Happy New Year from the Daily Habit!
March 2020 was a month in which we realized that the needs of our St. Luke’s community and the city of Houston were shifting rapidly. St. Luke’s learned to become nimble and innovative very quickly. Many new needs presented themselves as the year went on. We had many new opportunities to minister in new ways in order to bring the Love of Christ to those who needed it most. One need that quickly arose was how to get daily devotional materials into the hands of our friends who were in locked-down assisted living facilities. In fact, we were receiving emails that were directly requesting such materials. The first iteration of an email daily devotional was born.
It started off with devotionals from staff writers on the Psalms. This lasted through the month of May, but it became clear that God was bringing forth something bigger than we had previously imagined. Under the leadership of Rev. Michelle Manuel and Shelby Olive our Communications Associate, the Daily Habit quickly grew into a significant component of St. Luke’s Adult Ministries that is here to stay! Our Daily Habit writing team consists of lay and staff members who create meaningful and inspirational devotionals that are sent to 6,000 email addresses each day. To say that it has been rewarding witnessing the ways these devotionals bless and encourage our congregation is an understatement.
We are grateful to our writers, but we are also grateful for all our readers because you all play a significant part in this as well. You have shown up, not only as those who take the time to read what our writers have to say, but you have also graced this team with kind notes of affirmation and encouragement—something we all need these days. As the Daily Habit has striven to make your inboxes a little more sacred, we have found that you make our lives a little more sacred, too.
Blessings as we enter this new year together,
Rev. Michelle Manuel
Shelby Olive