January 8th, 2026

Regardless of your stance on vaccinations, I’m grateful to have followed my doctor’s advice and kept up with them. Even when doubts crept in, I chose to trust the process—and this week, that decision made all the difference. After feeling unwell, I bounced back quickly, reminding me that vaccines aren’t cures, but powerful tools that help us recover more quickly and face challenges with greater resilience.

Faith works in much the same way. It doesn’t shield us from every hardship, but it equips us to respond, endure, and grow stronger through adversity. Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

So, what can we do to prepare ourselves for life’s ups and downs?

• Stay connected through prayer, meditation, and fellowship.
• Practice your faith in service.
• Take care of your body with rest, exercise, and healthy habits.
• Nourish your mind and spirit with scripture and reflection.

These disciplines build resilience, helping us not just to survive, but to thrive when challenges come our way. Take care of your health, nurture your soul, and step into each day with confidence and hope!

“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
1 Timothy 4:8

Good morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

January 6th, 2026

There’s a saying that always sticks with me:

“The same hot water that hard-boils an egg will soften a potato…”

I like to add a little twist:

“If you’re making potato salad—you need both!”

Just like hot water changes an egg by making it tough, and a potato by making it soft, the same challenge can shape each of us in unique ways. Our struggles may harden or soften us, depending on where we start and how we respond.

We all face tough times, and each of us finds comfort in different places—maybe in faith, in our loved ones, or through personal reflection. No matter where you turn, resilience is built by letting those experiences teach and transform you.

For me, when I let Christ meet me in my struggles, I find compassion and strength. Scripture reminds us that when we are comforted, we’re better able to comfort others:

“Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

2 Corinthians 1:4

When you find yourself in hot water, ask yourself: How is this shaping me? Where can I find comfort and growth today—and who can I encourage in return?

Whatever your journey looks like, may you be strengthened and softened in all the right ways. Good morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

For many of us, today is the first full workday of the New Year.  Reality has sunk in, the holiday season is over, and we are back to our regular schedules.  

Part of me longs for another day –  another couple days before getting back into the routine, but even as I consider it, I realize the slippery slope I am standing on…

Today is a brand new day, a gift if you will, that has been granted, and if we begin by wishing it away at its onset, we have already begun a downward spiral…

So, let’s reset.  

Let’s begin this day with gratitude at the grace that God has given us.  Let’s begin the day with clarity and joy as we imagine what new opportunities and blessings we will encounter… 

As with each day that God gives us, let’s acknowledge the privilege of each moment and set aside the tendency to take it for granted.  Let’s cherish this day and remember:

²³  This is the Lord’s doing; It is marvellous in our eyes.

²⁴  This is the day which the Lord hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 

Psalm 118:23-24

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

January 2, 2026

As the last holiday lights are packed away and the festive season fades, we find ourselves standing at the threshold of a new year. For many, this transition brings a mix of emotions—some feel anxious about returning to routines, others welcome the comfort of predictability, while most of us experience a combination of hope, gratitude, and uncertainty.

The start of a new year naturally prompts questions: What challenges will we encounter? What unexpected joys might appear? Will we have what we need? Will things turn out okay?

It’s normal to feel both wonder and weariness as we look ahead. But remember, we’ve faced new beginnings before—and we’ve made it through, one step at a time. There will be moments of difficulty and moments of delight. The key is to take each day as it comes, focusing on what’s within reach right now.

A familiar song reminds us:

“One day at a time, sweet Jesus
That’s all I’m asking from You
Just give me the strength to do every day
What I have to do
Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine
Lord, help me today, show me the way…
One day at a time.”
—Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson

When uncertainty feels overwhelming, lean into faith and trust in a compassionate Creator. Even the fastest runners and the most skilled climbers move forward one step at a time.

As the scripture says:

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” 

Matthew 6:34

May we find peace, strength, and encouragement in each new day.

Good morning, I love you all.

ihs,
just adam

December 31st, 2025

Remembering our past is important, but it comes with certain caveats:

• Looking back can sometimes lead to a nostalgia that rewrites our personal and shared histories—a tendency that is not only deceitful but dangerous.

• Looking back may coax us toward chasing former glory or reclaiming myths of previous prowess, which is a foolhardy waste of time.

• Looking back can become mere reminiscing—longing to relive past experiences or recapture fleeting moments—which is both faithless and naive.

• Looking back may mire us in old traumas, causing us to replay and relitigate past offenses, leaving us brokenhearted and perpetually grieving.

Remembering is important work, and it requires wisdom and guidance.

As we recall and survey the landscape of our lives—all the places we’ve been, people we’ve encountered, things we’ve done or left undone, the sorrows and joys, successes and failures, shining moments and moments of despair—we must remember carefully, so we may remember rightly.

While we excavate our past, we need the right filters to help us sift through and separate what must be retained from what needs to be released. Some memories belong in the museum of our minds—preserved, but not displayed in the everyday spaces of our lives.

Other artifacts should serve as markers—reminders not only of previous greatness, but of God’s present faithfulness and the unlimited possibility that becomes our future when imagination meets hope.

Remembering is important work, and we need a faithful Guide.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)

As we remember, let us seek guidance—not only to honor the past, but to embrace the hope and possibility of the future.

Good morning. I love you all.

ihs,

just adam

Be kind to yourself, and one another…

Life is messy.

Things very rarely go as planned.

Times are hard.

We are flawed beings,

desperately in need of grace.

Be kind to yourself,

and one another. 

That’s the message.

We are anxious.

We are afraid.

We are tired.

We feel alone.

Be kind to yourself,

and one another.

We need peace.

We need comfort.

We need rest.

We need compassion.

Be kind to yourself, and one another.

That’s the message.

Good morning, I love you all.

ihs,

just adam

It’s Fall in Alabama, you can feel it in the morning but by afternoon it will feel like Summer again! Makes me miss my Ohio home… There is something about being able to discern the times by the trees that is comforting to me.

But we are in strange times. So many words being thrown around about God, faith, Jesus, and the Bible. Everyone is making claims about who’s in and who’s out, what’s true and what’s false, who’s good and who’s bad – it’s difficult for some of us to tell what’s what!

But we do have wisdom from the trees. Look at the leaves. Examine the fruit. These are reliable signs for us. We have credible witnesses. We can tell the seasons by the leaves and the trees by their fruit- there’s no need for mystery.

Jesus said it like this:

³³ “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

Matthew 12:33-35

We are in strange times indeed, but we can still tell a tree by the fruit it bears!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

For some reason, most fall into two main ways of seeing others and ourselves. On the one hand, we are willing to see others’ flaws while overlooking our own. On the other hand, many of us fall into the trap of fixating on our own failures, imagining that we are worse than or somehow more broken than everyone else.

Whatever the case, our vision is skewed, and it creates a warped sense of justice. We prop ourselves up based on miscalculation of our own merits, or we cast ourselves down with a twisted sense of unworthiness.

We move through the world encumbered by crippling thoughts of comparison and competition that corrupt our hearts and keep us from enjoying or expressing the grace of God.

But the truth is, we are no better or worse than most of those with whom we cross paths. We are all flawed. We all miss the mark. We all come up short!

But the truth is also that we are God’s beloved, and we are of inherent value and dignity, and worthy of respect—every single one of us.

It is impossible that you can ever meet another human being that God does not love. Get it?

And I realize that sometimes the person who needs to hear that most is the person staring back at you in the mirror this morning!

God loves you. God is merciful. Love and be kind to yourself, today! Love others and be kind to others out of that overflow!

Be kind to yourself.

For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam