Early this morning I was sifting through various websites when my eyes caught the title of an article written by Rebecca Barlow Jordan. “What Makes Your Heart Sing?” leaped out at me, especially the first line of the story: “Feeling cranky, tired, discouraged or edgy?”

Gee, how could she have known? I’ve been on edge lately, feeling discouraged and tired. Probably cranky too!

Seriously, I take my finding the article as an act of Providence, one where God allowed me to find and read what Jordan was sharing with her readers. I won’t rehash what she wrote, but I will tell you how it has already made a difference in my day.

I am about to embark on a business trip that will take me from my home in North Carolina to a small city outside of Detroit, Michigan. While I am there, I will be meeting with representatives of a company to see how they develop new products and will also test several products rolling out later this year.

The trip is paid for by the company whose automotive products I routinely cover. Nothing quid pro quo here, rather a chance for me to see up close and personal what they are doing. I look at this trip as a chance for me to gain a better understanding of the company and meet like-minded people.

Writing is one of my most passionate activities and it is also the way that I make money. Lately, however, it has been a challenge to write as well as to market what I do. I recently completed a project that I was hoping would bring in more customers, but has yet to do so. In the meantime my finances have been stressed and stretched, making it difficult for me to move forward.

In the midst of this very present battle, I’ve been calling upon God for help. My wife and I have been praying for guidance, believing that the God who formed the galaxies and hung them in place wants to intervene in our comparably simple lives. Jesus died on the cross so that we might have life…much of everything else created was for His pleasure and ours.

Oh, and if I need further encouragement I will share with you the following Oswald Chambers quote posted to Twitter just as I was finishing up this article: “If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead.”

I sense a new song about to burst forth from my heart!

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