grateful praise

Saturday, January 7, 2012 (8:24 a.m.)

Blessed Father God,

I LOVE waking up singing to You! Often I wonder where the song may have come from. Other times, like this morning, I just smile and go with it.

♫Glory be to the Father, And to the Son, And to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be…♫

Oh Your goodness Lord! Oh Your great and glorious goodness. I’m almost laughing out loud as I realize I have joined two songs together again!

Somewhere in the waking up of my mind and soul, I remember talking to You about possibly getting up to see the sunrise [You noticed I overrode that thought!]. With that came the singing of ♫For the beauty of the earth♫ and much humming as I ended knowing the title for today ♫Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise♫

How I went from there to the Gloria Patri I still haven’t figured out. What I do know is how excited and eager [agog] I am because of the related Scripture verses I’ve come across related to these two powerful musical entries.

Three different verses. Yes another mistake on my part. On my way to Psalm 96:8, I went to 66 instead. And it’s right around 66 I plan to stay right now.

There’s a Twelve step devotion titled Joy in God’s Presence relating to Psalm 65:1-4 and a couple of recovery themes at the bottom of the page encouraging me to “share with others the good news of God’s powerful deliverance and His plan for their life.”

Turning back one page is another devotional. This one is titled Giving Up Control and relates to Psalm 61:1-8. Reading the first line to each of the five recovery themes across the page again I am encouraged. 61:1-8, “Wherever we are, whatever the circumstances we face, we can turn to God for help.”

62:1-8, “When we face problems that we cannot overcome alone, the wisest thing to do is wait for God to defend us.” 63:1-5, “The more difficult life is and the more severe temptations we face, the more important God becomes to us.” 64:7-10, “God knows exactly where our enemies are, and thus He is able to help us thwart their attack.” 65:5-13, “God is more than able to respond effectively to our needs for deliverance, because He is the same God who made the majestic mountains of this world.”

And then there’s the command of Psalm 107:8 itself, “Give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds.” Backing up to verse one, I read all the way down the page.

“Say thank You to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others He has saved you from your enemies. He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth. They were wandering homeless in the desert, hungry and thirsty and faint. ‘Lord, help!’ they cried, and He did! He led them straight to safety and a place to live.”

Yes indeed Dearest Father God, ♫Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise♫ Thank You for blessing us and making us Yours. Keep us near You as we go out fully aware of Your presence in our lives.

I love You so very much. And I am truly grateful! Amen.

(580 words ~ 9:12 a.m.)