Home – Page 2 – Skyler Thomas

My Story, Your Story, His Story

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” — Ephesians 2:10

One of the greatest discoveries I’ve made is that life isn’t primarily about finding answers.

For years I prayed, “Lord, show me Your will. Show me the path. Show me what You want me to do.” I thought if I prayed long enough, read enough Scripture, and listened carefully enough, one day God would hand me a map.

Instead, He kept putting people in front of me.

A friend who needed encouragement. Someone who needed forgiveness. A stranger who needed kindness. A challenge I never would have chosen.

Looking back, I wonder if I was asking the wrong question.

Maybe the purpose of life isn’t found in discovering God’s plan as much as responding faithfully to the opportunities He places in front of us.

Viktor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning) wrote that life asks every person a question. As I read those words, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus. He rarely answered questions directly. Instead, He asked them.

“Who do you say I am?”

“Do you love Me?”

“What do you want Me to do for you?”

Maybe that’s how God has always worked.

Every circumstance quietly asks, “Who will you become?”

That’s where My Story begins.

But it never ends there.

Because the next question is always about Your Story.

Who has God placed in front of me today? Whose burden can I help carry? Whose tears can I help wipe away? Whose story intersects mine for this moment?

Then, almost without noticing, both stories become part of something infinitely larger.

His Story.

The story God has been unfolding since the beginning. It’s not simply bound and finished in the Scripture.

Maybe that’s why Paul could write that all things work together for good—not because all things are good, but because the Author is still writing.

The chapter may be painful.

But the story isn’t over.

Prayer

Father, help me stop demanding the whole map. Give me the courage to be faithful with today’s step. Let my story become a blessing in someone else’s story, and may both find their place in Your Story. Amen.

My Story, Your Story, His Story

Verse 1

I thought faith would spare the hard days,
Keep my feet on easy ground.
But the road has crossed through valleys
Where hope was hard to find.
Some prayers were answered slowly,
Some dreams never came to be.
Still somewhere in the silence,
He was changing me.

Pre-Chorus

I can’t choose every chapter,
I can’t stop every storm.
But I can choose the heart I carry
Until the morning comes.

Chorus

My story…
Written through the joy and pain.
Your story…
Crosses mine and we’re both changed.
His Story…
Has been holding every page.
Nothing’s wasted, nothing’s lost
When love becomes the way.
My story…
Your story…
His Story.

Verse 2

Sometimes strength is simply staying
When the night won’t let you sleep.
Sometimes hope is just believing
There’s a harvest you can’t see.
Love is found in ordinary moments,
A hand to hold, a burden shared.
Meaning grows where mercy meets us,
Right in the middle of our prayers.

Bridge

When I cannot change my story,
I can change the way I live.
I can answer fear with courage.
I can answer hate with grace.
I can answer loss with kindness.
I can answer doubt with faith.
Every choice becomes a sentence
That no sorrow can erase.

Final Chorus

My story…
Never written just for me.
Your story…
Part of who I’m meant to be.
His Story…
Has been calling us by name.
Every scar and every victory
Finding purpose just the same.

Outro

My story…
Your story…
They were never meant to stand alone.
Every road… every scar…
Every joy… every tear…
Somehow they all lead home.

His Story…
Has been writing us all along.

Unshaken Name

Devotional:

“For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…” — Ephesians 1:4

There’s something hard for us to grasp about a God who is not bound by time.

We live inside it. We measure everything by it. Days, years, seasons, milestones. We think in terms of what has happened and what might happen next. But God doesn’t move that way. He is not reacting. He is not catching up. He is not waiting to see how things turn out.

Before there was a “before”… He chose.

Before there was breath in your lungs… He knew your name.

Before anything in your life was built—or broken—your identity was already established in Him.

That means something important.

It means that what you are walking through right now—whether it feels steady or uncertain, successful or falling apart—was never meant to define you.

We spend so much of our lives trying to build a name. Through work. Through reputation. Through what we accomplish or what we avoid. And when those things shift—and they always do—it can feel like we’re losing ourselves.

But maybe what’s actually happening is something else.

Maybe what’s being shaken was never you to begin with.

God is not forming your identity based on your performance. He’s not watching your life unfold and then deciding who you are. That decision was already made—in Christ—before the foundation of the world.

And what He writes… He doesn’t erase.

Your job may change. Your circumstances may shift. Things you thought were stable may not hold. But none of those things have the authority to rename you.

Because your identity doesn’t come from what you do.

It comes from who He is.

And faith, in its simplest form, is just agreeing with that. Not striving to become someone new—but waking up to who you’ve been in Him all along.

So today, whatever feels uncertain… whatever feels like it’s slipping…

Let it.

Because what is truly you—what God has spoken, what He has written, what He has sealed—was never built on those things.

And it never will be.

You are His.

And that has already been decided.

Prayer

Father,

You are outside of time, and yet You see me right here in this moment.
Before I ever lived a day, You knew my name. You chose me. You claimed me.

Help me to believe that more deeply.

When I start to define myself by what I do, what I’ve lost, or what others think—
remind me who I am in You.
When things around me feel unstable, keep me anchored in what cannot be shaken.

Teach me to live from my identity, not for it.
To rest in what You have already spoken, instead of striving to prove something You’ve already decided.

And when I forget… bring me back again.

Thank You that my name is written,
that it is held by You,
and that nothing in this life can take that away.

I am Yours.

Amen.

Song Lyrics:
Verse 1
You are a God who sees all time
Not bound within these days of mine
Before I ever drew a breath
You knew my name, You knew my steps
I’ve worn the names this life can give
By what I’ve done, the way I’ve lived
But they all fade, they lose their claim
They never held me like Your name

Verse 2
There are days it all feels thin
Like who I am just caves within
When what I built won’t stand its ground
And nothing steady can be found
But underneath the shifting sand
There is a truth I know will stand
It holds me up when I give way
It speaks the words I cannot shake

Chorus
I am Yours, and that won’t change
My name is written in Your grace
Not in the rise, not in the fall
Not in the weight of it at all
Through the fire, through the pain
Through the loss I can’t explain
What is shaken isn’t me
Just what was never built on Thee

Verse 3
You wrote my name before the start
Not on a page, but in Your heart
And sealed it not with what I do
But with the blood that speaks for me
And faith is just my way to stand
On what you always had clearly planned
Not earning it, not holding on
But trusting what was true all along

Bridge
You see the end before the frame
And still You call me by my name
Not who I was, not what I fear
But who I am when You are near
All the names I wore before
Don’t fit me like they did before
They fall away, they lose their claim
Standing in the light of your holy name

Bridge (Build)
Written before time began
Sealed by the blood of the Lamb
I believe, so I will stand
In the grace that holds my name

Final Chorus
I am Yours, and that won’t change
Even here in doubt and pain
When I don’t see, when I don’t know
Still I am who You have called
Not by sight, not by proof
But by the steady weight of truth
What is hidden now in faith
Will be clear when I see Your face

Outro
My name is written
Not by me
And nothing here
Can take it from me
I am Yours
You are mine
For all eternity
For all time

Home (From Generation to Generation) (New)

Song: As for Me and My House

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” — Joshua 24:15

Joshua didn’t say this in a moment of comfort. He said it at a crossroads. The people around him were choosing what would define their future — which voices they would follow, which gods they would serve. And Joshua made it personal before he made it public.

As for me.
As for my house.

Home is more than a place. It is a direction. It is formed by what we repeat, what we honor, and what we allow to shape us. Some of us grew up in homes filled with prayer and stability. Others carry memories of silence, tension, or faith that felt distant. We don’t choose what we inherit. But we do choose what continues.

If we don’t decide what anchors our home, something else will. Culture will. Schedules will. Fear will. Achievement will. Whatever we give our attention to will quietly become what we serve.

Serving the Lord in a home doesn’t require perfection. It requires intention. It looks like grace after mistakes. It sounds like forgiveness spoken quickly. It feels like steady faith when life gets uncertain. It is choosing to let love be louder than shame.

The beautiful truth is this: what was passed down to us does not have to be what we pass on. Cycles can end. New legacies can begin. A home can become a place where God is known, not just mentioned.

Today can be simple. No grand gesture. Just a quiet declaration in your own heart:

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Prayer

Father,
Thank You that our past does not define our future. Help us choose what honors You in our homes. Teach us to lead with grace, speak with truth, and love with consistency. Let our lives point the next generation toward You. As for me and my house, we choose to serve You.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Song Lyrics:

VERSE 1
Some of us remember laughter down the hallway
Some of us remember tears behind a door
Some were raised with voices praying every night
Some never heard God’s name before
But every heart was shaped by where it started
By what was loved and what was left alone
And the story doesn’t end with what we walked through
We can decide what carries on

PRE-CHORUS
We can break what once defined us
Build on what grace restores
By the mercy of the Father
We can open different doors

CHORUS
As for me and my house
We will serve the Lord
Through the joy and in the doubt
We will stand secure
Let our children hear
Let their children know
By the way we live
Faith will flow
From generation
To generation
Your love will be our home

VERSE 2
Not just words we sing inside a building
Not just faith we visit once a week
But in prayer when we kneel before the king
Mercy shows up when we speak
When we fail and when the night feels heavy
When we can’t see through the dark
May we always know the door is open
And the Father’s arms are strong

PRE-CHORUS
We don’t have to live perfection
We just have to lead them home
Every whispered prayer is planting
Seeds we may not see full-grown

CHORUS
As for me and my house
We will serve the Lord
Through the joy and in the doubt
We will stand secure
Let our children hear
Let their children know
By the way we live
Faith will overflow
From generation
To generation
Your love will be our home

BRIDGE
What was broken ends with us
What was silent finds a voice
We will place it at the cross
We will make a different choice
Let the story start today
Let forgiveness heal the shame
Even if the past was long
We will bless Your Holy name

TAG / OUTRO
As for me and my house
We will serve the Lord
From generation
To generation
Your love will be our home

Church of This City

Duet: Church of This City

Scripture
“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
— Matthew 16:18 (NIV)

Devotional

Jesus didn’t reveal His vision for the church in a safe place.

He didn’t wait until the disciples were standing in Jerusalem, near the temple, surrounded by familiar symbols of faith. He took them to Caesarea Philippi—a place known for pagan worship, spiritual darkness, and moral chaos. And there, in the middle of it all, Jesus said, “I will build my church.”

That detail matters.

The church was never meant to be a retreat from the world’s brokenness. It was meant to move toward it. Jesus didn’t point to a future building or a protected space. He pointed to the ground beneath their feet—hostile ground—and declared it holy.

Too often we imagine the church as something that exists once people get their lives cleaned up. But Jesus builds His church among the hurting, the sinner, the lost, the ashamed, and the searching. Not after the mess is gone—but right in the middle of it.

The gates of hell don’t advance; they resist. Which means the church is meant to move forward. We don’t wait behind doors hoping people find their way in. We go where hope feels thin. We stay when it’s uncomfortable. We love when it costs us something.

The church isn’t a building you attend.
It’s a people who show up.

And when Jesus says the gates of hell will not prevail, He isn’t promising ease. He’s promising victory. He’s saying darkness doesn’t get the final word. Broken places are not off-limits. No city, no street, no life is beyond redemption.

Jesus is still building His church.

And He’s still building it here.

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
Thank You for not avoiding broken places.
Thank You for meeting us where we were, not where we pretended to be.

Forgive us for the times we’ve wanted safety more than faith,
comfort more than obedience,
and distance instead of compassion.

Give us Your eyes for our city.
Your heart for the hurting.
Your courage to walk into dark places with Your light.

Teach us to be Your church—not just in word, but in presence.
Not someday. Not somewhere else.
But right here.

Build Your church in us.
And send us where You are already at work.

Amen.

Song Lyrics:

VERSE 1
Jesus didn’t come to start religion
Didn’t build His Kingdom out of stone
He didn’t draw lines for who was welcome
Or save His grace for the perfect ones
He walked straight into the mess and the questions
Stood where the dark thought it had won
He said, “I’ll build My church right here now”
And called the broken His child

PRE-CHORUS
It wasn’t clean
It wasn’t safe
But love showed up and made a way

CHORUS
We are the church of this city
Of the hurting and the lost
Of the ones who ran out of chances
And the ones still counting the cost
We are the church of this city
Not the polished or the proud
If there’s love left to give
And truth to live
That’s where we’ll be found

VERSE 2
I’ve seen sinners cry on back-row pews
Not sure if they belonged at all
No spotlight, no perfect prayers
Just tired hearts still trying to call
I’ve walked streets where hope feels thin
Where shame speaks louder than the truth
I’ve heard prayers fall apart mid-sentence
From people who didn’t know what to do

PRE-CHORUS
No front rows
No perfect seats
Just mercy pouring down like rain

CHORUS
We are the church of this city
Of the bruised and the ashamed
Of the ones who never thought they mattered
Till mercy spoke their name
We are the church of this city
Still learning how to stand
If Jesus keeps reaching for the lost
Then so will we, hand in hand

VERSE 3
We won’t wait behind these doors
Hoping they find their way inside
We’ll walk into the darker roads
And stay when it costs us our pride
If hell puts up its gates and walls
We won’t turn back, we won’t fall
’Cause the church was born in broken ground
And that’s where grace still calls

BRIDGE
This ain’t a building
This ain’t a name
This ain’t a game we learned to play
This is forgiveness
This is the truth
This is what love was meant to do

FINAL CHORUS
We are the church of this city
Not afraid of where we stand
In the dirt, in the middle of it
With open hearts and open hands
We are the church of this city
Still believing, still sent
If He builds His church where hope feels dead
Then He’ll build it here again

OUTRO
Right here in the middle of it
Not somewhere else, not someday
We are the church of this city

Use Even Me

Song: Use Even Me

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

— Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

I’m going to be honest with you. When I wrote “I’ll go where You send me, I’ll stay when it costs,” part of me meant every syllable. And part of me knew I was writing something that I want to believe is me, but on Monday morning I might feel different.

I don’t think I’m the only one. If you’ve ever whispered “Use me, God” and then flinched when He started to, you know the tension. The inconvenient door. The awkward conversation. The person right in front of you who needs something you’d rather not give—your time, your comfort, your pride.

But Ephesians says we’re God’s workmanship—created for good works He prepared beforehand. Before you woke up reluctant this morning, He’d already laid something out for you. Not a stage. Just a Tuesday. Just a gas station counter. Just a hallway where a kid flinches when you smile.

This is my mission. Not because I’ve figured it out, but because God doesn’t ask for my competence. He asks for my ”yes”—shaky, honest, and probably going to mess it up. You don’t need a platform. You just need today.

— — —

A Prayer

Jesus, I’m not going to pretend I’m always ready. But I’m here. Close the gap between what I sing and how I live. Send me where nobody’s going. Give me eyes for the people I’d normally walk past. And when it costs me something, remind me that You crossed the whole distance first. Use even me. Amen.

Lyrics:

VERSE 1
I wasn’t built for a quiet faith
Some Sunday-morning show
You didn’t save me just to sit here nodding
You said get up and go

You found me arguing with the ceiling
Three AM, still Yours somehow
And something in me broke like daylight
I can’t un-hear You now

PRE-CHORUS
If You’re alive in me
Then what am I still waiting for?

CHORUS
Make me Your hands to the world
Your voice where it’s quiet
Your love where it’s hard
Send me where nobody’s going
Wreck my plans for what wrecks Yours, God

I’ll go where You send me
I’ll stay when it costs
I’ll live what I swore I believed
If You’re building Your kingdom
In the mess and the now
Then Jesus, use even me

VERSE 2
There’s a woman at the gas station counter
Hasn’t looked up in a while
There’s a kid in the apartment hallway
Who flinches when I smile

You crossed the whole distance — heaven to gravel —
To show me how love moves
So every cracked sidewalk You walk me down
Is holy ground to You

PRE-CHORUS
If You’re alive in me
Then what am I still waiting for?

CHORUS
Make me Your hands to the world
Your voice where it’s quiet
Your love where it’s hard
Send me where nobody’s going
Wreck my plans for what wrecks Yours, God

I’ll go where You send me
I’ll stay when it costs
I’ll live what I swore I believed
If You’re building Your kingdom
In the mess and the now
Then Jesus, use even me

BRIDGE
Not my comfort
Not my reputation
Not my timeline
Just Yours

Every awkward conversation
Every inconvenient door

FINAL CHORUS
Make us Your hands to the world
Your church with its boots on
Your hope in the open
Living the things You actually said
Not just the easy ones

We’ll go where You send us
We’ll stay when it costs
We’ll live what we swore we believed
If You’re building Your kingdom
In the mess and the now
Then Jesus — yeah — use even me

OUTRO
I don’t have a platform
I just have today
But if You can use that
I’m not walking away

This is my calling
This is my why
I am Your witness
With my whole life

I won’t just believe it
I’ll live it out loud
If You’re building Your kingdom
I’m standing here now