I am usually up for a challenge. I like pushing myself beyond my perceived limits. It drives me to do more. It also reminds me that I have more capabilities than I give myself credit. To be honest, I haven’t felt much like challenges lately. Life has been busy – real busy. I am super grateful for this, but it has changed things for me a bit. I don’t have that same desire to find challenges. My greatest challenge is getting as much done as possible in a day. So the opportunity to do anything different isn’t normally appealing.
There is something about spending the day with good friends, though. It is life-giving to enjoy the outdoors with people you don’t often get to see. In order to do this, I had to take on a challenge. I had every reason not to do it. On the flip side, there was one driving reason – people. So three of us packed into a car and headed west for the day. It was a day of fellowship, good food, and way too much time running and walking (of which I was sorely unprepared to do). It was to be a race – but for some of us, it was a really great time to spend in fellowship with really great people. For this, I could not be more grateful.
Life continues to move forward, sometimes at rapid speeds. If we don’t take the opportunities that are before us, we will miss valuable moments that give us life. An abundant life does not mean more stuff. An abundant life means more time spent enjoying God’s creation with people who mean way more than stuff ever will. It means taking a day to enjoy friendships that began years ago and are meant to last a lifetime. An abundant life is a life spent loving the things money can’t buy. I’m grateful for a glimpse of abundance.
What can you do to live the abundant life? What does it look like to spend more time doing the things which are life-giving? How might you take some time out of the hectic insanity of life to enjoy all that God has already provided? May you be filled with life, real life today. And may God’s abundance overwhelm you and cause you to exclaim “THANK YOU!”
Focus Scripture:
John 10:10
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
Perfectly laid plans do not always come to life as we would hope. That became quite tangible last night. I went to bed as usual, but something wasn’t quite right. Leo seemed to be disturbed by something. As it turns out, we had an unwanted visitor. Yesterday, I had to make several trips from the garage to the house. So I made it easy on myself and left the door open to the garage. Since I was moving most of it myself, this kept me from trying to open and close doors constantly with arms that were occupied with stuff. That part went fine. The part I wasn’t counting on was that this would open the doors to visitors I had not invited. In this case, it was a mouse.
Most, if not all, of us have dealt with having a mouse in the house. What we haven’t dealt with before is having Leo in the house with a mouse. That is a combination which was new and it wasn’t good. It turns out, Leo is afraid of mice. Yes, a large dog is afraid of a tiny mouse. You can see why this would not go well. He goes around the house barking. A single annoying bark endlessly repeated so that everyone (and I do mean everyone in the house) knows there is a mouse. Then he crawls up as close to you as physically possible while you ‘get it’. During the daytime, this might pose a cute picture. At night, this is a frustrating array of chaos that takes away any rhythm of normal or rest. Leo climbed all over my head and the nightstand. He needed someone to get the mouse and he was not going to rest until someone did. And since these things are not that easily resolved, it just continued on and on and on. I dealt with it as long as I could. So finally, I chose to go lay on the couch. I don’t get a lot of rest, so sleep is valuable to me.
While I opted for the couch, I just knew Leo would choose the bed where he could snuggle up next to Wendy. Again, I miscalculated what would happen. He decided the couch was the best – with me. So here we were, wrapped up together on the couch, fighting his mouse fears and hoping for some sleep. Leo was so close, his breath almost became one with mine. I am not much for this close contact. But if it meant rest, whatever. And so we rested – too close for me to even move – but we still rested.
Things just don’t always turn out as we plan. Unexpected visitors cause chaos (crazy family show up to holiday meals). Sometimes the meal doesn’t turn out right. Sometimes fear seems to take over it all and the best we can do is cling tight and hang on for the ride. Whatever it may be, know that the morning comes. It brings new perspectives and new mercies. The sun will rise again and maybe it will all come together. If not, we will just continue to stick together – the mouse will eventually leave, right?
Focus Scripture:
Leviticus 3:21-23
21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
You are being watched. That sentence seems a bit creepy. To know we are being watched makes us uncomfortable. We don’t want to be watched. But we are, whether we choose it or not. And in this case, I don’t mean by drones or such. When I am home, Leo is always watching. He is anxiously awaiting my next move. His hopes include a treat or a ride in the car. If I touch the leash, he is all over himself. If I move towards the treat container, he has already stuck his head in. But we are watched even more intensely than Leo watches me – and that is intense. We are watched by God. And that is good.
This morning, I was reading Psalm 47. This Psalm begins with this, “Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.” I hear the sounds of clapping and singing for joy. It is the loud and heartfelt praise that fills a room so powerfully it feels as though the walls will burst open. It is the praise that lifts your spirit higher than your situations. It is a joyful shout that truly exclaims the goodness of God.
But not every day is good and we don’t always feel like shouting. Some days are rough and depressing and anxiety driven. What about those days, God? What do we do with those. And then, I am reminded of these words – as if sung by God as a lesson. The words of His Eye is on the Sparrow fill my heart, mind and being. And I am reminded that I sing because God loves me. God watches over me. God is with me. And I have nothing to fear, no reason to be discouraged, and certainly no reason to not sing.
Today, let’s clap and sing – God is with us. Shout of his goodness. May his joy so fill our hearts that our anxieties have no room to occupy. May we sing because we are happy and free.
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Civilla D Martin, 1905
Why should I feel discouraged Why should the shadows come Why should my heart feel lonely And long for heaven and home When Jesus is my portion A constant friend is He His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches over me His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me
I sing because I’m happy I sing because I’m free His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me (He watches me) His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches I know He watches I know He watches me
I sing because I´m happy I sing because I´m free His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me (He watches me) His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me (He watches me) He watches me I know He watches Me
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
One of my favorite characters is in Dr Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. What a beloved story for so many. It is, of course, the Grinch that most captures my attention. I have one in my yard thanks to a good friend. I have one that rides in the car with me during the Christmas season. He’s fun and he embodies my attitude sometimes. It doesn’t take Christmas to have a “grinchy” attitude. Some days are just like that. Everything seems to take us down and we come back with an attitude which is anything but kind and loving.
We may miss the key character in this beloved story, though. While the Grinch gets more airtime than most anyone else, he isn’t the key (at least not in my humble opinion). He does represent the nastiness some of us feel. But for me, the key to it all is found in the little girl, Cindy Lou Who. She doesn’t notice what everyone else notices about the Grinch. She doesn’t see the mean one. She doesn’t seem to understand how everyone else is so afraid of him and despises him. Cindy Lou has a childlike view of the Grinch. She sees potential and possibilities. She is the one that helps him see how life can be different. Cindy Lou wasn’t willing to take the view others would have given her. She sees something good. Cindy Lou changes everything.
We all need a Cindy Lou in our lives. We need someone who sees the good in us and reminds us of it. We need those faithful friends who love us despite ourselves. Our Cindy Lou can come in many different shapes and sizes. It could be our spouse, our family member, our best friend, a coworker, or even a faithful companion like Leo. Remember the Grinch did have Max.
Whenever I am having a “grinchy” day with a “grinchy” attitude, I am grateful for Cindy Lou in my life (and I have more than one, thankfully). I am grateful to be spurred on to goodness, to kindness and to love. And I can only hope to be the Cindy Lou for someone else. May we see the good in one another and inspire each other to love.
May you have a non-grinchy day. And may your day be filled with a Cindy Lou Who.
Focus Scripture:
Hebrews 10:23-24
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
Every single morning, I get the beauty of a new painting. I haven’t done anything to deserve it. There is nothing particularly special about me to have such a gift. Sure, I live with an artist. And while her paintings do adorn the walls of my bedroom, these aren’t the paintings I am describing. This painting is a new view each and every day. Nothing about me changes necessarily. It is the Artist, starting a new day with a new painting. It is sometimes gentle and easy. Sometimes the painting is more explosive and demanding. But it is always new.
If you take the time to see the world around you with childlike vision, it is amazing what you will discover. I walk/run the same route every single morning. Nothing significant about my route changes. Consistency is my jam. But as I roll out of bed each morning, a beautiful painting begins to take shape – with or without me. The sun begins to rise. Yes, it happens every single day. But each day seems to bring a unique look. The vividness of the colors are different. There is always something new to discover.
At first glance, it may appear the same. We should never base anything on a first glance, though. There is so much more. There is enough that it takes my breath away nearly every time. I am even surprised by the beauty.
This morning’s painting came with a bonus. As I was traveling, I caught a glimpse of a falling star. And just like that, I was amazed. Do stars “fall” all the time? Sure, they do. But do they fall in front of me? That doesn’t happen nearly as often. And when it does, just wow. Today’s painting was even more awe-inspiring than usual. But I did have to get out of bed. I did have to get moving to see it. Most importantly, I had to be willing to pay attention and to see with a lens which wasn’t cynical or too grown up. I had to be willing to see it all again…for the first time. And because I was, the painting was more magnificent than I could have imagined.
May your views become brand new. May your eyes see the painting being composed right before you. May you be amazed by the Artist.
Focus Scripture:
Job 38:34-38
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you? 35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? 36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,
or given understanding to the mind? 37 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, 38 when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cling together?
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
I’ve always heard the saying, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. If that is the case, then the road of the extra mile is paved with kindness. I had an ‘extra mile’ experience recently. I always run early in the morning – it is a better start to my day. Running, coffee, Jesus, and family help to get each day kicked off the best (and of course Leo is included in the family). I’d take Leo running with me but some of you all struggle with the whole driving thing and you scare me by myself – but I digress. On a recent morning run, I was moving at my normal slow easy pace (read turtle pace) and a truck was coming. The truck didn’t move over and even seemed to veer closer to me. This is not uncommon. So I do what I always do…move off the road. It did seem the truck came a little closer than most so I gave it my – what is wrong with you – gesture. I kept moving forward. This is not unusual in the least. This happens so often, I adjust and just keep moving. I may mutter how I can’t believe people don’t pay attention, but it doesn’t really change anything. But this time was different. In my 12+ years of running on this same road, I have never had this happen – ever. I was moving along and heard a truck behind me – no big deal. The driver slowed down beside me as I ran and rolled down his window. And then, words were spoken I have never heard on a run. “I’m sorry – I didn’t see you”. That’s right – he turned around and came back to apologize to me. He took the time out of his morning to apologize for not seeing me. He must have seen me in his rearview mirror after he passed. I didn’t know what to say – no one has ever apologized. So I just thanked him for not actually hitting me. And I told him it was fine and I really appreciated him coming back. The truth is – I was in shock. I didn’t know what to say. But he made my day. He reminded me that the extra mile is paved with kindness.
Since then, I have been trying to consider ways to travel the extra mile. I have been thinking of ways to spread kindness in unexpected and joyful ways. Kindness is contagious like that. Once we experience it, we want to share it. Where have you experienced unexpected kindness? And even more importantly, how can you share it with someone else today? I don’t suggest scaring a runner and then apologizing. But I do suggest look at your normal day – there are those who need kindness all around. Today is the day to share it.
Focus Scripture:
Matthew 5:41
41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
As a kid, I always dreaded Mondays. I think I started dreading them on Saturday morning knowing they were on the way. By Sunday afternoon, misery had set in. There were a host of reasons for it – and some of them were valid, but regardless these were the facts for me. Anxiety had a way of stealing the joy of the time I did have.
As an adult, it has gotten much better. I try to enjoy each day as it comes. But I must admit, that dreaded Monday morning anxiety still tends to creep in. I love what I do. I enjoy the people I work with. I have an amazing family. I have no real reason to have any worries. But Sunday, I felt it. That twinge of dread appeared like an unwelcome guest that has already spotted you are home. I am determined not to let it win.
So this morning, this beautiful Monday morning, I awake and arise. I do more than roll out of bed, I arise to the newness of a day made by God. On my morning journey, I notice the orange tones beginning to pop out of the horizon as God ushers in a new dawn. I hear the babbling of a brook (ok, so it was a ditch of running water, but you get the point). And there was much prayer involved. I needed God to show me the good in this day. I needed to know how to spread kindness. I wanted the chaos of this world to calm.
As I prayed and looked for God to speak, the stars sparkled. And for a moment, God seemed to say…this world is chaotic but you do not need to be. I was reminded of a scripture my kids learned in Bible drill. It is one I have said more times than I can count. This has become a place to return when the anxiety seems to be greater than I can handle. It is held in 2 Timothy 1, but God today opens it in my heart, “7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” Power, love, and self-discipline – those are the things which I am given. These are the things which you, too, are given.
May we live, not in fear or anxiousness, but in power, love and self-discipline. And, indeed, may it begin with me.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
It is bound to happen. It happens even to the best of us. It wasn’t our intention. We didn’t seek it out. It wasn’t part of the plan – it just happens. One day we are reading and studying the Bible and the next, we are going off of what we think it says. If you grew up in church like I did, you automatically have ideas about the stories contained in the Bible. If you didn’t grow up in church, you may have ideas of what you have heard or it can just seem like a jumbled group of stories thrown under a cover called the Bible. And if we are honest, even if we grew up in church, we can feel like it is a jumbled group of stories. We have big ideas of who God is and what all God would be pleased with. We may try to figure this out and live our lives according to a set of rules we have pulled out of the scripture to best fit where we are. We may even feel we are on the right track.
This may be all well and good. This may be okay for a season. But it is not sufficient if we plan to continue to follow God. God may not change but we sure do. And the more we face adversity, we tend to become more defensive, more angry and more determined. When we are faced with challenges, we may not approach those the best. Sometimes we feel like we are standing on the promises but all we really are standing on is a set of beliefs we have compiled to justify what we think and feel – and then use to beat others down. Somehow, this doesn’t seem right. Yet, all too many of us do it. Believe like me or you are wrong – we seem to say. Think like me or you are a sinner – we seem to proclaim. Worship like me or you are doing it wrong. We hold our banners high but really might find we are flying the wrong flag.
But this isn’t new. This didn’t start in 2020. This didn’t become a thing recently. People of faith have often found a way of vigilant, if not violent ways in order to prove correctness. Our history is full of it. And it is horrible. But what do we do? It seems so simple yet can be one of the most difficult things to do – we go back to the Bible and see what God has to say. And what he has to say might just stop us in our tracks.
I want to read 2 sections from 2 different prophets in the Old Testament. Israel thinks they are getting it right. They feel good about where they are. There is prosperity in the land. Things are going great for them. Surely God is all over it. And then…surprise. God isn’t pleased at all. Yet they didn’t listen. I wonder if we will.
The first is from Amos 5:18-24
18 Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light; 19 as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake. 20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
And the second is Micah 6:6-8
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
What is going on in these scriptures? They both echo what is often spoken by the prophets in many of the scriptures. This serves as a warning. It is an eye opener. It is meant to wake the people so they become the people of God. But it is harsh. It hurts. There is nothing easy about these words. They are difficult and cut to the core.
I hear God tell the Israelites that they are getting the worship part right but their lives are a mess. They are doing what is right when they enter their places of worship, but messing it all up from there. They are dirty on the inside but clean up real pretty for worship. They put on the garments of glory for worship but those same garments are stained and dirty. Here is the bottom line in these scriptures: How you conduct your life matters. What you do every day matters to God. How you treat people matters. What you do with your time, talents, gifts and service mean something. You don’t get to live unethically and pretend it is okay. You don’t get to cheat and lie and feel good about yourself. You don’t have the option of treating your neighbor poorly and justify it. Those waters of justice and the streams of righteousness just might wash us out. They may be the torrential rains that carries us downstream.
We hear the instructions from God. We hear that we are to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. And we are willing to do it if it means we are right. We only buck the system when it benefits us. But what about standing for those who can’t stand? What about being the voice of those who have no voice? When do we do that?
We have heard about justice. We have talked about kindness. But this morning, I want to consider what it means to walk humbly with God. To walk humbly means we don’t step ahead of God. We don’t try to take his spot. We don’t try to decide what God wants by making people do what we want. We don’t step ahead of the leader and our only leader being God. We walk humbly, acknowledging that we are here because God has put us here and loves us. We walk humbly, not thinking more of ourselves than we should. We walk humbly so that we can welcome others on the journey. We walk…but we walk with God. We do not walk alone and we do not walk as though we are God.
To walk humbly is being willing to accept that we may not always be right. There may be some things we have missed. There are some things we just do not understand. That is okay. It is okay because we are to walk with God. We don’t have to be right all the time. We are human. We will mess up. God doesn’t. So when we walk humbly with him, he directs our steps in the right way. There is something about letting God direct our way. We can’t become hateful when we are walking with God. He is directing our paths, not us.
To walk humbly means we are looking at ourselves and checking ourselves rather than making judgments about others. We don’t need to point out the faults of others. If looked at our own faults, that is enough to keep us busy. God is working on us when we walk humbly. And we need to understand he is also working on others. We are not God. We worry about us and let God take care of the rest. We listen to the things God is telling us. That will be more than sufficient for us to walk humbly.
Lastly, walking humbly means we welcome others to walk with us. We are following God, after all. It means we don’t have the answers, we just know who does. We don’t need to figure it all out. All we need to do is follow and invite others to walk with us. That IS the church – a group of folks walking humbly with God together!
God is calling us to move forward – with him. Join in, humbly walking with him. We will be changed. Maybe we give up our idea of correctness to walk with him in the only way possible – humbly – Loving God and loving others. May it begin with me.
It was 23 years ago that I made one of the most important decisions of my life. I stood in a church and watched the woman I would call my beloved walk down the aisle. It was the day my father lit his robe on fire with the unity candle (which Wendy didn’t even want in the first place). Side note, he handled it like a champ – as he always did. He put it out and just kept rolling. Most people had no idea. As Wendy made her way towards the front of the church, she was absolutely beautiful – but what I didn’t know is she would become more and more beautiful as the years went by. And here were are, 23 years later. I’m not sure many would have put their bet on us being here this many years later. For so many reasons, it seemed unlikely. But we are still moving forward together – and I couldn’t be more grateful.
This is not intended to be one of those sappy posts. I’m not much for those and neither is Wendy. This is intended to be more of a gratitude post. I don’t do this much because Wendy isn’t necessarily excited when I talk about her. She is the quiet one. She feels deeply but is reserved. My Dad swore she didn’t speak more than 5 words in the first 3 years of our relationship. Then, he said once she started, she never stopped. Wendy is a gift to the lives she touches and my Dad was as excited as anyone to have her as one of his own.
I do want to say that I’ve learned so much in our time together. The lessons I have learned and the wisdom I have gained would not have been the same without her. We have struggled together. We have celebrated together. We have welcomed children into our lives and watched them grow into amazing young women. We have done this together. And for me, that has been essential. It hasn’t always been easy. There have been so many times it seemed easier to give up than to keep going. But we chose to keep going. We kept struggling together. That has paid off. Here we are.
23 years down and as many as God allows to go. It isn’t perfect – but I wouldn’t want it to be – because then that would mean I wouldn’t be a part of it. It isn’t always easy – nothing valuable ever is. It isn’t always what we would want – but it is so much more than we could have ever dreamed. Today, I am grateful – my heart is full – and my life is joyful. Thank you, Wendy Mitchell – I love you.
I am reminded of the sacred when I experience art, in all of its many forms. Paintings, dance, and music (just to name a few) evoke the unspoken. There are some aspects that our language cannot contain. Since we cannot speak them, we must be open to the experience. I find this speaks so loudly through the arts. My whole being is altered when art holds space for the sacred. Dance carries us through a moment we would have missed otherwise. Music helps to transform a moment and carry us to a different place and time. Yet, we don’t often think of it this way. Paintings are just paintings – paint on canvas. Dance is just a movement of the body. Music is just a compilation of different notes to make something that sounds good (or not). But together, these are works of creation. It is our effort to be more like our Creator – taking something from nothing. It can beautiful and remarkable.
You may not be the ‘art’ type – but I want to challenge you. You don’t need to be the artist type to experience God through creation. You don’t need to have a keen eye, an attentive ear, or any special training. You only need to pay attention. It only takes a moment of your time – but can transform your day.
I had a special experience with art not long ago. I will say that I love and appreciate all different forms of art. But I also have no special talents. I am not particularly good at any of it. I wasn’t sure what to think when the leader of our devotion time gave us pastels and paper. On one hand, it looked fun. On the other hand, if there were any expectations, I would be out. The leader (my friend Stephanie – who is extremely talented and so very kind) invited us into a time of just creating as she spoke. It was a moment that helped me to relax and just enjoy. It was valuable to help me to hear the Creator and experience a joyful time through art. I was hooked. And I was changed.
Today, maybe spend some time listening to God through different ways than you may have otherwise considered. Pick up some crayons and color as you listen to music. Just be open to God speaking through ways that language cannot contain. And may you be changed.
Focus Scripture:
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 
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