♪Communication♪

 Saturday, July 31, 2021 (6:32 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

Thank You for Your work in us. Opportunities to work and communicate with one another.

What an incredibly good God You are! You speak Truth to us. Every once in awhile we listen. And occasionally obey. Continue Your work Dearest Lord.

Talking with You one moment and the switch of one word has me singing ♪Communication♪ to the tune of Carly Simon’s Anticipation. From there we went straight to Ephesians 4:29 in The Passion Translation.

“And never let ugly or hateful words come from your mouth, but instead let your words become beautiful [constructive] gifts that encourage others; do this by speaking words of grace to help them.”

God, what would it be like if we were to heed Your Word? Never letting corrupt communication [foul language, unwholesome talk, evil speech] proceed out of our mouths.

Oh! Look at this translation. Easy-to-Read Version. “When you talk, don’t say anything bad. But say the good things that people need - whatever will help them grow stronger. Then what you say will be a blessing to those who hear you.”

Yes God! THAT! Nothing that will hurt others (Expanded Bible). Only saying what is helpful. Again I ask You, what would that be like Dearest Jesus?

Here I am asking You to do all You must in, with, by, through and for me that I would come to truly represent You well. In my thoughts, words and deeds.

Even here I am guided back into Your Word. Colossians 3:6-7. “Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs [like ♪Communication♪ 😁] to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

I love You Lord. I need You. I want You. And I ask You. Make it all so Dearest Dad. Make it all so. In Your Son’s most holy name. Amen.

(358 words ~ 7:28 a.m.)

Bulwark

 Friday, July 30, 2021 (6:35 a.m.)

♪A Might Fortress Is Our God, A bulwark never failing♪

Bulwark? What really IS a bulwark?

Holy God, these were some pretty deep thoughts at three o’clock this morning. Thank You for using them to guide me back to peace-filled, restful sleep. You heard my confessions of regrets, mistakes and misdeeds.

preparations

 Thursday, July 29, 2021 (5:26 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You for leading us in work and play these past few weeks. Preparations were made. And fun was had. So much fun as a very happy matter of fact. Thank You Lord. You led the whole parade of events.

As I consider Your guidance I am so pleased to recall with glowing detail all the work dedicated toward helping these two boys feel welcomed and safe in their surroundings. Such true delight for having played a part in their successful home away from home experience.

Yea. And thank You God!

You directed our steps. Teaching us to work well together. To be able to have differing opinions and still come together for the good of the family. Father, praise You!

I turn to Your Word and land at Proverbs 24:27 in the Old Testament. And to the preparations for Your Last Supper in the New. Thank You for all You have to say to us. Regarding everything.

(7:09 a.m.)

The more I read and the deeper I settle in, the greater is my appreciation of You. All You are. And all You do. My feeble thanks and praise are nowhere enough. You want my whole heart. Soul. Mind. And strength (Mark 12:30). As well as my obedience.

Blessed God, how I thank You for those times I am ready, willing and able to heed Your call. The opportunity of having put first things first for the good of the family these last several weeks is a shining example of following You.

Floors, walls, windows, and sidewalks were swept, scoured, polished and deeply cleaned. All in the effort of erasing a scary experience from the minds of two very impressionable youngsters.

It was all You in the groundwork! Every negative encounter was met with a positive reminder of the purpose for the work. These two boys. And their mom. Setting up conditions for a peace-filled, restful time away from their own home.

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) “[Put first things first.] Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house and establish a home” (Proverbs 24:27).

The preparations we made seemed to have accomplished exactly that. Thank and praise You Lord.

With this extremely successful experience of having requested and followed Your lead, here I ask You to guide me through this particular day. Make me aware. And appreciative. Helpful. And obedient to You. Your Word. Your will. And Your way.

I love You. I long to serve You as You so rightly deserve. Do all You must in making it so. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(449 words ~ 8:10 a.m.)

breathing intentionally

 Wednesday, July 28, 2021 (5:44 a.m.)

Thank You God,

Yes. Thank You!

You remind me to breathe intentionally. My first reaction to unsettling things is split second upset. Negative thoughts. And words.

Remembering to exhale fully causes an automatic response of deep inhalation. Feeling tension leave my mind and body, I am reminded of the Holy Spirit as Your living breath. From there I turn to John 14:26 and 16:13-15.

Holy Spirit as Helper. Sent by the Father to teach all things and bring remembrance of Christ’s teaching. The Spirit of Truth guiding us to all truth.

Father God, I ask You to continue Your work in each of us. Guiding and directing us in turning to You. Your Word of Truth and promises.

You are so very good to us. Something as simple as breathing more fully and intentionally changes so much from the inside out.

I want to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be[ing] kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven [me]” (Ephesians 4:30-31).

Yes! Father, do all You must that I will come to glorify and enjoy You forever. I love You. I need You. I want You. And I thank You. Use me. Praise You. Amen.

(229 words ~ 6:29 a.m.)

continued blessings

 Tuesday, July 27, 2021 (5:49 a.m.)

Holy God,

You blessed us again yesterday. In so very many ways.

As I consider all we encountered and accomplished, I continue counting it all as blessings. The examples of Your provisions come one right after another. Thank You Father. So often I’m not even aware.

This morning I have opportunity to read again of David and his faithfulness to You (1 Samuel 24). Father how I thank You for all You provide us. Examples of obedience. Opportunities to change and grow.

This morning I ask You to continue Your good work in each of us. The Life Recovery Bible’s comment for a Serenity Prayer Devotional tells us, “When we are working to make changes in our life and relationships, we may not always be certain of what to do. When we face confusing situations, we need to rely on God’s wisdom to help us make our decisions.”

You do help us Lord. We are especially aware when we are willing to look to You. Cue the music… Two songs. ♪And anytime I don’t know what to do, I will Cast All My Cares Upon You♪ followed by ♪Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey♪

Yes Lord! Praise You. There IS no other way. I confess trusting You comes much easier for me than obedience. Continue Your work Dearest God. I love You. I need You. I want You. And I ask You. Do all You must to Your good and glorious end. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(248 words ~ 7:11 a.m.)

teaching and training

Monday, July 26, 2021 (6:23 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

You’ve been teaching and training us. Recently we’ve been most aware of it. Thank You Lord.

Ephesians 6:4 Easy-to-Read Version

Romans 12:7 The Passion Translation

2 Timothy 3:16 The Voice

Guide me this morning. And long into the day.

Deuteronomy Love for God: 6:1-25. A Call for Wholehearted Commitment. Especially verse 13. In various translations. 

love's perfection

 Saturday, July 24, 2021 (6:55 a.m.)

Blessed Lord God,

Thank You for music that gets us thinking ♪God Only Knows♪ Music that speaks Your Truth ♪Fear [he] Is A Liar♪ Music that inspires us to hope and sing and follow You.

Mm, yes. Hope. And sing. And follow You. I’m here asking You to lead me into Your Word. Specifically Your perfect love casting out fear.

1 John 4:18a. I’m familiar with “There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear.” Reading various versions of this verse I stop at The Passion Translation followed immediately by Worldwide English (New Testament).

“Where God’s love is, there is no fear. God’s perfect love takes away fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear. Anyone who has fear does not have perfect love” (WE).

The Passion Translation. “Love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love’s perfection drives the fear of punishment far from our hearts. Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love’s perfection.”

Love’s perfection. Mm, yes , please. Continue Your perfect, refining work in us Lord. Speaking to us. Teaching us. Making us obedient to Your will and to Your way.

I love You Lord. Imperfectly. Use me as only You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(217 words ~ 8:18 a.m.)

however

 Friday, July 23, 2021 (6:48 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You that You are great. And glorious. Good. And gracious. Because I am not! Any of those things.

I am, however, loved. By You. Thank You Father. Praise You Lord.

Yes God. No matter what, we are loved and blessed by You. Thank You.

I am confessing to You the sadness I am feeling over the fires. Lack of rain. Drought. Destruction. Failing crops. Despair.

Holy God, thank You that we have You. You, to Whom to turn. Always. And here I do.

After a day of moping and bitter resentments toward people, places and things I cannot control I finally come to You. Thank You Father for the freedom You provide us in choosing You. The strength of Your mighty power (Ephesians 6:10). Your complete set of armor (v.11-17).

I attempted to overcome the negativity on my own yesterday Dear Lord. While I know better, I fell straight back into the miry pit.

Your Word. Your Truth. Your promises. I saw them all off in the distance. I confess, I refused to take the necessary time to humbly come before You. To listen. And to learn.

However, I’m here now. And You greet me with Your open arms. Thank You Lord. Praise You Father.

Psalm 135. The Life Recovery Bible comment. “135:1-13 Knowing that God has chosen us as His own should give us the confidence to call on Him when we are in trouble. All through the Old Testament we see evidence of God working to save His people. Because God is all-powerful and ‘does what pleases Him’ throughout the earth, He can help us when we call on Him. In His greatness, no problem is too great for Him to solve.”

Forgive me Father. I seem to have again attempted to take the weight of the world from You, where it so rightfully belongs, and place in firmly on Your people instead. Thank You for again reminding me that You’ve got this.

Thank You for the writings of the psalmist who knew of Your greatness first hand. “I, too, give witness to the greatness of GOD, our Lord, high above all other gods. He does just as He pleases - however, wherever, whenever. He makes the weather - clouds and thunder, lightning and rain, wind pouring out of the north” (Psalm 135:6-7).

You’ve got this Lord. [And us!] I don’t have any idea what Your plan is. However, I trust You! And I don’t need to know.

Thank You that “Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest’” (Matthew 11:28).

Here I am. Looking to You. Trusting You. Laying ♪all of my burdens down at Your feet And anytime I don’t know what to do I will Cast All My Cares Upon You♪ (Psalty the Singing Songbook).

One song blends right into the next. This taken directly from Psalm 55:22. ♪Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee… Thy mercy, Lord, is great and far above the heav’ns: Let none be made ashamed that wait upon Thee♪

Blessed God, how I thank You for the privilege of coming before You. Just exactly as we are.

Putting our focus back on Your greatness, gloriousness, goodness and grace enables me to smile. Sing. Stay my mind on You. And stand firmly on Your Word.

Do all You must that we will come to glorify and enjoy You this day. To Your good and glorious end I pray. Thanking You. Praising You. Worshiping and adoring You. Use us. This we ask in Your Son’s most holy name. Amen.

(622 words ~ 8:50 a.m.)

buds and bugs

 Thursday, July 22, 2021 (5:43 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You! You keep working in us. Making us aware. Reminding us to be kind. Kinder. Kindest. Yes, Lord. Please continue Your very cultivating of us.

(6:58 a.m.)

And just like that I was outside tending to witherings plants. Deeply saddened by the decaying buds and ravenous bugs. Yes Lord. Dying buds and hungry bugs.

(9:51 a.m.)

On further examination, the buds and bugs are only symptoms to what could be the “root” of the problem. All the water that’s being sprinkled on the plants is going no deeper than the thick layer of mulch surrounding them.

This brings me all the way back to

genuinely grateful

 Wednesday, July 21, 2021 (7:10 a.m.)

Family Room

Thank You, Father!

Yes. Thank You.

You are working in, with, by, through and for us. There is excitement in our undertakings. Various opportunities to work well together. And we are genuinely grateful.

Lord God, I was able to hold a three week old precious baby girl yesterday. This unexpected gift was provided to me by her brand new mom. The tears and chills I experienced were immediately noticeable to all who witnessed the occasion.

God, You are so good! You supply our every need. And throw in beauty to boot [e.g. that glorious sky outside right at this very moment].

King David knew of Your generosity. And was genuinely grateful as well.

Psalm 92:1-4. “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim Your unfailing love in the morning, Your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by the harp and lute and the harmony of the lyre. You thrill me, LORD, with all You have done for me [us]! I sing for joy because of what You have done.”

Continue Your work Dearest God. Exactly and as only You know is best. We love You. We thank You. We need You. And we want You. Praise You. Thank You. Amen.

(226 words ~ 8:05 a.m.)

Your forgiveness

 Tuesday, July 20, 2021 (4:18 a.m.)

♪Your forgiveness is like Holy Water♪

Those are the words I woke up singing just earlier. Thank You Father for reminding us of Your provisions. Your forgiveness being paramount.

♪God, I’m on my knees again God, I’m begging please again I need You oh, I need You♪ Thank You for Your Truth. Spoken [and sung] to us in so many different ways.

Yesterday it was ♪God Only Knows♪

Blessed!

 Monday, July 19, 2021 (5:28 a.m.)

Family Room

Blessed, Holy God,

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday I confessed fear. And today I awoke at 1:09 singing ♪Praise the Father, Praise the Son, Praise the Spirit Three in One♪ Thank You Lord.

We were blessed by Hawaiian worship and powerful messages about family and our need of miracles. Father, I can’t thank You enough for the ways You work in our lives.

(6:30 a.m.)

A little bit of work. And now? Singing again.

Considering the numerous blessings You continue providing ♪I am Counting Every Blessing, counting every blessing Surely every season You are good to me… You were there in the valley of shadows You were there in the depth of my sorrows You’re my strength, my hope for tomorrow I’ve been blessed beyond all measure♪

(7:33 a.m.)

Truly. Blessed beyond all measure!

We’re working again at this location. There is genuine excitement in the air with the realm of possibilities we might encounter. Continue Your healing work in each of us that we would come to do, and think, and be and experience all that You have designed for us.

Use us Father. Exactly as You know is best. We love You. We need You. We want You. And we thank You. Praise You. Hallelujah! Amen.

(226 words ~ 7:38 a.m.)

confessing fear

 Sunday, July 18, 2021 (6:41 a.m.)

Holy God,

I’m confessing nondescript fear to You right now. Nothing specific. Everything in general. People. Places. Things. 

God of Glory

 Saturday, July 17, 2021 (1:00 a.m.)

Family Room

♪ Praise the Father, Praise the Son♪ 

(1:31 a.m.)

It took awhile to find what I was looking for. ♪Praise the Spirit, three in one God of glory, Majesty Praise forever to the King of Kings♪

Hmm, God of Glory. What does that mean Dear Lord?

Oh Your goodness, Lord! Your great and glorious goodness! 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. The Passion Translation complete with footnotes. As I ponder all there is to take in, perhaps some more sleep? Thank You. Praise You.

(5:18 a.m.)

Blessed God,

More sleep happened. And then I got to wake up singing ♪…Jesus is calling O Come to the Altar…♪ Thank You Lord.

Let’s go back to You as our God of glory. Footnotes in The Passion Translation point me from one verse to another. Then even another. It’s much like playing my favorite childhood game of “Follow the Arrow.”

I continue smiling. Beginning with Stephen’s Sermon (Acts 7:1-3) I read in the footnote, “… the life of believers today, all began with a divine encounter as the God of glory appeared before Abraham. It is this same glory that calls people to faith in Christ. We, like Abraham, have been captured by the God of glory.”

Oh Hallelujah to this!

From here I get to go to God’s Generous Grace (2 Peter 1:3) and its accompanying footnote. “… Everything we need to reflect God’s true nature has already been given to us. See Eph.1:3.” [Another arrow to follow!].

“Our Sonship and the Father’s Plan Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus - all because He sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate Him (or ‘bless’) with all our hearts!”

Oh most dear and blessed, good God of glory how truly I thank You. While sleep was somewhat sketchy, rest definitely happened. Thank You Lord.

Overwork of many long underused muscles is causing a lot of discomfort this morning. How perfect that ♪Come to the altar♪ immediately starts singing.

♪Are you hurting and broken within? Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin? Jesus is calling Have you come to the end of yourself? Do you thirst for a drink from the well? Jesus is calling O come to the altar The Father’s arms are open wide♪

Here I am Lord. Asking You to use me exactly as You know is best this day. I love You. I need You. I want You. And I ask You to continue doing all You must. In. With. By. Through. And for me. To Your good and to Your glory. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(467 words ~ 6:22 a.m.)

shared burden

 Friday, July 16, 2021 (5:45 a.m.)

Holy God,

You provided us a challenge of sorts yesterday. Another opportunity to pool resources and work together. Thank You Father.

Yes. Thank You for the privilege to learn. To listen. To share burdens. And care for and about one another.

I was taken outside of my comfort zone. Asked for information. And ultimately offering assistance. Truly Lord, it was a burden shared. Thank and praise You Dearest God.

You allowed us the chance to genuinely work together Lord. Four individuals and a group of animal professionals. You lay the ground work. And we get to choose to follow Your leading. Or not.

Thank You God for the decisions we each made in caring for a distressed dog [and ultimately her caregiver]. Asking necessary questions along the way.

Supporting one another. Each offering up only that which we were capable. You at work within the lot of us.

(7:40 a.m.)

(8:06 a.m.)

Paused for an updating phone call followed by technical difficulties. Again I’m thanking You Father. You continue growing us. After all these years, we are still learning to trust You and one another enough to share our burdens. Freely. Honestly. Openly. Willingly.

Thank You. Praise You. It’s only You enabling and empowering all the changes taking place in our personal relationships. Bless You Father.

Galatians 6:2. The Passion Translation. “Love empowers us to fulfill the law of the Anointed One as we carry each other’s troubles.”

♪Cast Thy Burden upon the Lord♪ (Psalm 55:22). The Passion Translation. “So here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord, and measureless grace will strengthen you.” This was You working in, with, by, through and for us yesterday. Thank and Praise You Dearest God.

Keep working in us I pray O Lord. We need You. We want You. We love You. Use us. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(330 words ~ 8:44 a.m.)