Choosing One Thing to Forge
Hey Friend!! Welcome to the Backroads!
If you have been following the blog, you have read about my journey and how we ended up here on Backroads & Breakthroughs. You have read about the driveway meltdown and the twenty years of learning how to slow down and pull over. You understand that breakthrough living isn’t about doing everything right — it’s about encountering Jesus in the stillness.
Friend, this is where theology meets practice, or should I say — where the rubber meets the road?
Knowing about a breakthrough and actually forging it in your daily life, well, those are two different things. That is what we will cover today… knowing what to forge.
But Wait… There’s More!
Rather than go through each area and give examples of what matters, I have chosen to start with simple encouragement for breakthrough living. I want to begin by encouraging you to choose one way you want to cultivate your faith. There is no right or wrong answer or choice. This is between you and God.
This is what I have discovered about forging. It doesn’t have to be forceful or loud. It doesn’t always include hammering something into shape. There is a time when forging is simply choosing something to show up for consistently and advance steadily and gradually. It is about creating space for those pullover moments where Jesus actually meets you.
Each of us needs to start somewhere, and for me, it is simply getting back to my morning devotional writing. I put it down when I thought I wasn’t reading my Bible enough. After months of not using my devotional app and writing a devotional, God showed me from what I had read that I was in the Word more than I am now. Why? Because it would compel me to read more than just a daily verse to get the context. Simple.
I have a Bible I have been using for the past year to write notes on the daily verses in the apps, and I hope to start a new one for the new year. The only struggle I have with that is which Bible I want to use. Yes, my friend, the struggle of a Bible nerd is real…. LOL.
Who knows? I may keep using the same one, then choose a new one to connect the devotional I write to the scripture. Either way, in its simplest form, my choice is to return to the passion of writing devotionals.
Along with the devotional writing in the morning, there is prayer time. There is no chance of writing devotionals when there is no prayer time. Most of the time, it is in the conversation with God that He makes the connection between the verse of the day and what He chooses for me to write.
Friend, these are the early-morning pullover moments — the ones when I actually get still enough to listen and experience the breakthrough encounter. It is a beautiful process I have missed, all for the sake of thinking I was doing it wrong because it didn’t look like “the proper way” to be in the world with God daily.
This is not to say I do not study the Bible at other times. Depending on what topic we are listening to in weekly sermons, Wednesday night Bible Study, or in another study group, I also love to dive in and research all things Bible. Those are my hours upon hours of study.
Remember… I want to cultivate this part of my life more. I don’t want you to step away from this blog thinking that I have it all in place and that every morning I am neck-deep in all things Bible for three or four hours. That is nowhere near what happens in my morning quiet time. I would love to spend every hour in the word. But if I did — how would I share or experience breakthrough living?
Maybe Your One Thing Looks Different
So let’s talk about you for a minute. Because I get that writing might not be your thing. And that is entirely wonderful. And if it is… well, that is just wonderful too!
What if your one thing is one of these beautiful routines?
- Morning stillness and prayer for ten minutes before the chaos of your day starts
- Scripture reading with reflection time, so that you are not checking the box on the to-do list
- A sabbath rest practice that means you pull over one day a week to breathe and reset
- Documenting your breakthrough encounter in your Journey Journal
- Connecting with fellow travelers in the community and realizing that you are not alone
- Creating a secret space in your home where you can get still and bask in the presence of God
- Worship and gratitude throughout the day as you become aware of the peace in the chaos
- It could be something not even on this list that God is calling you to forge.
The takeaway is this—you get to choose one thing. The something that will connect your passion and faith. And then you show up and allow space for God to meet you there.
Your Turn: What Will You Forge in 2026?
As we prepare to step into the new year, I encourage you to take enough time to pull over and still yourself. To spend some time listening. Friend, that is where the forging begins — when the breakthrough happens, and you find the thing that you are called to carry to others.
Remember Psalm 46:10 — be still and know that I am God?
It’s not saying, “Get busy and prove yourself.” It is not asking that everything be done perfectly. These words are simply calling you to be still… to listen. He is inviting you — and me — to forge with Him this year.
And when we accept the invitation… then what? Well, we show up. Not perfect or all-knowing, but willing. We show up consistently willing to be the vessel that becomes filled in those pullover moments with Jesus.
My Friend, I can’t wait to hear all about your discoveries. I can’t wait to see what you are forging with Jesus in 2026.
What about you? What one thing are you choosing to forge in your faith for 2026? Leave a comment below or connect with me on Substack—I’d love to hear what God is stirring in your heart!
backroads reflection
Grab your journal and spend a few minutes with these questions:
- Do you know what your one thing is that you are going to forge in 2026?
- What are your thoughts about getting still and showing up for that one thing?
- If your thing requires space, do you know what you want that space to look like?
"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."-
James 1:12, (ESV)
Want to journey together? Join our Backroads & Breakthroughs community on Substack, where we’re learning to pull over, get still, and encounter Jesus in the everyday overwhelm.
