GritAngela Duckworth, author of the book Grit, defines it as: Passion and perseverance for long-term goals.

Does your life say “Welcome Home”—or “Go Away”?

I once asked an AI to tell me a knock-knock joke.Here’s what it said:     Knock knock.     Who’s there?     Lettuce.     Lettuce who?     Lettuce in; it’s cold out here!

“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: everybody loves faithfulness.”

Philippians 4:4-7 4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.  6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

In Luke 7:44–46 (NLT), we witness a tender, almost scandalous scene—at the dinner table.

I remember lots of gritty prayers. Of course, I didn't call them that then, but they were get-to-the-point prayers, like "O God, if you don't help me, I'm toast." 

This morning during my devotion time, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole. As of today, I’ve lived through 3,224 Saturdays—that’s roughly 8.83 years of Saturdays alone. And here I am, stressing about today… trying to get everything done, hoping to make it to bed at a decent hour. It’s only 10 AM, and already my thinking is so small, so narrow, so wrapped up in the immediate.

A few years ago, I found myself driving through Nashville—one of the most challenging cities in America for daily commutes, according to Forbes magazine. And honestly, I believe it. I’m not saying I lost my salvation in traffic that day, but there was definitely some horn honking and maybe a few “urgent suggestions” shouted from the car. Mostly to prevent other drivers from accidentally killing us at 75 miles an hour.

You want how much for breakfast? Two eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, and coffee - $17.99. Ouch! 

I've experienced this in church before.  I get overwhelming feelings of worthlessness, which (to me) makes me angry. I was thinking, "Why am I feeling this way? What is going on?" I found myself being overly critical of the service and myself, but I knew there was no reason to.