Heavenly Father, I praise You for music, for art, for the beauty of nature. I praise You for the tenderness of holding a newborn baby, watching kittens or puppies wrestle around. I praise You for my childhood and for all the memories I have of singing in church and listening to missionaries from all over the world. Help me today to take command of my thoughts and day and shake all evil from them.
Holy Spirit, I sit here listening to Alan Jackson sing old hymns, and I find myself singing and worshiping You. I enjoy the current music and the spirit-led words and themes, but I appreciate the old hymns and the real life they covered also. I appreciate that you created an appreciation for a broad perspective. I love quartet music, contemporary music, bluegrass, classical, even old pop and rock. I love to see rainbows, sunsets, fields freshly planted or being harvested. I love that I live in Michigan, where a little of everything can be seen. I also appreciate the times I have had in the Appalachian Mountains and the
Rocky Mountains. I was fascinated by Washington, DC, when I was there, and seeing the Atlantic Ocean when I was in Florida. Seeing the Arch in St. Louis, or Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. You have blessed me to see many places. I have been so far north in Canada that I have walked between lakes that no car or truck could go, and very few people have ever traversed.
Help me to continue to appreciate life, especially how and why You created it. Help me to be respectful and responsible with my part in it. Help me to share the joy and love that You have placed in my heart.
O Lord, I will praise You; though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.” Therefore, with joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And on that day you will say: Praise the Lord, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things; this is known in all the earth. Isaiah 12:1-5