Many years ago John Muir devoted himself to preserving our national parks; Yosemite Valley (as shown above) being one of them. We recently watched a documentary on the pioneer climbers of Yosemite who devoted themselves to getting to the top of those rocks in the best & fastest ways they could -- Royal Robbins being the first to make it to the top of Half Dome and the second to El Capitan.

These are just two examples of devotion; however, there are a myriad of ways it can be translated: You are devoted to your spouse.  You may be devoted to learning to play an instrument or learning a sport (such as rock climbing or surfing). You can devote yourself to living life as God has instructed us. Your devotion lies in being the best parent you can be. You read a daily devotion and spend quiet time before your day gets the best of you!

As you can see, the list is endless.....so we'll just share a few of the things that are near and dear to us that we have become devoted to.  

As a teenager I surfed a little, but I skateboarded a lot. The skating helped, but learning to surf has been a both a process and a blessing in many ways. You get to spend a thrilling Saturday morning in God's backyard, the ocean--you see the white caps at the top as the wind hits the tip of the wave hard and you see the ripple across the ocean as the mist hits your face. You position yourself and wait for the next set, you begin to paddle, you feel the wave start to lift and push you, then you push up and turn to ride down the face; the rush and speed are amazing. You can't wait to do it again, you stay out until you can't paddle or lift yourself on to your board anymore. That's when you call it a day.

But the the time spent with the boys (Adam & his friend Bo) is another blessing and truly priceless. We have an hour drive there and another hour home; on the way back we st op for lunch. I cherish that time so much, it's a great time to ask them questions & talk about all kinds of things: school, life, girls, games, cross country, youth group, how their walk with God is going, how their daily devotion is going. It's a time to listen to them and bond with them. I am watching our son go from a little boy to a young man and it's all happening too fast. He is one of the greatest gifts God has blessed us with and I can't imagine my life without his kind words & smile. He's the driving force behind my devotion to surfing.  

I'm also devoting myself to be the best husband I can be and I know better than anybody that I haven't always been. Each day brings new challenges and Lisa & I have committed to reading the 1 Year Love Dare devotional to bring us closer. I pray to God and thank him for her, I couldn't be more blessed to have her as my bride. I ask Jesus to teach me how to love her unconditionally no matter what; the way God sees me.

So I hope that sharing my devotions & commitments have brought something to the forefront for you; something in life that you may have been dreaming about doing, being or learning.....it's never too late. Keep God first in your life, He will never steer you wrong.

Paul