Daily habits

A Gift Beyond Its Limitations

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

The Journey of Becoming

Backstory

Over the last four years, I have been dealing with many symptoms of chronic illness. Some days it is hard for my body to do very much. I have realized that I need to let my body rest on those days. I was talking recently with my therapist, who has also gone through her own health issues. She helped me realize that I need to check in with my body and pay attention to how it is feeling. I did that a few days ago while walking my dog. I came home grateful for my body, even though it has its limitations. I think we need to slow down and check in with ourselves more in our fast-paced world.

A Gift Beyond Its Limitations

My body is a gift from my loving Father above,
And I should treat it with greater love.
I wake up not feeling well every day,
And the fatigue and pain is more than I can say.

Even though my body doesn’t function like it used to,
I can still be grateful for it instead of feeling blue.
My eyes help me discover the beauties around me,
And I am so grateful for all that I can see.

My ears help me hear beautiful music,
And for me, those sounds are pure magic.
My mouth helps me to sing God’s word,
And through me, His messages can be heard.

My shoulders and back help me to carry each burden,
Even when the end of my suffering is uncertain.
My legs allow me to walk on the ground,
And as I feel it beneath my feet, peace can be found.

So, even though my body doesn’t function properly every day,
I can still be grateful for whatever blessings come my way.
As I reflect on my blessings when I come to my Father on bended knee,
His love and goodness for me I can more clearly see.

The Takeaway

My body has its limitations due to chronic illness symptoms. But I can still be grateful for what it allows me to do every day. Our Heavenly Father gave us our bodies as a gift. We should take more time to slow down and reflect on our bodies and our other blessings.

💬 To My Readers: How do you take time to slow down and check in with yourself when life gets busy or hard? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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Steered by Prayer

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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My Daily Musings-October 7th, 2026

Corrie ten Boom once asked, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”

Prayer has become very important to me over the last few years of living with chronic illness symptoms every day. On my more difficult health days, it’s a struggle to make it through the day without crying or breaking down. On those days, I really rely on prayer. I feel like the more I pray, the more I want to pray. When I pray with a sincere heart and a desire to communicate with my Heavenly Father, I feel His loving arms around me to bear me up.

Let’s look at each part of this quote. Is prayer your steering wheel? Do you use prayer to steer you toward where you want to go in your life? It would be scary if our cars didn’t have a steering wheel. We wouldn’t be able to steer the car to where we want it to go. Basically, is prayer as important to you as a steering wheel is for a car?

Or, is prayer your spare tire? Do you only pray when something goes wrong in your life or when your tire goes flat? I think the tire could represent our faith. Do we only pray to our Heavenly Father when our faith is flat? He wants us to reach out to Him whenever we need Him. He loves us and He wants us to communicate with Him. Prayer is the way we do that.

I want to reach out to my Heavenly Father even when I’m having a good day. Some days it is hard for me to be grateful for my blessings when my health isn’t good. But even on those days, I plead to my Heavenly Father to be there to help me make it through the day. He has always been there for me. He has never let me down, and He never will. He will be there for you as well, whenever you need Him.

How has prayer helped you through a difficult season of your life? What helps you remember to pray not only during difficult times but also during the good times?

Praising, Trusting and Following God

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My Daily Musings-October 3rd, 2026

“Faith is when you praise God in the storm, you trust Him in the valley, and you follow Him in the dark.” – Corrie ten Boom

I want to break apart each part of this quote. First, “faith is when you praise God in the storm.” Some days it is hard to praise God when the storms of my life are raging around me. Sometimes it’s hard to keep my head above the water. The clouds start to gather around me and I begin to feel discouraged about my trials. Then I feel like I might give in to the gathering darkness. But then I get through that hard day. The sun comes out the next morning and there is hope again. I feel like it’s a lot easier to praise God after the worst of the storm has passed than it is when the storm is raging around me. But as long as I keep going and reaching out to my Heavenly Father in prayer, I will survive.

Second, faith is when “you trust Him in the valley.” That sounds easier than praising Him in the storm. The valleys are the easier days when my health isn’t as bad as it is on the hardest days and I can get more done. It doesn’t mean that those days aren’t hard as well, but maybe it’s just easier on those days to trust in my Heavenly Father. We are never free from trials in this life. We all have something hard we are going through. Trusting our Heavenly Father every day, not just on the easier days, makes life more bearable and enjoyable.

Finally, faith is when “you follow Him in the dark.” When we feel the darkness start to creep into our souls, we need someone to follow so we can see the light again. Who better to follow than our loving Heavenly Father? He can see the whole path ahead when we can only see a small portion of it. But it’s hard when we are discouraged and hurting to reach out to Him for help. But I feel like that’s the only way to survive, especially on the dark days and nights of life.

What helps you keep your faith when you’re going through a particularly difficult season of life? Have you ever experienced a time when looking back helped you see God’s presence in the middle of a storm?

A Little Color in Someone’s Storm

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My Daily Musings-September 17th, 2026

“You may not be able to stop someone’s rain. But your kindness can become a little color inside their storm.”

I am grateful every day for the wonderful people in my life who have shown me kindness and love. They have been the little bit of color I needed when the storms of my life have been heavy and fierce.

For someone who is struggling, sometimes the best thing we can do is sit in the rain with them and listen to them. We don’t even have to say anything; just the kindness of being there is enough. Then, if we feel guided to, we can share some of our story with them. We can learn a lot from the stories of others and how their faith was strengthened in their hardest moments.

Sometimes just sending a text that you are thinking about someone who is struggling is enough. Pray for those you know who are struggling with something hard. Then tell them you are praying for them. Your faith and prayers may be the color they need to make it through their storm.

Has someone ever shown you kindness during a difficult time that helped you through your storm?How can we be a little color in someone else’s storm this week?

Choosing to Seek the Good

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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My Daily Musings-August 31st, 2026

“Happiness isn’t that hard to find, you know. It’s everywhere. It’s all around us. But it’s not something that happens to us. It’s something we seek. It’s something we pursue.” From The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh.

I really like this quote from that book. I firmly believe that if we look for the negatives in our lives then we will find them. The opposite is also true: that if we look for the positives in our lives then we will find them. We will find what we seek. If we spend our time discouraged and depressed about our lives all the time, then we won’t feel much hope to get out of those feelings.

If we have a good attitude and are happy about our lives, then we will find more happiness in others and in the world around us. We will be more grateful for the blessings we have in our lives, and those things will help us be happy.

I used to believe that people around me could make me upset or happy. I have realized over the last few years that, while I can’t control everything that happens around me, I can choose how I respond to it. If I create a happy and grateful life, then I will be happy and feel grateful for my blessings.

I realize that not every day is an easy day. I have days when I get in a bad mood or when my blessings seem far away. But when those days happen, I try to get myself out of my bad mood as soon as I can. I prefer to be happy and grateful for my blessings. I think most of us are like that.

What do you find yourself looking for most in your life: the negatives or the positives? What is one thing you can do today to seek happiness and gratitude?