carefully wanting to want

 Friday, September 11, 2026 (4:05 a.m.)

Holy God,

(4:24 a.m.)

Thank You! Mm, yes. Definite thank You!

That certainly took longer than I thought/hoped it would. Oh, but here I am. Honestly ready to give Your the thanks and praise You so rightly deserve.

Father God, how truly I thank You for the opportunity of waiting. Considering. Exploring. Wanting.

Mm, yes. Thank You God that You can take my heart and change it to Your liking (Ezekiel 36:26).

I confess to You Dearest Dad, “Thank You” comes quite readily on occasion. Thank You for the times, like just now, that You have me pause long enough to consider what exactly I’m thanking You for.

Thank You for the intensity I experienced earlier. Knowing that I was not to come before You perfunctorily. Not out of duty. Nor obligation. But out of desire. Because I truly want to be here with You.

Thank You for the opportunity of seeing, recognizing, identifying and verifying Mars in the eastern predawn sky. Father, You provide us with so many memorable moments. Thank You that You call us to be aware.

(5:15 a.m.)

Mm, yes. Aware of You. Our surroundings. Our own intentions.

Father God, I want to be careful in my choices. My thoughts. My words. My actions.

You alone are Lord (Isaiah 46:9). I want to honor and obey You. Do all You must in making me right with You (Romans 3:21-26).

I love, need, trust and want You Dear Lord. Thank You for knowing the plans You have for each of us. Plans for good and not for evil. Plans to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

Continue Your work in, with, by, through and for me that I will grow in wanting to want what You already know is best. Use me as You wish. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(324 words ~ 5:31 a.m.)

key piece/peace

 Thursday, September 10, 2026 (4:41 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You so much. There’s already been an easily resolved mistake. The coffee maker wouldn’t engage. What to do?!

Father, thank You that it is absolutely Your teachings through the years that allowed me to stay calm. Curious. Determined. Yet, at the very same time, willing.

Yes. Thank You for the willingness to go slow. Approach with confusion. Continue pushing the button which led only to off.

Get out the instruction manual. Thank You that it was where it needed to be. Right above the now frustrating machine.

Turn to trouble shooting. Nope. None of these hints are helpful at the moment.

Oh, look! Resignedly turning to close the pamphlet. Had I forgotten to replace the detachable shower head after rinsing off yesterday’s grind? Yep! A key piece of equipment. Vital to the operation.

Father God, thank You for the easily rectified challenge of brewing a half a cup of early morning coffee.

While not the most important mishap in the world, I celebrate the win nonetheless. Thank You Father.

Thank You for teaching me this very fine art of trusting You in all things. Silly as it may seem, even/especially in something rather insignificant, I am grateful for my peaceful response to this early morning confusion.

Father, thank You for Your Word that teaches us to hope and trust in You. Reading Jeremiah 17:1-14 in The Life Recovery Bible, again my soul begins singing.

♪Great Are You Lord

It’s Your breath in our lungs

So we pour out our praise to You only♪

Only You could provide the contented joy I am experiencing this morning over a forgotten key piece of equipment leading me to the key peace we have in You. Thank You Father.

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

(323 words ~ 5:35 a.m.)

 

adoring appreciation

 Wednesday, September 9, 2026 (4:47 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You. 

I like when the adoring appreciation I express to You is real. Authentic. Genuine. True. Heartfelt. Yes!

Thank You for teaching me all those years ago to come before You with thanks and praise.

♪I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart

I will enter His courts with praise

I will say, “This is the day that the Lord hath made”

I will rejoice for He Has Made Me Glad♪

(Psalm 100:4, 118:24)

(5:05 a.m.)

Oh yes, most dear and blessed God! A truly grateful heart changes everything. Thank You that Your Word steadfastly encourages us in this Truth.

“A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:13).

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength” (Proverbs 17:22).

Lord God, You know the plans You have for us. Plans for good and not for evil. Plans to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

Thank You for teaching me to trust You. And Your plans. Your will. Your way.

You are good

♪God’s Not Done With You

Even with your broken heart and your wounds and your scars♪

Yes!

Psalm 145:3. “Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure His greatness.”

♪Great Are You Lord

…It’s Your breath in our lungs

So we pour out our praise to You only♪

Thank You for the ways You work in, with, by, through and for us Lord. Do all You must that we represent You well. Loving You with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. And our neighbors as ourselves” (Mark 12:30-31).

Yes. Keep teaching us. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(303 words ~ 5:36 a.m.)

greater praise?

 Tuesday, September 8, 2026 (5:39 a.m.)

Holy God,

(5:48 a.m.)

I confess the reticence with which I approach You this morning. Reluctant. Disinclined. Yep! That’s the word right there. Unenthusiastic. Ill-disposed. Not in the mood.

Thank You for my interest in words Dear Lord.

(5:59 a.m.)

Mm, yes. That interest which takes me to their synonyms and antonyms. Origins. And the ways meanings have changed through time.

Thank You that in being honest with You I get to learn even more. Thank You that this honesty often leads me to searching [and finding!] verification of my own thoughts and feelings through the writing of others.

Left to my own devices I would tend to harshly criticize my reticent reluctance toward coming to You. Disheartened. Downcast.

Instead, with a willingness to just be honest with You, I am blessed by learning I am not alone in my thinking. Sometimes dragging our heels in obedience can lead to greater outcomes.

Moses called to speak to Pharaoh and Jesus’ obedience to the cross are referenced in my reading.

(6:38 a.m.)

And right in the midst I was beckoned outside to witness Your photo worthy glory in this morning’s sky (Psalm 19:1). Father, thank You for the ways You provide for us.

A stirring toward wonder and awe truly does lead to greater praise. Thank You for allowing me to sit with You in spite of the moodiness that has been surrounding me here of late.

I love, need, trust and want You Blessed God. Do all You must that I will serve and represent You well. Use me as You alone know is best. Thanking and praising You as I go. Amen.

(286 words ~ 6:47 a.m.)

foundational firmness

 Monday, September 7, 2026 (4:32 a.m.)

Holy God,

Good morning. Thank You. So many thoughts. About so many things. Lots of scrambled thinking. Exhausting dreams. Good coffee. Sounds of a distant motor bike shifting. The refrigerator running. Clocks ticking.

Mm, thank You Father for our senses. And just how many do we have?

(4:41 a.m.)

Oh! Look!! Here’s my mind blowing up again! Thank You Father.

♪I call You, I call You Healer♪

(I Know A Name)

(4:56 a.m.)

♪Dead things come alive

Dead things come alive

In the name of Jesus♪

Psalm 34 (again!)

Psalm 147:8

Psalm 150:6

♪Let everything that has breath…

Praise the Lord♪

(5:18 a..m.)

So the music that I continue trying to follow is more of a distraction than a help. Thank You for pulling me back to the exciting information about the number of senses scientists have identified. 

Starting with the original first five. Expanding to nine. Then 21. All the way up to 53. Father, thank You that I fall into many of these. How fun for me to learn that I’m not nearly as weirdly different from others as I have believed myself to be the majority of my life.

Thank You for giving us such a firm foundation in You.

(5:32 a.m.)

Yes Father! Yes. And yes!

I left the music to You while I read more about building on the spiritual foundation You provide and here came more bits and pieces of lyrics.

♪… through the eyes of the Father…

…the most high God…♪

Thank You that when we are willing to leave things with You we are far more able to receive what You have for us.

♪Who I Am in the eyes of the Father

Who I am His love set free

Who I was I left at the altar

I am Yours Lord, I believe ♪

Oh thank You Father. Praise You so very much!

I want to live and love as You would have me. Being particularly aware of the gifts You continuously provide.

Continue Your work in teaching me to recognize and use Your blessings for Your glory. I love, need, trust and want You Dearest God. Do all You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(383 words ~ 5:45 a.m.)

surprising sleep

 Sunday, September 6, 2026 (5:30 a.m.)

Monrovia, CA

Wow! Thank You God!!

Sleep. Many hours of surprising sleep. A dream within a dream. And practice of lengthening my muscles and redistributing my weight.

Father God, thank You for loving encounters with others. Thank You for clarity of mind. Awareness of awkwardness. And a willingness to stick with some situations. And to leave others.

Thank You especially for ideas. Some that worked out well. And others that took a completely different turn. Father, thank You for the ease with which I was able to take steps back and observe, rather than force my will and my way.

Hmmm… isn’t that what You do with and for us? You know what is best. You do all You can in helping us choose You and Your best. How trying it must be for You to watch us grow - one mistake after another.

Father God, You have blessed me repeatedly. Continuously. Thank You that You still completely amaze me.

The love You have for each of us. Shown through various interactions with others.

I ask (Matthew 7:7) You Dearest Dad to continue making me keenly aware of Your presence. Your will. Your way. Your goodness. Your grace. Your mercy. Your love. Your power. And forgiveness.

Blessed God, I love, need, trust and want You. Use me exactly as You know is best. Representing You well. In all I think, say, do and am. Be glorified Dear Lord. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(5:59 a.m.)

peaceful quietness

 Saturday, September 5, 2026 (4:05 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You so very much. There’s such a peaceful quietness I enJOY with You. Thank You for inviting us to come to You. Just as we are.

♪… out of sadness…

… broken hearted…

… Lay[ing] down burdens…

… shame…

… hurt…

… heart…♪

(Come As You Are)

(4:31 a.m.)

The phrase “warts and all” just came to me. Changing one word, I am immensely grateful to be invited into Your presence “thoughts and all.” Thank You Father!

Because of Your perfect love (1 John 4:16-21) I don’t have to right myself before approaching You. Oh! This just got WAY deeper than I imagined!

Father, thank You for Your perfect love!  That love which enables us to trust You (v. 16a). Live in You (16b). And You in us (16c). And as we do, that love grows more perfect (17a).

Lord, I’ve read these verses before. This morning they’re having such an intense impact on me. One of those “Aha!” moments to be sure.

It’s Your love that keeps us unafraid on judgment day (v. 17b). Without fear (18). Helping us love one another because You loved us first (19).

Blessed Father, how I ask (Matthew 7:7) You to continue Your work in empowering us to love, rather than hate, those we see (1 John 4:20). Following Your command that we not only love You, but also each other (v. 21).

Yes! Holy God, continue Your impeccable work in, with, by, through and for us that we will come [there’s that word again!] to love as You would have us love. You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). And others as ourselves (v. 31a).

Tall orders to be sure. But like everything else in this life, “Nothing is impossible for God” (Luke 1:37 Common English Bible).

Let my responses to Your commands mirror Mary’s. “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me as you have said” (v. 38).

Mm, yes Father. Continue inviting me that I will keep coming to tell of Your greatness (Psalm 34:3a). Exalting Your name (v. 3b). Tasting and seeing that You are good (8a). Experiencing the joys found in taking refuge in You (8b).

Thank You Father. Use me exactly as You know is best. I love, need, trust and want You. Do all You must. Praise You Lord. Amen.

(412 words ~ 5:18 a.m.)

learning and practicing

 Friday, September 4, 2026 (3:44 a.m.)

Most Dear and Holy God,

There is so very much to learn. And to practice. How I ask You to continue leading and guiding me as only You know is best.

(4:23 a.m.)

Father, thank You for the various people You have put in my life who help me learn Your Truth. Thank You for songs that sing of Your love and faithfulness.

My tendency through the years has been fearfully stiff-necked. How interesting to me that even this is a biblical term. Thank You Father that there is nothing I experience that You haven’t seen before.

How I ask (Matthew 7:7) You to continue making me pliable. Softening, while strengthening me. Shaping me.

(6:06 a.m.)

Thank You for leading me to Psalm 32. Particularly verses 8 and 9. Then over to the prayer of Moses, Psalm 90.

Mm, yes Lord. Once again I am reminded of the brevity of life (v. 12a). Oh, let me grow in wisdom (12b). Using this time You have afforded me (v.10) in glorifying and enJOYing You forever!

I love, need, trust and want You as absolute Guide of my life. Use me as You alone know is best. Loving You, others and myself with all my heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30-31). Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(228 words ~ 6:15 a.m.)