Daily Readings at Southeast

  Your Breakthrough Year Life changes when we embrace a new truth. When I was living the same year twice, I believed God had forgotten about me. I thought I was a lost cause. Growing up in poverty, I convinced myself I would probably always stay there. That was my mindset—until I got into the Living Word of God and realized each year is meant to get better. Each year is meant for growth, for expanding our horizons, experiencing new things, and increasing our faith. No year is meant to be exactly the same. If it is, we’re not growing. Through the Word, I learned that God wants me to prosper. He desires for me to grow, to have hope, and to look forward to my future. He didn’t want me stuck in fear or weighed down by inadequacies. He didn’t want me trapped in my old high school bedroom, depressed and feeling alone. God wants us to prosper, to thrive, and to walk in hope and purpose. The truth, then and now, remains: we are meant to prosper. We are meant to go from glory to glory. We a...

  Get Off Your Plan: Beyond Your Comfort Zone One day, months and months after pouring my heart into my ministry, we went through some serious financial hardships. I kept trying, praying that things would turn around for us. After years of real struggle, I had a moment of clarity: if I didn’t do something different, nothing would change. I realized I had been waiting for the season to change, not recognizing that God was waiting for me to get on board with His new plan. I was terrified to try anything new because the old way of doing ministry had worked in the past. But I learned that many of our stuck seasons come from being stuck on our plan—our timeline, our expectations, our ideas of how things should happen. My resistance to change limited my vision for growth and held back our ministry for years. When I finally let go of my plan and embraced the one God had revealed, I knew it was time to step into something new. With fear and trembling, I sat down and began implementing a ne...

  A Willing Heart: Saying Yes to God’s Call When God calls us, it can come as an idea, a nudge, or even a deep pull on our hearts. We know that God knew us before we were born, and that we have an inheritance in Jesus Christ—to have life and to live it more abundantly. And when I think of an abundant life, it doesn’t sound stuck, depressed, or defeated—it sounds full, joyful, and purposeful. Not living the same year twice means embracing God’s call to abundance for you. That call may look different for everyone. It could be starting a new job, trying a new hobby, pursuing a God-given idea, or stepping into a dream you’ve been hesitant to chase. God calls all of us to abundance, but it starts with a willing heart—a heart ready to say yes to Him. We see this in Esther in the Bible. She answered the call to become queen and to save her people. What set her apart wasn’t perfection or readiness—it was her willingness to embrace God’s plan. Don’t shut yourself off from the abundant life ...

  Walking in Purpose When You Still Feel Unqualified I love the vibe of a new year—energy, goals, hope, and Jesus. But even though it’s a new year, we often bring along our insecurities, doubts, past experiences, and beliefs, both good and bad. Just because the calendar changes doesn’t mean our feelings automatically do. Even while walking in your vision or purpose, you may still feel unqualified. I’ve been in ministry for eight years and written hundreds of devotionals, and I still sometimes feel unqualified to do this. But your feelings of inadequacy don’t have to stop you, hold you back, or limit what God has called you to do. Stopping the cycle of living the same year twice means showing up even when you don’t feel ready. It’s making the call, sending the email, applying for the job, writing the book—all while thinking, “I’m not quite ready.” That’s exactly when you need to do it. Moses didn’t feel qualified for his calling, either. Walking in purpose and vision requires trusti...

  Faith Over Feelings: How to Stay Grounded in Hard Seasons Having vision is powerful, and having Jesus is even more amazing. You may have experienced the highs of faith—the moments in worship when tears stream down your face because of the awesomeness of God. I’ve definitely been there. But what about those times when you’re not in a service, when you’re wrapped up in the covers, crying over the death of a loved one or the end of a marriage? In those moments, when emotions are overwhelming, we have to work to stay grounded. Not living the same year twice doesn’t mean life will be easy. You will face hard seasons, difficult days, and low moments of faith. You will feel pain and heartache. These moments are real, and they matter. But even in those times, we have a Comforter—the Holy Spirit—and a Savior who has endured so much pain and betrayal. We have a Lord who doesn’t just sit high above, but comes low to meet us in our brokenness. In these moments, hold onto faith, cling to your...

  Creating a Prayer Board That Reflects Your Vision In 2016, I created my first prayer board because I had all these words, desires, and ideas swirling in my heart, and I needed a place to put them. They were scattered across my prayer journal and stuck on notes all around my room. I realized I didn’t just need to know my vision—I needed to see it all around me. So I sat with God and slowly went over my desires. After a few days, I got clear on some of my biggest dreams: building a ministry with global impact, one day getting married, and more. I added each of these to my prayer board and, in faith, prayed and believed that in God’s perfect will, they would come to pass. Some of those goals were achieved within the year, while others took several years—but either way, I stopped living the same year twice. I began to see how God could use my heart’s desires to fuel His purposes for me. I planned and prayed, but ultimately, God guided me to His will. Today, I do have a global ministr...