settled rest

 ♪God’s Not Done With You…♪

Saturday, April 4, 2026 (5:57 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You for Your Truth.

(6:03 a.m.)

Yes Father!

Thank You for the privilege and opportunity of singing and searching Your Truth.

(6:45 a.m.)

You never cease in amazing me Lord. I come to You with one thought. In this particular case, the Truth that You are not done with me (Philippians 1:6). And it quickly morphs into the grace and peace the apostle Paul opens each of his letters.

Grace. And peace.

Not the peace the world knows as the absence of conflict. No! Peace, as in “settled rest.”

Grace and peace that come from You, our Father. And Christ, Your Son.

The grace and peace that multiply as we get to know and trust You all the more. That “settled rest” with which Paul closed his second letter to the Thessalonians believers.

“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

Father God, You are teaching me. To love. And trust. Listen. Learn. Wait. Enjoy.

Some seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth the prophet Micah foretold Him as “a ruler of Israel” (Micah 5:2b) who “will stand to lead His flock with the LORD’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God” (v. 5:4a). Adding “And He will be the source of peace” (5:5a).

Holy God, it is only when I look to You, Your Word, Your Truth, Your promises that I am reminded and strengthened by all that You have done for us.

The Life Recovery Bible comment for Micah 5:1-5 tells us, “God uses ‘insignificant’ people and places to achieve great things. He can take our broken and useless life and turn it into a blessing to others if we let Him.”

VERY key words there! “IF we LET Him.” Yes! Yes. Oh, yes.

“This can begin as we share how God delivered us. As others hear how God has blessed us, they will experience hope that God can do the same for them. Out of hopeless situations, God can bring hope. Out of the confusion and chaos we have created, God can rebuild a world of peace.”

Yes Father. I can so easily create chaos, crisis and confusion. Thank You that Your antidote for it all is the grace and peace of Your blessed Son.

Use me in sharing Your settled rest with others. I love, need, trust and want You Dearest Lord. Thank You that You truly are not done with me. Praise You. Amen.

(448 words ~ 7:37 a.m.)

solemn appreciation

 Friday, April 3, 2026 (6:29 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You for music singing in my mind. Thank You for the smiles that keep coming to my face. Unexpected

(7:20 a.m.)

Speaking of unexpected… a phone call. Much discussion of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalves. 

Solemn appreciation often gets lost.

(7:31 a.m.)

Mm, yes. Solemn appreciation…

Searching to learn more about Jesus’ solemnity, I find “… the truth and fact that our existence in this world is for nothing else other than to know God, love God, worship God in this world and come back to Him in His eternal and heavenly kingdom…” (St. John’s Seminary 11/22/25).

As I read,

♪When did I forget that You’ve always been the King of the World?♪

keeps singing to me.

(7:59 a.m.)

Next I am reading words I’m sure I recognize. Sure enough. They are from a part of a “hymn” in Colossians (1:15-20).

Father, thank You for the various ways You keep bringing me back to remembering 

♪You will always be the King of the world♪

Yes! King!!

(8:43 a.m.)

Hmm. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

(8:53 a.m.)

♪I’ll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

So, Here I Am to Worship 

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that You’re my God

You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me!♪

Use me in my solemn appreciation of You and all You have done on my behalf. I love, need, trust and want to serve You as You alone know is best. Worshiping. And bowing down. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(292 words ~ 8:59 a.m.)

Your presence and Your goodness

 ♪Holy Spirit, You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence, Lord♪

Thursday, April 2, 2026 (5:15 a.m.)

There truly is NOTHING worth more! Your presence. Your goodness. The sweetest of love. Where our hearts become free. And our shame is undone.

Mm. Let me sit with this for a bit. 

Your presence. And goodness. Freed hearts. And defeated shame.

(5:34 a.m.)

Thank You, Blessed God, for the various ways You get my attention. Through music. Catch phrases. Nature. The writings of others.

Have I ever genuinely given thought to what it is to have my shame undone? To truly believe and live as though “Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And He is the way all people can have their sins taken away too” (1 John 2:2 Easy-to-Read Version).

What?! I have repeated and sung of Jesus being the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) for years. Never completely understanding the full impact here.

Father, thank You for each tiny glimpse I get. Every little “Aha!” that comes in connecting one of Your teachings to another.

Jesus. The Way. The Truth. The Life. The propitiation for our sins. The atoning sacrifice. The reconciliation. The payment. The means. The righteous. The One. The forgiveness. The payment. Expiation. Obtainer of grace.

Father, forgive me for the years I have missed the depth of pain He endured on my behalf. That I would be able to live freely and shamelessly.

Teach me to fully accept the power of Your Word (Hebrews 4:12). Overwhelm me with Your presence. Your goodness. Your grace.

I love, need, trust and want You as the only Lord of my life. Use me as You alone know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(318 words ~ 6:50 a.m.)

God's greatest gifts

 Wednesday, April 1, 2026 (6:45 a.m.)

Blessed God,

Thank You. You encourage me to put my hope, faith and trust in You. Even [especially!] when I don’t feel like it. Thank You that You do.

You blessed me yesterday. One step after another. Reordering and reconfiguring my choices of how best to spend my time. And money.

Father, thank You that You are

♪The only One who is worthy, worthy

Worthy of all of His names♪

(That’s Who I Praise)

Yes! You are worthy to be praised. And I do Dear Lord.

(7:40 a.m.)

Thank You for the opportunity of loving and being loved by You. Thank You for the gifts You provide for us. Each in its very own uniqueness.

Direct me in using them as You would have me. 

(8:47 a.m.)

Your Word has much to say about You. Your good gifts. And us using them well. Teach me Dearest Dad.

James 1:17

1 Peter 4:10

Ephesians 2:10

Matthew 5:16

Thank You for all You have planned. Make me an eager recipient and utilizer of the generous gifts You provide.

I love, need, trust and want You Blessed God. Use me as You alone know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(203 words ~ 8:51 a.m.)

plain and simple

 Tuesday, March 31, 2026 (6:10 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy, Loving Father God,

I’m here to confess how easily I complicate things. Thank You for allowing [encouraging?] me to say that straight out. 

In doing so I find I am not the only one. Thank You Father.

Thank You for the privilege of coming before You. With unending ideas in my head. Thoughts of doing this, that and something else. All the while wanting to be guided by You.

Father God, I’m asking (Matthew 7:7a) You to be the focal point of this day. How perfect that I find a verse [Ecclesiastes 7:29] resembling me at this very moment!

Good News Translation. “This is all that I [Teacher/Preacher/possibly King Solomon] have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.”

WHAT IF… I took today and practiced living it plainly and simply for You? Getting out of my own way. Looking for and listening to Your guiding presence.

Father, I long to put one foot in front of the other. Toward You and all You have for me. Uncomplicatedly. Plainly and simply Yours.

The Message. “Yet I did spot one ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we’re the ones who’ve made a mess of things.”

How true is that Dearest Dad?!

(7:01 a.m.)

Thank You for this opportunity of being honest with You. Thank You for reminding me of the importance of dressing myself in Your armor (Ephesians 6:11-18). Every single day!

It is NOT flesh-and-blood we are fighting against (v. 12a)! It’s the tricks and schemes of the devil we are to firmly stand up against (v. 11).

(7:17 a.m.)

And here I am gratefully reminded of two more of Your Truths!

2 Corinthians 12:9. YOUR grace is sufficient for me. It’s all I need. Because Your power works best in my weakness!

1 John 4:4. “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people [false prophets], because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”

It is Your Spirit’s lead that I want to follow today. Plain and simple. Do all You must Dear Lord.

I love, need, trust and want You. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(396 words ~ 7:25 a.m.)

melted, molded and filled for use

 Monday, March 30, 2026 (6:04 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

I used the word “prickly” in describing myself yesterday. It’s a downgrade from the wild irritation I have been feeling here of late. Thank You for that Lord.

Yes. Thank You for the change of focus from all over which I have no control. Weather. Traffic. Other people’s thoughts and actions. 

I look to You Dearest Dad. Asking (Matthew 7:7a) You to continue Your work in melting, molding, filling and using me as only You know is best.

As prickly and tossed around as I have felt these past many weeks I realize I keep looking outside of myself for what will settle me back to a more even keel. I experience momentary senses of balance only to be easily tipped again. “Wobbly” could well be another adequately descriptive word.

Mm. I keep coming back to the water’s edge in my mind. The uncontrolled crashing of waves. Turns of the tide. Even ripples as currents change. None of which can be controlled by our own will.

Yet it can often be managed. Even enjoyed.

(6:40 a.m.)

Father God, I want desperately to live this day in, with, by, through and for the ♪Spirit of the Living God fall[ing] afresh on me♪ Melt, mold, fill and use me as You see fit.

Thinking back to my prickliness I searched “porcupines in water” and learned that they swim. I found that watching videos of them exploring water calmed my soul.

Father, thank You for reminding me that even though there are a myriad of things over which I have zero control, I can always choose to look to You. Asking You for guidance. Seeking Your kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Knocking on the doors You want to open for me (Luke 11:9-10).

I heard it said yesterday that it's okay to wrestle with You. It seems that is what I have been doing recently. Thank You for this privilege.

Thank You for the opportunity of being honest with You. Thank You for the reminders of the times I have struggled with capsizing in bodies of water. Getting righted, only to tip again.

Thank You that some of those experiences were more fun than others. Many were even exhausting. Thank you for allowing me to learn something valuable in each process.

Just like now. Irritations seem to be coming fast and furiously. Teach me all I need to know in welcoming, rather than attempting to fight them every step of the way.

Thank You Father. I love, need, trust and seriously want Your presence in every single choice I make today. Use me exactly as You know is best. Praise You. Amen.

(447 words ~ 7:26 a.m.)