About the Author

Robin is the author of For All Who Wander, her relatable memoir about wrestling with doubt that reads much like a conversation with a friend. She's as Southern as sugar-shocked tea, married to her college sweetheart, and has three children. An empty nester with a full life, she's determined to...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. I always love your devotions, Robin! You speak right to my heart and direct me to the truth of God’s hope. I want to be pumped up every day like it is a new year! God is good every day!!

    • Marcia,

      Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we opened our eyes each morning to that reality? God IS good every day, but sometimes we need help seeing that truth <3. (thank you for your sweet encouragement this morning 🙂 )

    • Maria Yes God is good every day. It reminds me of song you saying that my Don Moen. It is “God is Good All The Time And All The Time God Is Good.” You get the song on YouTube. Do listen to it. I think you will like it. Love Dawn Ferguson-Little

  2. A year ago we were in the midst of moving my Dad-in-love from TN to SC. There was allot of roller coaster emotions & fits & starts to could & if we could actually move him & to where. But God was in every detail proving His faithfulness. In a nutshell we moved him into his new rehab facility to continue his strengthening on Jan 31, 22. Covid had him isolated until Feb 11th at which point Covid sent him to the ER & the news was they’d done all they could do. He went to his glorious reunion with his Savior Feb 16th. We miss him yet the care he received in his last days was amazing & we were able to be together was a precious gift. Not what we’d expected but looking back, it was perfectly timed & orchestrated. God in the details on display! I’m getting better at seeing God’s hand in all things as time goes by. With age comes perspective.

    • ((hugs)) Ruth…I can tell you had a special relationship with your Dad-in-love, and what a gift that you have the perspective you do. I’ve seen so many people who don’t, and their pain is amplified. Getting older isn’t always easy, but our ability to see through God’s eyes seems to increase each year, doesn’t it?

    • Ruth,

      So sorry about your Father in love’s death. May God send His peace & comfort to you as you grieve. Thanking God you had time to be with him in the end. Sending love your way this Holiday!

      (((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))

      Blessings 🙂

  3. You have spoken to me this morning. I turn 60 this January. My prayer is I will love all people in 2023. God is good everyday.

    • PAULA! Howdy to the Class of ’63! <3

      Loving all people is ambitious and beautiful and absolutely what we're called to do. I wish it wasn't so hard sometimes, but how lovely to know with God it IS possible.

  4. Thank you for this lovely reminder Robin! I also turn 60 this year, and love that I continue to grow closer to God as I age. My “go to’s” when I’m hurting are “It’ll get better”; “God is my fortress, I will not be shaken”; and “God, You are merciful and You are good. I will put my confidence in you while this storm passes”, among others. They have gotten me through the death of my brother (my heart), cancer, caring for elderly parents, and many, many other challenges. I am also very grateful for these (in)courage devotions – they have helped me through so much! Blessings to you and your family, and may 2023 be your best year yet!

    • Oh, Cheyla….these are so good <3. Thank you for sharing but also explaining the Very Hard Things you've experienced; what an encouragement to others that even when trials and heartbreak come, we have hope in Christ. YOU are a blessing to me, this community, and every reader who is touched by your wisdom today.

  5. A powerful read and words of encouragement testimony by Mrs. Robin Dance! 🙂 Thanks for sharing to all of us as a reminder to “slow down” and “”*TRUST-IN-GOD!!!*”” as we “round the turns of age 50, 60, 70…etc. ” GOD has our back and it is GOOD TO KNOW we can “”*REST IN HIS JOY and COMFORT!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂


    “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
    Romans 5:1 (KJV)

    Isaiah 46:4
    “And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

    King James Version (KJV)

    Be BLESSED! ✝

  6. Thank you Robin. I too have moved what seems like “a million times!” I turned 61 this year and moved again. I can relate to feeling like “I’m failing”…someone…lol. Thank God for wisdom of the years, because I don’t beat myself up as much as I used too!

    “What are you declaring for 2023 that might offer encouragement to others”
    This scripture:
    “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare
    and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me
    and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me,
    when you seek me with all your heart.”
    Jeremiah 19:11-13 (ESV)
    God has shown me this scripture in 3 of my devotionals I read this morning. Now I get to pass it on…YAY \0/

    • Wow…if God has shown that to you three times, you’ve received wink after wink after wink! And what a gift for you to pass it right along, Janet…thank you! 🙂

  7. Robin thank you for this brilliant reading you wrote. It as you say does not matter what age you are in God’s eyes are we are God’s children age don’t come into. I have friend she is my best friend she is about 15 years younger than me. She has taught me so much in Jesus. I thank full on to God for making us friends. I we had some laughs. She often said to me Dawn your so funny. We can going to the new year knowing we are Gods children he is our Spiritual Father. Who does not care what age we are as he loves us all from the day we came into world. God loves all shapes and size warts and all. He can shape is then into beautiful people he wants us to be. We are beautiful in God’s no matter what the world says. I find that amazing. Thank you for what you wrote Robin. Love Dawn Ferguson-Little. In my prayers all incourage. Xx

  8. Thank you, Robin, for this encouraging reminder that every day is an opportunity and that we are living the life that God has called us to live. My husband and I have lived in the same house for over 30 years, and while we have talked about moving several times, we feel called to stay put. So, we trust that this is where God wants us. Sometimes I feel that life has gotten ho-hum, but life is never boring with God. I just need to remember that!

    • Judy, I find that so much of our faith comes back to REMEMBERING what we already know or at least have heard. How beautiful that you and your husband are seeking God over your own restlessness!

    • Dear Robin

      I just turned 50 in December. Right before turning the big 5 0 an organization I am president of had elections where I was slated to be re-elected as President. Well you can imagine how that went. I wasn’t elected. One of my cabinet members was elected,I was blindsided. I cannot tell you the betrayal and hurt and disappointment I am feeling. On top of that my mother in love passed away a month before. We had been taking care and planning for her care, I didn’t have time to plan anything for my birthday. So now I have something else I have to grieve the loss of. I do believe God has plans for me. On my birthday my own father had heart Stent surgery-he is doing well no stent was needed but keep praying for him. He also has prostate cancer and hes cancer has turned to a more aggressive form. SO I see the reason why. I can’t help but feel that I like you felt the uncertainty and fear of whats to come. My heart is still very heavy and raw. And I can only minute by minute. Thank you for writing your truth and transparency. I will continue to hope for a better year and future.

  9. Thank you. I am trying to get encouraged. If you have dementia, it does define you, when you can’t remember most things. Every day is not an opportunity. The gospel does not change your present if you have dementia. My mom has had dementia for a while. All the encouraging words of the Psalms are not encouraging when you see your mom fading; the words in the psalms cannot be taken literally (“he refreshes my soul,” “I will praise God who counsels me,” etc.; NONE of the many psalms apply when you have dementia); mom can barely remember who God is anymore. Dementia is not working for mom’s good, so I think we’ve misunderstood THAT often quoted verse. I think a lot of these positive thinking/sounding Christian thoughts and verses just do not apply when your loved one has dementia (or a serious mental illness, or is in a coma, etc., where the thinking is gone).

    • Stephanie,

      Oh goodness…I hear your pain. And having lost my father to a lesser-known form of dementia (Lewy bodies) and my dear mother-in-love to Alzheimer’s — LONG battles for both — I am well acquainted with the questions that can arise and the depth of the sorrow to see those you love trickling away.

      This is a very abbreviated version of how I walked out their Long Goodbyes … rejecting the idea that their illnesses defined them but clinging to the truth that God knew them by name, and somehow He WAS using the circumstances for good and His glory. Dementia of any form is wicked and cruel. I hate it! (I see it daily in my job, so the reminders are always fresh.) I don’t doubt that I don’t fully understand God’s Word, but I’ve seen how God uses the tragedies people face to draw us closer to Him. I’m praying for you this morning as a sister who understands, asking God to restore your joy and to give you the eyes to see Him in the midst of this trial. xo

      • Thank you Robin. I yes, I am thankful the Lord knows my mom and loves her still. My husband and I pray that somehow supernaturally he will encourage her and her sleep and waking moments. And it is a struggle. And thank you for your prayers.

        • I care for my mother alone due to covid disruptions, her acute memory just a year ago has declined to instant forgetfulness, specialists were fighting weeks leading up to Christmas to keep what little eyesight left from glaucoma, the pain from years of bowel cancer treatment and recent skin sores make her cry and we cry. The deep profound way of grace is our one cross to ready one another for life eternal within, each day mum is closer to Jesus than the last and she brings me closer to Jesus than I have ever been or will be (before my time) and for that I am made humble (broken).
          How very deep is your love Stephanie courageous and brave to present your mother to the Lord, well loved.
          All Gods love in Christ.

    • I love the sass in the ad (don’t ask me what it advertises) when the lady says “age is just a number & mine is unlisted”. May God ease your thoughts & feelings about turning 60. I turned 65 last month. Go ahead catch up, I’ll wait. ;~). ((0)).

    • ((hugs))

      I’m praying for the Lord to encourage your heart, to trust in His goodness, and to mature you in your faith in the midst of this struggle. It is real, and I hear you. I am believing God’s truths over you (you are known, loved, valued, and making a difference) even when belief escapes you.

  10. Robin,

    Ten years ago I was working at the university & in throws of caring for my aging dad. Five years later he would pass at hospital. This year I will turn 58. Just started a new job last year that changed drastically this fall & I’m not liking it. You hit the nail on the head with these declarations. Each & every day God gives us an opportunity to share the gospel with others & spread love around. I’ve never been one to bemoan about my age. I count myself blessed to be 57 able to work hard, exercise & still be healthy. Plus with age comes wisdom. Knowledge to trust God with ALL aspects of my life. The Gospel or Good News certainly changes everything. We can pray to God & seek His guidance in all areas of our lives.

    BTW my life verse is Jeremiah 29:11.

    Have a blessed New Years!!

    Blessings 🙂

    • What a great life verse, Beth :). (and I pray your job changes again in a way that brings you delight…and if not, the grace to reflect Him in those hard moments)

  11. Busy am. Needed some perking up with a new year ahead at a new age of 80. Thanks for the encouragement.