Category: Devotion

My bushes were completely out of control on the front of my home.  They looked diseased.  They were overgrown.  And then an aggravating vine began to wrap up everything, putting its sticky tentacles on the entire landscape.  Enough was enough.  I finally chose to have them all dug up, the whole thing.  Whatever was there had to go.  I needed a fresh start.  I needed a clean slate.  I wanted to be able to rethink how to make it beautiful again.  

We do that with our closets, with our garages, with our cars, and our out-buildings.  We clean out.  When we have had enough of looking at it all, we finally begin to get rid of the unnecessary.  We eliminate the things which carry a heavy weight.  Sometimes it takes an event or a friend to encourage us to get rid of the excess.  Sometimes it is because we are just so tired of looking at it.  

We do this with so many things, why not with our lives?  Why don’t we look at the things which are holding us back and begin to clean up?  Why not look at the things we are reading or hearing or taking in and begin to evaluate the usefulness of it all?  What about looking at the mistakes from our past that continue to haunt us or the things we wish we had done and start to clean out our hearts?  Maybe it begins with forgiving ourselves.  Maybe it begins with forgiving someone else.  Maybe it is a matter of making better choices.  It could be picking something valuable to read or hear.  It might be allowing God to clean us up so that we can live free, really free.  

I don’t know what your situation is, but you do.  You know what needs to go.  You know what is damaging your heart, suffocating your spirit, and keeping you from loving God and loving others.  You know what needs to be cleaned out.  Today, I pray that God shows you how to begin…one step at a time.  Let’s clean up, clean out, and live free.  

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 51:1-2, 10-12

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from your presence,
    and do not take your holy spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and sustain in me a willing spirit.

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

It is easy to get caught up in the “I can’t” loop.  We begin to dwell on the things we cannot do.  This seems to be especially true as we get older.  We reflect on things we could do before but no longer are capable.  Or we think about things we never could do and still cannot.  We can become captured in all the things we cannot do and lose perspective.  Instead of thinking of all the things you cannot do, maybe consider what can be done.

No matter who you are or where you may find yourself, there are things you can do to make a big difference. Sure, in your eyes they may seem like small things.  They may seem minor or of little consequence.  But there are incredible things that can still happen as a result of your efforts.  God has given you life and breath and this moment to live abundantly.  One thing that comes to mind that we can all do (everybody truly can do this) is to be kind.  You can share kindness with a friend, a relative, or a stranger.  It doesn’t take money or a lot of time.  But it is one of the most valuable gifts we can give right now.  Kindness is underrated.  We think of it as simple and useless.  But it is such a powerful, encouragement that it could change someone else’s day.  

We can all be encouragers.  Some of us are better at this than others.  Regardless, there are people in our lives that we can encourage in their journey.  We can write notes, send texts, support financially, and pray for them.  We can encourage someone in their struggles or in their every day lives.  It doesn’t take much to encourage someone else, yet it seems to be a lost art.

We can love our neighbors.  God calls us to love him and love others.  This is a calling for us all.  This can look different depending on where you are and what you do.  But loving God and loving others is possible no matter where you may find yourself.  God fills us with love like he fills us with life.  He gives us all we need to love others.  

If you are stuck in the camp of “I can’t”, I encourage you to leave it.  You can do many good things.  There are many possibilities waiting for you just outside of the negative.  There is kindness to be shared, encouragement to be given, and love to be spread.  These are things we all CAN do.  So let’s do go.

Focus Scripture:

Romans 12:9-13

⁹ Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰ love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.  ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

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

On my trek this morning, I passed a small garden flag that caught my attention.  I have to admit that this doesn’t happen often.  There are so many signs and flags, I simply block them out.  But this one spoke to me for some reason.  It read “Why does happy only have an hour?”  I couldn’t help but think how we do limit happy to certain times, don’t we?  We limit happy to certain days.  We will be happy when 5:00 gets here.  Happy will be when we have a day off.  Happy will be when the weekend comes.  I’ll be happy when I retire…or my children are grown…or I get into shape…or any other condition we put on happy.  Our world even has an hour for happy.  

What if happy could happen at work?  What if happy could be a part of our daily lives?  Why can’t happy be a part of every hour – even if it is just a glimpse.  Happiness doesn’t have to be based on things or events or times.  It can be a state of mind.  I think happiness is based on gratefulness.  When we are grateful for what we have, we are happy with what we have.  When we stop trying to obtain happiness in things and realize just how privileged we really are, we may find happiness.  We might find happiness in simple activities if we change our mindset.  We may find that happiness is within us all along.

What condition are you putting on happiness?  What are you waiting to happen so that you can be happy?  What if we were happy with the things we have been given, right now?  Might that change our world? Happiness is here.  Happiness is now.  Happiness is being loved by an amazing God.  We have every reason to be happy, right here, right now.  O Happy Day!

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 34:8-9

⁸ O taste and see that the Lord is good;
    happy are those who take refuge in him.
⁹ O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
    for those who fear him have no want.

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

What defines a good day?  What does a good day look like?  Is it a day filled with joy and laughter?  Is it a day simply without tears?  Could we have a good day even when we are working?  Are good days only on vacation?  Is it possible that good days happen even when nothing seems to be going right?  This really has me considering what I would call a good day.  The reason this is important to me is that if I see the good in a day, might I have more good days?  

Can another person or act make a day good or bad?  Does one rude customer or cashier or driver make our day bad?  Does one event change the entire day?  Do we allow others to determine how our day will go?  What if we started each day as a good day?  What if we purposely looked for the good?  What might change if it became a goal to have some good in every day? 

There is a lot of good to be experienced today.  God has given us this beautiful day to see him.  He has given us our senses so that we can embrace his presence.  He has given us love so that we can experience this world in a whole new way, with goodness all around us.  It doesn’t mean there isn’t some difficult in the day.  It doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be challenges.  There will be things or people which push our buttons.  But God is there.  And he is good.  And if God is there and he is good, there is good to be found.  

Today IS a good day.  Blessings to you as you experience all the good this day holds.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 145

¹ I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless you,
    and praise your name forever and ever.
³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
    his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation shall laud your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
⁵ On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
⁶ The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
    and I will declare your greatness.
⁷ They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ The Lord is good to all,
    and his compassion is over all that he has made.

¹⁰ All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your faithful shall bless you.
¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
    and tell of your power,
¹² to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
    and gracious in all his deeds. 
¹⁴ The Lord upholds all who are falling,
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
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.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
    he also hears their cry, and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord watches over all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

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

I had forgotten they even existed.  It has been so long since they have appeared.  But immediately I knew they were back.  I couldn’t believe it.  It was just what I needed on this challenging run.  My pockets of goodness returned.

Running early in the morning, it is often really humid – as if the earth has held all the moisture at my height.  It can be thick enough to cut it with a knife, or so it seems.  These make for challenging mornings.  But as fall begins to appear, even if just a glimpse, there are these little air pockets that also appear.  It is as if I am slogging along on my run and all of a sudden, I run through a small area that has a noticeable temperature difference – as if someone turned the air conditioner on in just this little area.  It is surprisingly refreshing.  I call these little events “pockets of goodness”.  I feel them at just the right time and it energizes me to keep going.

Now, before you think I have lost my mind (I probably have), this happens early in the run too.  So it isn’t as if I have gone delusional from the miles.  These puffs of cooler air truly are pockets of goodness on an otherwise challenging day. 

These are not the only pockets of goodness, though.  I appreciate these because I can feel their instant relief.  But I wonder how many are right around us and we haven’t paid attention.  I wonder if there are pockets of goodness in an otherwise difficult day that keep us going.  Could it be the phone call or the smile or the card?  Could it be the text or the good meal or just the kindness of a stranger?  When times are especially difficult, we should be looking out for these pockets of goodness.  They are there, we just need to look out for them.  And here’s a thought…if we don’t feel a pocket of goodness, maybe we should be one. 

May goodness and mercy surround you today.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 23:6

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long. 

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

What do you consider important today?  I don’t know about you, but when I get up, I think through my day.  What do I need to get done, what is a requirement, and what things can wait?  Lists are often helpful to me because I can see all the different items that are vying for my time.  Since time is limited and there is usually more to do than I can accomplish, it is easier if I can prioritize.  Ideally, to get the list done would be fantastic.  But since that rarely happens, it is better just to see what is most important.

How do you pick what should go to the top of your list?  I usually go by deadlines.  If something is due today, that goes to the top of the list.  When someone asks me to help with something, I always remind them they need to give me a deadline or it will stay on my list indefinitely.  Deadlines keep me focused and help to get that work done.  And there is some satisfaction to marking things complete.  There is a sense of relief to see the list filled with accomplishments rather than demands.  

It seems the problem is that we don’t often plan what should be most important on our list.  If my system just requires me to take care of things that are most demanding, when do I spend time for those things which are really important but not as demanding?  When do I take time for my family or for rest?  When do I spend time exercising and working on my fitness?  We often push those things aside.  When do I spend time looking for opportunities to serve and to reach out to others?  When do I find time to pray and study and focus on being the disciple God has called me to be?  Since those things are not always the most demanding, they can get pushed to the bottom of the list.  Yet these things are what makes real life.  These things are often the most important for us mentally, physically, and spiritually.  We neglect the most important for the most demanding.  Today, maybe take a look at your list and figure out what is most important rather than what is most demanding.  What is God calling you to do today?  Today’s focus scripture reminds me that loving others is most important.  So I’m going to work on that.

Focus Scripture:

Galatians 5:14

¹⁴ For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “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

We offer, we receive, we hear, we give, and it can become part of us.  Thanks.  It is amazing how gratefulness changes our outlook on an otherwise difficult situation.  When it is sincere, when it comes from our heart, when it is offered in love, thank you carries much further than the words.  The simple words uttered from our mouths – thank you – can be powerful.  

What if today we focused on giving thanks?  I don’t simply mean thinking of things we are grateful to have – although that’s always a good idea.  Instead, how about looking for things actively?  What might it look like if we sought out opportunities to give thanks?  How might our perspective change on an otherwise regular day?  

In a time when we do not get out as much, we may work at home, and we may not see many people, this can seem challenging.  But it really is not.  We still have phones and can still send cards and messages.  We can send a handwritten note of thanks to someone just to let that person know we are grateful.  We can call and just express thanks.  We can text or message someone.  We are not without ways to communicate.  And we really don’t have to think very hard about those we are grateful.  

Not a lot has to be said.  A simple ‘thank you’ will do.  It just might change a day – and the change might be yours.  

So, thank YOU for reading, for sharing and for your support.  I am truly grateful for YOU.  

Focus Scripture:

1 Corinthians 1:4-5

⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—

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

I love music.  I have my favorite genres, but I appreciate most all music.  There is just something about the movement that invokes emotion like nothing else.  It can be a song of our heart or just a melody that gets us moving.  I love to sing and just enjoy.  It doesn’t mean I can sing well, it just means I love to sing.  Every once in a while, songs get stuck in my head and they play on a loop.  I hear them over and over and over.  I catch myself humming the tune even when I am doing something else.  It is enough to drive me crazy.  It isn’t that I dislike the song – it is actually catchy.  It is the song on repeat that is the problem.  I end up trying to listen to another tune to offset the one in my head.  Sometimes it works and sometimes not so much.  

I recently found a song that is my current “get my up and going” song.  If I want a little motivation, I just play the song. I can’t sit still when I play it.  It’s enjoyable to me.  You may see me riding down the road looking like I have an affliction – just know it’s my business and I will be alright.  I’m sure we all have those songs that move us and help to motivate us.  

That’s great when we have the motivation for us to move – but what about the times when songs of hurt or pain or struggle play in our minds?  What about the times when we are captured in the loop of depression, anxiety, grief, or sadness?  Those songs not only suck the life out of us, but don’t allow us to even hear there is something more.  There is a time and place for all music, but not to play on loop so much that they begin to eat away at our core.  We can feel trapped by our current situation and not see a different way.  We can become so overwhelmed that the songs in our head all remind us of failure rather than possibility.  And it isn’t as easy as changing the station.  

Today’s Psalm speaks life to me in these situations.  The Psalmist is in a rough place (we all get there sometimes).  We all find ourselves trapped in the pit like the Psalmist at some point.  But what does God do?  He hears, he protects, he secures…and then he does something that is often missed.  He gives the Psalmist a new song.  This is a song of trust and strength and renewal.  It is a song that others notice has changed the Psalmist.  God takes the old song off the loop and gives a new song.

I don’t know what you are going through today, but if you find yourself in a loop of anxiety, depression, grief, sadness or just general overwhelming feelings – I pray God gives you a new song.  I pray he gives you something to sing about that is joyful and hopeful and full of his amazing love.  I pray he changes the station and fills you will life.  Sing a new song, God…sing a new song over us.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 40:1-3

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
² He drew me up from the desolate pit,^[a]
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

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

This morning on my morning run, I was met by 2 deer.  That’s not such a big deal.  I see deer often while driving and running.  They took a look at me and I guess thought I looked fairly harmless, maybe friendly.  They were right.  I kept moving forward like I always do.  At the last minute, they decided it was best to head back into the woods.  One deer went the route I expected.  She went back along the path they had come.  It was a clear cut path, no obstacles.  The other deer, not so much.  This deer headed through the woods, and I mean straight through the brush of the woods.  When I looked, I saw no path.  I did not see a way through.  It looked thick and covered.  But she saw differently.  She saw a path just big enough for her to escape.  It was a route she identified that I would have never picked.  I was amazed at how she seemed to disappear with just a leap.  It was as if she was made for that path and the path was made for her.  

I wonder how many times we don’t realize there is a path in front of us.  We don’t see another way.  We see the easy way and sometimes we take it.  We don’t take the time to consider there may be another way.  Jesus’ way isn’t easy.  He makes it pretty clear that to follow him means thinking beyond the path that is most obvious.  The way that looks most enticing may in fact be the way that leads to problems.  It just might be what we don’t see at first is actually the path we were made to follow.  

Jesus’ way looks like love and peace and joy in a world filled with anything but those things.  It means reaching outside of ourselves to be kind and do justice and love mercy.  It looks like a path that isn’t always clearly marked, but we are just the right fit because we were made for this.  It’s often difficult, unconventional and scary.  But if Jesus leads the way, we must follow.  What an adventure this path will offer!  I will do my best to see and follow the challenging path of Jesus.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 42:1-2

¹ As a deer longs for flowing streams,
    so my soul longs for you, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
    the face of God?

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

Our world is conditional.  We find ourselves putting conditions on most everything.  I will do this, BUT… I will be glad to help, IF… This will be good WHEN… We want to condition it.  If we put a condition on it, we have an out.  It really just negates what we are saying.  We want something in return or we want to make sure that our interests are covered.  We want to make sure our perspective is taken into consideration.  We all do it.  It really comes naturally.  

I am grateful that God’s love is not conditional for me.  I am so thankful that he doesn’t say he loves me BUT.  I can’t imagine being loved by God IF.  And I know I will never be worthy enough.  I know I will never be good enough.  I know I won’t earn his love.  And I know he loves me even when I am a mess.  He doesn’t wait for me to be perfect, since I never will be.  He doesn’t sit by and look for me to do enough good things.  He simply loves me.  

What if we really understood this?  What if we really took seriously that God loves us so much and there aren’t any conditions?  Would it change the way we see the world?  Would it change the way we see the person in the mirror?  Would it change the way we love others?  I think so.  If we really take seriously that we are loved by the Creator of this world, we have a well so deep to pour out love on others.  We experience the world in a new way because we experience God in a new way.  We may find we are more forgiving.  We may find we have patience with others.  We may even find our love is a little less conditional.  So let’s put the BUT away…and realize just how much we are loved…no conditions.  I want to live like that.

Focus Scripture:

1 John 4:7-11

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 

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