Elevate Your Day with Andi and Brian Hale

The Limits of Human Wisdom and Understanding The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow. — Ecclesiastes 1:18  Have you ever been overwhelmed by the weight of knowledge? Maybe you've learned something about the brokenness of the world or carried the burden of understanding someone else's pain. Solomon knew this feeling well. He writes in Ecclesiastes 1:...

The Futility of Earthly Pursuits "Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "completely meaningless!" — Ecclesiastes 1:2  Have you ever worked tirelessly to achieve something, only to find the excitement didn't last? Maybe it was a career milestone, a personal goal, or a big purchase. At first, it felt like the ultimate fulfillment. But before long, you were left wondering, Is this really all...

If we make a daily practice of the first four daily habits, after a while, others will ask us why we are doing what we are doing. We need to be able to answer in the first person. Why Are You Doing This? When you go beyond your job description and serve others, they will be curious. In their mind, they will try to understand your actions through worldly motives like “he’s just trying to get ahead....

Serve Others The fourth daily habit is to serve others. This may be the most difficult activity. After all, the Greek word most often translated to mean ‘servant’ is also translated to mean ‘minister.’ Therefore, we need to rewire our brains so we can remember that leading others is really the same as serving others. Concentrate on Serving Others As we go through our day, it is easy to focus on ou...

Can you explain why you follow Jesus in non-churchy terms? When I ask others why they follow Jesus, I often get answers like “because he loves me.” While that answer is true, it doesn’t explain things very well to people who don’t follow Jesus. In Mark 5:1–20, Jesus has an encounter with a man filled with an army of demons. Jesus heals the man, but a herd of pigs die in the process. The people of...

Our ‘stuff’ won’t travel with us to heaven. Eternal treasure isn’t about possessions; it must have something to do with the people who join us there. Jesus came to seek and save us. He laid aside his glory and majesty to come as a humble baby. He went on to live in submission to his parents, to learn, grow up, teach, serve, suffer, and die for us. Everything he did was for us. I am tempted at time...

5 Daily Habits to Integrate Faith and Work Day 1 – Pray Jesus is active right now in the life of every person you know, meet, see, and interact with. Throughout this reading plan and every day thereafter, we want to challenge one another to make ourselves available to God daily. We’re available for him to use us to do whatever he suggests in the life of every person we meet. Our first step is to p...

The Waiting Game One of the most adorable challenges that went viral on TikTok was the Fruit Snack Challenge, also known as the Patience Challenge or Candy Challenge. Basically, this game encourages parents to test their child’s self-restraint. It’s simple; parents put a bowl of snacks or delicious treats in front of their kids and tell them they can eat it once they get back to the room. The pare...

Hide and Seek From The Game Of Life by Dacia James Lewis “. . . Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred. Ready or not, here I come.” That was the indicator for every player to expedite their plan and be securely tucked away in the best hiding place so that they are not found by “it” (the seeker). You know the game. Hide and Seek! The human scavenger hunt that every adolescent loved to play. Does it...

Tug of War From The Game Of Life by Dacia James Lewis Most people assume that Tug of War is a sport that only requires power and endurance, but in actuality, it is a technical sport requiring mechanics and strategy to be effective. This is executed with the help of what is known as a driver. Though not actually in the game, the driver directs their team on the exact moments to “pull” and exact mom...

Trust Fall From The Game Of Life by Dacia James Lewis Trust Fall is a game that many businesses, sports teams, and church organizations use to build trust amongst their members and teammates. One person crosses their arms over their chest, closes their eyes, and blindly falls back with the hope that the person behind them catches them before they hit the ground. Whew! Just thinking about that give...

The Quiet Game From The Game Of Life by Dacia James Lewis Who can remember a time in school when students got rowdy and a teacher said, “Ok guys, let’s play a game!” Excitedly the kids would settle down and prepare for some fun when the teacher continued with, “It’s called … the quiet game.” Moans and groans filled the room because we weren’t naive to this ageless trick which felt like more of a p...

A Legacy of Faith From Rahab, How God Uses the Unlikely on YouVersion Rahab’s faith didn’t just transform her own life. Her faith created a ripple effect that shaped generations. She is one of only two women mentioned in Hebrews 11, often called the “Hall of Faith,” where she is celebrated for her bold trust in God. The writer of Hebrews highlights Rahab’s faith as the reason for her salvation, st...

The Scarlet Cord of Redemption From Rahab, How God Uses the Unlikely on YouVersion Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.” Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound...

Bold Faith in Action From Rahab, How God Uses the Unlikely on YouVersion Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what...

God Choosing the Unlikely From Rehab, How God Uses the Unlikely on YouVersion Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. But someone told the king of Jer...

GROWING A LEGACY From Lead Me by Matt Hammitt So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. – Galatians 6:9 NLT Few things bring me more joy in life than when my marriage and family are healthy and thriving. Conversely, few things have brought me more pain than when my marriage and family have felt broken. Meeting the n...

FIGHT YOURSELF FIRST From Lead Me by Matt Hammitt Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. – Philippians 2:3-4 NLT Learning how to tend to Sarah’s emotional needs has been one of the most difficult marital lessons for me. I’m still learning how to be patie...

PLANS From Lead Me by Matt Hammitt Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. – Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. – Proverbs 16:2-3 NLT It takes a plan to make it through...

GOOD INTENTIONS From Lead Me by Matt Hammitt What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?...

WHO YOU’RE CALLED TO BE From Lead Me by Matt Hammitt But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it...

Living Out Love in Everyday Life From Love Like Jesus on YouVersion Colossians 3:14, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:14 calls us to prioritize love as the foremost virtue in our lives, which holds all other virtues together. On this final day of our devotional, let’s contemplate how to actively live out this call to love in our ev...

The Joy of Loving Others From Love Like Jesus on YouVersion Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3-4 calls us to a higher standard of love – one that values others above ourselves and seeks their well-being over our o...

Love as a Reflection of Faith From Love Like Jesus on YouVersion James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:17 offers a powerful reminder that our faith manifests through our actions. In this context, love is not just a feeling or an idea but an active expression of our faith. Let’s explore how our love for others can testify to our faith in Christ. True Chr...