Daily Devotions for Caregivers

Little by Little

Do you ever look back and wonder just how you made it through the day? Maybe one day comes to mind, or a series of days. But sometimes, I look back and wonder how all of this unfolded so slowly and quickly at the same time. Early on, I remember thinking about how I couldn't envision what the future held. I had no idea how quickly or slowly my son was going to recover, if at all. I didn't have a place to call home, nowhere to go, and I couldn't come up with a picture for the future no matter how hard I tried.

Each day just unfolded in front of me little by little. Then, for this little 3-year window, I cared for my son and my aging aunt. It was both a joy and a challenge to be sandwiched between two generations as a caregiver. Again, I had no idea how it would unfold.

I learned to just take a day little by little, one step, one action, one thing at a time. Any more than that and I'm on immediate overwhelm and ready to sit in the recliner, sip my coffee, and stare at the wall. Lol. (I know you relate, at least on some level!) Isn't that the key to how we learn to trust God?

I wish I could say that I woke up one morning, declared I was going to trust Him and then I never had to worry about a thing after that. But I'd be lying, first off. Secondly, something new pops up every single day. Now I look at these daily challenges as opportunities to learn how to roll it over on Him and trust Him for one more day - a little bit at a time.

But you know what? I find myself at the end of the busy caregiving day, having trusted Him to get me there. And as I reflect on the day, I realize His breath was in every moment, I just had to stop and listen for it along the way.

I think of our Bible heroes, who did the same thing, even though scriptures don't always lay it out that way. Joseph had to trust God day by day as he sat in the prison cell for years and the hours drug by. Daniel trusted God all night in the lion's den, besides living the bulk of his life as a captive. You know he trusted God one breath at a time. So many others we read about did the same thing - trusting God little by little to get through each day. It encourages us to do the same.

Today, on this super busy day, I will trust Him one breath at a time. Like you, I've got a long "to-do" list of things I hope to accomplish before day's end. But whether I get every detail done or not - I know that He's walking through this day with me. He's keeping my weary soul and breathing life into it. So, I'll take a deep breath and wait for Him as I trust Him for one more day a little at a time. Will you join me?

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Book of the Week!

Affirmations for Caregiver

Are you a caregiver?
Do you know a caregiver?
Do you need a little encouragement?
What does God think about you?

Grab a copy of the Affirmations for Caregivers! This devotional journal gives a scripture and an affirmation for every day. It follows up the truth with soul-searching questions and space to write out your personal answers. What a great way to give it to God and trust Him for another day!

Whether you see yourself as a caregiver or not, this affirmation journal will help change your perspective as you give it all to the One who gave you all. Grab a copy and dive in! It's designed to take about 5-10 minutes a day to reflect, think deeply, and lean into His heart a little closer.

eBook : Dove's Fire Ministries Bookstore

Kindle or Print: Amazon Bookshelf

Big Shoulders

One thing that I absolutely love about God is that He has big shoulders. He can handle anything I need to give to Him to carry. God's not afraid of our emotions, feelings, or situations. One of the things that I have learned from the Psalms is that it is okay to say just about anything to God. He won't get mad. He won't walk away. He won't tell me to come back when I am in a better mood. He has big shoulders. Big enough to carry my struggles, problems, emotions, and me too!

One psalm that helped me find this out is Psalm 13. David poured it all out before God. He turned the emotions loose and told God exactly what he was thinking and feeling.

O Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever?

How long will You look the other way?

How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand? (NLT)

When I realized God not only didn't strike David down to the ground, He let it be put in the Bible, I realized I could talk openly and honestly with God about how I feel. Seriously, what are you or I going to tell Him that He doesn't already know? If I am mad at God - He knows it already. If I feel like I am losing hope, He already knows. He probably knew it before I did. Lol. He's got big enough shoulders to carry me and all my "stuff," too. I can trust Him. And He can trust me to bring it all to lay at His feet every single time. He trusts that I will run to Him, that I'll give Him my deepest sorrows and greatest regrets. God trusts that I'll bring my most hurtful moments to Him. He embraces me in my hopelessness, pain, sorrow, and grief. And He never pushes me away.

Today, I'll remind myself that it is by choice that God is my very present help in trouble. I will think about how it's His choice to walk with me through life's most difficult moments and my choice to acknowledge that He is with me in them. My meditations will be on how He is incapable of leaving me and on how I can draw hope from the truth that He can be trusted with everything I feel, even all my crazy thoughts. I'll remind myself that He loves me. He gets me, and He's not going anywhere. I think I can trust Him with this day. Will you join me?

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Book of the Week!

Book of James Bible Study Guide

· Are you ready to be challenged?
· Can you answer hard questions honestly?
· Want to take a deep look at your own Christianity?
· Are you ready for James?

Grab a copy of the James Bible Study guide! This Bible study guide walks the reader through the book of James. Are you up for the truth challenge? James deals with some hard topics, the ones we don’t always want to face. This study guide provides thought-provoking questions that can lead to spiritual growth.

Think of it as a spiritual, rugged obstacle course that helps you build stamina, strength, and endurance. Are you ready? Grab a copy if you dare! 😊

eBook : Dove's Fire Ministries Bookstore

Kindle or Print: Amazon Bookshelf

The Chase

This morning, I was reading about Benaiah in 2 Samuel 23. He was one of David's mighty men, and these three or so verses are all we know about him. He accomplished some mighty feats, but the one that stands out is that he chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed it. Why would you chase a lion? I shared on my FaceBook Live devotions, Peace Out, this morning how we have to chase down the things that are trying to destroy us.

For example, so many things try to steal the peace we know He gave us. We remind ourselves that God is present. He won't leave us. We also choose favorite scriptures we can use as weapons when we feel things like doubt, fear, anxiety, and any other emotion or thought trying to overtake us and drag us down. I'll post the video below.

After I finished editing the video and uploading it across social media channels, I started thinking about it a bit more. As a caregiver, sometimes I'm just tired. Other times, I am too tired. And other days, I'm too tired to... enter a deep sigh.

Of course, we stand on God's word to keep the enemies of our souls at bay. But what about when we are tired? Caregiving is exhausting. It can be debilitating on many levels. What if I literally don't have the strength to chase the lion away - the one that wants to devour my soul? That's honestly what I was thinking when another verse came to mind. (Enter my plug for studying the Word!)

Psalm 23:6 says this - Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life...(NLT) That was the boost my emotions needed this morning. On those days I just don't feel like chasing a lion even to have peace of mind - God's already got me covered. I don't have to always be the chaser because I am always being chased by His mercy and grace!

Today, I will stop and let His mercy, goodness, unfailing love, and grace catch me! Maybe I'll stop running for just a minute and stand still. Then I can exclaim, Oh, You caught me! To the One who is constantly, consistently, and passionately pursuing my soul. And when He catches me, I will remind myself that I can trust Him, and that He's got me. I will trust Him for just one more day. Will you join me?

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Book of the Week!

Book of James Bible Study Guide

· Are you ready to be challenged?
· Can you answer hard questions honestly?
· Want to take a deep look at your own Christianity?
· Are you ready for James?

Think of it as a spiritual, rugged obstacle course that helps you build stamina, strength, and endurance. Are you ready? Grab a copy if you dare! 😊

eBook : Dove's Fire Ministries Bookstore

Kindle or Print: Amazon Bookshelf

Beyond Reach

In 2 Samuel 22 verse 49, David says, God held me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents. (NLT) This verse grabbed my attention this morning, and I've been thinking about it. Now, fortunately, we don't often fight physical enemies like David did. But today, we don't have to be up against physical people to be valiant warriors. I dare say that any caregiver is a warrior.

We may not fight physically, but our enemies and opponents can definitely launch violent attacks against our souls! Maybe we aren't facing a man holding a sword, but we do face many enemies on many fronts daily as caregivers. For some, it's a financial enemy. Perhaps for others is it physical illness or weakness in their own bodies. Sometimes, it is pure old doubt or fear that tries to wreak havoc in our minds and hearts. There's no doubt that there is a battle, many battles, and they are daily. The good news is that God keeps us just out of the reach of their destructive forces.

I imagine myself standing on a ledge and God's hand wrapped around me from behind, keeping me from falling off into the chasm below. As caregivers, we usually live on the edge, but not the one Aerosmith was talking about. Lol. Our day can go any direction on a dime, whether we are ready or not. Fear. Doubt. Hopelessness. Confusion. Are just a breath away. But God. He is our stabilizer. He is the only reason we haven't caved in and we are still running this race of faith, right?

Today, I will imagine God holding me for as long as it takes. I'll remind myself that He is the keeper of my soul and that He will not leave me. My meditation will be on His nearness and I'll rejoice that He will not pack up and leave when the going gets tough or tougher. He'll always keep a separation between my heart and total destruction. He will keep me today! I will trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

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Book of the Week!

Book of James Bible Study Guide

· Are you ready to be challenged?
· Can you answer hard questions honestly?
· Want to take a deep look at your own Christianity?
· Are you ready for James?

Think of it as a spiritual, rugged obstacle course that helps you build stamina, strength, and endurance. Are you ready? Grab a copy if you dare! 😊

eBook : Dove's Fire Ministries Bookstore

Kindle or Print: Amazon Bookshelf

God Made Today Too

I found myself in Psalm 118:24 this morning. It's a familiar scripture that we used to sing in the Charismatic days. This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. The funny thing I saw this morning is that the scripture is sandwiched between verses that are prophetically describing the sacrifice of Christ. I never thought about it before. It was a popular chorus back in the day, but had I known we were singing indirectly about the crucifixion, it might have changed how I sang it.

My thoughts camped out on how God made, predetermined, and planned the crucifixion and knew just where He was putting it in time. He made the day. But He also made the day that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. He made the day you would be born, too. Today was also made by God.

God has given us our days on earth. Some of them are wonderful days. We celebrate birthdays, especially the days our kids were born. Milestones are celebrated, graduations, marriages, the day we met our soul mate or our best friend. I'm sure you can think of several "good" days that God made.

But He also made the days when the not-so-good things happen. My mind runs to the day my son had his wreck, the day I got divorced, and the day I figured out how sick I was. There are lots of good days and bad days that we can reflect on. But God made every single one of them. He even made the day we became caregivers.

In Exodus 12:40-42, it says that the Children of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. Verse 41 says that it was the last day of the 430th year that God brought them out. But get this! In verse 42, it says, "This night had been reserved by the Lord to bring His people out from the land of Egypt, so this same night now belongs to Him. " (NLT). God set aside that day to go get His people. That gives me hope that He walks through my days, too, and appoints times to meet with me.

No matter what a day brings, good or bad, God made the day. And ultimately, His plan is to walk through the days and long dark nights with us. He never made a day and said He'd come back to check on us later. He made every single day and planned to spend it with us no matter what.

Today, I will remind myself that God made this day. No matter how rough it goes, or how smoothly I may sail through it - He planned on walking it with me. This - Today was made for me. It was made for you. I'll meditate on the truth that He already knew what this day would bring and He plans on seeing me through it like He has all the other days before. I will be thankful that His plan is a "with" plan and not an "instead" plan. He is with us period, and He made today for us to experience Him. I will choose to trust Him to get me through one more day that He has made. Will you join me?

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Book of the Week!

Book of James Bible Study Guide

· Are you ready to be challenged?
· Can you answer hard questions honestly?
· Want to take a deep look at your own Christianity?
· Are you ready for James?

Think of it as a spiritual rugged obstacle course that helps you build stamina, strength, and endurance. Are you ready? Grab a copy if you dare! 😊

eBook : Dove's Fire Ministries Bookstore

Kindle or Print: Amazon Bookshelf

Little by Little

I don't know about you, but my days can become overwhelming quickly. It usually starts with my hyperactive mind running through all the things I should do today. All the things I need to do today and a realistic look at what I might be able to accomplish today. If I am not careful, I will end up sinking into the emotional mire and getting about half of what needs to be done completed. The good news is that I have found a couple of strategies that help me keep going so that at least the essentials are done.

One of these strategies is to focus on the day's tasks one at a time, little by little. It's so easy for the list to grow and start casting a shadow on my day, and the funny (not haha funny, either) thing is that it usually starts while I am doing the caregiving stuff. Usually, I make a list and have things running in my mind, but when I go into my son's room to start the morning get-up-and-going routine, my mind starts running away, and my heart stops dropping at how far behind I am before I even get started. (Maybe it's just me?)

The problem is that my own thoughts and emotions can sabotage me and render me mostly useless. I'll end up sipping coffee and staring at the wall too much. But if I can nip it in the bud, and just focus on what I am doing in the moment, I get a lot more done. I just have to pick something to do and stick with it until it's done - then pick one more thing to do until it's done. At the end of the day, I have more done than I would have had I taken time to stew over the load. Little by little, it all gets done.

Psalm 138:3 reminds us that God gives us the strength we need for the day. That's all we have to focus on anyway, just working through the day with the support of His grace and mercy. The good news here is that He's already given us what we need for today, before we got overwhelmed. Before we got sucked into a vicious emotional cycle. Before anything "got to us" - His strength was there.

Today, I'll remind myself that He's provided exactly what I need for today. I will tell myself that I can tackle this day and every caregiving task necessary through the grace and mercy that He already gave. Little by little, I can get through today as I continue to remind myself to lean into His heart over and over. My meditations will be on how He already prepared this day for me and me for this day - together, God and I can take it on and win in the end. I am determined to trust Him little by little for each little thing until I'm at the end of the day realizing how He carried me. I believe little by little, I can trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

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Book of the Week!

Making of a Leader is the book of the week this week. It's a short course for Christian leaders, or for anyone who just wants to grow. 500 copies have already been translated into Urdu and distributed to churches in Pakistan, and we're moving toward a second printing! The eBook is available on the Dove's Fire Ministries Bookstore website. You can also get a print version or Kindle version from my Amazon bookstore.

Over and Over

Well, it's morning, so here we are, starting a new day—one that looks like every other day yet oddly can change on a dime. Sometimes, it can feel like the movie Groundhog Day (which I've never watched, by the way!). But at any moment, everything can change, and it can mean a run to the hospital, changing things around because the aid didn't show (again), or any number of things that can catapult us into an emotional upheaval.

Since caregivers tend to live on the edge and not in the fun way, it doesn't usually take much to tip us emotionally. Seriously, it's barely past eight o'clock and I'm digging down deep to find a way to let His peace reign over my racing thoughts and tight emotions. But you know what? He gets me. He gets us. He sees it all, down to every nagging little thing digging at the peace He put in our hearts.

So, what's a caregiver to do? When things roll over us and wash out our emotions over and over - we just keep running to Him over and over, too.

I think David had that figured out. This morning, I took another walk through Psalm 31and David declared three times that his trust was in the Lord. Yet he wrote this psalm while hiding in a cave because Saul was in hot pursuit. David kept coming back to trusting God over and over again - and we can do it every day, too. Something new comes up - package it up, hand it to God, and declare that you are going to trust Him with it. Something old rares its ugly head. That's okay. Package it up, hand it to God, and declare your trust in Him again. As a matter of fact - we can put this process on automatic wash, rinse, and repeat cycle.

God will not get tired of us. He will not send us away. We will not wear out our welcome in His house. He won't scold us for bringing the same thing to Him over and over in a day, an hour, or a minute. Instead, He welcomes us over and over again. He takes our worries over and over again - as much as we can give it to Him. God won't tell us we reached our daily limit. He simply meets us right where we are over and over. That's what I love about Him.

Today, I will just keep bringing Him my concerns. I'll bring the old ones, the new ones, the in-between ones, and I'll keep handing them to Him in prayer until my brain registers that He's got me! My declaration for today will be that I will trust in Him. I'll trust His mercy. I'll trust His all-sufficient grace. I'll trust that He has me and will carry me as needed through this day. And I think I'll let Him! Will you join me?

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