profusely

Wednesday, April 6, 2016 (10:43 a.m. EDT)

Grandeur of the Seas – back balcony

Heading north toward Baltimore, MD

Most Holy Father God,

No amount of “Thank You”s and “Praise You”s will ever be enough! You have blessed us. Profusely! Exuberantly plentifully; abundantly. Lavishly. Extravagantly. From the Latin profusus 'lavishly, spread out,' past participle of profundere, from pro- 'forth' + fundere 'pour.'

Yes. Exactly. You have poured forth blessing after blessing upon us. We have met people. Been places. Had fun. Laughed. Cried. Smiled. Grimaced. And we still have a few more days.

This is where I come to You asking (Matthew 7:7) Blessed Father. I want to be the grateful woman You would have me be. I long to appreciate and proclaim everything You give to us as “good”. And “enough”.

Yes Dearest Lord. Far too easily I get caught in thinking of how different things could be rather than enjoying them exactly as they are. Mm, yes Blessed Daddy God, work with me this day. ♫You are the Potter, I am the clay; Make me and mold me, This is what I pray. Change my heart O God, Make it ever true. Change my heart, O God, May I be like You♫ Yes, please. May I be like You?

Thank You Most Dear and Holy God. Thank You for giving me this time to be alone with You here. Take the many hours we have remaining on this ship and use them to Your good and to Your glory. You have blessed us so profusely that we would in turn pour forth those blessings onto others.

Teach us to share Blessed God. Extravagantly. Make us willing to let others see You in us. We love You Holy God. And oh how we thank You. Profusely!

Thank You. Use us. Amen.

(303 words ~ 11:21 a.m.)

"Happy Sunday!"

Sunday, April 3, 2016 (10:35 a.m. EDT)

Cruising toward San Juan, Puerto Rico

Grandeur of the Seas - back balcony

Holy Father God,

“Happy Sunday!” I've said it several times this morning. We had the opportunity to worship together with other cruisers. To sing and pray and share moments of gratitude. Thank You Father.

Thank You

Time!

Saturday, April 2, 2016 (3:42 p.m. EDT)

Grandeur of the Seas (back balcony)

Overlooking Labadee, Haiti

Holy God,

So much to see. And do. Yet we sit. Watching. Waiting. Blessed Father God, what a gift You have given us this trip. Time! Time to sit. Time to watch and wait. Time to consider. Contemplate. Time to rejoice and be glad.

Yes Father. Thank You for this time together with our precious son to truly rejoice and be glad for so very many things. Number one that You are our God! Good. Kind. Merciful. Loving. Forgiving. Faithful. Perfect.

As I sit here watching the ship we are currently on sailing away from one port, heading toward another again I have You to thank. Thank You for friends. And family. Thank You for tiny little snippets of shade to continue scrunching into.

Thank You for the sounds of the ship cutting through the water. The music playing inside our room. The choices of things to be involved with this evening. We have food. Drink. Entertainment. Fellowship. Camaraderie.

Empower and embolden us to make good choices of how exactly to use this enormous gift You have so generously bestowed upon us. Time!

And here again I return to the Preacher/Teacher [Solomon?]'s thinking of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. The Life Recovery Bible footnote tells us, “There is a time for everything because God has set the times. All of life is a well-orchestrated symphony for which God has written the music. An essential part of recovery is seeking out God's plan for us and then following it.”

Yes please. Let me follow Your plan Blessed God. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(277 words ~ 5:13 p.m. EDT)

lachrymose

Friday, April 1, 2016 (8:16 a.m. EDT)

Grandeur of the Seas

Heading to Labadee, Haiti

Holy, Holy God,

I had just started singing ♫Holy, Holy, Holy♫ (Revelation 4:8a) and I remembered that I have time this morning to sit with You. Thank You Father for this whirlwind trip.

Sitting still long enough to actually feel my feelings has me fighting back the tears. I don't really want to cry. And then again, I don't not want to at the very same time.

It's much too soon to be thinking about a week from tomorrow. Yet there it is. And look! A brand new to me word. Lachrymose. Adjective. Tending to cry easily or causing tears.

Yep. Here I am. It's Boston (and most every other trip I've ever taken) all over again. Getting close to having to say good-bye practically just after having said hello.

Father. You know me. You know exactly that of which I am capable. 'I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength' (Philippians 4:13). Keep reminding me of this I pray.

Yes. I tend to be a person very easily given to tears. Often without warning. Many times preceded by a tremendous sense of foreboding.

And even here Your Word comes directly into play. An antonym of foreboding is calm. Which takes me straight up a few verses to Philippians 4:7. “If you do this [tell God what you need (v. 6)] you will experience God's peace...” What better source of calm could there possibly be.

Thank You Father. Thank You that I even get to come before You with feelings of foolishness. I judge myself so incredibly harshly when I believe my reactions to outside stimuli should be markedly different than what they are.

Thank You that You are so much bigger, mightier, more merciful than every single scenario I can create in my mind. Thank You that one minute I am singing ♫Holy, Holy, Holy♫ to You and the next it is ♫Turn, Turn, Turn♫ (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

Blessed, Holy God. Thank You that I am not in this by myself. Thank You that I have You not only to turn to, but to cling to. You are “the One who always was, who is and who is still to come” (Revelation 4:8b).

Thank You Jesus that You call us to come unto You that You would give us rest (Matthew 11:28). Let me stay right here with You. Right now. Not going ahead. Nor behind. Let me learn to enjoy You right here in this present moment.

Skipping around in Your Word this morning helps me smile. Thank You Holy Father. The Preacher/Teacher in Ecclesiastes encouraged his people to fear You and obey Your commands (12:13). This I ask Your aid in accomplishing.

Empower and enable me in being Your hope-filled, cheerful ambassador this day. “Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time” (Reinhold Niebuhr). Not borrowing trouble from tomorrow (Matthew 6:34).

The Life Recovery Bible Serenity Prayer devotion for this verse tells us, “Jeremiah said, 'The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day' (Lamentations 3:22-23). Since God's grace comes in daily doses, that's the best way to face life.”

Here I am Lord. Turning to You. Your grace. Your mercy. Your faithfulness. Which are new every morning. Thank You. I love You. Use me and my tearfulness well this day. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(592 words ~ 9:51 a.m.)

Sailing Day ~ 3/30/16

Wednesday, March 30, 2016 (8:22 a.m. EDT)

Baltimore, MD

Blessed God,

It's sailing day. How did this even happen? Months ago, it was so far away. And now it's here. To say we are excited is such an understatement. We passed excited days ago!

So ~ how do I even begin to thank You? There are not enough words. You have blessed us. Kept us safe. Your face has truly shined upon us. And we have such peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

Your peace. That peace which passes understanding (Philippians 4:7) ♫down in our hearts♫ Blessed Father God, thank You!

As we go out into this day truly not knowing what at all to expect we ask You to go before us, guiding our experiences.

We ask You to be with us, in us, beside, behind, beneath and above us. Completely encircle us with Your grace and Your glory that we would honor, glorify and enjoy You.

Here we go God! Thank You. We love You. Amen.

(167 words ~ 8:34 a.m. EDT)

angels watching ~ 3/29/16

Tuesday, March 29, 2016 (9:27 a.m. EDT)

Baltimore, MD

Holy God,

Thank You. You allowed me to drop my guard yesterday and to fully enjoy myself. Being aware of our surroundings, watching over each other's shoulder.

And just like that I am singing ♫All day, all night, angels watching over me, my Lord♫ Yes, Father. Thank You for angels watching over us.

Here I confess to You that I have no idea what angels watching over us really looks like. I even admit I had to search to find its mention in Psalm 91:11. And here I stop again to thank You Father.

Thank You that You ARE our refuge! (v. 9) Moving up to the beginning of this Psalm I breathe in deeply and ask You to indeed be our place of safety (v. 2a). It IS You I am trusting (2b). Thank You for always reminding us of Your presence.

Thank You Father. Praise You. Order Your angels to watch over us we pray. Thank You. We love You. Embolden us to glorify and enjoy You this day. Thank You. We love You. Amen.

(186 words ~ 10:28 a.m.)

cues ~ 3/28/16

Easter Monday, March 28, 2016 (8:02 a.m. EDT)

Baltimore, MD

Holy God,

Thank You! Thank You for keeping us safe. Thank You giving us cues for safety. Thank You that Your Word supplies cues for us. Yes, Father. Thank You!

We are in unfamiliar territory. An area that was initially frightening. I recognized the fear I experienced immediately. Flashes of past fearful incidences immediately came to mind. Thank You Father that You are our ultimate counter to fear.

Here we are in such close proximity to our nation's capital at such a crucial political season. Let me pray out Jeremiah (10:7-8 The Voice)'s words to You. “Who wouldn't worship You? It is only right; You are the King of all kingdoms. The wise and powerful men of all nations in their realms are still nothing compared to You. They are stupid fools for taking their cues from blocks of wood, as if that idol could lead them anywhere.”

Oh yes Blessed God. Our nation is at such a perilous time. We need You Father. There is no one who can carry us through to the plans You have for us. Provide for this nation THE person who will worship You! It IS only right. You ARE the King of all kingdoms! Do all You must that we would truly take our cues from You.

Holy, Blessed Father God, I love You. I praise You. Empower me (Ephesians 6:10) to be alert, always praying (v.18) and fearing only You (Matthew 10:28). Bless us. Keep us (Numbers 6:24). Use us to Your good and to Your glory.

Thank You Father. We love You. Amen.

(275 words ~ 9:23 a.m.)