Books that encourage your heart and strengthen your faith.

DAY 01 OF 90 | BUILD YOUR FOUNDATION Begin with God Date: ____________________ SCRIPTURE READING Proverbs 3:5-6 Read the passage in your Bible before reflecting. TODAY'S REFLECTION You do not need to see the whole road to take the first faithful step. Invite God into today's decisions before reaching for familiar answers. Where am I depending only on my own understanding? Today I am thankful for: MY FAITHFUL STEP Pause and pray before one decision today. WALKING WITH GOD | DJL CHRISTIAN BOOKS 7

1 CHAPTER 1 The Night Everything Changed Rain polished the streets of West Philadelphia until every traffic light appeared twice. Marcus Reed sat inside his car across from New Hope Community Church, watching people enter beneath umbrellas. Warm light spilled through the open doors while thunder rolled above the rooftops. He had not planned to stop there. The church simply stood between him and the place he was supposed to meet Jamal. Marcus checked his phone. Three unanswered messages filled the screen. Where are you? Dre says the plan changed. Call me. Jamal was nineteen and determined to prove he was no longer a child. He was not Marcus's biological brother, but they had grown up close enough for the distinction to feel unimportant. Marcus taught him how to fight, how to recognize an unmarked police car, and how to stay alive on streets that treated young men like temporary occupants. Lately, Jamal had been learning too much from Dre. Marcus called him. The phone rang until voicemail answered. "Jamal, don't move until you hear from me. I mean it." He ended the call. A man holding a large black umbrella approached the car. Marcus lowered the window several inches. "Parking for service is behind the church," the man said. "I'm not attending."

1 Chapter 1 — Run, Greg The first shot cracked across the basketball court before Gregory Carter could release the ball. He caught it against his chest. For half a second nobody moved. Then a second shot came from outside the fence, and every child at the Cobbs Creek Recreation Center ran for the doors. “Down!” Coach Isaiah Bell shouted. Greg dropped behind the low concrete wall beside the court. The ball bounced away, orange against gray, and rolled beneath the feet of a boy in a denim jacket. The boy stumbled through the gate from 63rd Street, one hand pressed to his side. Greg knew him by sight from Market Street: Andre “Dre” Wilkes, a runner for the Cedar Kings. Across the court, Leon Price had gone back for his little brother, Malik. Leon pulled him behind the wall and wrapped both arms around his head. Tasha Green, who lived two doors from Greg on 62nd and Chestnut, was already leading a line of younger children through the rec center entrance. She looked back once and counted faces. Greg should have followed her. Instead he saw Dre fall. Ten minutes earlier, Greg had been arguing with Leon about the last point. Their games had rules that

Chapter 1 The Letter on the Table In the church fellowship hall, sunlight resting on worn floorboards surrounded James and Kimberly as they faced the truth of the day. A bank notice arrives as James and Kimberly prepare for church. James wrote the need on a scrap of paper, careful not to turn concern into command. Kimberly watched him with the patient honesty of someone who knew both his strength and the places where strength became a hiding place. The problem still looked larger each time they named it, and every practical answer seemed to open into another question. “Then we will offer it together,” Kimberly replied. “Little does not mean useless in God’s hands.” The words did not erase the figures, repair the damage, or silence every accusation. They did something quieter: they made room for truth without surrendering to it. Could obedience still matter when the outcome was hidden? Kimberly thought again of Matthew 17:20 and the mustard seed—not impressive to the eye, but alive with a future concealed inside it. They listed what could be done before nightfall. One call. One apology. One form completed. One neighbor visited. Yet the smallest kindness of the day kept despair from having the final word. James noticed how often he had waited to feel fearless before acting. Kimberly reminded him that faithfulness could tremble and still move forward. Together they chose a task small enough to finish and meaningful enough to matter. By evening, nothing looked completely solved. Still, something had shifted between them. They prayed without performance: for wisdom, provision, mercy, and courage for the next step. When they said amen, the mountain remained in view, but it no longer stood between them. They stood side by side, and the seed of faith had been placed once more into the ground.

SPEAK OVER YOURSELF 8 CHAPTER 1 The Voice in the Mirror The city had not fully awakened when her narrow West Philadelphia rowhouse became the place where the next hard truth had to be faced. Outside, tires whispered over wet pavement while a siren faded toward Center City. The facts were plain: a foreclosure warning beneath the sugar bowl. Naomi could feel the old vocabulary gathering at the edge of her thoughts, ready to call the moment proof that she was powerless. Faith did not ask her to deny the evidence. It asked her to place the evidence beneath a greater authority and then take the next honest step. ✦

13 PART ONE WHEN FEAR LEADS CHAPTER 1 The Envelope on the Table Page 13

BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS • 9 CHAPTER 1 A New Beginning Micah discovers that courage can begin with one small step through a brand-new door. COURAGE TRUTH You do not have to wait until fear disappears. You can trust God and take the next right step.

1 PART I - HELD BY GOD DAY 1 | A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT God Is With You TODAY'S SCRIPTURE Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) SCRIPTURE FOCUS God is present to strengthen, help, and uphold us when fear rises. A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT There are days when the road feels lonely, the burden feels heavy, and the answer seems far away. In those moments, remember that God's presence is not measured by how easy life feels. He is with you in the waiting room, in the difficult conversation, in the uncertain decision, and in the quiet hours when no one else knows what you are carrying. God does not merely watch from a distance. He promises to strengthen, help, and uphold you. You may feel weak, but weakness does not cancel His faithfulness. Take the next step with the assurance that the hand holding you is stronger than the pressure against you. You are not walking alone today.

Deacon James H. Lightsey Jr. | 9 and somehow more useful. He felt the first tight knot in his chest loosen enough for him to breathe. Nia quietly sees the notice and realizes her father has been carrying more than grief; that possibility kept them moving.

FAITHFULNESS OF JOY 7 CHAPTER 1 The Note Beneath the Hymnal The morning arrived without asking whether Joy Matthews was ready for it. She was at Jehovah Hope Baptist Church after Sunday worship, where a folded blue notice seemed too ordinary to carry the weight it had gathered. She reminded herself that ordinary things had carried holy meaning before: bread, water, oil, a shepherd's staff. Still, her stomach tightened. The immediate truth was plain—Joy finds a notice that her catering loan is sixty days past due. Naming it did not solve it, but it kept fear from changing its shape in the dark. Joy rested her fingers against a folded blue notice and listened to the sounds around her. A bus sighed at the curb. Pipes clicked behind a wall. Somewhere beyond the room, somebody laughed without knowing that her world had narrowed to one difficult choice. She envied that laughter for half a second, then released the envy. 'Lord, show me the path,' she whispered. It was not a demand for a map. It was permission for God to lead one step at a time. Pastor Benjamin Cole noticed her silence. 'You have that look,' the voice came gently. Joy tried to smile, but the expression did not last. She explained enough to make the problem real, then stopped before she could decorate it with brave language. Saying the facts aloud made them sound both worse and more manageable. Worse, because another