SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Author: J Brad Mitchell

  • Memory Packed Days – Devotion 334

    There are some days that are so packed with memories it seems one day cannot contain them all.  They are bubbling over like the pot on the stove you left on too high and unattended.  It calls your attention loud and clear.  Today is one of those days for me.  It is the anniversary of Dad’s death.  As the years go by, this day changes and takes on a whole new life.  While I miss him more than words can express, I am now at a place where I can give thanks.  I give thanks for his guidance, his love, his wisdom, and his humor (especially for the gift of quick comebacks).  I give thanks for the times we spent running – even when he ran ahead while the stray dog chased me.  I give thanks for the memories and the valuable lessons I carry with me that have helped to shape and form who I am today.  Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t as if I haven’t given thanks for these things before.  It isn’t as if I didn’t realize I had a great Dad.  It is that my grief has changed.  Rather than feeling angry or cheated out of time or sad he died too young, I now am simply filled with gratefulness.  Grief does that.  It changes.  It evolves.  It doesn’t mean we stop missing the person or wishing they were here.  It just means it becomes something different.  We mend – although very differently than we were before.  We move forward understanding the gifts we have been given.  We are challenged to appreciate each new day, none of us know how many there are ahead.  We become put back together – always with scars intact.  

    Although this is the day Dad took his last breath, it is also the day he became free of the worries, anxieties, and challenges of this world.  This is the anniversary of his new chapter.  This is the day he began to live in true joy, true peace, and love which is unending and absolutely remarkable.  This is the day the page turned and it was a beautiful start to all God had for him.  This was an amazing day for him.  And one day, it will be our turn.  Until then, I take these memory filled days, with the lessons which abound, and I move ahead.  One day at a time, one step at a time, one God-given moment at a time.  There is more to be done.  God’s not finished with us yet.  

    May we continue to love and serve God until he turns our page and starts our new, incredible chapter. Blessings to you, my friends.

    Focus Scriptures:

    1 Thessalonians 5:16

    18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

    Psalm 139 (because it was Dad’s favorite)

    1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
    2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
        you discern my thoughts from far away.
    3 You search out my path and my lying down,
        and are acquainted with all my ways.
    4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
        O Lord, you know it completely.
    5 You hem me in, behind and before,
        and lay your hand upon me.
    6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
        it is so high that I cannot attain it.

    7 Where can I go from your spirit?
        Or where can I flee from your presence?
    8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
        if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
    9 If I take the wings of the morning
        and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
    10 even there your hand shall lead me,
        and your right hand shall hold me fast.
    11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
        and the light around me become night,”
    12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
        the night is as bright as the day,
        for darkness is as light to you.

    13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
        you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
    14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
        Wonderful are your works;
    that I know very well.
    15     My frame was not hidden from you,
    when I was being made in secret,
        intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
    16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
    In your book were written
        all the days that were formed for me,
        when none of them as yet existed.
    17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
        How vast is the sum of them!
    18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
        I come to the end—I am still with you.

    19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
        and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
    20 those who speak of you maliciously,
        and lift themselves up against you for evil! 
    21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
        And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
    22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
        I count them my enemies.
    23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
        test me and know my thoughts.
    24 See if there is any wicked way in me,
        and lead me in the way everlasting.

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

  • Tests – Devotion 333

    I’ve always hated tests.  I remember the first time I was identified as having an issue taking standardized tests.  The teacher took me outside and wanted to make sure I was feeling well and doing okay.  I was doing fine and had no clue how badly I had performed on these set of tests.  It was surprising to her because I could do the work just fine.  But taking tests was a whole different matter.  Since then, I have muddled my way through test taking.  I have managed to do well enough to get to the places I was trying to go.  If I’m honest, though, I still hate tests.  

    Except maybe this one.  The Psalmist is asking God to test him, to check him out.  He is asking God to evaluate him, identify his strengths and weaknesses.  He wants to show God he is on the right path and is following him as he should.  

    Not many of us would want to sign up for this test.  We would likely avoid having an evaluation of how pure our heart and intentions really are.  We probably wouldn’t want God to do a thorough check on how we are living for him, or not.  It could give us a whole different perspective, though.   If we knew God was testing our hearts, might our love become more pure?  If we understood God knows our real intentions, might our actions come from a place of kindness?  Might we reflect Christ if we understood we were going to be tested?  The interesting part is that God does know.  He does know our hearts.  He does understand why we do what we do.  He does know when we are truly loving him and others.  He gets it.  He isn’t doing this to punish us or to see if we pass.  He is doing this because he seeks those who desire to serve from a place of a clean heart and a steadfast spirit.  

    Maybe this is a test we should, like the Psalmist, ask for.  Maybe it would be helpful to know where we have gone wrong and where we are getting it right.  It just might steer us to become a little more like Christ.  And that is a test worth taking.  

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 26:2-3

    2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
        test my heart and mind.
    3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
        and I walk in faithfulness to you.

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

  • The Blooms of Grief – Grief Writing

    The azaleas seemed to burst open with color out of nowhere.  One day, they seemed to be ordinary green bushes.  The next, they were vibrant with the most beautiful array of colors.  It happened in what seems to be overnight.  In a symphony orchestrated by God, he opens the blooms and the magnificence shines so brightly.  It is amazing to see and experience.  It really is hard not to notice the vibrant colors.  You have to work to not see it.  Even in our over-caffeinated worlds, we can still experience the beauty.  

    On the contrast, there are pecan trees.  The one in my side yard is the late bloomer.  Every other tree has buds, blooms and leaves.  But not the pecan tree.  For a few years, I was sure it was dead.  I was convinced it was not coming back the next year.  And then, in some unexpected way, it makes its appearance – slow and methodical.  I notice the buds form and when it is time, there are leaves.  Eventually, there will be pecans – or at least what the squirrels don’t take before they fall ripe and ready.  

    Time is the key in all of this.  We don’t try to open azalea blooms before they are ready – that would be a disaster.  We don’t give up on pecan trees simply because they didn’t blossom when all of the other trees did.  It is all based on time – and this timing is not ours.  There is a time and a season for everything.  That includes grief.  Grief has its own time schedule – we don’t get to set it or alter it.  We can try and rush it but it would be more disastrous than trying to open the azalea blooms before their time.  It won’t work.  Grief sometimes creeps along, seeming to linger in our lives way longer than we think it should.  It is like the house guest who outstays the welcome.  And then, as if it is out of nowhere, grief improves.  We feel relieved.  We feel a sense of peace and calm.  We begin to see the clearing, understanding that we are not in this alone.  It doesn’t mean the grief has passed.  It simply means it has changed.  It has taken on a new part in our lives.  We begin to cope and process differently.

    The thing is – no one else knows our timeline of grief either.  They may be expecting azaleas and you may be a pecan tree.  No one else gets to set our time frame.  They don’t get to determine where we should be in this journey and when.  They don’t get to decide what ‘getting better’ looks like.  They don’t even get to tell us what they think we should do because they have been through something similar.  What they do have the privilege to do is to sit with us and watch.  They can nurture and love.  They can wait for the blooms and celebrate when all is not dormant any longer.  They can’t force open the blossoms, but they can experience the beauty.  That’s what friends do.  

    No matter where you may find yourself today, know we are all on a different timeline.  You may feel you are still dormant, never to bloom again.  Hold on, there is still time – God’s time and your grief’s time.  You may be concerned because you are feeling better and you are blooming.  It can be scary to see improvement when you have lingered in grief for a while.  Know that this is natural and a part of the process.  It is okay to be scared and a little worried.  Blooms will become a part of who we are once more.  All comes together in just the right time.  Take it one moment at a time.  God is with us.  You are not alone.

  • Being Proud – Devotion 332

    Are we proud to be a servant of the Lord?  Do we hold that as a gift, as a privilege?  Do we really give thanks for the opportunity to serve God?  Do we live our lives with our heads held high – not in arrogance or self-righteousness, but in excitement that we are called a child of the Most High God?  Are we proud to be a follower of Christ?  If so, we don’t have to wear it on our shirts.  We don’t need it on a bumper sticker.  We don’t have to shout it from the rooftop.  All we need to do is live as such.  If we live as people who are proud to serve God, it will show without a word needing to be spoken.  

    It can be easy to be proud of other things instead.  We can be proud of our accomplishments.  We can be proud of our children.  We can be proud of how far we have come.  These are all fine.  The key is the acknowledgment that all of these things are possible because we are first proud to be a servant of God.  Everything we truly should be proud of is a byproduct of following God.  When we are obedient to the call, we see things begin to come together.  They are not always as we would want, desire, or ask.  But they are exactly as God has for us.  And we can be proud he has called us.  The realization quickly comes to us that it isn’t anything we have done.  We are not proud of what we have pulled together.  We are, instead, proud of how God is bringing things together for his good.  And when they come together for his good, they are good – very good.  

    Today, hold your head high.  God has called you.  He loves you.  He wants to show you how amazing it can be to follow.  It will be something to be proud of.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 20:7

    7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
        but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.

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

  • Prove It – Devotion 331

    It is not enough to talk about something, we often need proof.  Someone can claim a success or a skill but we want to see the evidence.  We want them to prove it to us.  We don’t often take a person’s word for what has been done.  We want to see it.  We want to experience it for ourselves.  Second-hand eye witness is helpful.  But the best is when we can have a first-hand experience.  The conversation often starts with, “I can….” And then ends with, “prove it”.  We want proof.  

    In exploring this Psalm, the Psalmist is remembering the ways God has been with him.  He is recounting the goodness of God when there has been achievement.  He is remembering when the war was won.  But what most stood out to me is this proclamation in the middle of verse 30:  “the promise of the Lord proves true”.  The Psalmist is recounting the victory and realizes that God kept his promises.  God’s ways are perfect, he exclaims.   And in his ways, he is continually keeping his promises.  And his promises are good.  They are for our future.  They provide a hope as we move forward.  They are full of mercy and grace.  God’s promises are beyond amazing.  But the best part is that his promises prove true.  

    If we look back on our lives, we can’t help but see how God has been with us – regardless of where we have been and what we have encountered.  We can see how God has continually lifted us out of the pit.  If we look closely, he was present in our deepest distress.  He was also with us in our excitements and greatest joys.  What a gift it is to know God keeps his promises.  God’s promises prove true.  

    What this means is we can move forward understanding that God has kept his promises in the past and will keep his promises in the future.  His ways are always perfect.  His mercy is everlasting.  His love is overwhelming.  May God remind you of the promises that are always true.  May you find hope.  

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 18:30

    30 This God—his way is perfect;
        the promise of the Lord proves true;
        he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

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

  • Seeking Security – Devotion 330

    We spend time and money seeking some sense of security in our lives.  We may have alarm systems or cameras in the place of our doorbells.  We try to pick investments that bring some possibility of security so we don’t lose our savings.  We have security lighting that helps us to see what is around.  We work hard to provide security in most every area of our lives.  

    As I read this morning’s Psalm, this particular phrase caused me to pause:  “Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.”  It is from Psalm 16:9.  What makes the body rest secure?  It isn’t the security system outside – the Psalmist would have no idea about this.  It wasn’t the latest camera system or lighting – these were not available then either.  How is it that my heart can be glad, my soul rejoice and my body rest secure?  I find the key to this is in the previous verse.  This is a conclusion to a belief already stated.  The Psalmist rests secure because God is present – at the right hand.  God is always with us.  He goes before us.  He holds us up.  He is guiding us when we listen.  God is with us.  And this is the security.  This is where it is found.  This is the key!  

    We don’t find real security in things or ideas or devices.  Our true security is found in God.  It is not that bad things won’t happen – we live in a world with evil ever present.  We live around those who have chosen not to live as they were created.  Bad things happen.  But no matter what may come our way, we can rest knowing that God is with us – ALWAYS.  You do not face this day alone.  May your heart be glad.  May your soul rejoice.  May your body rest secure. 

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 16:7-11

    7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
        in the night also my heart instructs me.
    8 I keep the Lord always before me;
        because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

    9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
        my body also rests secure.
    10 For you do not give me up to Sheol,
        or let your faithful one see the Pit.

    11 You show me the path of life.
        In your presence there is fullness of joy;
        in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

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

  • Directly From The Source – Devotion 329

    I’ve seen it happen before.  I know it will happen.  Yet, when the time is approaching, I am still super excited. Recently, I planted a garden and also planted a few potted plants around the house.  Since planting, it has rained exactly zero days.  Sure, there has been a sprinkle here and there.  It has threatened to rain.  The clouds have rolled in and then rolled right back out.  So for the last few weeks, I have watered the garden and flowers daily.  I don’t mind.  It gives me an opportunity to check on them – to see their progress up close.  They grow and flourish as one might expect – well, most of them do anyway.  But rain does something completely different.  When it rains, it is as if God has sprinkled a form of Miracle Grow and allowed it to seep into the soil.  Getting up this morning following a rain was a joy.  The plants looks so much healthier.  The flowers have the biggest, brightest blooms, unlike any I have seen this season.  I am still amazed at the difference rain makes.  It is so much better than the water I can supply.  

    God gives us just what we need to grow.  We often look for artificial things to help us to become what we need to be.  And those things do help us.  They do give us enough nutrients to keep going.  But if we really want to grow…if we really want to spring forward with new life…we need nutrients from God.  Being connected to God brings an incredible growth in us we could not receive elsewhere.  We are given the chance to drink directly from the well, the source of life.  We are given the Bread of Life as our sustenance.  Why would we choose people-made when we could have God made?  All we need has been provided.  We simply need to drink directly from the Source.  We may find growth like never before.

    Focus Scripture:

    John 6:35

    35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 

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

  • The Goodness Around Us – devotion 328

    Yesterday, Kelli and I took Leo to the Cliffs.  Once we got there, Leo took us for a walk – a speedy exploration.  All three of us were on the same trail.  We were all enjoying the cool breeze and a chance to be outside.  But all three of us had a different perspective.  Kelli and I noticed completely different plants and trees which captured our attention.  Leo picked up on scents we will never understand.  We each had a unique experience as we traveled the same steps together.  

    It reminds me how different our perspectives are as we live our lives.  One person can be so grateful for a job while another can absolutely hate the exact same one.  One person can notice how hot it is outside while another feels a gentle breeze.  We experience our lives so differently.  So many times, it depends on what we are looking for.  Yesterday, Kelli had her camera so she was looking for great shots of Leo.  I was looking for what was blooming and the changes in the trail since the last time I walked this way.  Leo was checking out the scents left behind by those who had traveled before us.  We were looking for different things so we experienced the trail based on those views.  

    What if we traveled our lives today looking for the good?  What if we intentionally sought out the joys and the celebrations?  What if our view was of all God has provided for us rather than our wants?  The same journey may look a lot different.  We may find God has been with us the entire time.  

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 27:13

    13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
        in the land of the living.

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

  • I Don’t Want To – Devotion 327

    The things we don’t want to do can be the very things which help us and make us better.  The things we often want to do can be the things which tear us down and hurt us.  We don’t always know what is best for us.  We think we do.  We feel confident we know.  But we don’t always get it.  It is hard to be objective when it is our life.  We can look at someone else and point out the things which would really help.  But to truly evaluate our own situation is a completely different matter.  

    One of the most obvious ways to see this in motion is by looking at what we eat and how we move.  We may not want to exercise even though we know it will make us better.  It is hard work.  It takes discipline.  We are tired and we would rather lay on the couch.  Can’t we get exercise watching TV on the couch?  And to eat healthy requires planning.  We have to plan out a menu and buy the food and not stop at the fast food places and buy the other food.  Our bodies seem to fight this all the way.  We crave fats and sugars.  We cling to our pillows in desperation of just one more hour to sleep.  The things we want to do can be the worst things for us. The things we don’t want to do can change our lives.

    Following God takes trust.  It takes dedication.  It takes a constant effort to follow him wherever he leads.  It can be scary.  It can be difficult.  It can feel unnatural to love those who do not love us.  It can be challenging to live counter to the way everyone else seems to live.  Yet, this can be the change of our lives.  We may just find all we were created to do.  We may even realize God has much better plans for us than we have for ourselves.  We don’t always knows what is best for us…but God always does.  Maybe today is the day to find out.  Maybe today is the day to follow.

    Focus Scripture:

    Mark 8:34-35

    34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

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

  • God Surprises – Devotion 326

    This morning as Leo and I were enjoying the beautiful yet overcast morning on the back porch when something expected began to happen.  It began to rain.  It was just a light sprinkle of large drops, but it was enough to catch our attention.  It was a surprise because when I looked at the weather early this morning, I saw nothing about a chance of rain – like zero.  There was no indication this was even a slight possibility – not even 10%.  So I was a little shocked to feel the morning momentary water gift.  It didn’t last long, but I certainly realized how much I count on an app to tell me what the weather will be.  I guess most of us do in some way.  It helps us to know how to dress and whether or not to bring an umbrella.  But it definitely isn’t guaranteed – actually pretty far from it.  I had expectations of things being one way but God had other plans.  

    I wonder how many times God has something planned that completely throws us off because we are counting on something someone else told us or something we depend on other than him.  We can be thrown off by God’s miracles because we are expecting something completely different.  Since God doesn’t work the way we do, we cannot know his ways all the time.  It may actually be best to just watch God work and jump in there.  Watch God bring the rain and dance.  Watch God change a schedule and celebrate.  Watch God turn test results and rejoice.  Sometimes things happen exactly how we predict.  But it might just be God is up to something completely different if we just look to him.  He is always up to something good.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 145:16-18

    16 You open your hand,
        satisfying the desire of every living thing.
    17 The Lord is just in all his ways,
        and kind in all his doings.
    18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
        to all who call on him in truth.

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