Joy

What a beautiful day, Lord! the sun was shining, the sky was blue and cloudless, and the earth seemed to be singing your praises just as you said it would. It was a wonderful day to be alive and I'm so grateful to be.

God your creation is awesome. Every flower, every ocean wave, every little child shout out your glory. And a day like today, when your hand is visible in every direction, makes me turn my heart to you in praise. I'm so grateful for my life and the blessings that I have. I am overwhelmed by it all.

Thank you Lord for this beautiful day. Thank you for reminding me how blessed we all are to live in this amazing world and partake of your gifts. Thank you for all of it Lord.

Daylight

It's a new day God and its beautiful. The sun is just coming up over the trees, the air is cool and comfortable, it's quiet in my normally busy neighborhood, and life is good. Because it's a new day and it's beautiful.

Thank you God for this past year-and-a-half and the way it's changed my life. I've such a new appreciation for the blessings I have and for the life I've been given. I'm so grateful for every little thing that makes life special - the laugh of a child, the warm smile of a friend, the touch of a loved one, and beautiful mornings. I approach each day with a positive attitude because I know how lucky I am to be healthy and feel good. It's as though I've been re-born physically, and I'm so grateful.

Dear Lord let me fully enjoy this day! Allow me to take the negative things that may be part of it and learn from them. Enable me to live with enthusiasm and not just sleep-walk my life away. Help me to be a better person and to make my life as much a gift to others as it is to me. May I give my all to you every moment and may I do your will with love. And most of all, Lord, make me truly grateful for every day because every day is beautiful.

There are days

Oh there are days Lord. Oh there surely are days.

Some days, like today for instance, nothing seems to go quite right. I make the wrong choices, I say the wrong things, and everything I try to do goes wrong. I don't know why it happens and I can't predict it, but it seems to happen on the heels of a really good day, when everything goes right and good things are accomplished. Is there a connection God? Does the enemy see things going well and zero in on your child so there are roadblocks and things just don't go as smoothly as possible? I wonder about that. I also wonder if it's my own fault because when things are going well I tend not to depend so heavily on you. and yet you want us to always lean on you and always seek your guidance. Forgive me for ever depending on my own strength or wisdom, for I will always fall short.

There are days like this Lord and I learn from them. May there always be days like this.

Summer days

God I hear you in the summer days. I hear your voice in the songs of the birds in the morning, I see your hand in the sight of the fireflies in the evening, and everywhere I am reminded of what a wonderful gift the world is. Seeing what surrounds us, experiencing life, and not recognizing your hands at work would be like eating a gourmet meal at a fine restaurant and wondering whether there was a chef involved. I cannot question your presence because it's everywhere, all around me. And it's glorious!

Thank you Lord for your beautiful creation. Thank you for the blessings of this world, for the special places we enjoy and for the people who make our lives rich and full of love.

Surrounded

I am loving this time of the year, Lord, when we are living outside and spending lots of time together - I'm surrounded by my family and enjoying life so much. What a difference a year makes!

Last year I was barely able to function as I worked through the process of fighting my disease. I was doing chemotherapy, my iron was so low they had me taking three iron supplements a day, and I felt like a wrung out dish cloth. This year I feel like a new person, with energy and vitality and a true love of life. God I am so grateful!

Nothing gives us an appreciation of life the way a brush with death does. And nothing makes us appreciate feeling good the way feeling lousy does. And I'm grateful for those reminders that things do not always go smoothly here on earth. Sometimes there is heartache and sometimes there is pain. Sometimes we cry out for your presence just to get us through the day. And often times we take the blessings we have for granted.

Lord, more than anything else I ask that I never again take for granted the joy of a normal, healthy day. Please remind me God that it's not always something to be had and that those of us who do are blessed beyond words. I am eternally grateful for your touch on my life.

The Unknown

There is so much fear in the unknown God. It's the fear that eats away at our confidence and at the peace that you want us to have. And the fear of what could happen or might happen or possibly will happen - well that really is the enemy's tool.

Lord save me from my fear of the unknown. Help me to lean totally on you and not on my own poor strength. Know my heart, Lord, and bolster my faith when it's weak and I'm feeling vulnerable and alone. I'm yours Lord - help me to act like it. I trust in you God - help me to hang on to that trust. I now your promises - may I never forget them.

Help me to conquer my fear of the unknown God. It's such a hard thing to do.

Bathed in prayer

I had a challenge today Lord and I knew that the whole while I was being bathed in prayer. I knew my family was praying for me, and my friends, and my church family. And Lord, I felt those prayers as they rose heavenward. I could literally feel you holding me in your arms and comforting me. I could hear you whispering in my ear, comforting me, reassuring me, encouraging me. I knew you were right there with me and I knew that the prayers of so many people were accompanying me.

Dear God thank you for answered prayer. Thank you for being so real and so near that your presence can be palpable. Thank you for never leaving us or forsaking us. And thank you for your love.