Let’s start today with a confession. I comfort eat… Glad I got that off my chest. I was going to write something pithy about Number 2 not emptying his lunch box yesterday, but got stuck by his placement. You see, there is a place for his lunch box in the closet, and if it is in its place, that means it’s cleaned out, ready for the next day. When it is not cleaned out, it sits on the toy box…and that is where my thoughts are stuck. The toy box. The boys and I built that when we still lived in Nashville, when there were only three. They no longer seek refuge in the toy box. Instead, they have school, sports, and a myriad of other interests that do not fit in the wicker baskets. It now stands as a sentinel of a time that has passed, an ornament that contains more memories than toys. A place where book bags and lunch boxes are haphazardly stacked instead of being put away… I really want a breakfast sandwich.
As a reminder, Lunch Box Quotes are notes I include in the kids’ lunches every day. Number 1 gets a text, but 2-4 get a handwritten napkin. And we are in 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. I am intermittent fasting with 1 meal per day, no alcohol, and no social media/news after 6 p.m.
Visual credits to: Featured image – @ACC_National Quotes: @the_culturist_ @CowboyGospeler @KnowsPascal @arealmofwonder
Quotes:
1. “A time may come soon, when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
2. “Up on the mesa you’re closer to the sky than to folks, and that’s about right for some men.” – Badger Clark
3. “To give, and not to count the cost
to fight, and not to heed the wounds,
to toil, and not to seek for rest,
to labor, and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will.” – St. Ignatius of Loyola
4. “Your hopes, dreams, and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them.” – William James
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting – Day 5
Hosea 10:11-13; Psalm 103:7-18
Note: (These notes are a combination of the notes from my Bible, the study guide, and my thoughts. Mostly, though, they are the work of others, just rearranged.) You can plow up the hard ground of your hearts by acknowledging your sin and receiving God’s forgiveness. We need never wallow in the past, for God forgives and forgets. If we are to follow God, we must model his forgiveness. Seek not what your heart desires and be misled by the ways of the world. Instead, humble yourself to God and seek to do his will…love the Lord our God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might. When we neglect this, it hardens our hearts. God is patient…confession is restoration.
Fasting: I was hungry, but no headache yesterday. It’s the phone. It’s a problem.
Prayer: Dear Lord, give me the humility of St. Ignatius and continued strength for a valiant defense for You. Do not let the ways of the world mislead me... Dear Lord, help me put down the phone!
-Amen
Sources:
This land is your land.
📍Lake Clark National Park & Preserve in Alaska pic.twitter.com/RdgB5NHzMK
— American Conservation Coalition (@ACC_National) January 7, 2026
“A time may come soon, when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.”
–J.R.R. Tolkien https://t.co/8FZaIgm2R0 pic.twitter.com/uBvrUEaLK5
— The Culturist (@the_culturist_) January 8, 2026
Up on the mesa you’re closer to the sky than to folks, and that’s about right for some men.
⏤ Badger Clark pic.twitter.com/Y6JM4b7poT— Cowboy Gospeler (@CowboyGospeler) January 8, 2026
To give, and not to count the cost
to fight, and not to heed the wounds,
to toil, and not to seek for rest,
to labor, and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will.-St. Ignatius of Loyola pic.twitter.com/AP4Lwf73WP
— Pascal (@KnowsPascal) December 19, 2025
“Your hopes, dreams, and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them.”
~ William JamesThe Road to Marly-le-Roi
🎨 Alfred Sisley (1875) pic.twitter.com/KmhH2Exqff— Cian McCarthy (@arealmofwonder) January 6, 2026