♪Just As I Am, Without One Plea♪

 Friday, October 7, 2022 (6:53 a.m.)

En route to Ensenada, MX

Blessed God,

Thank You! I am so grateful to be here with You. 

(7:33 a.m.)

Thank You for the opportunity to come before You. Exactly as I am. Without pretense. ♪Just As I Am, Without One Plea♪

Mm, yes. That! Truly trusting and believing ♪that Thy blood was shed for me♪ Jesus, thank You for bidding us all to ♪come to Thee♪ Yes. Yes! ♪O Lamb of God, I come, I come♪

Holy God, I have spent so much of my life trying to be all I thought You wanted me to be. Thank You for the freedom that is found when we accept ourselves as is. Turning to face You. Honestly. Openly. Willingly. Without pretense.

This is how I want to live this day Dear Lord. In You. With You. By, through and for You. Fully aware and grateful for the blessings You so freely provide.

Thank You that with every blessing I glimpse, it’s the peace that accompanies them of which I am most aware. That peace which is promised by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippian (v. 4:7) believers. 

“And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds” (Easy-to-Read Version). What blessed gifts You have provided us Dear Father.

Gifts of faith. Hope. Love. And the greatest of these being love (1 Corinthians 13:13). How I ask You to continue teaching me to use them well. Loving You, others and myself as You would have me. With all of my heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30-31). By the strength of Your mighty power (Ephesians 6:10).

Thank You for reminding me that “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Because of this I get to wholeheartedly agree with David as I say, “Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - and how well I know it” (v. 14).

Blessed God, You truly ARE bringing me into my own. Teaching me to more fully embrace the uniqueness You poured into me long before my birth. Forgive me for the far too many times I have longed to be different than I am.

Father, You know best! Thank You that You do.

(10:36 a.m.)

Thank You that You provide for our every single need. Going back to the song from earlier, thank You for reminding me again of the precious gift we have in being Yours.

“All whom My Father gives (entrusts) to Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me]” (John 6:37 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition).

Holy, holy, most Heavenly, holy Lamb of God! What an incredible thought. Earthly people may deem us unworthy yet You will not. ♪Thou bidd’st me come to Thee… Just As I Am, Thou will receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe♪

Oh most dear and precious Lamb of God, how truly I thank and praise You. I want very much to be the woman You so perfectly crafted me to be. Fearfully and wonderfully, remarkably and wondrously, awesomely and marvelously, amazingly and miraculously made.

And here. Look at this from The Voice. “I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe, You have approached even the smallest details with excellence; Your works are wonderful; I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.”

Oh I do Blessed God. Truly I do. Forgive every single one of my thoughts and attempts toward being any different than You had originally planned for me. I love You. I need, trust and want You. Continue Your work in having me BE the wondrous creation You designed. Thank You. Praise You. Use me. Amen.

(688 words ~ 11:05 a.m.)

Another song.

 Thursday, October 6, 2022 (6:54 a.m.)

Cruising south to San Diego, CA

Blessed, Holy God,

Thank You again. There was sleep. And rest. Safety. A movie. And now? Another song. ♪Celebrate Me Home♪

Thank You Father. Looking at the lyrics I find myself stretching them to fit. ♪It’s time I found myself Totally surrounded in Your circles… Please, celebrate me home♪

Mm, Father. There’s a deep peace I’m experiencing at this very moment. Aware of the opportunities and choices we have available to us I am truly grateful, Lord.

With such a low-keyed, laid-back approach, I look to You Dearest God. Asking, seeking, knocking (Matthew 7:7) Your next step for me. Do I rush up for a swim? Stay put awaiting a line dance? Hurry and try to do both?

Thank You Lord for the privilege of having these particular choices at my disposal. I want You to be glorified in my decision making process.

Considering the lyrics again. ♪Celebrate, celebrate…♪ I recognize my desire to celebrate You. Truly. Deeply. Giving You the glory You so rightly deserve.

Jesus, You taught in John 10:10, “A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life - life that is full and good.” Yes Lord! I want to live this day celebrating You. Fully.

Do all You must to Your good and glorious end. I love You. I need, trust and want You to be Lord of my life. Of this day.

♪Please, celebrate me home♪ with You. Here. Today. In my heart. My thoughts. Be Lord over every single aspect of my being. Thank You. Praise You. Swimming it is. Yea! Amen.

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

 

still learning more

 Wednesday, October 5, 2022 (6:56 a.m.)

Santa Barbara, CA

Blessed God,

How I thank You. You teach us. To be kind. Thoughtful. Loving.

Yes. You teach us. Through Your Spirit. Using Your Word of Truth and promises. “Only the Spirit of God can teach the Bible to us. We can get Bible facts on our own, but the Spirit of God must open our minds and hearts if we are to understand the spiritual truth that is there” (Thru the Bible).

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (Isaiah 64:4)

2 Corinthians 1:20

We get to read for ourselves that the apostle Paul “had learned.”  Was taught. Knew. How and what it was to live humbly. With much. Or little (Philippians 4:12).

I am grateful Dearest God. To still be learning more.

Continue Your work. In, with, by, through and for each of us. Using all You must in focusing our attention on glorifying and enjoying You. Forever. Praying to and worshiping only You.

Father, thank You for the many versions of Your Word to which we have such ready access. The Voice explains Paul’s Change of Plans (2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4) to the church at Corinth.

en route

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 (6:52 a.m.)

At sea - en route south to Santa  Barbara, CA

Awesome, Blessed, Holy God,

Thank You. Praise You. There was sleep. Thoughts. A song. And now so much more.

All the thinking and singing leads me to wanting more of all You have to offer us. Philippians 4:8. As well as verse 12. ♪Finders of Lost Love♪ and ♪It’s All Coming Back to Me Now♪

So much to consider. Even the word describing our current travels. En route. During the course of a journey. On the way.

Aren’t we en route to You? Every single moment of all of our days. Thank You Father.

I am fully aware of a strained changed relationship. Thank You that You are preventing bitterness from taking root. Having long given ample thought toward self righteous indignation, You are reminding me to bring it all to You.

Thank and praise You, Dear Lord and Father! You continue replacing my well established bent toward negativity with Your exercises of forgiveness. Honesty. Openness. Willingness.  

Holy God, You introduced me yesterday to the whole-hearted desire I have of being ingenuous. Straightforward. True. Authentic.

Thank You Father! You know me. You love me. Exactly as You created me. I come before You. Asking. Seeking. Knocking (Matthew 7:7). Knowing. Trusting. Believing that You already have Your best interests deeply established within us.

Micah 6:6-8. “What can we bring to the LORD to make up for what we’ve done? …O people, the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what He requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Your God.”

Oh most Dear and Blessed God. You know Your plan for each and every single one of us (Jeremiah 29:11). I ask that Your will be done (Matthew 6:10b1). On earth (v.10b2). Just as it is in heaven (10b3).

Continue Your work in ‘letting my roots grow down into Christ Jesus, drawing up nourishment from Him, growing in faith, strong and vigorous in the Truth we are taught. Letting our lives overflow with thanksgiving for all You have done’ (Colossians 2:7).

I want to experience “the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked… But delight in doing everything the LORD wants, day and night think[ing] about Your law… like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail…” (Psalm 1:1-3).

Lord God, it is You who has provided me the desire to ask You to work Your will and Your way in, with, by, through and for me. Do all You know is Your best. I absolutely want to think on the things that are: true, honorable, right, pure, acceptable, lovely, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Without any degree of malice nor malignancy.

I want to glorify and enjoy You every moment on my journey en route to eternity with You. Thank You. Praise You. I love You. Amen.

(503 words ~ 8:56 a.m.)

ingenuous

Monday, October 3, 2022 (6:03 a.m.)

Approaching San Francisco Harbor

Holy God,

Here’s a word I didn’t know. Ingenuous. I want to know more Dear Lord.

(6:53 a.m.)

San Francisco, CA

Words and music [Lights by Journey and Dock of the Bay by Otis] keep flooding in. Having begun with the word disingenuous I quickly became aware of how very much I want to be INGENUOUS! With You. Myself. And others.

This very moment I am confessing to You the emotional overload I am experiencing. Absolutely in awe of the beauty of our surroundings. And at the very same time concerns over a much loved one.

(8:38 a.m.)

John 15 Jesus the True Vine (1-17) The World’s Hatred (18-16:4)

I recognize that I am hypersensitive to pretense this morning Lord. THANK YOU that I can bring this all to You.

You continue blessing us Dear Father. Thank You that every single time I’m aware of my mind shifting from a negative to a positive I know it’s because of the work You have been doing in, with, by, through and for us.

You, Oh God, are worthy to be praised. You bless us time and again. 

Reading a webpage entitled 17 Ways to Glorify God I am grateful. “6. By being contented in that state in which Providence has placed us. ‘When grace is crowning, it is not so much to be content; but when grace is conflicting with inconvenience, then to be content is a glorious thing indeed.’ (See Phil 4:13)”

This is an absolutely new-to-me thought. While I believe verse 12 to be the more accurate reference, I want very much to ponder it long and hard today. Asking that You would indeed be glorified. Not by my efforts, but through my very being.

Do all You must this day Dearest Lord and Father. Remake, refresh, renew me into the ingenuous person You originally created me to be. I want very much to glorify and enjoy You this day.

Thank You for this particular opportunity to come before You with our every need and want. Thank You. Praise You. I love You. Use me exactly as You alone know is best. Amen.

(367 words ~ 9:15 a.m.)

The most perfect example

Sunday, October 2, 2022 (6:58 a.m.)

Cruising North to San Francisco, CA

Blessed Holy God,

Thank You. Thank You. Thank You!

I had planned to start off with ALL of the negative parts of the night. Waking. Weird dreams. Then I remembered… 

An example. The most perfect example. A father. Patiently teaching his children. Day after day. Cheerfully. Full of kindness. Unflappable.

Thank You that as I replayed seeing the clock every two hours, I also considered the steadfast determination of this very young dad. Fully aware of his perfect example while dreaming, I remember mentioning it to him. Wanting him to know how much I appreciated his efforts.

Thank You Lord that You reminded me to fix my thoughts on whatever is true. Honorable. Right. Pure. Lovely. Admirable. Excellent. Worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). This dream dad checked all the boxes!

While piecing my thoughts together, immediately came the singing. ♪You’re a Good, Good Father It’s who You are, it’s who You are…♪ Oh, it’s so true! You are!

♪And I’m loved by You It’s who I am…♪ Thank You Father. Thank You for this most perfect example of actually seeing Your loving character in action.

Use me this day Dearest God. Exactly as You know is best. ♪You are perfect in all of Your ways♪ and we are absolutely blessed to be loved by You.

Thank You. Praise You. I love You. Amen.

(243 words ~ 8:15 a.m.)

conducive

 Saturday, October 1, 2022 (4:45 a.m.)

♪There’s a Hole in the World tonight There’s a cloud of fear and sorrow There’s a hole in the world tonight Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow♪

How true does this song appear Dearest Lord. Thank You that You are far bigger. Greater. Better. More glorious and gracious than every problem this world has. Thank You Father that You alone are good!

How grateful I am for Your Word Dear Lord. Psalm 14:3. Romans 3:19-20. And again Philippians 4:8.

It’s how I got to sleep last night. Once again trying to remember all eight of the “whatever”s. I want to find the translation that makes it most conducive to memorization. I know [trust, believe] You can make this happen for me. Even especially after all these years of trying on my own.

Taking a side trip from the whatevers for the moment, I am thrilled to be reading Paul’s Charge to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:10-4:8). How perfectly it syncs to The Eagles’ mournful cry of there being a hole in the world tonight. Encouraging there not to be one tomorrow.

Father God, we are so blessed to know You. To be loved by You. Use us in sharing Your Truth. Pointing to You. Remaining faithful (v. 14).

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong [♪There’s a hole in the world tonight…♪] and teaches us what is right [Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow♪]” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Continue Your work in blessing and keeping us Dearest Lord. Make Your face shine on us [Your people collectively] and be gracious to us. Lift up Your face upon us and give us Your peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

Father, I love, need, trust and want You. Do all You must in, with, by, through and for us this day that we will truly glorify and enjoy You all the days of our lives. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(356 words ~ 5:51 a.m.)