Light The Way

09/05/2026

Good morning! ☀️

In John 10:11 Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

When I think about what a shepherd is, I think about someone who cares for, provides for, protects and leads his sheep. And that is 1000% who God has been to me. But as I kept talking to Jesus this morning, I realized there’s one part of being a sheep that I’m apparently not particularly gifted at, following.

I trust God. I know He loves me and cares for me, and I’ve watched Him provide for me more times than I could count. I’ve seen Him move in ways that I will never believe were coincidences. I’ve watched the right person call on the exact day I needed something. I’ve prayed about things and watched answers come in ways I never could have planned myself. And yet somehow, when I can’t see what He’s doing quickly enough, I panic. I start problem solving and trying to figure out how everything is going to work. Basically, I look around, don’t see any grass, and decide the Shepherd must have forgotten that we need to eat.

Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd.” It says His rod and His staff comfort us, and that He leads us beside quiet waters. That word leads really got me this morning because following someone means I’m not out in front. A sheep doesn’t know where the next pasture is or how far away the water is. It doesn’t know why the shepherd stopped, why he turned, or why they’re leaving one place for another. The sheep doesn’t have the itinerary. The shepherd does.

I realized how often I tell God something is His and then get frustrated when He actually runs it like it’s His. I’m especially guilty of this with ministry. I’ve told God over and over that Light The Way is His, and I mean it. But then something isn’t coming together on my timeline and suddenly I’m trying to decide whether to cancel it, change it, fix it or force it. Meanwhile, God has proven repeatedly that He is perfectly capable of running His own ministry.

There have been so many times when I couldn’t see how something was going to come together and then the right people showed up, resources came, or doors opened that I didn’t even know to knock on. Recently I was frustrated and questioning whether one of our upcoming events was even going to come together, and then suddenly registrations started coming in. And once again I found myself thinking, Oh. You’re already working on this.

I swear sometimes God waits until I’m convinced there is absolutely no pasture ahead and then casually walks me around the corner like, Ma’am. It’s literally right here. 😂

None of this means following God means doing nothing. Sheep still have to walk. I still have responsibilities. I still have to plan, work, make decisions, send the emails and do whatever is mine to do. But there’s a difference between faithfully doing my part and panicking because I can’t see how God is going to do His.

The Good Shepherd knows where He’s going. He knows what I need, and He knows what’s ahead of me that I can’t see yet. I’m probably never going to be great at not wanting the entire map in advance. But trust isn’t knowing where He’s taking me, it’s knowing the Shepherd well enough to follow Him when I can’t see the pasture yet. So apparently today’s reminder for me is to stop stealing the Shepherd’s staff every time I get nervous and just stay close enough to hear His voice. 🐑

09/04/2026

🎟️ REGISTER FREE HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/firm-foundations-mens-conference-tickets-1992554714790

🔨 MEET Allen Boshaw

Our next introduction for Firm Foundations Men’s Conference is Allen Boshaw!

Allen is a U.S. Army veteran and the founder and president of Yahweh Army, a Christ-centered nonprofit dedicated to bringing hope and practical help to people and communities in need.

Allen will be sharing with our men about the Body of Christ, the individual gifts God has given each of us, and what can happen when we stop trying to do everything alone and start using those gifts together for His Kingdom.

Allen’s time with the guys is going to look a little different from our other speakers, but we’re keeping the rest of that a surprise. 😉

📅 Saturday, November 14 | 9 AM–3 PM
📍 The H Life | Hobart
🎟️ FREE | Limited to 100 men

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another…” — 1 Peter 4:10

09/04/2026

09/04/2026

Good morning! ☀️

“I am the Light of the world.” In John 8:12 Jesus says, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” And my first thought was that He is what is good in a world that’s dark.
There is so much darkness here. Suffering, grief, fear, anxiety, evil, loss, things we don’t understand and things we desperately wish God would change. Following Jesus doesn’t mean those things suddenly disappear. Christians still suffer. We still grieve. We still get scared. We still have moments when we have absolutely no idea what God is doing. Jesus never promised us a life without darkness. He promised us we wouldn’t have to walk through it without Light.

That distinction is incredibly personal for me because I’ve experienced grief both ways. When I lost my sister and my mom, I didn’t really know how to walk through that kind of pain. Looking back now, I believe God was there, but I wasn’t acknowledging Him. I was basically stumbling around in a dark room refusing to use the flashlight. And believe me, I stubbed every spiritual toe available. I tripped. I fell flat on my face. I tried to make my own way through something I couldn’t see my way through. So instead of walking through my grief, I tried not to feel it. I turned to drugs, alcohol and meaningless relationships. I numbed myself as much as possible, and when the grief broke through anyway, I struggled with severe anxiety, PTSD and depression. None of those things actually led me out of the darkness. They just helped me avoid looking at it for a little while.

Years later, when my dad died, the experience was completely different. Not because I loved him less. Not because losing him hurt less. And definitely not because Jesus made death somehow okay. The difference was that this time, I had the Light. I felt God pulling me through it. When I wanted to crumble, I felt Him holding me up. I had peace alongside my sadness. I had the joy of knowing my dad had found Jesus before he died. I was able to care for him at the end of his life, and even though I was exhausted and overwhelmed, I wouldn’t trade that time with him for anything. The darkness was still dark. But this time, I had help navigating my way through it.

That’s what I think I understand differently about Jesus calling Himself the Light of the World. Light doesn’t necessarily remove the dark room. It allows you to see where you’re going inside it. A flashlight doesn’t illuminate the entire journey ahead of you. Sometimes it only gives you enough light for the next step. And maybe that’s all we actually need.

In our suffering, Jesus is our peace. In our sadness, He is our comfort. In our fear, He is our strength. When we can’t see what’s ahead, He doesn’t always turn on every light and show us the whole plan. Sometimes He just says, “Follow Me.” John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” I love that it doesn’t say there is no darkness. There obviously is. It says the darkness doesn’t win.

I know what it’s like to try to find my own way through the dark. I also know what it’s like to walk through devastating darkness with Jesus. And I never want to stumble around without Him again.

09/03/2026

Good morning! ☀️

“I am the bread of life.”

In John 6, Jesus has just fed thousands of people, and the next day they come looking for Him again. They had eaten the bread He gave them, but eventually they were hungry again. And Jesus tells them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

While to some people that probably sounds weird but it made sense to me. Bread was basic sustenance. It filled you. It kept you alive. But hear me out. You can snack on little things all day long, but eventually you’re hungry again. I think we do that spiritually too. We spend so much of our lives trying to fill ourselves with things we think will satisfy us. Relationships, money, success, pleasure, knowledge, attention.
, accomplishments, etc. Even really good things like marriage, family, purpose and meaningful work. None of those things are bad, but they were never meant to be our Bread.

There was a time in my life when I desperately wanted my life to be different. I wanted to get off drugs. I wanted a family. I wanted to leave the life I was living in Florida because, it didn’t feel like living anymore. It felt like a shell of a life. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, I just knew there had to be something more than what I was doing.

Eventually my life did change. I got clean. I moved to Indiana. I got married and became a mom. I have a life today that I couldn’t have imagined back then.
I thought while it’s true that I could have gotten every single one of those things and never found Jesus, I realized I wouldn’t want this life without Him.

I love my family. I love the life I’ve been given. I’m incredibly grateful for all of it. But if you could somehow hand me all of this and remove Jesus from it, something enormous would still be missing.
Looking back now, I understand something I couldn’t understand then. I was starving, I just didn’t know what I was starving for.

Ecclesiastes talks about chasing after the wind, and that’s what so much of life can become. We keep putting things into the bag hoping eventually it’ll be full, but there’s a hole in the bottom. So we try another relationship. Another accomplishment. More money. More pleasure. More knowledge. Another distraction. Another version of ourselves.

And I don’t mean that people without Jesus are incapable of happiness. Of course they aren’t. People can have beautiful families, meaningful lives, incredible relationships, joy and purpose. But I believe there’s something deeper in us because we were created by God and for relationship with Him. Ecclesiastes says God has “set eternity in the human heart.”

We’re wanderers looking for home. Sometimes we don’t even know that’s what we’re looking for.
That’s what makes Jesus’ words so beautiful to me. He doesn’t tell the crowd, I’ll give you enough things to finally make you feel full. He says, “I am the bread.”
Jesus isn’t another thing to throw into the bag. He’s what our souls were hungry for all along.

I didn’t know that when I was desperately trying to change my life. I thought I was looking for a different life. I didn’t realize I was looking for Jesus. And now that I’ve found Him, I can’t imagine ever wanting a life without Him. I know what it’s like to be hungry without knowing what you’re hungry for. And now I know where the Bread is. ❤️

09/03/2026

🎟️ REGISTER FREE HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/firm-foundations-mens-conference-tickets-1992554714790

🎤 MEET OUR EMCEE: David Lachowicz

We are so excited to have David joining us as the emcee for our Firm Foundations Men’s Conference on November 14!

Following Jesus isn’t only about what happens inside the walls of a church. It’s about how we show up at work. How we love our families. How we serve the people around us. How we lead. How we encourage one another. And how we carry the light of Christ into dark places. And I think that fits Firm Foundations pretty perfectly.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

Dave will be helping us keep things moving throughout an incredible day of worship, speakers, brotherhood, delicious food, a hands on project, encouragement, and probably a whole lot of laughter too.

📅 Saturday, November 14
⏰ 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
📍 The H Life | Hobart, Indiana
🎟️ COMPLETELY FREE

Tickets are limited, so don’t wait to grab yours!

Stand firm. Be courageous. Lead with love.

09/02/2026

Good morning! ☀️

This morning I started a new study looking at the names Jesus gave Himself, and l am inviting you to come along.

I started with probably the biggest one: “I AM.” In John 8:58 Jesus says, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” He wasn’t just saying He was really old. His words point us back to Exodus, when God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM.” Jesus was telling them who He is. He is God. He existed before Abraham, before any of us, before any of the things we worry about today, and He’ll still be God long after we’re gone.

What amazed me wasn’t only how big God is. It was how absolutely insane it is that Someone that big allows me access to Him. There are important people in this world I couldn’t get on the phone if I tried. I can’t just call the President because I’m having a bad day. I probably couldn’t even get the mayor of my own town on the phone, and I don’t actually know who the mayor is, so that would make things considerably harder. 😂Yet somehow I can talk to the God of the universe whenever I want.

We become so comfortable with God that we forget who we’re talking to. I know I do. I’ll tell Him I don’t like something He allowed. I’ll question what He’s doing. I’ll ask Him for things. I’ll tell Him when I’m frustrated with Him. And then I read, “Before Abraham was born, I AM,” and remember that I’m talking to the eternal God. He doesn’t owe me an explanation. He doesn’t exist to do what I want. He isn’t a genie waiting around for my next request. He is God Almighty, and I am incredibly small in comparison.

Here’s the part I love though, He’s the One who invited me to come. How cool is that?!?! Hebrews 4:16 tells us to approach God’s throne of grace with confidence. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father.” The same God who says “I AM” also says come near. So approaching Him isn’t arrogance when He’s the One who opened the door.

I’ve caught myself thinking before that God has much bigger things going on than whatever little thing is happening in my life, so I don’t want to bother Him. There’s something in me that looks at the God of the universe and thinks, Surely You have more important things to deal with than this. But God doesn’t seem to treat relationship with us that way.

Most of the time when I talk to God, I’m not asking Him for anything anyway. I just talk to Him. I tell Him things because He’s my Father and my best friend. I tell my family and friends what’s happening in my life without expecting them to fix it, and I do the same thing with God. But today reminded me how extraordinary that ordinary little habit actually is.

My best friend is I AM.
My Father is I AM.

The One listening while I tell Him about my day, thank Him, question Him, laugh, complain, cry, or occasionally inform Him that I’m not particularly thrilled with how He’s handling something is the eternal God. Insane! 🤯 Maybe we need both parts of that reminder. We should never become so comfortable with God that we lose our awe of Him. But we also shouldn’t become so overwhelmed by His greatness that we’re afraid to come close.

He is holy. He is eternal. He is Almighty God. And He wants us near. I don’t think I’ll ever completely understand why Someone this great wants a relationship with someone as small as me, but maybe I don’t have to understand it. Maybe I just get to be grateful that He does.

09/01/2026

Good morning! ☀️

This morning I was reading John 12:27–28, where Jesus says, “Now my soul is troubled,” and then, “Father, glorify your name.” At first I thought the lesson was going to be about how Jesus could know He was exactly where He was supposed to be and still have complicated feelings about being there. And I still think there’s something important in that. Following God doesn’t mean we’re going to love every assignment He gives us. Sometimes obedience feels like an incredible privilege, and sometimes it feels heavy. Sometimes it somehow feels like both at the exact same time.

Then I sat with it, and I kept coming back to four words, “Father, glorify your name.” Because at the end of it all, the glory belongs to God. God does occasionally call people who seem incredibly qualified for what He’s asking them to do. But more often then not, He calls people who are standing there looking around like, “Are we absolutely sure You meant me?”I’ve spent a lot of my time with Light The Way in that second category. When this started, I didn’t have ministry experience. I didn’t know how to put on worship events or conferences. I didn’t have a giant network, a pile of money, or some master plan. I just believed God was asking me to do something, so I said yes.

Since then, I’ve watched things happen that I know I can’t take credit for. People have shown up that I didn’t know I needed. Doors have opened that I didn’t even know to knock on. Resources have come when there weren’t resources. People have worshiped, been encouraged, found community, and encountered Jesus. Did I work hard? Absolutely. Saying God did it doesn’t mean I sat on my couch while angels handled the Eventbrite page. 😂 We still have to participate in what God asks us to do. But there’s a difference between participating in what God is doing and believing we’re the reason it succeeded.

Scripture is full of people God used who didn’t seem like the obvious choice. Moses didn’t think he could speak. Gideon thought he was insignificant. David wasn’t even initially brought into the room when Samuel came looking for a king. The disciples were ordinary people. Paul wrote that God chose what the world considered weak so no one could boast before Him.

Maybe sometimes our limitations aren’t something God has to work around. Maybe they’re part of the way His glory becomes visible. That doesn’t mean pretending we don’t have gifts or refusing to acknowledge how much we’ve grown. Humility isn’t making ourselves smaller so God can look bigger. It’s recognizing that whatever gifts we have came from Him in the first place.

So if you’re incredibly gifted at what God has called you to do, use those gifts well, and give God the glory. If you feel completely underqualified and you’re mostly surviving on prayer and a suspicious amount of coffee, keep showing up, and give God the glory. And when something grows from your yes that’s bigger and more beautiful than anything you could’ve created by yourself, enjoy it. Be grateful for it. Let people encourage you. But don’t forget to turn around and hand the glory back to the One who made it grow. We get to participate. What a privilege that is. But we never have to carry the pressure of believing we made the miracle happen.

Jesus, thank You for letting me participate in what You’re doing. Help me work hard and use what You’ve given me to faithfully show up when You call. But when something beautiful grows from my yes, never let me forget whose hands made it grow. Father, glorify Your name. Amen.