Shielded

 People in your congregation and in the neighborhoods that you patrol are facing threats you don't even know about. Just like David, they have their own Goliaths. Don't forget that not only was Goliath much taller than David, he was a trained warrior. It was a huge mismatch. People facing a Goliath in their own lives often feel as Saul did, defeated before the fight even gets started. Sometimes we...

Have you ever left a church service feeling hurt, confused, or wondering if what you heard was really from God? In this episode, I share a personal experience that changed how I view spiritual discernment. After hearing a pastor make an incredibly hurtful statement, my husband and I quietly made the decision to never return. That moment reminded me that the words spoken from a church platform carr...

Right after Jesus tells the disciples about His upcoming suffering and death, these two basically say, "Cool story, Jesus, but when You're famous, can we sit next to Your throne?" Not really reading the room there. But Jesus, with more grace than most of us could muster, doesn't laugh them out of the room. Instead, He teaches them what greatness actually looks like: not lording authority over peop...

This week we're going to dive into 2 Timothy 4:1-5. Every first responder and church security leader knows that sinking feeling. Whether you're managing a chaotic Sunday morning incident or holding the line when everything's falling apart, leadership under pressure isn't a theory — it's a test you didn't sign up for but can't walk away from. In this episode, we're talking about what actually happe...

 Back during my years as a private investigator, a lot of what I did was deliberately discreet. It's just not really a good business practice to let someone that you're surveilling know that you're there. There were also times that even when I could be seen and heard, my true purpose was disguised. Blending in was part of the assignment. The truth is, I was never there for attention. I was there f...

Being self-sufficient might look admirable from the outside, but Scripture makes it very clear. Isolation is exhausting. Ecclesiastes chapter four reminds us that the solo act is a miserable task. That might not be how we describe it in the next team meeting, but we all know what it feels like. We show up. We're doing all the things, but it starts to wear on us physically, emotionally, and spiritu...

 Nehemiah chapter 4 opens with wonderful progress in Jerusalem. The wall was halfway re-built, and the people had a mind to work. The vision was coming to life. So of course, that means cue the resistance from neighboring communities who preferred the dysfunction exactly as it was. But I think that when we get pushback, it often confirms that we're doing something worthwhile. When we start buildin...

Authority can trip us up, security and law enforcement both, because we're not really in charge. We're under orders. The chief shepherd is already there wherever we are. A sheriff enforces the law of the land with authority and consequence because power comes from that badge. People comply because they have to. But a shepherd, they protect with love and lead by example. Influence flows from charac...

If you fly often, you might be tempted to tune out the safety demonstration that happens before takeoff. But I just love the part where the flight attendants remind everyone that if the oxygen masks drop, you have to put your own on first. Why? Because if you don't, you won't be of any use to anybody else. To take care of others like we do, you have to take good care of yourself first. We live in...

Emmett Rhodes might just be one of the most talented people that you've never heard of. This guy was absolutely incredible. He wrote all his own songs, he played every single instrument on his albums, sang all the vocals, and he recorded everything himself in his home studio. Talk about a one-man show. He literally did it all, and he did it brilliantly. But here's the thing, just because you can d...

Psalm 84 paints this gorgeous picture of what life looks like when we make God our home base: "Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage." Whether we ever set foot in the actual Israel or not, we're all on this journey toward deeper connection with Him. And every Sunday, every shift we work, every quiet prayer we whisper behind the scenes—we're helping clear th...

There will come a time for each of us, just like it did for the first disciples, when we find ourselves surrounded by the metaphorical wolves of this world. And honestly, if we're doing our work right, we're probably encountering them more often than most people. Jesus was telling his team, Hey guys, you are gonna get dragged into court, beaten up and face off against powerful people who might wan...

I'm one of those people who could sit and stare at a campfire or a set of flickering candles just for hours. There's something about that dancing light and that soft little crackling sound that just seems to melt my stress away. But flames aren't exactly comforting for everyone, and that makes me think about Isaiah watching an angel coming at him with a burning coal. That would terrify me! But God...

Jesus calls Himself both "the Gate for the Sheep" and "the Good Shepherd," and honestly, both descriptions nail what we do. Think about gates for a minute—they've got two jobs. When they're shut, they keep out thieves, troublemakers, and anything else that has no business being there. When they're open, they invite everyone who's seeking refuge and life to enter. That's us in a nutshell: standing...

Let me ask you something. Have you ever pulled traffic duty for an event? Oh, the joys of standing in a parking lot with a reflective vest trying to convince people that yes, you do know what you're doing, and no, they can't just park wherever they please. Drivers aren't paying attention. Shocking, I know. Bad weather turns everything into a slippery mess, conflicting directions from well-meaning...

We can learn a lot from Paul's description of the "Man of Lawlessness": when he shows up (whenever that is), he'll consider himself above all law and completely without responsibility to others. He'll worship power instead of serving God, and he'll serve himself instead of serving others. Sound familiar? We might not know who the ultimate Man of Lawlessness will be, but we've definitely seen peopl...

This is Shielded- short, weekly devotions where faith meets the frontline. Hosted by church security advocate, Lori Morrison who talks about the calling police and security personnel have answered and the God who stands watch with us. Every week we're gonna tackle something real, something you've been thinking about at 2:00 AM or you've processed on your drive home. We'll dig into scripture. We'll...

As first responders and security people, we're wired to handle everything ourselves first and ask questions later. It's literally in our DNA to assess, respond, and protect. But sometimes we face storms that are bigger than our tactical training, our situational awareness, and our carefully crafted emergency procedures combined. The disciples were competent professionals who got blindsided by some...

Protectors keep people physically safe, but we're also called to be spiritually and emotionally strong, building people up in whatever ways we can. We're not just protecting bodies, we're protecting hearts and spirits too. God asks us to reach people, and people come with baggage. Lots of baggage, messy, complicated. Sometimes downright exhausting baggage. We need God's supernatural endurance and...