Did'ya blow?

It’s Here: Sanctuary Devotional Is Now Available

There’s something a little surreal about seeing a book you’ve worked on for a long time suddenly sitting there on Amazon, available for anyone to read.

But there it is.

Sanctuary Devotional: A Mental Health Journey Towards Hope & Healing, the new 365-day devotional I co-authored with Dr. David Hoskins, is officially published and available on Amazon.

This one means a great deal to me.

For more than a decade, much of my writing has intersected with people walking through some of life’s most difficult places—mental and emotional health struggles, addiction and recovery, grief, trauma, broken relationships, fear, shame, loneliness, and the countless other circumstances that can leave us wondering where God is in the middle of it all.

David and I have also spent years working alongside people in those places. He brings decades of experience in behavioral healthcare; I bring my years as a pastor, chaplain, and writer. Sanctuary Devotional grew from the intersection of those worlds—and from a shared conviction that spiritual health matters deeply when the rest of life hurts.

This isn’t a book offering easy answers to difficult problems.

It’s a book about finding hope.

Each day offers a short Scripture-centered reading designed to meet readers where they are and gently point them toward God’s presence, grace, and promises. The readings are intentionally brief and accessible. Some days, after all, we have the emotional and spiritual bandwidth for deep study. Other days, getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other feels like an accomplishment.

We wrote for those days, too.

The devotional is designed as a yearlong journey, with one brief reflection each day—something to carry with you as you move through the hours ahead, or to settle into at day’s end as you seek peaceful rest through the night. The hope is that the few minutes spent reading don’t end when you close the book, but give you a word, a thought, a promise, or a glimpse of hope to hold onto.

Our desire is not to replace professional care, counseling, community, or deeper engagement with Scripture, but to provide a faithful companion along the way—a daily reminder that whatever today holds, you do not walk through it unseen.

And that brings me to another reason I’m sharing this here.

Maybe Sanctuary Devotional isn’t a book you need right now.

But perhaps you know someone who does.

Maybe it’s a son or daughter struggling through a difficult season. A spouse carrying more than they let anyone see. A friend walking through recovery. A parent grieving a loss. Someone battling loneliness, anxiety, discouragement, or simply trying to hold onto hope one day at a time.

If someone came to mind as you read that, would you consider telling them about the book—or perhaps sending them a copy?

Sometimes helping someone find hope doesn’t require knowing exactly what to say. Sometimes it simply means putting something hopeful into their hands and saying, I thought of you.

After years of writing these reflections, shaping them, revisiting them, and preparing them for publication, it’s gratifying to finally be able to say:

Sanctuary Devotional is here.

And my hope is that it finds its way into the hands—and hearts—of the people who need it most.

Did'ya blow?

Sanctuary Devotional: A Glimpse Inside

For twenty-one years I served as a pastor. For more than a decade since, I’ve made my living as a writer, drawing on both my theological education and pastoral experience to craft hundreds of daily devotional reflections.

Several years ago, that writing took a new direction. I began writing specifically for those carrying the weight of depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, and recovery—and for the family members and friends walking beside them. These reflections were written for hurting people searching for hope.

I’m grateful that an entire year’s worth of those devotions, written in collaboration with Dr. David Hoskins, founder of Sanctuary Clinics and Sanctuary Communities, will soon be available in book form as Sanctuary Devotional: A Mental Health Journey Towards Hope & Healing.

The book begins by explaining how this project came to be and the hope that gave it life. Here is a brief excerpt from the Introduction, followed by today’s devotional reading for July 28th, O How He Loves Us.

INTRODUCTION

FINDING SANCTUARY IN THE FATHER’S EMBRACE

It all started a few years ago under the large print of Rembrandt’s masterpiece, The Return of the Prodigal, hanging in the great room at Sanctuary Clinic’s Monticello Campus. As we sat beneath that image of the father’s hands resting on the shoulders of his broken son, our conversation gravitated toward a shared reality: we are both prodigals.

Between the two of us, we have sat on every side of the recovery table. We have known the desperate, hollow emptiness of addiction and the “muck and weeds” of pastoral ministry. We have felt the terrifying loneliness of trying to shepherd others while wrestling with our own mental health struggles in the dark. But most importantly, we have both experienced the Fatherly love of God expressed in that parable—a love that does not wait for us to be “whole” before it welcomes us home.

A COMMUNITY BEYOND THE BUILDING

In our journeys toward the Father’s embrace, we discovered a vital truth: no one recovers in isolation. We were sustained by the prayers of devoted families and the presence of a greater Community. We aren’t just talking about the church building down the street, but the “Church” with a capital C—that great cloud of witnesses who have struggled, stumbled, and searched for God in the same valleys we walk today.

In moments of crisis, when we cried out for wisdom from someone who “knew,” someone in human flesh who had been there, we discovered an entire company of saints. We found that giants of the faith like Augustine, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Henri Nouwen, and Mother Teresa were not untouchable statues of perfection. They were men and women who wrestled to find God within a twisted, fallen world. Their writings have spanned generations because they speak the language of the hurting.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS DEVOTIONAL

This book is the culmination of that discovery. We have acted as curators, gathering a legacy of light from those who spoke into our own suffering. We have designed this resource to be a “Sanctuary” for your morning and evening—a place where the clinical reality of mental health meets the eternal reality of God’s grace.

We know that for the person navigating recovery or mental health challenges, the gap between what we know (“God is good”) and what we feel (“I am broken”) can feel like an ocean. These pages are intended to bridge that gap.

WELCOME HOME

If you are holding this book, you are no longer walking alone. You are being welcomed into the Sanctuary Community—a fellowship of believers who recognize that mental health treatment, recovery, and deep spiritual transformation are not only compatible, they are often inseparable.

Whether you are the one struggling, or the one walking beside someone who is, there is a place for you here. The Father’s hands are already reaching out. Welcome to the journey home.

— David Hoskins and Darin Michael Shaw

JULY 28 ~ O HOW HE LOVES US

IN WORD

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” — John 15:11

IN THOUGHT

“God does not just ‘love’ us through gritted teeth; out of the eternal freshness of His being, He cherishes us with unstintingly affectionate regard. This love, like Jesus’ personality, is full of joy.” — Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy

IN REFLECTION

Dallas Willard powerfully reframes our understanding of God’s character, tearing down the false image of a “morose and miserable monarch” or a “policeman on the prowl.” Instead, by confronting Jesus’ declaration, “He that has seen me has seen the Father,” we must recognize that God’s core nature is expressed through an abundance of joy. This joy was not ruled out by Jesus’ experience of sorrow or grief; rather, it was a steady, underlying happiness—an inheritance He left to His students.

The most comforting revelation here is that God does not just love us without liking us. He cherishes the earth and each human being upon it with fondness, endearment, and unstintingly affectionate regard. This is a love of another kind—a natural outflow of His perpetually self-renewed being. 

For those grappling with shame, self-contempt, or the fear of being truly known, this truth is the foundation of health and wholeness. It means God’s regard for us is rooted in His perfect nature, not our imperfect performance.

As the praise song “Oh How He Loves Us” declares, the more fully we recognize the greatness of His affections, the more His love eclipses whatever we are struggling with in this lifetime. Whether it is the darkness of depression, the burden of addiction, or the weight of past failures, His overwhelming affection brings strength for the journey. This love is not fickle or conditional; it is utterly dependable and eternally fresh. Let us long for it, cling to it, and find our strength in Him. What specific affliction or struggle is most threatening to eclipse your joy today, and what affirmation of God’s “unstintingly affectionate regard” can you speak over yourself right now?

IN DEED

Find a quiet moment to look in a mirror and tell yourself: “God cherishes you with fond and affectionate regard.” Choose to believe that He likes you today, regardless of your productivity or performance.