Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 Earlier this week, I took an evening to sit at the piano and play some songs I've written. I have a big notebook of songs - some not worth mentioning, lol. But there are a few that I think are pretty good. Whether they are "good" or not - it's fun to sit and sing them from my heart, knowing that it's just between me and God. I played and sang through so many different choruses, just enjoying the memories of when, where, and why they were written. Some were in response to a painful moment in my life, while others were just an overflowing of praise. I started at the front of the notebook and just played through them one at a time. Then I came to a little chorus I wrote in February of 1999. I recall some of the things that were going on in my life at the time as I penned these lyrics. Some things in my life I can't deny Some things still make me ask "why?" But I can't deny  Your mercy I can't deny Your grace I can't deny the work of Your lo...

  As fellow caregivers, I don't have to talk to you about those long nights we often endure. The last few nights have been those types of nights, as my son has been ill. He made a turn for the worse over the weekend, and I found out yesterday that the tests ordered by the doc's office on Friday showed bacterial infection of some kind. But, of course, they had the weekend off. I'll spare you all the details, which you are probably very familiar with anyway! Suffice it to say that had I not called yesterday to say - something is still off - they wouldn't have told me until today. But we would have been in the hospital by then, no doubt! My point is that it was inconvenient for them to take care of this situation since it happened before the weekend. They clock out at 4 on Friday and go home, leaving my son to get sicker so they can have time off. And, of course, they need time off, right! I say all this to say that after haggling with them all day and riding them to get s...

 Do you ever have those days where you feel like you are behind before you ever get started? Maybe a better question would be do you ever have a day where you don't feel like you're behind before you get out of bed? Lol. No one is going to argue that our lives are hectic and most of the time we are running on overload. For me lately, I've also been dealing with sleep deprivation, which is very common among caregivers. All together, it can make for one big emotional mess, am I right? Generally, I keep a running to-do list. I try to prioritize items that are have-to-do-todays and push other things off to other days. But lately it feels like there's a huge backlog. I just can't get ahead. I do find my to-do list helpful, though. We can be quick to condemn ourselves. It's easy to look at the day and think of all the things we didn't  get done, and ignore the things we did get done. Because it never seems to be quite enough. (Maybe it's just me.) This morning...

 You know that scripture that says to "cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you."? (1 Peter 5:7) Well, I propose that it's easy to read, easy to say, and harder to do. Peter is calling the readers to toss all our cares on God and let Him do the caring for us. But for me, as a caregiver, I have a little glitch, and it seems to be a bit more complicated of late since my son's had some upper respiratory stuff going on, and I'm getting less and less sleep. I'd like to write God and Peter some letters and ask them about the logistics of this verse. Even if I do accomplish the task given, and I'm able to hand God all my cares - there's still so much to get done. He obviously doesn't come down and take care of my son for a day so that I can have a day off. Lol. So, when I don't feel I understand a scripture or I have trouble with its application - it's a sign I need to dig a little deeper, right? If we go back and read this verse in contex...

 This morning, during my devotions I made a new discovery. We know that God's word doesn't change, but we see new things when we read it because we've changed. Hopefully, it means we are growing in faith, grace, and our knowledge of Him. So, even when we read a familiar passage like I did this morning, we see new things. I ended up in Genesis 22 this morning. This is a super familiar passage to me as back in my "ministry" days I taught from it often. We have Abraham offering up his son, Isaac, as a definitive act of worship. After the angel came and rescued Isaac, Abraham declares that God provides. However, when I looked up the Hebrew for that phrase in the Strong's Concordance, it says something a little different. Now our old definition and interpretation is not wrong - God provides. But it goes a little deeper than that. The actual phrase in the concordance says, Jehovah will see (to it) or Jehovah-Jireh. It definitely means that God provides - just as we...

Do you ever just have an off day? You're seriously trying to get yourself together all day long, and nothing seems to be working right. Today is one of those days. I slept in a bit later than normal, which set me behind to start with. Then the nurse came early, I've got clients wondering where their work is, and then my son's feeding tube got plugged. Ugh. It's only 10 am. lol. At this rate, I'll feel like I'm chasing my own tail all day long - getting nothing accomplished. I don't like off days - they are so inconvenient. But they happen way too often.  My world and mind are spinning with all I need to get done today. It's easy to feel defeated early on. It's a great day to practice letting His peace reign in my heart. Right? But I have to ask - do I have time for that? Lol. I feel rushed. I feel hurried. I feel overwhelmed. The day is going to go on with or without me, and there are so many things I need to get done today, things that have  to be d...

 We woke up yesterday to a brand new year; yay! But it didn't take but a few seconds to realize there wasn't some magic transition from 11:59:59 in 2022 to 12:00:00 in 2023. Absolutely nothing but the time and date changed. So, here we are in a new year with all the same stuff. We're still caregiving and we still have to take care of all the daily chores and tasks that need to get done when caring for another whole person. Hmmm. Like many of you, I have set some goals for myself this year. Most of them are fitness oriented, and some have to do with my writing. (I want to write more devotionals, etc.) Healthier eating options, more activity during my days - as I can squeeze them in. But all in all - it's the same today as it was yesterday. And I'm pretty sure tomorrow may be the same. Of course, even in our day-to-day "routines" (I use that term loosely) there are so many unexpected things we deal with . So, to be honest, as I woke up yesterday to a new yea...