Author: J Brad Mitchell

Bringing Leo to a new place helps me discover things I would have otherwise missed.  Leo senses things differently, hears noises I would have ignored, smells tracks of animals I will never understand.  By taking him, my senses are awakened.  Sometimes that is good.  I appreciate that the sound of the boats on the water are a new and interesting phenomena.  Something I have heard most of my life, I don’t really even take note.  But Leo stops to observe – to see what is going on in this strange place.  I am reminded of the simple pleasures of simply walking in the grass and enjoying the scenery.  Sitting on the porch and observing what peaks his interest changes my mindset.  That is all good.

What I don’t always appreciate is the things that startle him.  The sound of a docked boat as the edge rubs the dock is no big deal to me.  But to Leo – it is foreign.  He takes note and seems to be a little startled by it.  And every time a boat passes the dock, it happens again…and again…and again.  Yet, he never really grows accustomed to it.  He hears the barks of dogs far away and is immediately intrigued.  That’s fine except I don’t plan to go find those dogs as he wishes I would.  This strange place takes him out of his element.

The gift is the longer we stay in this place, the more familiar it becomes.  The sounds don’t seem to rattle him.  He grows accustomed to the water and the boats – still intrigued but not astonished.  The couch becomes familiar.  His family is here with him so the environment has a “home” feeling.  He begins to adjust, if just for a short time.  He begins to relax and so do I.

While my dog, Leo, obviously has to adjust to a different place, so do we.  We find ourselves in different life stages.  We lose someone we love.  Our kids go off to college.  There is a new baby born.  Jobs carry us to new towns, cities and locations.  All of these take adjustment – sometimes a difficult task.  We are, if but a moment, out of our element.  But if we can hang on, we will begin to sense the familiar.  There is a place of rest.  There is a chance to simply breathe.  It may take some time.  It may take a lot of time.  But that’s okay.  Hang on…adjustment is coming.

May you receive peace when you find yourself out of your element.  May you discover the joys that are all around.  May you simply breathe.

Focus Scripture:

Genesis 12:4-5

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan.

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

When I watch TV shows, there seems to be one glaring commonality – dissatisfaction.  People want bigger houses because the 3,000 sq feet is inadequate for their 3 person family.  They want to move to a different place because the traffic is too loud.  They want to change something about their appearance because they believe they are flawed in some way.  There is a general searching for bigger and better and the latest…there is a wanting for more while ignoring the joys of what is right before them.

But that is how we generally think, isn’t it?  If we have are not satisfied with something, we try to fix it.  Whether it is working harder or getting a better job or extending our credit – we try to find a way to get what we want.  In general, the motivation to achieve is great.  It can become a problem when we ignore the gifts that we already have in order to replace for something bigger and better.  It is a constant striving for something better leading to a place of never good enough.  The house will never be big enough.  There will never be enough things.  We will never achieve enough awards or recognition.  It is never enough.  And so we live our lives dissatisfied.  How miserable and disheartening does that become!?

What if we spent today satisfied with the gifts we have been given?  What if we were grateful for the home we have, the family around us, the jobs we get to work, the sunshine that fills the earth, the clothes we have, the food that is in the pantry?  What if we were just satisfied?  Would it change our outlook on the day?   Might we look for ways to help others?  Maybe contentment would begin to settle in and become a welcome friend.  We might find that we are gifted beyond measure – and we begin to seek ways to serve our neighbors.  Maybe we find we can breathe today because we have and are more than enough.  Live satisfied.

Focus Scripture:

1 Timothy 6:6-7

⁶ Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it;

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

Apparently I am slow.  I knew I wasn’t as fast as I wanted to be.  I surely would like to be a little quicker on my feet.  I generally feel good about what I get done in a day – it can’t be that I am THAT slow.  But there is at least one in my life that begs to differ.  For this one, I am slow…really slow…impatiently slow…box turtle with nowhere to go slow.

I have a morning routine that I follow.  It helps to keep me focused and calm my anxieties.  I get up and exercise.  Then, I take care of a few things around the kitchen.  After those are done, the exciting part begins – I make coffee.  It may be one of the highlights of my day…well, except when the filter falls and I have to start over (I am not drinking weak coffee if I can help it).  I also make a protein shake – all so I can carry it out on my back patio and enjoy.  Sounds great.  And it is.  Except, I have left out a part of the routine.  His name is Leo.

You see, during my routine, Leo is trying to speed me along.  I make coffee too slow.  I make my shake too slow.  I take care of the few things I have to do way too slow.  Why?  Because when I go sit on the back patio, he gets to go run in the backyard and chase bugs.  It is the moment he has been waiting for – and waiting pretty impatiently I might add.  No – he will not go out by himself to play.  He requires that I am sitting in my chair outside.  That is the way it has to be.  That means he has to wait for me to finish my entire routine.  He knows every part of it.  He gets a little more excited with each part that I complete.  If I delay, he comes up to me to nudge me along.  If I seem to slow down, he whines extremely loud so I will speed up.  He waits ever so excitedly at the back door – just for me.  Only…I move too slow.

I try to tell Leo to be patient.  We have a little talk about how he has to be patient so I can get everything done.  He looks at me like he doesn’t care what I am saying…just get the stuff done so I can go play outside.  This morning, I couldn’t help but laugh.  I am trying to teach my dog patience and I struggle with it myself.  I somehow expect my sweet Leo to sit at the back door and wait for me to finish all I have to do without whining when I complain every time things are not done at my own speed.  I have the ability to understand patience and I don’t excel at it.  So maybe today, I start talking to myself when I talk to Leo…be patient – it will all happen in due time.  Be patient – I am doing my best and it will be okay.  Be patient – we will get there, I promise.  Be patient, Brad – God is working all of this out – trust him.  Just be patient.

Focus Scripture:

Colossians 1:11-12

¹¹ May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

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

As I lay my head down to rest tonight, I can’t help but think of the course of the day.  Did I say too much? Was I kind?  Did I share love with others?  Did I do what I set out to do today?  There are many thoughts and ideas that roll around in my mind.  I worry I didn’t do my best or that my best wasn’t good enough.  I am consumed with the tasks that are still undone.  Then, I am stopped, halted in my thoughts.  I am given a moment where it all simply stops as if time stands still.  Those events of this day are said and done.  Today is complete.  It is okay.  Breathe.  God was in this day, even if I missed him.  And my mind turns from worry to gratitude.

Instead of the critique, I begin to think of the people I am grateful to have spoken with.  I think of the opportunities I was given to work and exercise and live.  I am grateful for the safety of my drive.  The deliciousness of the meals I consumed and the hands that took the time to prepare are on my heart.  I am grateful for the family that surround me and the friends that hold me up.  I am reminded that I will not get this day again and that is okay.  It was good.  It was sent by God.  And now I rest.

My prayer is that you find rest this evening.  This day is coming to a close.  The moments of this day are passing.  God was with us.  He never left us, even for a moment.  Rest in the gratitude that you are not alone.  Breathe in the life that you have been given.  Let the love that is around you wrap you tight as you seek God’s comfort.  This day is almost done.  Rest, you are loved.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 3:4-6

⁴ I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill.  Selah

⁵ I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
⁶ I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

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

Weekends fly by…vacations are here and over before we can even blink…holidays come and go so rapidly it is difficult to keep up…graduations are the culmination of work for years and yet seem to be here all of a sudden.  We can get caught up in living for a moment in time.  We long for Friday to get here only for Monday to pop off the calendar so rapidly we wonder where Saturday went.  We can’t wait for the vacation to get here. We have planned and organized and prepared.  It is finally here and before we can even settle down, it is time to wrap it up and head home – only to work to get there next year.  We get excited about our days off but realize we have so much to do while we are off we forget it wasn’t a work day.  We live for moments to come that can be a bit…disappointing.

Maybe we are missing the point of it all.  Maybe it isn’t the destination but the journey.  Maybe it is the small, everyday joys that should excite us.  It could be a homemade meal that we prepare fresh from the garden (or fresh from someone’s garden).  It could be the time spent around the table catching up with friends or family about what has been going on.  The times spent simply breathing, slowing down and taking it all in are invaluable.  But we can miss those because we are working for the ‘big’ moments.  In reality, the small joys are what bring life.  These are the everyday surprises that can bring celebration to our hearts.

Instead of looking for Friday afternoon to come, find out what joys are held in Tuesday.  They are there.  They may be hidden.  They may not initially appear to be much of anything.  But if we look closely, Tuesday has something special for us too.  I’m looking forward to the ‘Tuesday Special’.  How about you?

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 118:23-24

²³ This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

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

This morning as I am eating my breakfast and writing, I am distracted.  That is a bit of an understatement.  My buddy, my sidekick, my dog Leo has heard a noise that bothered him.  Since the July 4^th fireworks, it doesn’t take much to startle him.  Today’s noise wasn’t really even a big deal to me.  But here he is, climbing up in my lap so I can hold him.  He’s not a little dog either.  Leo is over 50 lbs and when he sits in my lap, I can’t see around him.  He’s a big boy.  But this big boy does not care about his size today.  Today there is a noise that bothers him and he wants to sit with me.  It doesn’t matter if I want to eat or write or anything else.  My job for this moment is to hold him and make him feel better.

Since I can’t spend the day doing this (I do need to get ready for work and go to the office), I decide my time is best spent with him for now.  So I move to the couch where he can sit as close as absolutely possible while I write and eat.  That is where we are this morning.  That is where we will be until it is time for me to get showered and dressed.  He is my buddy and he depends on me to take care of him.  And, if I’m honest, I’m okay with it.

Today may be your day of challenges too.  It may be that you are apprehensive about what is to come.  Maybe you are facing medical questions.  It could be you do not know how you will pay the bills.  Perhaps you find yourself worried and anxious for no reason except it is another day.  Where do you go for comfort?  Like Leo, you search where you feel like you will be cared for.  You search for the place where you can climb up and know that if just for a moment, you are okay.  Personally I find that in meditation outside.  I find my peace when I see God’s work.  I find comfort knowing that he loves his creation so much and loves me too.  I am, after all, his creation.  I find strength in the trees that he has fed and nurtured for more years than I have been alive.  I find beauty in the birds that he cares for on a daily basis.  I find peace in the flowers that he provides today’s rain so they grow and flourish, if just for a season.  I find God speaking to me comfort and love when I am simply held in the arms of his bountiful unfolding.

I pray you feel God’s comfort and peace today as you approach whatever may come your way.  May God remind you that he is with you and will not leave you.  May you crawl up in his lap knowing that he has everything under control.  You are his child and he loves you.

Focus Scripture:

Isaiah 41:13

¹³ For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Do not fear,
I will help you.”

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

Turn off the TV, put down the phone, leave the radio off, shut the computer and just listen.  The quiet is really there.  It may be just for a moment or an extended period of time.  But the quiet is there waiting.  For some, it seems crazy to sit in our home in silence.  To ride in our car in the quiet may seem even more bizarre.  But in the quiet, we hear.  We hear truths.  We hear guidance.  We hear a message.

We often avoid the quiet because there are things we do not want to hear.  There are messages we know but would rather not address.  There are truths that scare us.  If we simply keep moving…if we can just keep the noise going…if we can avoid thinking about it…surely we won’t have to deal with it.

What we need to hear is always bubbling just underneath the surface.  We cannot drown it out forever.  We cannot hold it back for a lifetime.  There will be a time when it will affect our health – mental, physical, and spiritual.  The quiet eventually envelopes us.  And it is good.  It is healing.  It is peaceful.  Even in the fear, there is blessing.

Today, try spending some time in the quiet.  It may be just for a few moments.  It is okay to start slow.  Today may be short, tomorrow may hold more moments.  If we continue to listen, the quiet will become our friend and begin to provide a path forward.  Welcome the quiet and may your life begin to heal.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 62:1-2

¹ For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
² He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.

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

My favorite food is…french fries.  That’s right, surprisingly enough, it is not chocolate.  That’s a close second with coffee not far behind.  The margins are so minor you may not even notice.  But french fries sure do make me happy.  They are a salty, delicious treat that I could eat any time.  I have been known, in the past, to go through a drive through and only order the largest size of fries that are offered.  I like them fried, oven baked, air fried – any way they come.  They are just a fantastic bit of goodness.

The problem is that french fries are not always my friend.  They are not really good for my body and my cholesterol always takes a hit when I eat them.  I inherited cholesterol problems so I have to be cautious.  Eating my weight in french fries does not qualify as cautious, unfortunately.  I am required to make better choices – with a few fries sprinkled here and there.  I have to be careful with how often I sprinkle them in as well.

I mention this because there are many things in our lives that bring us delight.  But some of those things are not good for us.  They can be toxic when they consume our lives.  They can mess with the goodness that God has created in us.  They can harm us.  We have to take care of ourselves and monitor what is around us.  We need to make sure that we are doing the right things for ourselves so that we can help others.  We need to ensure we are filled with the best things so that we can bring glory to our Creator.  Sometimes that means not allowing things that cause extra anxiety, additional fear, or added stress.  Sometimes that means stepping away from situations which are harmful.  And sometimes that means just taking in our favorites in moderation.  Whatever that looks like for you, take measures to care for yourself so that you can be your best to love and care for others.  Today, take care of you.

Focus Scripture:

Matthew 22:37-39 (note the as yourself part)

³⁷ He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

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

For me, renovation shows are the best.  I love to watch how people can turn seemingly disastrous projects into something absolutely beautiful.  My favorite is when a treasured home gets new life breathed into it.  To watch the joy on people’s faces as they see their special memory made new is priceless.  I am amazed when a home that seems to have no future gets fresh paint, remade floors, and a little love.  It is as if the home gets a fresh start.

What is even more special is to watch God renovating us.  When I see how God is taking our disasters, our pasts, our mistakes and beginning to renew and revive us.  He is cleaning the slate and helping us to find our way into something so much better.  He knows our gifts, our strengths and our weaknesses.  He sees just what we need to get on the right path.  He knows how we have struggled and he lifts us up.  He knows how we have beat ourselves up and bandages our wounds.  He gives us more than a facelift.  He gives us new life.  He breathes love into our broken hearts.

Often the most difficult part of the renovation is realizing that we are worth it.  We are loved that much and so much more.  God sees value in us and wants us to live a new life.  He sees our worthiness because he created us as his beloved.  He knows the undesirable parts of us and wants to help us clean up.  He is not shaming us, he is remaking us.  We have such beauty to the One who created us.  And he wants us to see what he sees.

Maybe God is working on renovating you.  Maybe he has plans that take you to places of peace, love and joy.  Maybe he is creating in you a clean heart.  He sees you are worthy – do you?

Focus Scripture:

2 Corinthians 5:17

¹⁷ So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

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