New day

Thank you Lord for this beautiful new day. Thank you that with the rising sun comes optimism and a sense of opportunity. Thank you for the ability we have as humans to bounce back and regain our footing when we stumble and thank you for being there with arms outstretched when we need a hand. You are ever and obviously present in my life. Thank you for caring about me. My heart is filled with praise to you O Lord. My soul sings with thanksgiving.

Saturday

Oh Lord, its the end of a long week and I am so looking forward to being with your children at worship tomorrow. I really need that wonderful shot of energy that I feel when I'm raising my voice to heaven, singing hymns with a choir of believers who, like me, look to you for their strength and peace - and for the courage to face another week. It's the tonic we all need to sooth our souls and calm our spirits.

Yes, I'm anxious to be at church again - because there's strength and comfort in numbers. Just like the little girl who told her mother that she knew God was with her in the dark, but sometimes she really needed someone with skin on. I know God is with me all week too - but on Sundays I get skin.

Thank you for your body of believers Lord. Thank you for all the skin.

Draw me up Lord

Our pastor told us that we need to ask God to "draw us up" to Him when we are hurting. What a wonderful concept, that God will draw us up to Himself when our hearts are heavy, when we're hurting physically, when we cannot find peace. Because it's in being close to Him that our peace, our comfort, our contentment will come.

In the early hours of the morning, when I wake with fears and concerns, I'm raising my heart to God and asking Him to draw me up. Draw me up to Him, to His all encompassing, all knowing, all powerful presence. To be enfolded and surrounded, comforted and assured. Draw me up Lord! I want to be totally in your presence.

Click to hear a portion of Pastor Toms sermon:

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Joy in the morning

Our pastor has been using the Psalms for his messages since the first of the year and every week I'm touched by David's writings. How beautifully he describes the longings and emotions of every human soul. David may have been a man after God's heart but he was also an "everyman" and he speaks for all of us when he cries out to God in supplication. His Psalms run the gamut of every human emotion, from the agony and pain of loss to the intense joy of close fellowship with God.

This week the Pastor focused on Psalm 30, one of my own personal favorites. "Sorrow may last for a night but joy comes in the morning" we are assured. Is there a sweeter promise in scripture?

Regardless of what's happening in our lives, despite the many difficulties we face, we are assured that we will find joy when the morning comes. How comforting to know that God is there for us, throughout the night and into the morning. We can make it through the darkest nights as long as we know the morning is coming.

Music

Isn't it wonderful how God uses music to touch our souls? During this trying time in my life I find that when all else fails, the music comes. I can pray with hymns. I can praise with my voice. I can sing in my head when I'm in the middle of a medical test and looking for peace. Because music is a way that God speaks to us, just as He did in the Psalms so long ago.

So many songs have been touching me lately that I've lost count. But one that is always close says this:

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
and I know who holds my hand.

And I do.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

This morning at worship we sang one of my favorite hymns, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". Everytime I sing that song the words touch my heart and bring tears to my eyes, and today was no different. "All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto to me" I sang with all my heart.

As difficult as these past few weeks have been, I've never doubted God's faithfulness to me. I've felt His presence every day and His strength has enabled me to get through the toughest of times. I pray in the car and I pray in the doctor's offices and He never fails to fill me with His peace. My heart may be pounding and I may be afraid, but I am never alone.

"Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see! All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me."

Presence

It a wonderful thing to feel God's presence. I can't say I always do - but that's my own fault because I know God is there for me. Sometimes I'm just too preoccupied with life to simply turn around and take the hand that's offered. But - I'm abiding in that presence right now and its a wonderful place to be.

Thank you God for your promise to always be there for us. And thank you for the reality too. Because when I'm smart enough to look for you, you're always right there waiting. And the strong hand you offer to me is all I ever need to get through the day.