It’s Saturday! I slept in…almost 2 extra hours. Do you get a chance to sleep in on Saturdays (or any day of the week)? Most of you know by now, my alarm has been set for 3:45 for seven days a week since 2012. Now, there have been a few days along the way that I have not gotten up that early, but I really do want (and need) that time with God before I face anything else in this world. The first thing I do each day is rejoice that I get another day. Start with gratitude.

I’ll be honest, though. There are mornings when I hit the snooze button one or three times and pray the coffee is strong enough to straighten my curly hair (I think that expression is supposed to be reversed 😆.)

But here’s the good news for us all: God isn’t grading our spiritual life by how peppy we are at 3:45 a.m. or whatever time we get up. He’s not up in heaven saying, “Well, Dana only sang one verse of ‘This is the Day’ before chugging her coffee, so… partial credit.”

What God does care about is that we show up—with our messy hair, wrinkled pj’s, and hearts willing to be open, even if our eyes aren’t.

Every day is a fresh start, a divine do-over. Even if our yesterday was a little “meh,” today is handcrafted by the Creator Himself. That means it’s filled with purpose, potential, and probably at least one unexpected blessing (or a divine lesson disguised as an awkward moment).

So whether you’re sipping coffee or chugging it like it’s holy water, take a second to pause, smile, and say, “Thanks, God, for not requiring perfection, just participation.”

You’ve got this. More importantly, God’s got you. Happy Saturday, friends!