Mike Clouse

Designing small, soulful homes and asking honest questions about life, love, and faith.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

The best way I've found to do that is to start slow and spend the first precious minutes of each day reading God's word and praying for His guidance.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

From everything I can tell, Jesus walked the earth calm, confident, and compassionate. If I desire to follow Jesus, then how I start my day needs to be intentional, not reactionary.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 ESV

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

When Michelangelo sculpted the statue of David, he said that he saw his subject inside the stone and chiseled everything else away to set him free.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

Chisel away, my friend, let the Lord burst out.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

True freedom is found in dependence, not independence.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

The seed letter will be on hiatus for the next two weeks. I'll be watching the sunrise as I row crew in a nearby river. Summer in Maine is about to begin.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

"Jesus replied, "Loving me empowers you to obey my word. And my Father will love you so deeply that we will come to you and make you our dwelling place.” John 14:23 TPT

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

The most beautiful love story imagined is playing before our very eyes. Do we sit in awe before our Lord, wholly captivated, or do we let distractions consume us as we talk through every scene? This opportunity to love our Lord by Faith alone is brief and not to be missed.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

As I struggled to turn the doorknob, almost everything in my hands tumbled to the floor. When coming from my barn into the house, I have this habit of trying to grab as many things as possible. It rarely works.

Today's verse, specifically the phrase "the hope of his calling," makes me think of God's hope in us and for us. It reminds me that the Father has a dream for us, but we can't enter this life with our arms packed full of self.

Putting down our dreams to receive God's dreams feels scary, but I know without a doubt that dropping everything we're carrying is the only way to fill the longing of our souls.

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints," Ephesians 1:18 CSB

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

Box jumps, tire flips, and rope climbs - for years, I was active in the world of CrossFit. The workouts were challenging but extremely enjoyable. My friend and coach always told me, "You can't outwork a bad diet." Even though I didn't like it, he was right. All this flashed through my mind this morning while reading John 6.

Doing Christian things without complete surrender is like eating donuts on the way home from the gym every day. We're called to turn from sin and follow the way of Christ. This is the true cross fit.

"For my body is real food for your spirit and my blood is real drink. The one who eats my body and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. The Father of life sent me, and he is my life. In the same way, the one who feeds upon me, I will become his life." John 6:55-57 TPT

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

Saying yes to following Jesus doesn't mean we get all the answers or know what to do next. We are all just simple apprentices, learning at the feet of our master carpenter.

Staying teachable and working together as one are the instructions He gave to build His masterpiece—the church. We must unite under Christ.

"Teach me more about you, how you work and how you move, so that I can walk onward in your truth until everything within me brings honor to your name."
Psalms 86:11 TPT

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

"Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May the Lord bless him because he has not abandoned his kindness to the living or the dead." Naomi continued, "The man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers." Ruth 2:20 CSB

The man Naomi speaks of in today's verse is Boaz. As a redeemer, he seeks to make whole what is broken in his family line. Instead of searching for a redeemer in our line, let's strive to become the redeemers ourselves. Because what this world needs is more redeemers.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

As a kid, I would frequently show up at the dinner table already full of snacks, leaving little room, if any, for the meal lovingly prepared for me.

This morning, I wondered—am I opening my Bible on a full stomach? Am I acting like a child who has filled my mind with countless books, podcast episodes, and YouTube videos? When we respect and fear the Lord, we show up empty and hungry. And when we do, He fills us abundantly.

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

I have added a handful of Bible verses to a note on my phone. I try to look at them as often as possible, ideally each morning. Today's verse is on that list. Sometimes, doing the right thing is as simple as remembering who we are called to be.

"Do you want to live a long, good life, enjoying the beauty that fills each day? Then never speak a lie or allow wicked words to come from your mouth."
Psalms 34:12-13 TPT

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

We darted across the finish line in first place. Unfortunately, it was the wrong race. Years ago, a friend and I signed up for a 100-mile bicycle ride near Santa Cruz, California. It's called a century ride, and you start and finish all in one day.

About halfway through the ride, we noticed arrows painted on the road. Not thinking much about it, we began to follow them. A half-hour later, we found ourselves riding through a crowd of onlookers, cheering as we crossed their finish line in first and second place. We looked at each other, laughed, shrugged, and pedaled on, realizing we had gotten off course and finished a race that was not ours.

After getting back on track, we finished our ride. It ended up being 130 miles with our off-course adventure.

Here's what I'm praying through this morning. What does our current race of life look like? How do we live in this world and pursue Christ without getting lost? There are arrows everywhere. Choosing the right ones to follow is more challenging than it seems.

Pedal on my friend.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
2 Timothy 4:7 ESV

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

When we passionately seek Christ, He will respond with direction. The question becomes, if we don't get the answer we want, will we still obey and follow? Obedience is worship.

"As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but he wouldn't let him. Jesus said, "Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you." The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town." Mark 5:18-20 MSG

[Mike Clouse @mikeclouse]

The memoir of our lives should read like a story about God. He is the subject—we are not. The sooner we correct this order, the more captivating the story will be.