March 15, 2026

If You Are Silent…

October 14, 2013 by

 

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My children at school know I don’t tolerate tantrums or crying as a form of communication, so most of them don’t do either.  However, I have one little boy whom, depending on his mood, will throw the biggest tantrum and it’s always in regards to little stuff.

If I ask him to sit at the table and he doesn’t want to, he cries and jumps up and down, and then throws himself on the floor and kicks the air.

During his tantrum, I give him a blank stare and allow him to throw said tantrum for about two minutes. And then I go into action. I laugh, and then, I sit in his chair.  He does not like that. He’ll stand up and say, “No,no. My chair.” And I tell him, “Well, if you aren’t going to sit in it, I will.  Are you ready to sit down?”  And he always says, “Yes.”

I pray to You, O Lord, my rock.
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if You are silent, I might as well give up and die.
Psalm 28:1

When I first read this verse, I laughed. To me, it seemed like the psalmist was throwing a tantrum and that “giving up and dieing” was a bit extreme.  I could imagine myself sprawled out on my bed, talking to God about some “very pressing matter” and feeling like my world was going to end if I didn’t get an answer…NOW!

Life can get tough. I’ve definitely had my fair share of moments that have caused me to stop and contemplate giving up.  Sometimes we need those moments because they help us refocus.

Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to You for help,
as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
Psalm 28:2

We know God is good.  We know our circumstances are not always good.  We also know that our less than favorable circumstances, even the ones that make us feel like giving up and dieing, do not impose on our God’s character.  Instead our God is willing to use these moments to reflect His goodness.

The Lord is powerful; He gives victory to His chosen one.
Psalm 28:8 (NCV)

* * * * *

Thank you, Lord, that in our circumstances Your goodness shines through.  You are awesome! Forgive me for those moments when I decide to throw a tantrum instead of resting in Your word.

Amen.

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The Living Praise the Lord

October 11, 2013 by

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The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
Praise the LORD.
Psalms 115:17-18

God is sovereign, meaning that He is completely independent.  He did not need to create us.  He does not need us for anything.  Based on this we might come to the conclusion that we are not important to God, or that we are not needed, or that we have no purpose. But, that is not the end of the story.

God tells us throughout the Scripture that we were created to glorify Him. That’s our purpose and means we are important to Him personally.

So our purpose of living is to

Glorify God   Talking about mankind in the Book of Isaiah, God says about us, “…whom I created for my glory…” (Isaiah 43:7).  God created us for His own glory.  When we are praising God it means we are glorifying Him. “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever” (Psalm 86:12).

How do we glorify God?

  • to glorify God means to bring Him honor through what we say, how we act, and how we think.
  • to glorify God means to acknowledge His glory and to value it above all things.
  • to glorify God means we make it known to others.
  • to glorify God means we have a heartfelt gratitude.

We glorify God through our faith and trust. We glorify God through our love. We glorify God through our desire to obey Him. We glorify God through our desire to know Him.  Therefore, my sisters, this has to be our habit when driving, doing household chores, talking among ourselves.  How sweet He is…how wonderful to us, how cared for we feel. He is such a loving Father, I tell you!

Enjoy God  Psalm 16:11 tells us, “In your [God’s] presence there is fulness of joy, in Your [God’s] right hand are pleasures for evermore.”  Hence verse 18 of Psalm 115 says “We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”  Praising God should be a joyful thing for us to do. How do you feel when your loved one praises you after you have cooked a delicious meal?  I see many posts here on cookery and some are helped by their husbands; others tell us how their spouses have enjoyed the meal (definitely they must have uttered pleasing words). How do we feel? It feels good, huh!!  We are alive…not dead!  Let God delight in us through our praise to Him!

* * * * *

Dear God, we delight in You for who You are in our lives.  You are a Great God.  We lift our hearts in worship and with praise on our lips to You alone.  Let our praises be with sweet aroma to the glory of Your name!  In Jesus name, we have prayed.  Amen!

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A Shield

October 10, 2013 by

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Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield.
Psalm 115:11

Watching a group of 5 to 7 year old boys at football practice can be an eye-opening experience. It is an experience when hindsight is 20/20.  Our vision at any time is never perfect unless you’re just blessed with almost 20/20 vision.  No human could be blessed to be that perfect.

Now back to that football practice…. Imagine that the boys are lined up in two lines facing each other…one behind the other…for a simple football drill—we’ll say tackling.  Two boys, who happen to be brothers, are facing off.  The bigger one has the football.  He runs over little brother and pushes him to the ground, and little brother starts crying.  The next player in line behind the big brother sees what happens, and he just shuts down.  He won’t do a thing.  He refuses to even try because he is scared that he will get hurt.  What is a mother to do when this happens at every practice?

Like I said, hindsight is 20/20. Mom has to remember that the boy is a young, young five.  He has never done this before.  He is a scared little five year old who has no idea what he is doing, AND he wants his daddy because daddy knows what is going on.  Mommy doesn’t know because mommy grew up a girl with Barbie dolls, books, and everything sugar and spice.  Equate this to being scared, alone, and confused.  You have no protection.  You have no one to lean on.

O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield.
Psalm 115:10

We have the protection of the shield of God to protect us.  God protected the Israelites as they escaped Egypt.  He separated a sea for them so that they could escape.  He put up a fire barrier to buy them time to flee to the other shore.  God provided the Israelites everything they needed as they wandered in the wilderness.  God protected David during his reign as king.  As long as we trust, fear, and love the Lord, we have His protection.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are given the Lord as a shield from the evil in this world.

Just as those little football players have helmets and pads for protection, we have the Lord as our shield for our protection.  We don’t have to be like scared children who are doing something new because we have God as our shield.  God is our Protector. God is our Savior.  God is our Help and our Shield.

Hindsight 20/20:  Mommy should have made son wait an extra year before letting him play football.  Lesson learned.

* * * * *

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for being our Shield, our Protector, our Savior.  Without You, we would fall with the rest of the world.  May Your shield bring strength as we live day to day. In Jesus name.

Amen.

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Only For You, Lord

October 9, 2013 by

Not to us, O LORD, not to us  but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1

Who should receive glory?  GOD ALONE!  Glory does not go to: us, anything that looks like us, anything that comes from us, or anything that is around us.  This statement is true for the past, now, and all times.  More importantly, Psalm 115:1, God’s Word, is true for all times, and God is the supreme example of love and faithfulness as is evident throughout the pages of the Bible! (The best example is that He sent His Son, Jesus, to the world to be a sacrifice for our sins!  See John 3:16.)

In Biblical times, many worshipped man-made idols.  Are you thinking how absurd it is for people to worship things they produced with their own hands?  Yes, you’re correct.  And it’s equally absurd for people to worship anything or anyone besides God: self, people, money, fame, or position.  How can we keep this from ever happening to us?

If we all truly had the correct perspective of how great and magnificent God truly is as Lord, Savior, Creator, and King, we would be awestruck by His wonderful and powerful Presence for an eternity and give Him glory alone!  Don’t you see?  The more we know Him and draw closer to Him through His Word, in faith, and in prayer, the more that love for Him keeps intensifying and growing.  Let’s guard our hearts so that HE alone is worshipped and adored passionately!

I know of someone who had it right…who spoke passionately in the wilderness over two thousand years ago!  I really like this man, this prophet, this one who boldly spoke about Jesus and made Him the focus in his life.  John the Baptist took the opportunities he had to prepare the way for Jesus’ coming.  “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’” (John 1:29).  He was bold, but not proud. He knew who he himself was in comparison to Jesus (extremely lower than Jesus). When referring to Jesus, John the Baptist said, “He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:27).  I’ll give you this – John the Baptist was very different.  But that was good, and that was God-glorifying good!  Because you see, from God’s perspective, that‘s what He wanted from John the Baptist!

John the Baptist spoke with God-glorifying purpose “…saying, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near’” (Matthew 3:2). We also want to live with God-glorifying purpose in various ways daily.

And like John the Baptist, we want to have the correct perspective of Who Jesus is so that we can worship Him and give Him glory as our one true God.  We want to have the correct perspective of ourselves (sinners who always need a Savior and who are lavished in His love). And we need a surrendered perspective to step out boldly and differently, if need be, in order to achieve His God-glorifying purposes in our lives for Him.

Like the Jews written about in Psalm 115:1 and like John the Baptist, we want to worship God alone and give glory to Him alone!

And like John the Baptist, wouldn’t we rather be

   in the light,
           walking odd for God …
                  than in the dark,
                       walking proud with the crowd?
I would.

I’d rather be different and hoping to bring Him glory than blending in with the many who don’t desire to at all.

* * * * *

Dear Lord, help us all to give You alone great glory and be grateful daily for what You have done in our lives.  We love You and praise You!  In Jesus’ precious Name.

Amen.

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In His Good Hands

October 8, 2013 by

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I have a child in my class who is very confident with herself.  One day we were standing on the playground. It was a nice calm day (referring to the children and the weather) and there was a nice breeze.  I was admiring the loveliness of the day when I heard, “Ahmee, what is this?”  My sweet girl was pointing upward towards nothing, but what baffled me was the hint of distress in her voice.

I explained to her that I saw nothing, but she insisted, “LOOK!”  The direction she was pointing in was nothing but leaves and trees; I saw nothing else.  She questioned, “It’s moving?”  And then I saw it.  The wind was blowing the leaves.  So, I explained, “The leaves are moving because the wind is blowing.”  “Wind?” she asked.

“Yes,” I explained, “wind.  It’s air that moves.  You can’t see it, but you can feel it.  And you can hear it coming.”  I smiled thrilled at the opportunity to teach her.

Then the weirdest thing happened. She quickly shook her head, cried and ran to me, clinging to my leg for dear life.  I knelt and showed her how we could blow leaves, too.  She mimicked me.  I advised her that wind couldn’t hurt us and asked her if she wanted to go play.  She replied with a firm “No,” and sat down, holding onto my leg.  And that’s where she stayed.

Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.

Psalm 115:3

How often do we let fear of the unknown paralyze us and stop us from enjoying our freedom? The Lord does whatever pleases Him; and this can be scary.  What if what pleases Him is the opposite of what I want?  Waiting has the potential to grow you or strangle your desires.

But we don’t have to fear with God at the wheel.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

* * * * *

Thank You, Lord that I don’t have to fear the unknown and that I am in good hands with You. Amen.

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Praise Him – Use Words

October 7, 2013 by

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Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy and loving-kindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness!

Psalm 115:1

Sometimes, I think, we sing and speak out our praise of our great God…giving Him glory…but failing to voice why we are glorifying Him.  Y’know…”Praise the Lord!  Praise You, Jesus!  Praise You, praise You, praise You!”  These are the words that come from my mouth at times.  Perhaps my praises should be filled with specific expressions of my gratitude.  We do this when we are relating our praise about others, right?  When I am praising any other person on this earth, I don’t  simply say–for example, ‘Oh, I just praise Megan…she’s so good!’  No; I say, ‘Oh, it was so awesome!  We have reached the end of the ‘Seven’ journey, and Megan was sharing her heart…her words just spoke so eloquently!  I am so thankful for her ability to communicate heart matters!’   Likewise, when praising Almighty God, we should be specific about His awesome lovingkindness, His mercy, His grace, His steadfast love!  Yes?

The Psalmist—King David— was really, really, really good at this!  Of the 150 individual psalms which make up the Book of Psalms in the Bible, approximately 80 have been ascribed to David.  David, who God called ‘a man after my own heart,’ wrote phrase after phrase (praise after praise!)  filled with praises of His God…and praising Him specifically.  Here are a few examples of David’s praises.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 107:1

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—
The God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,
Who delivered me from my enemies; yes, You exalted me above
those who rose against me; You rescued me from the man of violence.
For this I will praise you, O Lord….
Psalms 18:46-49

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
Sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!
So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You.
All the earth worships You and sings praises to You; they sing praises to your name.”   Selah
Psalms 66:1-4

As is written in Psalm 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the Lord <that is you and me!> say so…”  Be specific when you sing or speak or shout your praises to Your loving Father!  And when you are praising Him to others…use words to tell them about your wonderful, loving, faithful, compassionate, merciful, gracious Father!

* * * * *

Oh, Lord, we do so love to praise You—and we have so very many, many, many opportunities to praise You for Your goodness, Your faithfulness, Your kindness, Your love!  Forgive us, Lord, when we have failed to voice the whys of our praises!  We, truly, have so very much to praise and thank You for…may we not be remiss in telling you exactly why!  We love you, Lord!  Amen.

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With Joyful Lips I Will Praise You

October 4, 2013 by

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My whole being shall be satisfied…and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches..
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice..
Psalms 63:5-7

Take a moment, please, and think back to last night as you laid your weary head down on your pillow…. Did your thoughts turn to praising the Almighty with joyful lips?  Did you remember the blessings and mercies and grace that He had given to you throughout the day?  Did you meditate and consider how very much He had helped you and guided you?  Did you recognize that He had protected you…and did you rejoice?

I think, for most of us, we DO thank God for the day that has just past.  But…then perhaps we get distracted thinking about all that has occurred during the day.  We remember conversations —good AND not-so-good.  We think about unfinished tasks and projects.  We add to the ‘to-do’ list we carry around in our heads.  Maybe we even start worrying over the next day that hasn’t even begun yet.  But there is a better idea!  Try thinking about:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

So take another moment, please.  Think about yesterday….  Was there truth?  Were things right?  Can you remember something lovely that happened?  Did a friend do something you admired?  Did God’s blessings cause your heart to sing His praises?  I venture to say that yes…YES!…there were true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and PRAISEworthy things!!!  Thinking about these kind of things will cause us to praise our great God with joyful lips.  Remembering  the grace and mercy that He gave to us will give us much to meditate upon.  Dwelling upon the goodness of our God will lift our heart and we will rejoice!

Tonight, as you lay your beautiful head down again, sing and speak praises to Your Father!  Instead of worry and concern, allow all the truth, the right and lovely, the pure and admirable, the excellent, the praiseworthy things to fill your heart and mind.  Give praise to the One Who supplied your needs, Who protected you, Who led you and guided you.  Rest, my friend, in the comfort and blessing of His presence…and I am sure you will wake up in the morning, saying as the Psalmist did:

But I will sing of Your mighty strength and power;
yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy and loving-kindness in the morning;
for You have been to me a defense and a refuge in the day of my distress.
Unto You, O my Strength, I will sing praises;
for God is my Defense, my Fortress, and High Tower,
the God Who shows me mercy and steadfast love.
Psalms 59:17 and 18

 * * * * *

Almighty God, You are Holy, You are Faithful, You are Sovereign, You are Love!  Please help us through Your Holy Spirit to remember to think on the truth, the right and lovely, the pure and admirable, the excellent, the praiseworthy things…and to praise You, Lord!   Amen.

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A Free Hand

October 3, 2013 by

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I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:4

As a child, I was the quiet one.  I was a shy, curly-haired, red-headed little girl who wanted to hide behind others.  If I was thrown into the spotlight, I was not comfortable there, like others. Can you relate?

In third grade, I was about to play in a piano recital. I knew the piece, “Suppose” by memory very well.  But as I stepped in front of the huge crowd, sat on the bench and my long blue skirt brushed over my black shiny shoes, fear captured me!  My hand would not move away from “middle C” on the keyboard.  I played that note over and over again. (My Mom stood to applaud, and everyone else did, too, in order to release me from my agony.  I may be the only person ever to get a standing ovation for playing one note!)  This is only one of many examples when I’d let fear overtake me where I could not move forward—not completely—for fear of mistakes or fear  of hurting someone or fear of letting someone down.  And when the fear cycle began, it easily could snowball into a cycle of bigger fears. Can you relate?

I had asked Jesus into my heart at the age of eight.  I knew I needed a Savior!  But for a long time, it was hard for me to release some of my fears…even some hidden ones.  In my twenties though, in God’s wisdom, He allowed me to come to the end of myself.  I realized in that time of complete brokenness that my focus must be on Him—faith not fears, depth in relationship with Him instead of people-pleasing and swirling circumstances.  My life dramatically changed for the better when I became very God-focused!  (I still have my moments, but I get back on track quickly.)

The freedom, comfort, guidance, and peace that He lavished on me when I needed it most increased my faith and love in my relationship with Jesus!  For many years, I have expressed myself and moved forward—especially where Jesus is concerned!   My hand is no longer like that paralyzed hand that could not move in one direction or the other during that piano recital as a child.  My hand can easily be lifted up to praise Jesus in a worship service.  (It’s just an external expression of the overflow of a thankful heart!)  My hand can write/type words (in various written formats) that praise and glorify Jesus as I share with others about His great saving love!  And with great expression, passion, and boldness, my hands have moved in grand gestures as I have taught Bible studies and directed drama or acted on the stages of churches over the years.  (I share all of this for the great glory of God!  For you see, He took me to a greater level of understanding of freedom and faith in Him and a greater awareness of His Holy Spirit working in me and God’s amazing, continuous grace…or else…those things just listed would not have happened.)

To God…ALL glory and praise! I am nothing without Him!  Oh, how I will praise Him as long as I live…please join me.

* * * * *

Dear Lord, let us be in awe of You.  Let us move forward each day—with thankful hearts— following You!  Let us give our hearts and lives completely to You to use for Your glory!  We love You, so let us praise You as long as we live, and let us lift our hands to praise You!  Let us keep our focus on You as stated in Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

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Quenching Your Thirst

October 2, 2013 by

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I am single. Some days, I feel like being single is a blessing.  Some days, I am content.  Other days (oh! those other days!), I feel like being single is a curse, a punishment, and the absolute worse thing a person could have to endure.

Being single—despite thinking it is sometimes—is not a curse and it is not something I can “fix.”   Being single is not a problem that needs to be resolved…it is a season to be embraced.  During this time I have learned to embrace being alone. (And when I say alone, I mean the absence of another person.) I’ve learned much about myself and being alone (although, I fought at first) has pushed me closer to God.  I have learned to rely on Him in ways I don’t think I would learned without this season of singleness.

This burning desire to be married and have my own family can consume me at times, if left unchecked.  After all, it is not wrong to want a family.  However, the Lord has taught me much about maintaining the proper priority when it comes to desires.  This unsatisfied desire has allowed me to thirst for the Lord more.

 O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for You;
my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1

I am learning to search for the Lord when my despair over my singleness is overwhelming.

  • Not people.
  • Not my single friends who agree with the unfairness of singleness.
  • Not my well-meaning married friends who, lovingly, speak out one or all of the many given lines available about how waiting is “sooooo” worth it.

My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:8

The Lord is the only one who can wrap me in His loving arms and make everything better.  Some nights I cry to Him—literally cry—and He always reassures me that He has a plan…an awesome plan.

Regardless of whether you are in a season (a LONG season) of singleness, or infertility, or financial struggle, or health issues…let Him quench your thirst, your desire, whatever it may be.

He can.

* * * * *

Thank you, Lord, that I am given the opportunity each day to know that You are God—the God…the God that has the plan…the God that is holding my hand…the God that is leading me along the path of life that is before me….the good God who does not cause adverse circumstances and who does punish or bring us trials…the good God who says I can walk you through anything life brings your way, if you’ll only trust me…the good God who provides us with all we need to be more than conquers…the good God who shows us there IS a “happily-ever-after.”  Ultimately, regardless of our current situations, we win.  (And how can we lose, when we’ve already won.)  Thank You, Lord.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

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Seek and Rely

October 1, 2013 by

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O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee:
my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee
in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.
Psalms 63:1-2

 

God wants us to seek Him. I try to seek Him everyday-from the time I wake to the time I go to sleep. I often fall asleep praying because I talk to God until I fall asleep. My soul thirsts for God on a daily basis. However, that human side of me still exists. When I face trials or things happen beyond my control, I still try to take control. I often feel that if I can control it then it will turn out like I want it. I am wrong every time.

 

God uses His power and glory to keep us with Him. I often find that if I just turn things over to Him, the situations I can’t really control—but try to control—will turn out the way that He has already determined.

 

When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Psalms 63:6-7

 

All I have to do is turn things over to God, and life will turn out as God has it planned. He is not leaving me and never will. It just feels like it when I try to control things that I already know that I can’t. When I do realize that God has control, life is much better. I just have to think and remember that God is in control, and that He already knows the outcome. I just have to rely on Him to deal with the pressures and things I can’t control during certain situations.

 

God wants us to rely on Him no matter what the situation is. A situation gets worse when we don’t because we as humans try to fix it ourselves. Relying on God is the only way to fix a situation—He already knows the outcome. We as humans need to seek God and thirst for Him during our times of blessings and needs. This way we get the full attention of, and relationship with, our God.

 

* * * * *

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You today because we thirst for a relationship with You. We long for You, and we have seen Your power and glory. We pray that You help us through the hard times and bless us in the good.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

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