All praises belong to you, Jehovah my Maker, Creator of my soul, the re-Creator of my life. You are astonishing in everything you do. When I call out for help, your chariot races through the storms to rescue me. You are my fortress walled about with salvation. You are my shield between me and danger.  You bring peace to my life. Peace that flows like a gentle stream. My every breath whispers your praise and rises to storehouses of white clouds. My every sigh soars through the heavens to your throne and rests in you.

Father, I am confused living in a place with no church family. It is hard. Sometimes I feel as though I am the only one in the world who believes in you and worships you. My confusion grows to discouragement then on to bitterness. Forgive me and make me strong in your strength.

Thank you, my Lord, for loving me and being willing to fling my sins off me and trample them under foot. And the legacy of my family. Thank you for my uncle becoming a Christian so long ago before I was born, then converting my grandparents, then my parents and aunts and uncles, and now me. May I leave such a legacy behind for generations after me. The lives of my ancestors were not perfect, but their affection for you was. Ah, how mighty you are and how grateful I am for them. Your Family will never die because it can never die. You are life and the light of my soul. 

Ah, my God, I cannot top praising you for your everlasting love. It never fades away. It never ceases no matter how bad I may become. You run after me and say, “Come back!  Come back to me.” No matter how many times I wander, you never tire of running after me. Your love is beyond comprehension.  I do not deserve you. But you love me still. How amazing, and how lofty the thought. I adore you.

Lord, I realize forgiveness doesn’t mean I approve of what someone did. It means I wish the best for the offender and hand them over to you. I know that. But sometimes my ego gets in the way and I relive the offense over and over. Help me remember you forgive me of the same things over and over. I hurt you over and over but you keep forgiving over and over. Dare I do less?

Thank you for the gentle summer rain for the flower gardens and summer crops. The cool breeze on a hot day. Thank you most of all for coming to my world to save me from Satan’s realm.  How can I stop thanking you? Your home someday will be my home. Even now, your heart and mind become my heart as much as I can comprehend. You draw me near to yourself, you teach me through your Bible what to do and not do, you invite me to become one with you. Me? Lowly me? Thank you.

You are my God and the only God. You give life, you radiate love, you judge rightly, you bestow mercy.  I lift up my spirit, my heart, my soul to you.  I will sing my praises to you through each day of my life no matter how difficult Satan may try to make it and no matter how short or long I live.  I will sing your praises on and on. I will still be singing when I close my eyes here and walk through the gate into your realm. There I will lift my voice in highest praise, then bow at your feet in delirious exultation and sacred peace.

Lord, there are people resenting me. I do not know why and I want to reverse it so we can be friends. They do not want to reverse it, no matter what I try. Lord, open their hearts and help me keep my heart open. Help me not grow bitter but to bless them and somehow break through their barrier.

Thank you, God, for the friends who came to see me moments ago. You hear my weakest plea. You hear me when I am down and when I am flying high in jubilation. You hear me in my sunset moments, on cloudy days, in darkness and the shadows of a late dawn.  Though there are millions of souls asking for your attention at the same time, you hear us all and come to us all as though each was the only one.  How do you do that? You are God; that is how. And you love me. With my mind, my heart, and my soul I thank you.

The beauty of the earth and the glory of the skies declare praises to you. Each hour holds a special wonder of you, each day a throng of delights to carry me through the night. You are my courage amid fear, my expectations amid disappointment, my audacity amid timidity, my hope among doubt. You are my light through the darkness, my path through the wilderness, my life through danger. May your name be proclaimed by children, declared to be true by atheists, lauded by the world. Arise, oh universe! Praise the God of all things and of your very existence!

Lord, I put myself in danger by walking in the dark too long. My friends became worried about me and sent search parties out for me. I was okay but only because you protected me. Because of my thoughtless behavior, I inconvenienced all those people who had to leave the comfort of their homes and walk through that same darkness to find me.  I am so sorry. I was thoughtless.

Thank you for your church, your family. You set it up so perfectly. Congregations of your family here and others there all around the world.  Each congregation survives because you teach us to love one another, overlook intentional and unintentional offences, and leave behind things that do not really matter in saving souls. Brothers and sisters hand in hand, praying for each other, eating glad meals with each other, worshipping you together.  Always there with a smile and a sigh, always there with laughter and tears, always together. Always your children, always a part of your family.  Even when we travel and meet people in other parts of the world, we instantly have an immediate bond, whether it be to Asia or South America, Europe, or New Zealand, the Middle East or North America, Africa or one of earth’s poles. Wherever we find each other, we are still family and you are our Father.

God, you are the same always. No matter how low I feel, you remain stable. No matter how tempted I am to sin by attitude or actions, you do not budge. You reserve judgment for yourself of both my friends and my enemies so I don’t have to judge.  Your judgment is true ~ always true ~ and tempered with mercy. Great is your wisdom, great is your name in all the world and in my heart. I rise up and bless you in the morning and at the end of day.

There is someone who is trying to take everything from me and I feel so betrayed. Sometimes I want to get even, but how could I without destroying myself? Make this situation go away. And in the meantime, help me take my mind off of it, turn my thoughts to others and remember that I always have you.

Ah, my Lord, I am depressed this morning.  It is hard to find things to thank you for. Thank you for your patience when I get down. When I cry, your tender embrace helps. I turn to your Bible and read the Psalms of rejoicing and that lifts me up. You help me let go of the earthly and dream of heaven. Peace. The thoughts of peace are so warm. I shall take a walk today and thank you for all the delights you have given my little part of the world ~ the trees, flowers, butterflies, blue skies, sunshine, gentle breezes. Thank you for this beautiful world. And love. Thank you for it all.

You, God, are the only God. There was none before you and can never be another. None higher or lower. You are self-existent. The child was born ~a Son ~ and he was called everlasting Father, mighty God. What a thought. What a concept. What a resounding declaration. You are the First Cause of all things that exist. You are the fountainhead of every movement. You are the Great Will that the world submits to save itself from being void. Without you there is no order, no cause, no truth, no good, no life. I will praise you alone. I will praise you to my friends. I will praise you to strangers around the world, great and small. To you belongs all honor, glory and majesty.

Father, I am facing bitterness again. I want to think well of everyone, but cannot always do it. When someone insults me, help me bless.  When someone takes advantage of me, help me bless. When someone lies to me or betrays me, help me bless.

God, I have been materially blessed with a decent home to live in and reliable transportation. I have been spiritually blessed with your Bible that pours out your thoughts and exposes your heart. The church here is loving. I have good neighbors. I have a vegetable garden. Flowers too. The sun is shining. It is summer. Thank you.

It was on Sunday, the morning nearly 2000 years ago that you rose up out of your grave to live again forever and pave the way for mankind to follow you into your eternal home ~ heaven. Oh, glorious day! Oh, mighty day! Day unforgettable! How amazing. Your work was done. The hardest part was at the end. But you did it.   Upon your death, Satan thought he had won, but he had not.  You paid that terrible ransom, thus forcing Satan to give us up.   It was Satan who lost, not you, because you freed us from him. It was Death who lost, not you, because you came back to life. It was Sin who lost, not you, because you lived and died without ever sinning.  It is impossible to kill Life.  So, in the face of defeat, why doesn’t Satan give up and quit trying to get us back? He knows he has lost but will not admit it.  So, I march on with you, fighting selfishness so that pure love will be all that is left. With you is all might, all glory, all majesty. I worship you.

Forgive me when I want to demand what is mine that someone borrowed from me or took from me. Help me leave it in your hands. It is not for me to punish or demand, I know. But it is so hard to do. Help me keep my thoughts and words to myself and move on.

Ah, my Lord, thank you for your balanced sense of justice and mercy. You do not punish because you like doing it. You punish to help me realize the seriousness of my thoughts and deeds. You punish to avenge the hurt I caused good people trying to do right. You punish to make me stronger. But you do not punish forever. You punish, then wait for me to return to you. You punish to stop me in my tracks, take a hard look at myself, and make changes. Your punishment is like walking on sand; as soon as I take another step, the previous step has already begun refilling. Punishment is just momentary until I stop, turn, and move over onto the solid rock of faith in you.  There, I see myself as I am and hurry to walk in your footsteps that are embedded deep so I can always find you. I never thought I’d say this, but thank you for punishing me when I need it. How you love. How you love.

The stars join together in rapturous chords to sing your praises from galaxy to galaxy. The planets echo their song. It spirals down to the mountain tops. The mountains tremble and the song soars upward until it penetrates worlds and rests at last at your throne. Though there be hundreds of billions of galaxies, the worlds cannot praise you enough, nor can my heart.

The clerk at the store gave too much change.  I know it wasn’t much, but I did not have a right to keep it.  I must return to the store tomorrow and give the extra back. And I didn’t get my credit card paid last month and won’t be able to this month either. It’s not just the card not paid, but those merchants that sold things to me ~ they’re the ones who I am not paying. I have stolen their merchandise from them. Lord, open my eyes to the things I do that are actually stealing.

I thank you, God, because you never change. No matter how much people change, you stay the same. You never allow anyone to pressure you to give in to us or become like us to ease our consciences.  If you changed, there would be no such thing as truth. If you changed there would be no such thing as love.  If you changed, we could not be saved from Satan and his gastly world. Your love is stubborn, immovable, persevering. You stand in the universe and among the worlds tall and strong, exalted and majestic. Thank you for never changing.

Your love melts the hardest heart and chases away the worst of sinful thoughts. Your love strengthens the weakest heart and makes it bold in the face of fear.  Your love shouts from the mountain tops in glistening white purity and spreads delight, wonder, and exultation to those willing to look up. You emerge from the depths of the oceans in face of storms, for nothing can hold you back. You reign from the heavens and are all glorious. Whatever I do, you are there. Whether I run or walk, you are there. Whether I work or rest, you are there. You are in my song and in my silence.

Someone asked me to help them convince a mutual friend to give them some money to help with a worthy project. I just cannot. This person has asked for money for a good work before and then spent it on himself. That is out-and-out swindling. Give me courage to confront this person and work with them to earn honest income.

There are so many things to thank you for, Lord God. If I began right now counting them all, I could not complete my list in a thousand years. You made a beautiful and fascinating world for me to live in. I do not know why it was important to make us in material fashion in a material world unless you wanted us to have daily reminders of you.  Indeed, you are in everything I see, hear, touch and sense. Even then, the world cannot contain you.  What I can see and touch, that I thank you for. And for the wonders I am yet to behold, I bow in gratitude.

Heaven stirs. The song comes near. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Angel wings are heard then stilled.  Prayers rise from earth and soar to your majestic throne.  The mountains declare your glory and the ocean answers with a mighty roar.  Your love is like trees in a storm, bending but not breaking, and coming back stronger than ever. My praises break forth from my heart, dear Lord, in jubilation. The forests shiver in excitement and the tiniest creature answers with its tiny squeak.

Someone told me something the other day that was wrong and I corrected them.  It was of no importance whether a city is 100 miles away or 120 miles away. It is of no importance if his shirt was brown or tan. It is of no importance if gasoline was 2c more than someone else said. All I accomplish when I correct people like this is to stir up strife between us. Help me control my tongue.

It is dawn. The sun is shining today. We have had a lot of rain and that made the gardens happy. Now the sun is back, gleaming in a deep blue sky while cottony white clouds bounce here and there in satisfaction. Delightful serendipity.  No matter what the heavens bring day by day, I thank you for that.  And I smile.