Stop Changing the Message, and Start Changing the Method

I've been watching birds from my bedroom window long enough to know the regulars. There's the suet ball crew of sparrows, blue tits, and starlings as loyal as a Tuesday morning prayer meeting. Then there's the odd assortment of birds ranging from pigeons to chaffinches, who show up on the driveway every morning like clockwork when the birdseed hits the pavement. They're sweet. They're faithful. And I enjoy studying them from the sliding glass door of my office.

Recently, Jason hung a new seed feeder out by the clothesline post. It's a little farther from the house, but still in a good enough spot to watch from the kitchen window. For a while, absolutely nothing happened. The birds ignored it so completely that I was starting to feel personally offended. We put the same seed in there! What's the problem?!

Then, one cautious little bird swooped in to investigate.

Dana Rongione 17/04/2026 Dana Rongione 17/04/2026

You Survived the Fire! Let God Take the Smell, Too!

Can I tell you about three men who should have smelled terrible?

Picture it. Babylon, circa 600 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar has erected a golden image ninety feet tall and commanded every living soul at the ceremony to bow down and worship it. The penalty for non-compliance? A furnace.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow.

So, they were hauled before the king and given one last chance to comply. When they politely declined, with what I can only imagine was the most serene look on their faces, they were bound and thrown into that furnace. It was so hot that the soldiers who threw them in were killed just by getting near the opening. The flames swallowed those three faithful men whole.

And then... nothing.

Well, not nothing. Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in a panic. "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" His advisors confirmed it.

Dana Rongione 15/04/2026 Dana Rongione 15/04/2026

Now What? Finding Hope When Your Plans Fall Apart

In Acts 1, after Jesus was taken up, the disciples stood there staring into heaven until the angels asked, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?" The angels went on to say, "this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Luke 24:49 also shows that this was not the end of their journey because Jesus had already told them to wait until they were "endued with power from on high."

I can just picture it. One minute, they're standing on the mount with Jesus. The next, He's gone into the clouds, and they're all doing the first-century version of standing in the grocery store parking lot asking, "Now what?" No five-step plan. No laminated ministry packet. No "Disciples' Guide to What to Do After the Ascension." Just a sky full of clouds and a heart full of questions.

Honestly, I can relate.

Dana Rongione 13/04/2026 Dana Rongione 13/04/2026

How To Turn on the Light When Fear Is Swooping

I have a confession to make: I am afraid of things that don't exist.

Not ghosts or monsters under the bed. I outgrew those...mostly. No, I'm talking about the imaginary monsters I construct out of thin air whenever I face a new deadline, a hard conversation, or an unexpected season of life. I can build something terrifying out of nothing, and sadly, I'm quite good at it.

Turns out, I'm in good company. Not just with other anxious humans, but with ancient settlers who looked up into the twilight sky and panicked over a little bird called the nighthawk.

By name alone, the nighthawk sounds ferocious. Something with hawk in the title ought to have razor-sharp talons, a hooked beak, and zero patience for your nonsense. Early observers watched it swooping through the dusk and slapped the most fearful label they could find on it: Hawk. Done.

The terror only grew worse from there.

Dana Rongione 10/04/2026 Dana Rongione 10/04/2026

Do I Really Belong at the Throne of Grace?

Recently, Jason and I took a trip to Corby, England, to fill in for a pastor over the weekend. On the way, we dropped Tess off with a friend. I expected at least a little hesitation. You know, a cautious sniff, a glance back over the shoulder, maybe a dramatic "Mamma, how could you?" sort of look.

Nope.

Our friend opened the door, and Tess walked right in as if she paid the mortgage.

She didn't stand on the porch wondering if she was welcome. She didn't wait for a second invitation. She didn't ask if she was interrupting anything. She just trotted in, looked around, and started making herself at home. Meanwhile, I stood there thinking, Well, apparently she's settled. Glad we cleared that up.

As funny as it was, the whole thing stirred something in my heart when I realized that Tess did what many of us struggle to do spiritually. She walked in as if she belonged there.

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Stop Changing the Message, and Start Changing the Method

You Survived the Fire! Let God Take the Smell, Too!

Now What? Finding Hope When Your Plans Fall Apart

How To Turn on the Light When Fear Is Swooping

Do I Really Belong at the Throne of Grace?

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Dana Rongione