I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done. I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High. My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when You appeared. For You have judged in my favor; from Your throne You have judged with fairness. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; You have erased their names forever. The enemy is finished, in endless ruins; the cities You uprooted are now forgotten. But the Lord reigns forever, executing judgment from His throne. He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness. The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for You. [Psalm 9:1-10]
Holy Spirit, I give You praise for my life. I am grateful and give praise for the family I have, for the wife of my youth, my children who are now adults, my grandchildren who bring me joy. I praise You for my church family and the
peace they bring me. I praise You for my job and for helping me to learn how to lead people and to be an administrator as a principal over two schools. I praise You for the opportunities I had to coach, play sports, be in band, be on the worship team, and to have been working nonstop since I was 20 with two different jobs. Being able to go to college and get a bachelor's degree and a Master’s degree. For all the places I did substitute teaching, all the adult ed and after-hours high school classes I taught before my 22 years as a teacher for the MDOC.
Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cringe before You. All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You, they sing the praises of Your name.” Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot—Come, let us rejoice in Him. He rules forever by His power, His eyes watch the nations—let not the rebellious rise up against Him. Praise
our God, all peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard. Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayers. Blessed be God, who has not turned away from my prayer, nor His mercy from me! In Jesus’ precious name, amen. [Psalm 66:1-8; Psalms 66:16-20]