delightful surprises

 ♪Love Is The Answer♪

Friday, September 25, 2026 (6:11 a.m.)

Again. Still. Always. Love IS the answer!

Blessed, Awesome, Holy God,

There is a LOT of change taking place around here. Much more than just one season slowly turning into another.

Father, I’m here asking (Matthew 7:7) You to delightfully surprise me. Mm, yes Lord. As only You are able.

I confess to You the trepidation with which I either approach or attempt to avoid unsettling situations. Take the changes going on in my own front yard for instance.

Well established and mature citrus trees are ailing. What to do? Long time neighbors are planning and working diligently toward their move. The mere thought is exciting. New. And nearly devastating.

(6:34 a.m.)

Okay! Here’s my first surprising delight…

Not only does the word devastating mean: destructive, disastrous, harmful… Different definitions are also: gorgeous, stunning, enchanting, lovely…

Father God, I absolutely want to view this day [that You have made! (Psalm 118:24a)] and these circumstances through the Truth of Your Word. Do all You must that I will truly “rejoice and be glad” (v. 24b) as You know is best.

I love, need, trust and want You Blessed God. Use me and all the delightful surprises You have in store for us.

♪Best News Ever♪

Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(219 words ~ 8:11 a.m.)

yes Father

 Jeremiah 15:16

♪Love is the answer…♪

Thursday, September 24, 2026 (5:21 a.m.)

Father God,

How grateful I am to be able and allowed to sit with You. Consider You. Wonder and be in awe of You.

Yes. To enter Your gates with thanksgiving in my heart. Come into Your courts with praise. To say this is the day that the LORD has made. To rejoice and be glad (Psalm 100:4).

Mm, yes Father. Thank You for providing us reasons to rejoice and be glad. I very much want to be aware of and grateful for the blessings You make available to us. Always.

Yes. 

(6:07 a.m.)

Again I thank You for time to sit. Think. Search. Explore  Wonder. Hope. Learn. Yes Father. Thank You for this gift of time.

4:44 p.m.

♪Love, love is the answer♪

♪Best News Ever♪

Yes!!!

 ♪Where Would I Be if I didn’t have Jesus

Pulling me out of that grave?

… Thank God, thank God, thank God

I’ll never know♪

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 (5:37 a.m.)

Yes!!! Thank God! Thank God. Thank God...

Father, I am entirely grateful for the ways You work in, with, by, through and for us. Changing us from the inside out.

Thank You for being great (Psalm 145:6). Good (v. 7). Glorious (5). Gracious (8). Loving. Kind. Merciful.

Thank You for the opportunity and the privilege of reading Your Word. Being transported by thought and imagination to all that You are and do.

Lord God, how truly grateful I am to be able to know You. Love You. Call upon and depend on You.

You alone are worthy of our praise (Deuteronomy 10:21; Psalm 145:3). Thank You for the advantages that You provide that allow me to sit here with You. Delving more deeply into the history of Your Truth and promises.

Yes! Again I express my gratitude. Asking (Matthew 7:7) You to lead and guide me every single step of this day. The one You have made that we would rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).

Mm, yes. Rejoice. Be glad. Fear You (Deuteronomy 10:12b). Live in a way that pleases You (12c). Loving and serving You with all my heart and soul (12d).

Yes Father. Do all You must that I will rise to Your challenge (James 1:2-8). I love, need, trust and want You Blessed God. Use me as only You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(269 words ~ 6:56 a.m.)

pressing on

 Tuesday, September 22, 2026 (4:19 a.m.)

Most Dear and Awesome God,

Thank You for the honor and privilege of sitting with You. Of truly entering Your gates with thanksgiving in my heart; and going into Your courts with praise (Psalm 100:4).

Mm, yes Father. Thank You for the ways You work in, with, by, through and for us. Changing us. Often without our even noticing.

Yes! You change us from the inside out.

Romans 12:2

Ezekiel 36:26

2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:17

♪Where Would I Be if I didn’t have Jesus

Pulling me out of that grave?

Where would I be if I didn’t have mercy

Pulling me away from my ways?

… Thank God, thank God, thank God

I’ll never know♪

Oh yes, Blessed Father! Thank You that You save us from ourselves. Repeatedly.

Let’s take Saturday for instance. I made a slip of the tongue. Rushing to say one thing, it came out differently than I’d planned. Hoping it would go by unnoticed, the listener immediately pointed it out.

Father, I didn’t realize until yesterday that my immediate, negative and intentionally hurtful response was fueled by my own embarrassment. Thank You for stopping me right in the midst of my mentally replaying the event.

Right there in the backyard, You very quickly reminded me that I am not responsible for anyone else’s words, motives or actions. I must answer to You for my own.

I confess to You Dearest LORD, my sole motive in that moment was to hurt. Embarrass. Shame. Pay back. Like for like. Absolutely not my best look!

Thank You for Your very fine art of forgiveness. And all the benefits that stem from its practice.

It is only You at work that enables me to choose to change. To truly take to heart the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the Philippian believers.

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:12-14).

Yes, Father. Keep me pressing on toward You. I love, need, trust and want to serve You well. Continue doing all You must in changing me. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(424 words ~5:55 a.m.)

this day

 ♪This Is the Day, this is the day

That the LORD has made, that the LORD has made

We will rejoice, we will rejoice

And be glad in it, and be glad in it

This is the day that the LORD has made

We will rejoice and be glad in it...♪

(Psalm 118:24)

Monday, September 21, 2026 (3:56 a.m.)

Dearest, Most Blessed and Glorious God,

Thank You for the decision to sing of this day to You. This day. Yes. This very day. It’s what we have. This day. This moment. This right now.

Yesterday I was asked the question of how I was. I took the longest time before answering. I considered skirting it altogether. Then I realized, even with the varying degrees of sadness and change I was experiencing at that moment, I was truly grateful.

Yes! Grateful for the love You have provided me through the years. Friendships

(4:16 a.m.)

Oh, most Blessed Father, how truly I thank You. You command us to love. And You also teach us how. Thank You for the opportunity of sitting with You. Singing to You. Smiling about You.

Even posing the question to the internet of how we are to rejoice when we don’t feel like it yields godly answers. Thank You LORD for the good You place in our paths.

There are far more things that I don’t know or understand than those that I do. So much I could fear if I allow my mind to go too far in those directions. Thank You for Your Word that teaches us what You would have us do instead.

Praise. Rejoice. Love. Thank. Mm, yes!

(5:54 a.m.)

Father, thank You for the resources You provide. The circumstances which allow and encourage us to turn to You.

Here I join myself in with the apostle Paul’s prayer for the church at Rome. “I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romand 15:13, The Voice).

Mm, yes, Father. My ability to do anything worthwhile [like rejoicing and being glad] is absolutely dependent on the strength of Your mighty power (Ephesians 6:10) flowing through Your Spirit. Do everything You must so I will make good use of all You are providing me.

I love, need, trust and want You LORD. Thank You for making me glad. Praise You, LORD. Amen.

(427 words ~ 6:28 a.m.)

more lyrics

 Sunday, September 20, 2026 (4:14 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You. I was able to find lyrics again. I very much like when that happens.

♪Again and again

You rescued me out of the mess I was in♪

(Goodbye Yesterday)

Psalm 5:11

Mark 8:34

John 15:11, 18-21

(4:54 a.m.)

Father, thank You for the time You allow me to get my head in the game. There are so many thoughts. And songs. Each leading me either toward or far away from You.

Thank You that we always have the choice of turning our eyes upon You. Looking full in Your wonderful face. And the things of this world grow strangely dim In the light of Your glory and grace.

Lord, it amazes me how very often lyrics overtake my thinking. My thanking. And praising.

I especially enjoy looking into the reasons they were originally written. The stories behind the songs often take me to even deeper thoughts of Your Truth.

Thank You God for the ways You point us toward You. Your will. Your way. Often with baby steps. Greater strides. Awarenesses. And even more lyrics.

(6:06 a.m.)

Blessed God, You never cease to amaze me! From wonders and wanders to sitting outside watching the sky change colors.

Not yet having my own complete thought. I am absolutely entranced by the potential of a magnificent sunrise.

Thank You for Your patience with my ramblings.

♪For the Beauty of the Earth, 

For the glory of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise♪

(Psalm 107:8)

Father, thank You for the ways You sing music into my soul. Thank You for the opportunity of learning more about the songs we find throughout the Bible. At least 185 of them. With Moses, then his sister having sung the first one (Exodus 15:1-18. 21).

When I even begin to think of all the lyrics that have ever been written, Yours are the ones I most want to know.

(7:42 a.m.)

Most blessed and Holy God, there is far more that I don’t know or understand than that which I do. Continue Your work in, with, by, through and for me that I will come to represent You well.

♪… I’ve been Washed in the water, washed in the blood

All because of You, oh hallelujah♪

Oh yes, Blessed Father. Thank You that the lyrics just keep coming. Use me exactly as You alone know is best. I love, need, trust and want You Lord. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(442 words ~ 7:51 a.m.)

unfailing love and faithfulness

 Saturday, September 19, 2026 (3:13 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

I woke up thinking of, then reading the same verses I read before falling asleep last night. Psalm 18:1. And Psalm 100.

The very next thing I know, I’m singing. And finding the lyrics on the very first search. Thank You Father.

“You are God in the heavens the name above all names” immediately gave me

♪Be exalted now in the heavens…

You’re the name above all names♪

(Worthy)

Father God, thank You for the ways in, with, by, through and for which You bless me! Sleep. Gentle nudging. Freedom. Your love. Curiosity. Opportunity. 

Yes! All these. And so much more.

Thank You that when I’m thinking of You and the blessings You provide, different lyrics of Your worthiness swell inside me.

♪Day and night, night and day, let incense arise♪

(Worthy of It All)

Mm, yes. Blessed God, You ARE worthy of it all!

All our worship. All our praise.

You have been teaching me the benefits of thanking and praising You for decades now. Thank You for every single time You help me see positives over negatives.

Thank You for the work You have put in to having me actively search for things and circumstances of which to be grateful.

Blessed, Holy, Father God, thank You for the opportunity of sitting here with You. Reading what other people have written about things that I experience.

Thankfulness turning to praise. Praise leading to wonder and awe. And finally silent worship.

You do this Lord. You provide joy unfathomable. Thank You for the desire You’ve placed in my heart to not only seek, but also to find it.

Yes Father. Thank You for every blessing You pour out. Every song. Every challenge that leads to building the character You have for us (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4).

I was blessed to fall asleep while reciting my love for You. Claiming You as my strength (Psalm 18:1).

Thank You for the privilege of believing You are good. That Your unfailing love continues forever, and Your faithfulness to all generations (Psalm 100:5).

Father, do all You must that I will represent You well. I love, need, trust and want You Lord. Use me as You alone know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

♪For from You are all things

And to You are all things

You deserve the glory♪

(Worthy of It All)

Amen!

(390 words ~ 4:41 a.m.)