Easter gratitude

I remember many years ago when we celebrated the first Easter after the death of a good friend's child. Suddenly the promise of life that Easter brings had meaning I had never grasped before.

I remember just a few years ago when my mother died and I celebrated the first Easter since her death. Tears ran down my face as I lifted it to God in gratitude for the gift of eternal life.

I remember last year when I was recovering from surgery and grateful for my life on earth and I celebrated Easter with a new appreciation for God's grace and provision.

Again I celebrate Easter and again God I thank you for your Easter promise. I thank you for your glorious resurrection and what it means to us who struggle here on earth. And I thank you for reminding us every year, as Easter once again brings hope and joy into our hearts, that you have made us an Easter people. Thank you for loving us.

Blessings

When I watch my grandchildren playing in my living room I realize I am beyond blessed. When I visit the doctor and he says I am doing well I know I have been touched by your hand. When I look around my world and see what a glorious place it is I am filled with gratitude.

Dear God may I never be so caught up in the things of life that I fail to see the what makes it so special. Please help me to be cognizant of the awesome world around me, of the things my life is filled with, and with the gift that life is. God, I'm so grateful for every good gift, and I'm patient when things are not going well because I know there are lessons to be learned and I'll be a better person for them. Thank you for teaching me the truth of your love.

God thank you. I am blessed and I am grateful.

Search me O God

The Lenten reading was Psalm 139 - one of my favorites. I've already highlighted most of the verses in my Bible. It reminds me that you know everything about me God, and that nothing I do surprises you. I'm so grateful for that familiarity Lord. I so need you to know my mind and my spirit.

I wish I were more perfect God. I wish I had your eyes and your mind and your spirit. I struggle to get through my days with your will in mind. But God, you already know that, don't you?

Thank you for knowing my heart God. Thank you for the intimate knowledge you have of my being. And most of all, thank you thank you for loving me anyway.

Snow

The snow is beautiful God. And it always, always makes me praise you. Because it's like watching an artist create a beautiful painting, a little touch here, a bit more there - I'm watching you highlight the perfection of your creation and cause us all to gasp in awe of it. I'm astouded by your glory.

As the snow falls it's difficult to take my eyes off it and get anything done. I spend a good deal of my time looking out the window. Because I feel closer to you and get the sense that I'm participating in a miracle. I may be only an observer, but I'm totally encompassed by it all.

Thank you God for the snow. And for the incredible world you've given us.

Longing

Dear Lord, there are times I just long so for your peace. I know its there waiting for me and I'm reaching out to grasp it...yet it seems to be eluding me right now. My mind goes places I want to avoid and the enemy surrounds me on every side. I read the Pslams and I know how David felt! It's discouraging and annoying and I want it to end.

Please send me your peace God. I covet it. I need it. I cry for it. And you have promised it.

Calm my restless spirit and ease my mind. Remind me that I have nothing to fear because I am in your hands. Keep me in your presence in a way that's palpable. I'm lonely in my heart because no one else knows what turmoil is there.

Dear Lord, I long for your peace.

Christmas again

No matter how many years I live the Christmas story will never grow old. It's infused with such wonder and awe that every year I hear it as though it were the first time. A baby, a lost world, a loving God - all the elements that we need to hear in our state of constant unrest. Peace on earth - a goal to be sought and nurtured and needed forever.

May this Christmas be as magical to you as it is to me. And if you don't know yet why its such an amazing story, read it again. From the beginning. Perhaps, like me, you'll understand it anew and appreciate it with a new heart. Because every year its told again...just for you...and just for me.

Merry, merry Christmas. And on earth, peace, goodwill, and love.

Now what!

OK God, what do I do when I can't hear you? What do I do when your voice seems to be silent and I'm unsure how to handle a situation or which way to turn? Sometimes the dilemmas of life are so overwhelming - and I just can't be sure what you want me to do.

I guess I just have to keep seeking you God. I hope that if I continue to talk to you, continue to read your word, continue to seek guidance from you, that eventually I'll make the right choices and turn in the right directions. If I abide in you and I walk with you, will I know your heart? Will I see with your eyes? I hope that Lord. I pray that. I need that.

I want to do your will God. I want to walk in your path. I want to follow you and please you and sometimes its so hard to know how to do those things. Help me God.