Noonday Notes

Issue No. 44

April 24th, 2026

I’m staying with our friends Paul and Barnabas this week because that story has so much to glean from it. Another thread I pulled from their split (Acts 15:36-41) was how they both felt at peace with the choices that led to going their own ways. Conviction.

In my previous way of living I lacked conviction. By design I am a seeker and searcher that can take the grass is greener mentality too far with a dash of comparison and envy to further steal my joy. Typical Type 4. It was hard being one’s own Master and managing all that, and as a result I had no idea what conviction was.

But now I know conviction as a peace that comes from my confidence in Truth. Elijah, that old mountain man from the Hill Country of Gilead, he had it too. You know it when you see it. And now I know it, when I feel it.

Conviction doesn’t need to be loud, it isn’t prideful, or reliant on you believing me. It doesn’t need to defend itself. If your conviction is rooted in Truth, you will feel peace.

But there’s a lot of noise out there y’all. Hearing Truth can be difficult. The vast universe of the internet (or my mind) can convince me I have created the worst ever farms. Beds are too narrow, bermuda is out of control, I’m using plastic, not trellising the cucumbers, choosing the wrong crops to grow…so many voices in the head. You have them too.

We second-guess. We compare. We dig up something before it has a chance to grow. We let the weeds of life encroach.

So when the noise is loud, conviction keeps your hands in the soil, grounded. It keeps you from second-guessing every step, from comparing every decision, from walking away too soon. Because conviction isn’t anxious. It doesn’t rush to prove itself. It rests in peace.

And that peace doesn’t mean you have the whole picture, it just means you have enough clarity to do the next right thing. Paul and Barnabas likely didn’t know how their story would unfold. But they moved forward anyway.

And sometimes that’s all we’re given too. Not the whole plan, just enough peace to move forward in it, with conviction.

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