Month: January 2021

I always have to carefully consider whether or not I really need to get up during the night.  It isn’t so much a question of whether or not I should get up, but more of a question of the consequences of it.  As you might have guessed, Leo sleeps right between me and Wendy.  He snuggles right up to whomever he chooses and is usually a pretty good bedfellow.  But, if you get up, all bets are off.  He will steal your spot quicker than you can blink.  You come back to find him curled up on your pillow fast asleep – or so he makes it seem.  Getting him to move after that is challenging.  Most of the time, I figure out a way to squirm my way back into the bed – and he usually wins on the amount of room and where he lays his head.  

The funniest part is if you had told me this would be my situation years ago, I would have thought you had lost your mind.  Why would anyone reorient their whole sleep pattern for a friend such as my dog Leo?  I have always loved animals, that is not the issue.  But to completely give up part of your pillow and your bed would have made no sense to me.  Sometimes it still doesn’t.  But it doesn’t have to be explained, it is a choice we have made and we are so grateful to have Leo in our lives.  He brings more joy and unconditional love than I could have thought possible.  And, if I am honest, he keeps things interesting – all the time.  

It seems to me God offers us love and kindness in the most unconventional ways.  Maybe God understands what we need when we need it.  He may send you a message of love through a note or a friend.  He may offer you joy through a memory or an event.  It might be God offers you a little something special through your garden or a walk in the woods.  For me, all of these things could be true.  But there is just something extra special about the love of my buddy Leo.  And it isn’t for me only.  Anyone who spends any time around us will get a heaping dose of attention, served up by Leo himself.  I couldn’t think of a better gift than that.  

May God offer you an extra dose of kindness and love in unexpected but joyous ways today.  

Focus Scripture:

Genesis 1:24-25

²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

We all know words mean something.  They can tear down or build up.  They have so much power because of the source from which they flow.  When someone speaks words of hate or anger, it is even more painful when you know those words are from the person’s heart, mind, and part of their true feelings.  The same goes for kindness and encouragement.  When you know someone truly means the words they express, it takes on a whole new meaning.  We will often tell someone to consider the source when we hear news.  What source does it come from?  Understanding the source changes things.  Our words often are sourced from our heart, from our deep longings and deep hurts.  It could be the words we speak or type are fueled from the hatred or anger we have long buried yet keeps reappearing when we are challenged.

Words seem to mean more now than ever.  We are having much less face to face interaction.  When we are in person, our expressions are covered (for the most part – eye rolling still noted).  Our main communication is through typing or phone calls, Zoom calls or Facetime.  In these formats, words take on an even stronger position.  They carry more weight.  They are more important than ever.  

Considering this, genuine words of kindness and encouragement are so desperately needed.  We need to lift up our brothers and sisters.  We need to truly care about one another and reach out, giving someone else the boost to keep moving forward.  These are difficult times for us all.  No one is immune from the repercussions of this pandemic.  Since we are all struggling in some way, wouldn’t it be better to lift each other up rather than tear each other down?  And if we are having a difficult time doing that (or doing it genuinely), maybe it is time to consider the source from which our words flow.  Is it that our heart is filled with things which stain our whole body?  Is it that our whole beings are soiled by the filth of hatred or anger?  Could it be our words are speaking loudly about the distress we are feeling inside?  

May our source be pure.  May our words be encouraging, kind and loving.  May our speech be genuine.  May we live as Christ.

Focus Scripture:

James 3:10-12

¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

Leo (my buddy, my dog) has a special skill of relaying to me what is most important.  He sends this message loud and clear, but not in the ways we would normally communicate.  If I am on my phone, he nudges my arm.  If I am working on my computer, he puts his head right in front of the screen so all I can see is him.  When he is hungry, he sits and stares at one of us and when we acknowledge him, he runs to his bowl, pointing out the urgency of his need.  And we have a bell.  He rings this bell for everything else.  Sometimes he rings the bell just to get attention.  Sometimes he will ring the bell and walk away – as if to let us know he passed by it but had to touch it.  He has a way of knowing if I am struggling and just sits in my lap, not asking for anything.  He just offers his kindness.  I learn something new every day from his skills and abilities.  He doesn’t have to communicate in the usual ways to get his message across.  I understand what he needs.  

We can wander through life trying to figure out why we don’t hear God.  We can walk aimlessly not really understanding how God leads or feeling his presence.  I think it is because we aren’t paying attention.  If God created Leo, who can communicate with me, surely God is not lacking for ways to communicate.  I think we just pass right by him on a regular basis.  I think we mistake his embrace for something else.  I think we simply take for granted things are the way they are without realizing all we have been given by a God who loves us more than we can imagine.  God communicates.  He speaks loud and clear.  We may not want to hear the message.  We may not want to do what we know he is asking.  We may want to run the other way.  But God is not short on communication.  He is speaking to us – it just might not be in the way we are expecting.  

We have to pay attention – looking around at all God is doing.  It will take time.  It will take effort.  But we just might find he has been communicating with us long before we ever started listening.  And maybe today is the day to hear him.

Psalm 18:6

⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry to him reached his ears.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

So much of life is about give and take.  What are we willing to give up to get something else?  There are simple decisions: This morning I wanted to wear a particular pair of pants.  When I put them on, I could not breathe adequately.  Giving up my ability for good circulation was not worth wearing the pants.  So, back in the closet they go.  There are decisions we make which have a little more challenge, but we still often know the right answer:  We can eat the cake.  The cake is good and it is our favorite.  We have earned the right to eat the cake (it is our body, after all).  But if we eat the cake, we are giving up what we have worked on for the last week.  Is it worth it to give up all of the efforts over the last week for a piece of cake?  Sometimes the answer is yes – eat the cake.  Sometimes it is no – put down the fork.  Then, there are longer term decisions:  I choose to give up eating foods that others willingly eat so I do not have to take cholesterol medication.  My body doesn’t react the same way to what I consume.  I am willing to give up some foods to live a healthier life.  This decision has more challenges, but overall is just the right call for me, so it becomes a part of who I am.

There are still other decisions we make and we don’t realize just have much we have given up.  We can find ourselves in situations where we have been willing to sacrifice some things which are really important in order to obtain something else.  We may have given up our time to devote to a particular task.  The task may be wonderful and rewarding, it is a sacrifice of time we gladly make.  There are decisions we make which lead us to give up our time with our family.  We may have to make those sacrifices so we can put food on the table.  But I wonder if we don’t willingly sacrifice time with family to do more than just put food on the table.   I wonder if we don’t find ourselves sacrificing to obtain things which really don’t matter all that much.  There are still other sacrifices we make which leave us without our peace and our joy.  We don’t always make these choices knowingly.  It just happens.  We find ourselves looking at where we are and wondering if all we are giving up is worth what we are taking in.  Is this job or this relationship or this object worth our peace?  Is this too much of a price to pay?  Our answer may be yes.  If so, we begin to re-orient.  We begin to make changes, often with really painful outcomes.  It takes effort to reclaim what we have previously given away, even if we did it without realizing.  But in the end, is our peace and our joy worth it?  Are we worth it?

We all find ourselves in give and take situations on a daily basis.  Today, maybe we begin to evaluate if what we are taking is really worth what we are giving.  Maybe it is time to count the cost.  Is it really worth it?  Or is today the day to begin to steer in a different direction – taking back that which we did not mean to give up?

Blessings as you move forward, steering your course, finding your way.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 31:2-4

² Incline your ear to me;
    rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
    a strong fortress to save me.

³ You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
    for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
⁴ take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
    for you are my refuge.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

Sometimes our fears , distress, and anxieties can cloud our view – they are all we see.  We can’t seem to move past them.  They become like cataracts for our hearts and our spirits.  We make judgments and decisions based on these cloudy views.  It becomes all we know.  We don’t choose this.  It isn’t like this was sought out.  This wasn’t what we wanted.  It happens…sometimes, it just happens.  And then, there is a sunrise.

Our vision may be cloudy, but once in a while, when we look up, really look up, we see God.  We see him in his amazing creation.  I see him this morning in the beautiful, colorful, majestic sunrise.  I am reminded that while our current situation may stink, it is not the final destination.  We can find ourselves roaming through the wasteland before we get a view of the land filled with hope.  We can become overwhelmed by the destruction right in front of us and then God shows up, in the middle of it all.  It isn’t as if he wasn’t there all along.  It is more like we just couldn’t see – cloudy vision does that.  Depression, anxiety, fear, distress can do this.  These can cause us to see nothing else.  Yet, God seems to break through at just the right time, shining his goodness on us for no reason except that we are loved.

Be kind today.  Your kindness may just be the sunrise from God someone else was longing to see.  Your kindness may be a glimpse beyond the cataract of fear.   Your kindness may be God’s way of reminding others he is still at work. 

May we move forward, shining bright and sharing kindness.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 118:5-6

Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

It can be difficult to determine what is most important in our lives.  We have so many things which are vying for our attention.  There are too many seemingly important tasks and it can be a challenge to decide what is most important.  We often are drawn to the things which capture our attention the most.  If someone is constantly asking for something, we will want to take care of that person just so they will stop bothering us.  It goes back to the concept of the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  Yet, this wheel may not be the most important.  It could be the most silent really have the most need.

It is easy to tell ourselves we need to take a step back and just take a moment to assess.  What is it we are missing?  Who is it we are missing?  When we are ‘in the thick’ of it all, we can’t really adequately access.  There are still so many things screaming for us and we can get lost in it all.  This is one of the reasons for Sabbath.

Sabbath allows us a moment, a day set aside to rest.  This rest gives us a redirection of what is most important.  It allows us to cut off the noise and breathe.  We can re-adjust and actually get an assessment of all we might be missing.  It also helps us to realize what is not all that important.  We get a moment to stop, listen, and get ourselves back on the right track.

This doesn’t take anything except our willingness to actually stop.  We simply have to stop working, stop checking social media, stop replying to emails, stop all which captures our attention all day every day.  But these are the things which drive us and make us feel needed and important.  These are things which capture our every waking moment.  It seems so counterintuitive to stop.  

We cannot go all the time.  We will wear out.  We will destroy ourselves.  We will destroy relationships.  We will forget the things which really are most important.  It will all be thrown to the wayside.  Why?  Simply because we couldn’t let go?  Do we do this because we really need to feel this important?  

Today, may we let God be God.  May we allow him to re-orient, re-direct, and re-situate.  We might find out the wheels which need the most intention are really the wheels which sustain us.  We might find out we are the ones which need the most attention.  We may find out we are really out of gas and need a re-fuel.  Stop, rest, and may God give you all you need for the week to come.

Blessings my friends as you find Sabbath rest. 

Exodus 20:8

⁸ Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

If you spend any time at all outside, you have likely walked into multiple spider webs.  Walking in the woods gives this experience in even greater degrees.  It is a benefit if someone is walking with you and they go through the trail first.  They walk through all of the webs and get covered and you can continue to walk on, mostly untouched.  Leo is not helpful in this way, though.  He is shorter and therefore doesn’t clear out any of the potential face plants in the middle of a web.  I also find it interesting how you can walk the same path twice and hit the same web…twice.  I find spiders fascinating, the ultimate weavers.  

As much as the webs annoy us (and potential gross us out), can you imagine how much more frustrating it is to the spider?  They have spent their time intricately weaving a trap so they have dinner.  They have produced this beautiful display that is sure to provide for the family.  And then, along comes a big human who knocks it all down – no dinner, no web.  What we perceive as slightly annoying and an inconvenience is really an entire plan of the spider.  We tend to perceive things only from our perspective.  We look at how things benefit or do not benefit us.  We really only see what we want to see, rarely taking a glimpse into someone or something else’s perspective.  Most of the time, we don’t even try.  We can easily become a society only consumed with getting what we want, when we want it.  

Seeing things differently takes effort and time.  It requires us to give up a singular focus of me and my wants.  It means spending time listening, paying attention, and willing to become uncomfortable to understand where someone else may be.  I think this is one of those lessons Jesus was constantly trying to teach.  He taught the story of the Good Samaritan to faithful Jewish followers to show a different perspective.  He walked to the edges of society with people who likely had never been there before.  He sat at tables with people no good religious person in his day would have ever been.  He placed himself in situations where a new perspective could be viewed and experienced.  He challenged his followers to see beyond themselves.  He still challenges us to do the same.

How might we be so caught up in our own lives that we miss the lives of those around us?  How might we be trapped in our own perspective and fail to see all those around us?  How can we become more like Christ, challenging our views and stepping outside of our own wants?  We may just find we walked right into the work of another.

Focus Scripture:

Mark 2:14-16

¹⁴ As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

¹⁵ And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

As Christians, there are too many times that we miss the story.  We miss the lesson.  We don’t hear what God is trying to teach us.  This could be because we are not listening.  Or it could be that we heard and just choose to do something else, ignoring his teachings.  I think God is pretty clear on love, though.  It just seems to me that you cannot read the Bible and get around this word, this concept, this powerful force which blows through each of the pages.  We cannot ignore the fact that God has called us to something higher, bigger, and more lofty than our tiny minds can fathom.  He has given us a directive of something which seems nearly impossible, but is fueled by him.  He has given us the call to love – and that is a call to action towards justice, towards rescue.

When we see a symbol, it normally triggers a thought or feeling regarding that which is symbolized.  If we see a cross as a Christian, we may think of Jesus’ sacrifice.  If we see the hot light on at Krispy Kreme, it may make our salivary glands ignite.  If we see an American flag, it may generate feelings of pride and freedom.  Symbols point to something.  They symbolize an idea or group.  Some symbols are evil.  There are some which denote pure and complete hatred.  You can probably think of some.  But when we see the Christian flag as a symbol, it should signify love.  If it does not, we may want to evaluate where we carry our symbols and why.  What are we really trying to prove if we are not directing people to the love of an Almighty God?  What are we pointing to if we are not pointing to Christ?  The Christian flag or any symbol of a devotion to God should never be used in association with fear or hatred…ever.  If it is, it is being used in vain.

A few days ago, the focus scripture for today showed up in my reading.  It reminded me of who God is and what he seeks for his people.  It reminded me how I tend to miss the point in it all.  It reminded me of a calling as a follower of Christ.  It pointed me back to God and to his love.  It gave me direction, a clear directive to share his love.  I saved this verse because it was something I wanted to remember.  Today, it seems even more important than the day I first read it.  It seems to be an answer to where we may find ourselves.  It seems to show how we might be missing the point in it all.

May God forgive us, when we make a mockery of him and his love.  May God direct us, not our own ideas.  May God love us so much that loves pours from us.  May we point people to God in ways that are loving and kind.  May we not hate – for that is never God’s way.  May we show grace and mercy.  May we love.

Focus Scripture:

Isaiah 1:16-17 

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

I know it isn’t the popular view.  I know this is a statement most will disagree with.  It is controversial.  But I do not like glitter – not at all.  I really just don’t like it – avoid it if I can.  At work, when we are preparing Christmas cards, my one request is we don’t get any cards with glitter.  I am constantly reminded of how difficult it is to find cards without it.  It goes everywhere and it gets on everything.  You can’t get rid of the stuff.  It shows up on your face, in your hair, on your clothes, and you can find it sparkling around for days and days.  Those little flickers of color show up in the corner of your eye at the least expected times.  I don’t know who invented the stuff, but I am pretty sure it was someone seeking to drive someone else with OCD crazy.  I feel it.  

There is a positive to these sticky, sparkly little flickering creatures, though.  They remind me how far a little glitter can go.  A little bit of shine on someone’s day can light it up and change the whole landscape.  When we are kind to someone, it is as if we have placed a little speck on them that they carry with them as they move forward.  When we are loving, we are sharing our glitter with someone else, spreading the goodness farther than we can even imagine.  And when you are loving and when you are kind, the effects show up in the most unexpected places.  Glitters of God’s goodness can change things.  

So maybe glitter isn’t so bad after all.  I’m not going to go buy any.  But I will certainly try to spread some around in the form of kindness and love – sprinkled on us by the Almighty Creator of it all.  Sparkle on.

Focus Scripture:

2 Corinthians 9:8

⁸ And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

We tend to forget things which we cannot see.  Those things which remain hidden from our everyday vision can be misplaced in the rhythm of our day.  This begins early for most of us.  We often tell kids to wash behind their ears.  We give them the instruction because they cannot see behind their ears and, therefore, there is no need to wash what cannot be seen.  I can only imagine how ludicrous it must seem to wash behind your ears when there doesn’t even seem to be any possibility of anything collecting where we cannot even see.  But, here we are, washing behind our ears.

When things are not always obvious, when they are not screaming for our attention, we put them away.  They are out of sight, out of mind.  That’s all well and good until those things which we have displaced all come tumbling down.  There is dirt behind our ears and now we have a problem.  The extra baggage we have put away begins to overload our closets and it all collapses under the weight of it all.  It gets messy at some point.  We shove things into the recesses only to have them come back with vengeance because of neglect.  

For me, one of the most important reminders is not to forget God.  I understand this statement seems absolutely ridiculous.  Who would forget God?  How could anyone forget the Creator?  What does that even mean?  We can easily look at a sunrise and see a sunrise.  We can live with some level of gratefulness without actually being grateful to the Giver or Creator.  We can go through our day knowing that God is somewhere, but not acknowledging he is actually with us.  We can push God into the recesses of our minds without any notice at all.  We do this until we need him.  Then we scramble and wonder where God has been all along. We get frustrated that God hasn’t been more responsive.  Why isn’t he at my beckoned call?  And all along, it was us – we pushed him far enough where we didn’t even recognize his presence.  

Today, maybe we begin to give thanks to the Creator, the Giver of Life.  Maybe we begin to acknowledge his presence.  Maybe we begin to search for where he is at work.  Maybe we see him among our neighbors.  Maybe we realize he has been with us all along – if only we pay attention.  

Awaken us, Lord, to your goodness.  May we never put you out of our minds simply because we do not have the sight to see you.  Open our eyes, Lord.  

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 148:13

¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his glory is above earth and heaven.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery