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Ever wake up anxious?  Maybe you know an appointment is coming up you have been dreading.  It could be a big project is due and you aren’t ready.  Work may already feel like a heavy weight and the day hasn’t even started yet.  You dread the challenge of getting everyone up and going when you want to stay in bed too.  You just don’t want to face whatever is awaiting you this day.  When we find ourselves feeling this way, it can be difficult to think about trusting God in our situation.  It can be hard to remember God is with us and he cares about us.  It can feel impossible to place God’s love in our situation which seems to be just way too much.  Here’s the deal – this ISN’T the time to start trusting God and hearing how much he cares.  This needs to begin long before we find ourselves overwhelmed.

Trusting in God begins when we are open to hearing, to learning, to receiving what God has for us.  When we are anxious or overwhelmed, we are not open to anything – we are actually in survival mode.  We are just trying to make it through the day – through the next challenge.  God is not our emergency button.  Sure, he is with us in our difficult times.  He is always there for us.  But our relationship with him is not built on the challenging times only.  Our relationship with God is built on everyday experiences with our Creator.  We develop this relationship by learning more about him, by listening to him, by experiencing him in our lives on a daily basis.  When we build the relationship, we are more prepared when the difficulties come – and they always do.  When we have learned to trust God in the good times, we are ready to receive him in the bad times too.  We will already be equipped with his word, his truths, and his love.  

Today is the day to work on the relationship with the One who created you, loves you beyond measure, and cares for you.  Today is the day to walk a little closer, listen a little more intently, and find a place with him.  He is with us always.  That should bring comfort and peace to our over-anxious minds and hearts.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 31:14-15

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hand;
    deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

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

During this pandemic, my world has become more hectic and demanding.  There are deadlines and more deadlines.  People seem to expect the impossible and so I work harder to try and meet the demands.  I am extremely grateful for my job, but it can be overwhelming some days.  I was speaking with a colleague who shared the sentiment and shared with me the need to just take a deep breath.  It can be so difficult we even forget to breathe.  I know that sounds ridiculous.  We all breathe without even thinking about it.  But when things are so fast paced, we sometimes forget to take a moment and really breathe – one breath at a time.  

I am amazed at what a few moments to simply breathe can do for my mind, my body and my spirit.  It is as if God has given this gift we take for granted which can calm our souls with just a moment.  It doesn’t take any special training.  It doesn’t take skills.  We simply take a moment and inhale…exhale…repeat.  It even seems to change the perspective, if but for just a moment.

Taking this moment to breathe can help us when we are anxious or angry, when we find ourselves clenching our teeth or feeling the beating of defeat.  A simple breath can bring us back to center.  It reminds us of our humanity.  We are given a moment of redirection.  

God breathes life into us and we live.  In our anxious world, a breath can go a long way for our mental and spiritual health.  I can’t help but think of John’s account of Jesus meeting with the disciples after his resurrection.  He speaks peace to them.  After this, he breathes on them – the breath of hope, of love, of joy, and a future.  He breathes the Holy Spirit upon them.  God breathed life into the first human and he continues to breathe life into each of us.  Take a moment to simply breathe today.  God is providing what we need.

Focus Scripture:

John 20:21-22

²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

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 know how many of you can relate – but I feel like a permanent resident of the ‘struggle bus’.  I don’t even remember getting on it for the first time – I’ve probably ridden way too often to know better.  I’ve felt like I have driven the struggle bus on one than more occasion.  The problem isn’t riding the bus for a while.  We all struggle.  For instance, I lost my keys this morning.  I had gone out for a run and when I returned, I could not find my keys.  I felt confident I had grabbed them when I went out the door.  But I had to wake Wendy up to let me back in (Leo helped with that).  After I got in the house, I started looking.  I found them…in my pocket of the vest I had been wearing the entire time…for real.  So you can see why the struggle bus is like home to me.  The problem, though, becomes when we take up permanent residence on the bus.  There are other people like us there.  It is comforting – misery loves company, right?  We can commiserate about all of the struggles we go through.  But we aren’t meant to stay here.  This is just a short trip, not the destination.  It is time to de-board and live.

God has given us all we need for all he has created us to do.  We are equipped.  We are valued and loved.  We are given an abundant life to live.  When we sit in our difficulties and allow them to be our only view, we miss out on the excitement of living as we were created.  We miss the good things because we are focused on our problems.  We become so absorbed by all the things which trip us up, we forget how to walk.  We forget to hold our head up because we are a child of the King.  We forget to live in the joy of being called and loved and adored.  We forget to move forward understanding that we are God’s beloved.  Our view from the bus is distorted.  We have to de-board to really see all God has for us.  

Don’t get me wrong – I will still struggle.  I will find myself back on the bus on occasion (like this morning).  But I do not live there.  I have been given so much more.  There is joy and love waiting.  There is life out there.  This is your stop – time to live.

Focus Scripture:

Matthew 7:9-11

⁹ Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? ¹⁰ Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

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

You are loved.

You are worthy.

You are enough.

Your best is sufficient.

You are God’s beloved.

You are a child of the King.

You are loved.

These words are true.  I know they are true.  These are the words written about you (and me) in the Bible.  You are God’s creation, his good and loving handiwork, created for beautiful things.  You are not meant to live in fear or anxiety.  You are meant to live as one who is adored more than any of us could imagine.  

These words may not be what the world tells us.  They may not even be words you consider for yourself.  We sometimes speak them for others, but what about the one we see in the mirror each morning?  That one is enough and loved and worthy.  In a world which always seems to demand more of us, God calls us to rest in him.  We are given direction to come and experience his goodness.  We are loved beyond measure simply because we are God’s.  

I think we can all use this reminder.  The voices from around us can seem so much louder than the Voice inside of us.  God in us tells us we hold much value.  

As we begin this week, may you be reminded that you are loved.  Live in it.  Sit with it.  Allow God’s love to wash over you.  Move forward knowing you are worth more than you can even imagine.

Focus Scripture:

Matthew 6:26

²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

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

My back patio is my place to relax – mostly because that is the place Leo likes for me to be so he can explore and enjoy the outdoors.  So I have tried to make it comfortable.  My rocking chair is there along with a fire pit and an array of colorful, blooming flowers.  It really is a great place to be at the end of a long day.   One of my favorite additions is the string of lights.  That doesn’t sound like much or really a big deal.  But these big bulbs cast such a comforting light at night that I look forward to turning them on.  My ordinary back porch becomes an entirely different place when the sun goes down and the lights come on.  It is welcoming and inviting.  I am amazed at how much a few lights can change things.  Lighting really does matter.

The light that guides our path matters too.  So many times, we don’t realize what or who we are allowing to guide us.  We don’t stop to consider what we are using to illumine our way and our lives.  We can think we are following the right way – at least until we look around and notice it really is quite dark and doesn’t look at all where we should be.  

I think of how John describes Jesus as the light.  He is the light in a dark world.  He allows us to see the way.  He is our ultimate guide in a land where we would otherwise stumble and fall.  He shows us the right direction.  But this also means we need to look to him.  We need to have him as our light.  We need to seek him.  He gives us all we need, we don’t always recognize it.  The light of Jesus will always lead us to a life of love.  It will always be about loving God and loving others – always.  So if our path doesn’t lead us there, we may want to consider what is lighting our way.  God’s light is the light of love.  

Focus Scripture:

John 1:3-5

 ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

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

I have tried planting flowers around the back patio.  There are a few unexpected successes, but for the most part, it is failure.  I do much better by putting them in pots around the patio and enjoying them there.  There isn’t anything wrong with the soil, it is just fine.  They get the same amount of sunshine as the potted plants.  They are not overtaken by weeds.  Their nemesis to survival is Leo’s paws.  He doesn’t seem to notice there are plants coming out of the ground that he should not trample. I have planted them out of his normal path so he would not run over them in his daily hunt.  The problem only happens when he is chasing bugs.  He doesn’t seem to notice anything in his way when he does that.  He will topple tables, jump up on the side of the house, leap over the pots, and of course, walk right over the plants in the pursuit.  He doesn’t mean to run into and over everything.  He is focused on the goal and the goal only.  He misses what is around because he has something to accomplish.  In his view, nothing is really in his way.  

I wonder how many beautiful things we miss in our pursuit of a goal.  I wonder how many ideas we trample as we seek what we think we want.  Could it be that, like Leo, we are so focused on what we think is necessary that we miss the things which are tender and growing around us?  Could we miss the joys and the excitement in our quest for something bigger and better?  Might we find life has so much more to offer when we pay attention to the flowers rather than running them over? 

I could certainly benefit from noticing the everyday joys growing around me.  To experience God’s majesty in our daily quest may change our whole perspective for the day.  The thing we are chasing may not even be what we need.  What are you trampling in order to reach something else?

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 19:1

The heavens are telling the glory of God;
    and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

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

Leo and I were sitting on the back patio on a cool, crisp morning.  He was doing his normal – chasing bugs and pointing out birds.  I noticed he stopped at the edge of the fence, he saw something that had his attention.  He backed up some and stopped again.  He continued to back up, sit down and watch.  He didn’t point out anything.  He didn’t bark or even whine.  He just watched.  Something captured his attention.  I looked too but never saw anything.  Leo is not one for sitting around outside – there are too many things to enjoy.  But this particular morning, he spent an unusually long time just sitting and watching.  Something I could not see had his complete attention.  

It could be Leo sensed danger in something just beyond the fence and decided to keep an eye out.  It could be something was alarming to him, but not in a way in which he looked frightened.  He just watched.  

We don’t all experience things in the same way.  Two people can be in the same place at the same time with the same view and have a completely different experience.  It really depends on what we are looking for.  What do you see?  Sometimes we are only trying to reach a destination or finish a project.  We don’t experience much along the way because we have the end goal in mind.  Sometimes we end up getting distracted by things around we hadn’t even noticed before, simply because we chose to see.  It could be if we took the time to sit and watch, to really pay close attention, we may find there is so much more than we ever noticed.  

We don’t always see because we don’t always take the time to look.  Instead of rushing through your day today, take a few moments to see, really view the goodness around.  You may be surprised at all you have been missing.  

Focus Scripture:

Mark 8:18

¹⁸ Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?

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

We can often make following Jesus more complicated than it really is.  Jesus definitely calls his followers to a radically different life.  But the components of this life are at the core of our everyday existence.  To take care of someone, to love them through action, is one of the most essential parts of following.  It is the very essence of what it means to follow.  Jesus gives examples such as giving a cup of cold water and providing help to widows and orphans.  He shows that loving crosses all kinds of boundaries – in fact, he doesn’t seem to notice any boundaries at all.  He sees his children.  His children are to love and care for others who are his children and don’t even realize it yet.  He opens the way to love beyond reason and care with all we have.  

When Peter seems to have lost his way, Jesus brings him back with simple requests.  Jesus tells him that if he loves him, he will feed and tend.  He will take care of the most basic needs as Jesus would.  He would shepherd and love the sheep as he has been taught to do.  Actually, Peter is to tend and feed as Jesus has been doing for him for the last couple of years.  Notice Jesus doesn’t send him on any particular theological discovery.  He doesn’t ask him to fill out a test to find out what he knows.  He asks him to feed and tend.  Jesus knows Peter.  He knows his heart.  Peter has been at the feet of Jesus.  And Jesus loves him beyond measure.  In response, feed and tend.  

What does following look like for you?  Maybe it is time to find our way back like Peter did – feed and tend.  Blessings my friends.

Focus Scripture:

John 21:15

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 

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

It can feel like being a hamster on a wheel, round and round and round.  We work to do the right thing and we make a mistake.  We feel like we have a problem behind us and then it hits us right between the eyes.  We have aspirations of doing good and Monday comes.  We have a goal of improving and we can end up feeling worse than when we started – at least that’s how we feel.  

It can be hard to start again.  Even when what we are doing is not good, we can become locked in the sequence – a captive to the usual.  To completely change course can be more than challenging.  It requires constant effort.  And because it requires such constant attention, we can get off course.  When we go the wrong way, it can even take time to get back where we know we need to be.  This applies to so many areas of our lives – from spirituality to finances to our health to our attitudes.  We want to do right.  We have a vision of what is better and good.  We just don’t always get it right.  And sometimes we end up having to start again…and again…and again.  

How many times can we start again?  How often do we get fresh starts?  How many new beginnings are there?  We get…as many as it takes.  As long as we are beginning again, we are making progress.  We are finding new life.  We are becoming more like the person we were created.  When we continue to get up and try again, we are learning and growing.  We are given the opportunity to start again because we are loved by a God of new starts.  He offers us new life.  He offers us new joys we haven’t even seen or experienced.  

Maybe today is your next new start.  Once more, get up and let’s go.  Good awaits.

Focus Scripture:

Romans 7:15

¹⁵ I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

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

Leo was so focused this morning.  He found a spot he could survey the entire yard and sat down.  He looked, he watched, and he listened.  The sounds of the birds seemed to be even more pronounced today than usual.  Their little voices sing with praise to the Creator.  Leo, of course, wanted to chase one.  But in order to do that, he had to see where the closest one was – the one most likely to be chased.  So he carefully assessed his surroundings.  He canvased it all.  And then, he decided it wasn’t worth it and found a stick to eat instead.

We could learn so much simply by paying attention and intently listening.  The clutter in our minds can cloud the messages of goodness all around us.  God is providing us with reminders of his abiding presence.  It’s all here.  Most of the time, we pass it all by.  And then we wonder why we don’t sense God’s presence.  He is here, we are not (well, at least not completely).  We know why.  There are a million things to do and to think about.  We are planning meals or taking care of kids or thinking about our doctor appointments or worried about the stack of work waiting for us on our desk.  Our hearts, minds, and ears are all cluttered with worries and anxieties.  We don’t hear well in the muffled world we roam.

The key is simply to stop.  That’s it.  Just stop for a moment, find a place to perch, and listen.  Just look around – really look.  Hear all the messages of goodness.  Feel the warmth of a new day.  Know that you are not alone.  God is with us.

Focus Scripture:

Proverbs 15:30-31

³⁰ The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
    and good news refreshes the body.
³¹ The ear that heeds wholesome admonition
    will lodge among the wise.

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