By the sacrifice of Jesus, God does not see our weeds and our messes – He only sees our beauty!  Ohhhhhh how He gazes at us with such undeniable and undefinable love!  We are His handiwork!  (Ephesians 2:10) and He rejoices over us with singing! (Zephaniah 3:17)

Whatever season you are in today, rest in His beautiful promises:
“You are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you” Isaiah 43:4

Oh, how I love to sit on my porch early in the morning….to enjoy the beautiful flowers, the hope of vegetables and berries, and to appreciate my husband’s care of our lawn.  I can easily default to see only the weeds and the overgrown messes, but I intentionally choose to focus on the beauty.

Which version of God do you see?  Does He stare as a judge, ready to condemn us?  Or does He look at us with admiration?  With anticipation of sweet fruit?  

Psalm 23 – a very popular and comforting passage of Scripture: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul…”  Ahhhhh….can you feel the comfort?  The Heavenly Father gathering you in His arms?  Could you use a little soul restoration about now?

Let’s keep walking through the Psalm: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” Psalm 23:4
Wait a minute!  I was just secure in the Shepherd’s care!  Now I’m facing death!?  “Yet You are with me;”  Also Psalm 23:4.  Phew!  God is with us and we have nothing to fear!

Keep going: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” Psalm 23:5What a wild ride!  Now I’m sitting with my enemies?  Deep breath!  Let’s remember just one verse back:  God is with us and providing for us – even in the presence of our enemies.

Are you exhausted yet?  Do you see why we can’t focus on our emotions or our circumstances?  All throughout this Psalm (and many others) the writer teeters back and forth between faith and doubt, fear and hope.  Can you relate?  Regardless of your circumstances, seek the Lord first, most and only!

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  Psalm 23:6 

Spring is springing all around us!  The canopies of trees are bowing down with their rain-laden leaves.  The wildflowers are starting to pop out along roadsides.  And the beautiful songs of birds FILL the air!

Wait a minute – are they allergens or are they beauty?
Are they weeds or are they flowers?
Are they nuisance animals or are they God’s amazing creatures?

What lens are you wearing today?

I hope and pray that whatever you have going on in your life you can put on the lens of beauty and praise to God for His eternal power and divine nature found in everything and everyONE!

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”  Romans 1:20

Mirror Mirror of my heart, Who receives my devotion – in whole – not in part?
Take a look deep inside….inside your emails, your pile of receipts, your calendar. Even as you look in the mirror tonight before bed, consider whose image you are bearing:  

A sports hero?  An influencer?  A peer?
Every person’s story begins with:  Once Upon a TimeAnd for those who call Jesus, Lord, their story will end with:  And They Lived Happily Ever After!  

But what about alllllll that time in between?  Who do you aspire to be?  Who do you try to please?  Whose affection do you desire?  Any answer other than being a fully devoted follower of Jesus will leave you wanting…

So pull out the Windex and get that mirror shining!

“You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”  Colossians 3:9-10

My mom passed away almost a year ago.  Going through her treasures always produces a wide variety of emotions:

– Guilt – Who am I to look through my mom’s innermost notes and thoughts?
– Admiration – Wow!  What a woman of God who remained faithful her entire life!
– Worship – Thank You Lord for gifting us our precious mom who loved her family so very fiercely!
– Wonder – I often wonder if I will ever be able to live up to Mom’s example?
– Joy – Ohhhhh, how I treasure the memories of Mom!
– Awe – How did Mom do it all?

And then I find it!   In her Bible I am reminded of the answer to alllll my questions:  Mom loved Jesus!  She loved His Word!  She loved her church family!  She loved praying!  Ohhhhhh, how she loved praying for anyone AND everyone!  (I’ll show you her prayer charts sometime!)

And so, the guilt is gone!  I am honored to read over her perfect penmanship, copying precious Bible verses.  I am inspired by her sweet little reminders of the important dates of loved ones.  And I am ever more fully devoted to follow her example to love one another deeply!

Thanks Mom!  I can hear your voice right now:
“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”  I Corinthians 11:1

Imagine the scene….10 preschoolers in uniforms, gloves and baseball hats.Baseballs rolling…..EVERYWHERE!  A few children crying or digging in the dirt…..The t-ball season will kick off with the first hit (we hope a hit!) in 1 minute! Everyone in their places!

And then I saw it….a tiny version of Hebrews 12:1 right before my eyes!  You see, behind each player stood a grown up, someone to whisper direction in their ear, give encouragement after a wise play or protect the child from injury.

Can you see it on that t-ball field?
Can you feel it in your own life?
Are you surrounded with a team of “grown ups” eager to lovingly guide, encourage and protect you?

We were not made to navigate this life alone.  Get yourself surrounded!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  Hebrews 12:1,2

Can you juuuuuust about smell and taste the strawberries and peaches and all the other delicious signs of summer?  These past few warm days have been such an encouragement as we dry out from a very soggy winter/spring!

Have you ever felt like you were in a soggy season?
A bitter cold season?
A season when leaves are falling and days are getting darker?

Get out your fun shorts and fancy flip flops and rest in Psalm 34!

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”  Psalm 34:8

The Major League Baseball (MLB) season schedule consists of 162 games for each of the 30 teams in the American League (AL) and National League (NL), played over approximately six months – a total of 2,430 games, plus the postseason.  (Thank you Wikipedia!)

That is a LOT of baseball!  That is a LOT of time and money and energy invested in improving stats, refining skills and hitting a homerun!  Aren’t you relieved to know that we don’t need to strive or search to determine our worthiness?  The Easter season has been a wonderfully encouraging time of self-reflection, but more importantly a time of celebrating and declaring our One True Lord, Perfect Sacrifice and Risen Savior!  He is our Champion worthy of all our devotion!

“to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”  Jude 1:25

Do you have tiny bits of foil wrapper all over your house today?
Have the jelly beans been sorted through for the best flavors?
Are the plastic eggs mismatched and cracked?

What just happened?  A whirlwind of weekend activities celebrating our priceless gift of Jesus’ Resurrection leaves behind a trail that tells a story!  Is your walk with Jesus sweet like a Cadbury egg?  Is it mysterious like a dark or a milk chocolate egg?  Or is it just left in the drawer like the dusty Halloween candy until one day when you are desperate?

God’s mercies are new every morning!  Celebrate our Risen King every day!  Savor the sweet relationship we can enjoy with Him because of His sacrifice!

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”  Psalm 34:8

This weekly devotional began as “Trey Tuesday” in 2010 in order to honor and support my nephew and his family during Trey’s fight with cancer.  You can read about God’s provision in Trey’s journey here: https://camuscara-tomyaudienceofone.blogspot.com/

After Trey won his battle and was reunited with Jesus, I renamed the devotional, “Today!”  May we all be reminded of the valuable gift of Today: “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” Hebrews 3:13

As Easter approaches I am amazed at God’s powerful use of the word Today in His Scriptures.  God wants us to live today!  Not dwell on the past!  Don’t worry about the future!

Follow His lead.  Today!
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  Hebrews 13:8″
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.””  Luke 23:43″
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house”. Luke 19:9″
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.”  Luke 2:11
“As has just been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”  Hebrews 3:15
“Give us today our daily bread.”  Matthew 6:11