is divided into 2 sessions: one partner comes to the earlier class and the other comes to the later one. Mr. It’s My Right to Hate Her was in the later class with me and assumed the teacher was making comments based on something his ex had said in his absence. “My comment has nothing to do with her,” the teacher responded in his calm and gentle tone. “She hasn’t said anything that makes me say it. I simply want you to know that your hatred of her will be your undoing.” They’re strong words. They’re also accurate. Trust me, I know. I once believed that if I didn’t fight for certain causes, it meant I was a pushover and was somehow giving my approval to things that shouldn’t ever have a seal of okay-ness on them. If someone pushed me on it, I would have justified my stance, probably even defined it as a righteous indignation. There are definite times for anger and indignation, but this was something different: it became a pattern of combativeness, of trying to determine who was right and who was wrong, or more aptly, of trying to prove my worth over someone else’s while recruiting others into my ring of dislike for the other party. That other party died recently. I’m not saying the fight ended. I am talking funeral service and all that jazz. I won’t – can’t – go into it, other than to say something in me did, too. If I had known their days were more limited than expected, would I have done things differently? I sure hope so. No, wait. Strike that and make it a resounding yes, one that echoes deep within and bubbles out, even to the point of verbalizing it to Mr. Its My Right. “Yes, you absolutely have every right to hate her,” I softly said to him. “No judge or anyone else is ever going to mandate that you abandon your views of her. But even though you have that right, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth it. The hatred comes at a high cost. There is so much that is valuable around you, especially your kids, yet you’re losing out on it as you’re consumed in this war against her. When does it end and when do you get to be you and have the freedom to live?” My words weren’t intended to be a I’m better-than thing, but rather of one who has been there for much too long and can look back and see the price. It comes with a ticket I refuse to pay anymore: bondage, depression, grief, and perhaps worst of all, giving someone else the right to determine if I was happy, upset, or somewhere in between. This life is too great to chance it away like that. This life is too great to hate it away like that. Today, I’m on a different mission. It’s one I eagerly recruit people into the ring with me to fight for it and embrace it dearly. It’s called life. I want to live, not as a result of what others say and think, but to live fully, extravagantly, and truly. Come join me in the ring. Title image courtesy of and altered from Flickr: Ben Salter About the author: Stacy is a founder of Eyes of Your Heart Ministries. which helps women “know the hope to which (God) has called (them)” (Ephesians 1:18). She is an author and speaker known for her ability to connect with audiences while bringing Biblical characters and principals to life. A proud mama of a beautiful daughter and energetic son, Stacy and her husband Allen live in Colorado.
The Face of Fear
What do you do when you are really afraid? We were stunned. People chose sides and weighed in with strong opinions. The young mother was sentenced to prison. Her live-in-lover was already in prison for the brutal death of her young child. His actions were beyond belief, and had raised incredible rage in the community. How a toddler could be so disgracefully murdered was incomprehensible to everyone. Now, the mother was being sent to prison for not protecting her child – for not reporting the previous abusive incidents by her boyfriend and not immediately reporting the role her lover had in taking the life of her child. “She lived in terror for her own life!” That’s what women’s advocates screamed. That’s what her defense attorney emphasized. He pleaded that she had been demeaned enough, had lost enough, was grief-stricken enough, and that prison time could do nothing to redeem the situation. “She is the child’s mother. As parents, we have a sacred duty to protect our children, no matter the danger or the consequences.” That was the position of the DA and most in our community. I’m not asking you to choose a side. I want us to think for a moment about what lies underneath this incident. I want us to us focus for a moment on fear – fear that paralyzes and intimidates and fear that shuts us down, immobilizing and debilitating us. Have you ever been terrified? I’m not talking about going to a really scary movie or having an instant of sudden, but passing fear. I’m talking about an ongoing sense of absolute terror for your own life and the lives of those you love! As the debate raged about this mom and her lack of response, my heart broke for her. I have known terror. I’ve worried about having put my whole family in jeopardy. It was a long time ago, but every now and then, something happens and it comes back like a cold paralyzing wave. Fear has the power to destroy God’s work in us. Fear can become our unwanted god, making our heavenly Father an irrelevant relic left in the stain glass ghetto of Sunday. Our Christian faith sounds so neat and tidy there, so powerful and inspiring. But you see, it’s not really put to the test until we see the face of fear in our own mirror. Until we feel its wilting breath cold upon our shoulder and experience the total emasculation of our resolve. Hopefully in our time of fear, a brother or sister in Christ will step in and buy us some time to sort out our fear. Hopefully we will courageously keep doing the mundane things that are necessary for life and open the door to the Spirit’s presence. But in the crucible of real life, ultimately there comes a time when those of us in fear have to decide whether or not we believe in the promises of God to give us ultimate victory beyond death. We have to decide that God is with us no matter what the circumstances are – that we are not alone in facing our terrors and that God’s Spirit will strengthen us AS we do what’s right, even when we are not sure we have the strength to do it! When I was a boy, filled with images of John Wayne movie courage, I thought that a courageous person did not experience fear. Now I know better. I understand that God’s Greatest saw the face of fear and prayed, “Let this cup pass from me.” He saw the terrors of hell that he would have to face on the Cross and he asked to be delivered from them. But looking fear in the face, he went one step further: “Not my will, but yours be done.” If he could not be delivered FROM his terror, he was confident that God would deliver him THROUGH his terror. In the end, this is the ultimate test of faith and this is the ultimate proof of courage. When Jesus came to his disciples on the stormy waters and said, “Fear not, I AM!” I don’t believe he was saying, “Don’t let fear cross your minds.” No, he is saying, “In the face of fear, recognize I am here. Don’t let fear stop you from what I’ve called you to do.” There is a difference between feeling fear and being mastered by it. There is a difference between being afraid and being immobilized by it. Courage is seeing the face of fear and then choosing to call out to the one who insures that it can never have us, our great I AM. Courage is seeing the face of fear and refusing to have it be our master. About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.