Tag Inspiration

Stop Swatting

Monica Cane Leave a comment

Be still and know that I am God. – Psalm 46:10

One morning, while resting in my oversized lounge chair preparing to read a devotional, I heard that familiar buzzing sound near my ear—mosquitoes.

Over the past few weeks, non-biting male mosquitoes had been released in our area to mate with female biting mosquitoes. The goal? Produce eggs that won’t hatch, eventually decreasing the biting mosquito population in our community. While I’m glad fewer biting mosquitoes will be around, I’m not thrilled that once a week, hundreds of tiny males are released right at the edge of our lawn. Naturally, the moment we open our front door, dozens make their way inside.

So there I was, candle lit, devotional open, trying to enjoy quiet time with God, when all I could hear was: buzz, buzz, buzz.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed our electric bug-zapping racket and returned to the chair, waving it like a wild woman in the dark. Between the flickering candlelight and the racket’s glowing blue zap, I must have looked ridiculous. Despite all my swatting, I never caught a single mosquito. Instead, I had completely lost focus on my devotional and my time with God.

As I sat back, frustrated and exhausted, a thought crossed my mind: I wonder if the devil is happy that I’m so busy swatting the air that I’ve lost sight of God?

That thought stopped me in my tracks. I didn’t want to give the enemy the satisfaction. I placed the racket upright on my lap, devotional in hand, and sensed a whisper in my soul: Be still and know that I am God.

It seemed strange in the moment—sitting there armed like a bug-zapping warrior—but as I leaned into that verse, something shifted. My mind calmed. My spirit settled. The buzzing became background noise. I was present with God.

And then, without me even trying, sparks suddenly flew. One by one, the mosquitoes flew straight into the glowing racket and were zapped. Problem solved—without all my frantic swatting.

That moment hit me hard. How often do I do the same thing in life? When things don’t go my way, I swat. I fret. I stress. I spin my wheels in frustration, wasting all my energy instead of resting in God.

But the truth is, all my swatting never fixes anything.

Psalm 46:10 reminds us to stop striving, stop flailing, stop stressing—and simply be still. God is fully capable of handling our distractions, annoyances, frustrations, and even our deepest needs. Sometimes He does it quietly, sometimes in unexpected ways—even through a bug-zapping racket.

So the next time life’s distractions start buzzing around your head, don’t waste your energy swatting aimlessly. Take a deep breath. Lean into God. Be still.

And know—He really is God.

One Word…Trickle

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Summers in the central valley are just plain hot.  Fortunately, today is expected to be a much cooler day—10 to 15 degrees cooler than it has been for the last month.   I’ll gladly take today’s 92 degrees before it spikes up again.  A few days ago when it was a lovely 105 degrees, I drove our golf cart over to a little spot in town that has a man-made fountain, with boulders and a few trees surrounding it.  This tiny slice of heaven is located near the freeway exit and across from Starbucks.  Even though it’s located near a busy area, I do get a sense of “getting away from it all” whenever I go there to sit on the stone bench and watch the two fountains do their thing.

Parking the little golf cart nearby, I walked toward the fountains, taking in the sound of rushing water and instantly felt a bit cooler and more relaxed.

In the middle of the two erupting fountains that were shooting water at least 15 feet in the air, I noticed a little trickle of water coming from one part of the rocks.  I’ve seen it before but never really zeroed in on it like I was this day.

Eyeing the little trickle, I glanced back and forth  between the large fountains and then back again to  the trickle and then felt inclined to speak my mind.

God, the large fountains gorgeously shooting water 15 plus feet in the air, making their bold statement is how I feel inside about my purpose in life. The bigger impact is what I thought you wanted of me, yet the reality is that you use me much more like the small trickle over and over, in little ways after a lot of hard work.   I’ve recognized the value of those small moments but if I’m honest, it’s been frustrating to have a big want with a small outcome.

Voicing my genuine thoughts to God, I looked at the trickle of water again.  Yes, it was small, but it actually was very beautiful, very relaxing and very much part of the overall design of the fountain.

On that day, speaking my truth, God revealed His. The trickle really does have just as much impact as the large gushing fountain, it is just a matter of timing, need, perspective.  In other words, God uses big gushes and little trickles at just the right time, for His purpose.  Both are part of His overall design.

Comfort comes in many different shapes and sizes.

It can be a strong hug from a trusted friend, snuggling with your favorite blanket or enjoying a heaping serving of mashed potatoes with a pat of butter melted on top.  All of those things and more have offered comfort to me at different times. But  today, comfort comes in the shape of two tiny dimes in my pocket.  

I put on a pair of jeans this morning that I hadn’t worn in a while and went for a much needed walk.  I had just received a phone call that my ninety-two year old mother, who is in a nursing facility, somehow fell out of her bed and fractured her hip.  

Talk about a hopeless feeling when you are four-hundred miles away and have to  wait for the doctor to call and let you know if your mom, who is in an extremely confused state, will be healthy enough to withstand a surgery to repair her hip and if not, what that could possibly mean.

So I opted for a walk to settle my mind and focus my thoughts on the presence of God, asking Him to be with mom in the hospital room where she is at, and also to be with me as I wait.

It was a bit chilly, so I shoved my right hand in my pocket and felt a small, circular item. I pulled it out and saw that it was a shiny, little dime.   I’m not sure why I found it so peculiar, it’s not like I’ve never had change in my pocket before.  Nonetheless, it warmed my heart a bit as I slipped the little dime back in my pocket.

I continued walking while praying and reflecting when the wind picked up again. I shoved my right hand back in my pocket and this time, I felt two circular items.  I pulled both dimes out of my pocket in surprise and examined them.  One was from 1977, the other from 2024.  Both coins, forty-seven years apart, shiny and simple had been tucked away in my pocket for who knows how long, but now they were in my hand.  

Suddenly, I felt a sense of comfort just at the sight and feel of these two little coins.  Their earthly value is only twenty cents, not even enough to buy a candy bar, yet for some unknown reason, holding them made me feel a sense of comfort and security.

Perhaps it’s because I’m the kind of person who tends to trust God with big, overwhelming things but completely flips out over small details especially when it includes waiting.

My mom fracturing her hip is big, I can give that to God.  Me, patiently waiting for the Doctor’s call and addressing all the little details that will inevitably come up is not nearly as big, but I tend to hold onto those little things and can get myself pretty worked up.

So as I turn the dimes over and over in my hand and accept the comfort they give, I think maybe, just maybe God gave me these two tiny dimes in my pocket today to remind me that He not only takes care of the BIG things but He also takes care of every tiny, little detail, including the waiting as well.

One Word… Dimes

Monica Cane 3 Comments

Hustle. Oh how I can love that word.   I’ve been one to hustle for as long as I can remember. 

How about you?

Personally, I’m not the “climb the corporate ladder” type of hustler, I’m more of a “keep it moving, do good, and make a difference” kind of hustler. 

What about you?

In all my hustle over the years, particularly as a believer, my sincere desire has been to honor God through it all  But here is a question I have had to ask myself a lot lately. 

Am I really doing all this hustling for the glory of God or am I doing it for another reason?

I would like to  believe that I do all things for the glory of God, but I have noticed too many times that when I finish that great thing I felt God wanted me to do,  my joy about bringing Him glory can quickly fade into an anxious discontentment. Before I know it, I’m looking around for what’s next.   If I was truly doing all things for the glory of God, would I really be anxiously longing for the next hustle so soon? 

Have you ever felt that way, or is this just me?

This anxious discontentment happened so many times after completing something, that I finally got the courage to ask myself a hard question: Is it possible that I don’t feel quite enough without the hustle?  

The more I asked myself this question, the clearer the answer became.  For me, yes, it is absolutely possible to not feel enough without the hustle because I easily confuse my “do” with my “who.”   

Thankfully, asking hard questions and diving into God’s word can bring clear answers.   

Am I enough without the hustle?  Are you?

According to God, the answer is: One Thousand Percent, Yes! 

He gets us, ya know. We are His creation, His handiwork. There was no anxious hustle when He made us. He knew what He was doing with us then and He knows what He is doing with us now.  

We are enough without the hustle.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10

One Word…Hustle

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One Word…Cornbread

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Is cornbread really a good choice for the word of the day? I mean as soon as you hear cornbread, you can’t help but have images of hot melted butter and drizzled honey flash through your mind, causing a bit of drool.  While that is a delightful image, that’s not actually why I chose cornbread for the word for today. It actually has to do with a person I recently learned about.

Cornbread, is actually the name of an artist.  His real name is Darryl McCray and he is credited as being one of the first graffiti artists from Philadelphia in the 1960’s. Cornbread is his tag name and as the story goes, Cornbread wrote his name, in block style on walls everywhere throughout the city of Philly in order to impress his crush, a young lady named Cynthia.   

I have no idea if he ever won the girl’s heart but expressing himself in such a creative fashion got me thinking.  We are all artists in our own way.  God created each and everyone of us with various gifts, talents, and passions.  We may or may not have been given the gift of painting on walls, but perhaps we have been given the gift of listening, or a warm smile that causes someone to feel safe, or maybe the gift of baking literal cornbread.  Whatever the gift is, you can be assured it is from God and it is for the distinct purpose of expressing His love and kindness to others.  Like our friend Cornbread, we are artists in our own way and we are gifted and called to share the beautiful art of God’s love everywhere we go.

You Were Created to Fly

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“For we are God’s Masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10
By Monica Cane

Three years ago my husband took me to Pets Mart to pick out a young parakeet for my birthday present. This was a huge deal because I had been bugging him about buying a bird for at least ten years with no luck. I can’t say the reason for the change of heart. Perhaps ten years of requesting the same thing wore him down or maybe his heart suddenly softened toward our fine feathered friends. Whatever the reason, my husband surprised me that year with the gift of a tiny yellow birdie which I named Lemon.

I made Lemon a nice home in a cage filled with bells, toys, ladders and treats and placed the cage in our living room, so he could be a part of our daily family noise which he seemed to enjoy judging by his birdie chirps.

Once when I was cleaning Lemon’s cage outside my husband called my name. When I turned to see what he wanted the bottom of the bird cage suddenly fell off. Instantly, Lemon flew up and over our house and landed in a tree in our backyard. Fortunately, I was able to climb the tree and rescue him and then made sure to put extra clips on the bottom of the cage so there wouldn’t be another birdie-jail break.

Overtime I noticed that Lemon wasn’t chirping quite as much as he once had and so I decided to give him a change of scenery. I placed his cage on a table next to flourishing herb plants and dwarf fruit trees in our patio and apparently being closer to a natural bird environment was exactly what Lemon needed. He was back to chirping, squawking and singing especially whenever he heard the free birds in the area chirping along as they flew by.

A few days ago, I began my usual routine of cleaning the bottom of Lemon’s cage outside while he watched from inside his cage on his perch. I sprayed a little water above him so he could take a bird bath but what I didn’t realize is that one of his cage doors had caught on a toy and been partially open the entire time he’d been sitting on the perch. As soon as the water touched his feathers Lemon flapped his wings and tumbled out of the open door.

He lopped in the air for only a brief moment as if unsure as to what happened and then quickly realized he was free. Immediately he flapped his wings with vigor, raised-up and allowed the wind carry him. This time Lemon didn’t head toward our backyard instead he flew above and beyond the houses next to us. It all happened so fast that before I could shout, “Lemon Wait!” He was gone.

I scoured the nearby area, made chirpy noises, put out seeds and turned on my water fountain in hopes of drawing Lemon back home. Realizing the odds of finding him, I mumbled, “Why did he have to fly away, God?”

Instantaneously a truthful thought was impressed upon my heart. Without my knowing the door had been opened to the cage the entire time I was cleaning it but Lemon didn’t realize that freedom was available to him. That’s a lot like us. We often sit on our own perch without a clue as to the freedom God has given us through His son, Jesus. (Galatians 5:1)

Once Lemon did realize he was free, he flew like he meant it. In fact, he flew the way God created him to fly.
I don’t know the outcome for Lemon but what I do know is that he flapped his wings and allowed the wind to lift him higher and in turn accomplished what God created him to do.

The same is true for us. As children of God, we must allow the wind of the Holy Spirit to take us to a higher place, to help us understand our purpose in God’s plan so that we too can spread our wings and fly the way God created us to do.

God Gives Fresh Starts

Monica Cane 1 Comment

God, make a fresh start in me. Shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.—Psalms 51:10

I’m the type of person who likes consistency.  I like to make plans then implement them so I can maintain a steady flow to my daily routine.  Like a creature of habit I’ve developed a regular way of doing things.   For the most part, I use one of three favorite cups for my morning coffee, I sit on the same side of the sanctuary at church every week, I usually take the same route to work, or school and I like shopping at the same store to mention a few regularities.  Because of my need of consistency, I follow a specific pattern as a way to bring comfortable evenness to my life.

On the other hand, I am also very much the type of person who becomes easily bored with the very routines I implement.  The predictability of my life often causes an inner restlessness because while I like consistency, I also long for excitement and change.  Nothing too crazy or wild just a little something that reminds me I’m alive.

One might think it would be easy to balance these two opposing sides, but honestly, it’s not. Wanting to be stable and grounded while at the same time wanting variety and adventure and expecting others around me to understand how I’m feeling during these times even though I don’t, can stir up some heated frustration, causing me to feel like a bubbling volcano ready to blow until both sides of my nature is satisfied.

As expected, I’ve discovered I’m not alone in my feelings.  Many people want the security of an easy going, predictable life yet find themselves unsatisfied and in a whirlwind of chaos because their bored with their routine and long for change but don’t exactly know how to go about it.

King David understood this self-induced chaos in a different yet very similar way.  The King desired to live a secure, solid, obedient life before God, but he too at times became bored.  Although he sought direction from God on many matters throughout his life, at times, the matter of balancing his desire for stability verses adventurous change were left un-prayed for and lead him to follow paths that God never intended.

In Psalms 51, we find David confessing to God about one of these so-called paths.  David had become bored with the routine of his kingly-life and instead of seeking God for positive change; he took matters into his own hands and had an affair with Bathsheba.

Over time he recognized the consequences of his sin, and confessed the errors of his ways.  He then asked God to cleanse him and give him a fresh start, to take the mess he had made out of his life and to create something right and new in which God faithfully obliged.

God will always forgive a person who loses his way if they repent with a sincere heart but wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier if when the monotony of our daily routine builds up and we need some excitement that we ask God for a fresh change instead of taking matters in our own hands?

While our struggles with our dual nature of wanting stability and adventure doesn’t necessarily lead us to sin against God, it sure can cause chaos in our lives.  Often when we become frustrated and bored with our daily routine, we begin to take it out on those closest to us. We’re snappy, we’re irritated and some days, downright mean just because we feel like we are in a rut and we need change.

When boredom starts to creep into your life, stop what you are doing and ask God to refresh your spirit.  Ask Him for a new outlook, a personal adventure that is aligned with His will for your life.  Something that will add the spice you long for but will still bring the stability you desire.  God is the one who created both sides of our consistent and radical nature and he knows just how and when to put a fresh wind in our sails while at the same time keeping us on course, if only we ask.

Our Fruit

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Sometimes our spiritual fruit falls off doesn’t it?
But Ezekial 47:12 reminds us that time spent with God refreshes our soul and He in turn causes our spiritual fruit to grow once again.

“Fruit trees of all kinds will grow. . . Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them.” – Ezekial 47:12

Strong Winds Can’t Stop Us

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“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him will bare much fruit.” – John 15:1

I have a peach tree in my front yard and last Spring the entire tree basically produced only two good peaches and they both splattered to the ground before I could ever taste them. Not knowing much about caring for fruit trees, I asked a friend who seemed to be the green-thumb-type what I should do to ensure the tree would produce more fruit this Spring. My friend explained that all the tree really needed was some regular fertilizing, watering and some extra TLC. And that’s exactly was I did from last Spring until now.

I was so excited when I noticed small peach buds beginning to cover the branches recently. Why just the other day, I went to my peach tree, gently touched the many budding peaches on the biggest and main branch of the tree and whispered in my tender-love and care voice, soon the peaches will ripen and I will make tons of peach pie. Then came the wind.

A day after having my brief but intimate conversation with my peach tree, a big gusty wind blew threw town and the next thing I knew, the biggest branch that held many smaller branches, covered with developing peaches broke off the from the tree and was completely damaged.

My heart sank. An entire years worth of extra TLC and the dream of making dozens of peach pies to share with others were gone with the wind. Seeing broken branches, torn bark and scattered green peach buds all over the driveway, I figured all hope was lost.

I was just about to give up on the idea of ever making delicious homemade pies from my own tree when I stopped at the base of the tree and looked up. There, way up high on smaller branches than the one that had broken off, I saw green peach buds. The higher I looked the more peaches I saw. I couldn’t believe!

Despite the main branch being broken off the tree was standing strong and producing much fruit at the top. Sure the tree was injured but it wasn’t stopping it from baring what it was meant to bare–peaches. I tried to count how many there were to figure out if my peach pie dream could continue but there were too many peach buds to count. Again, I whispered in my best TLC voice, but this time I said, Awe, thanks God.

As I wait for the peaches to ripen and my homemade pie baking-fest to being, I think of John 15:1 “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him will bare much fruit.”

When we make God our foundation, even when strong winds blow through our lives and toss us around, like my peach tree, we can still stand strong and bare much fruit because we are rooted in Jesus, our vine.

Know, Love & Pray for Your Enemies

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Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. – Mathew 5:44

To love and pray for our enemies can seem like a pretty steep request, don’t you think? After all, when someone we love tramples on our heart or when we are betrayed by a so-called friend, our first reaction is not necessarily to love and pray for them. On the contrary we might feel more inclined to put on a pair of steel-toed boots and give our enemies a nice swift kick, hoping to knock some sense into them.

It’s taken some time but over the years I have come to understand and appreciate the spiritual principles of Mathew 5:44. God’s call for us to love and pray for an enemy in no way excuses the action or behavior that caused them to make it onto our enemy list to begin with. Instead, loving and praying for an enemy allows us to embrace the struggle, rise above it, release any bitter stronghold their wrongdoings may have had on us and begin to heal. It gives God the room He desires to deal with our enemies on our behalf.

Pray for Them

Recently while studying about growing in confidence and overcoming self-doubt, God brought something to my attention that surprised me. Intangible feelings like self-doubt, frustration, anxiety, insecurity and disappointment to name a few, belong on our enemy list as they are enemies of our soul. In fact, these emotional enemies are often a greater detriment to our well-being than any wrongdoing person our enemy list.

I had never looked at it that way but the more I considered this possibility and reflected on how various uncertain emotions have hindered my well-being at times, I realized it was true. To love and pray for our enemy does not just apply to hurtful people but it applies to the emotional enemies of our soul. Fortunately, God has given us the power to recognize and pray for these types of enemies.
For example, when intense feelings of insecurity rise up, it’s not that we are expected to love that feeling, but we can embrace the fact that the feeling of insecurity is present.

We can acknowledge that this emotion belongs on our enemy list and we can pray for that particular enemy with powerful words such as: I may feel insecure right now but “I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.” Romans 8:28.

When that familiar, unproductive feeling of self-doubt shows up we can confront it and pray: I may not believe in myself right now but this is just a feeling and feelings pass. I have no reason to doubt because, I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. Ephesians 1:3-8.

Whether your enemies are hurtful people or negative emotions when you pray for your enemies, your obedience to God’s request will open the door for healing, breakthrough and a beautiful transformation. Now that’s a worthy request, don’t you think?