March 14, 2026

Heal Me, O Lord

SeekingHimLogo

A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse—after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.  For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.”  Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.  Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”  And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”  And He looked around to see the woman who had done this.  But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.

Heal me, O Lord
And I will be healed
Save me and I will be saved
Heal me, O Lord
And I will be healed
For You are the One I praise
You are the One I praise

Singer / Songwriter ~ Don Moen along with the Hosanna Music singers

GF Brownies

GF Brownies

Guilt-free?  Gluten-free?  Girl friends?  Yes, all the above!  As usual, I have taken a recipe, tweaked some things here and there for my family, and made a treat that’s gluten-free, nearly guilt-free, and sure to please all your girl friends!  Here are my GF Brownies!

The three ingredients you’ll need to shop for are coconut flour, almond flour, and coconut oil.  You know what?  You can even trade in the coconut oil, if it’s not your thing, for half a stick of butter.  Now just pick up some coconut and almond flours, use what you need, and store them indefinitely in the freezer.  Frugal!

These are fudgy but not pasty.  There’s a difference!  They’re chewy but they don’t become glue in your mouth.  Super easy.  Let’s go!

GF Brownies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips – the higher the cacao percent, the better!  (These were 64%)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (or use butter)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup (or you could use brown sugar)
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • butter or coconut oil to grease the pan

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Grease an 8×8 square pan.
  2. In a large pot, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil together over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  When the mixture is smooth, remove from heat.  Whisk in the cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
  3. In a smaller bowl, beat the four eggs together.  Slowly whisk them into the chocolate mixture (make sure it’s cool enough so you don’t make scrambled eggs!)  Whisk in the maple syrup.
  4. A little at a time, whisk in the almond and coconut flours.  Whisk thoroughly, so you don’t have lumps.
  5. Pour the batter into the greased pan.  Bake at 350*F for 25-30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool for about an hour.  Slice into 16 squares (2×2 each).  Hide the pan from your kids!

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana


To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

What Is Your Jericho?

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…but the Lord said to Joshua,”I have given you Jericho, it’s king, and all its strong warriors.
You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six day.
Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn.
On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times,
with the priests blowing the horns.
When you hear the priest give one long blast on the rams’ horns,
have all the people shout as loud as they can.
Then the walls of the town will collapse and the people can charge straight into the town.”

Joshua 6:2-5

I have a “Jericho.”  And I pray circles around this daily (sometimes literally walking in a circle around my beach neighborhood) asking God for this one thing.  In my heart, I know He will answer.  One day, it will come to be.  Do you have a Jericho?

In the Scripture passage above, God was telling Joshua that Jericho was already delivered into his hands…the enemy was already defeated.  I imagine that Joshua had much confidence as he went to battle that day. Knowing that the city was already his and all he had to do was follow every instruction that God gave him…exactly as He told him.  Joshua had to have faith to carry this out, don’t you imagine?

For someone who was not a believer, the instructions might have seemed a little farfetched. But not to Joshua, who loved his God.  God was making it perfectly clear to Joshua that the battle would depend on Him and not the weapons that Israel had or the manpower.  And He wanted to make sure that Joshua really was committed.

God already knows your prayer and your Jericho.  He wants you to name it and ‘circle it’ in prayer, so He knows how committed you are to your desire.  He has given us His Word as a promise so that we need never doubt or question all He can do for us.

And what does He expect from us in return? Really, all He asks is for us to be the best we can and do the best we can with what He has already given us.  Doing His Will has more to do with “being” the right person and success is glorifying Him in the process.

As a parent, I circle each of my precious ones in prayer and I have great desires for us as a family.  He has already delivered us from so much and He has defeated the enemy more than once.  And just like Joshua, God has given us instructions; sometimes He sends us into a battle that looks like it is impossible.  But with prayer and perseverance we will watch walls crumble in front of us, and kings defeated in His name, and the conquering of the city that is ours already. Isn’t our God so amazing?

I encourage you today to turn in your Bible to this story and pray that God will guide you wherever it is that you are supposed to be.  And if you don’t know what your Jericho is right now, pray that He will reveal to you what His desire for you is.

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And if you don’t know Him, I pray that you will join me in this simple prayer asking Him to be your God.  Will you?

Dear God, I know I am a sinner.  I ask for Your forgiveness.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He is the Savior of the world.  I believe that He died on the Cross to save me from my sins.  Come into my heart today and be my God.  I want to know more about You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Faith Has Made You Free

SeekingHimLogo

And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me,
springing from faith in God) has restored you to health.
Go in (into) peace and be continually healed and freed
from your [distressing bodily] disease.
Mark 5:34

(To read the context, please click this link.)

Can you imagine those who live with chronic pain being freed from it forever? I know plenty of people who would love for this to happen. People look for the cure everywhere except for going to their Father in heaven who can heal.  Does He always?  No.  We will probably never know why.  It is not for us to know all of the answers.

The woman had heard of Jesus’ miraculous healing power and out of her desperation, she knew she would probably die if she did not find someone to cure her. If she were a single woman and had spent all of her money on finding a cure, this was her last hope. Getting the courage to touch His robe in the crowd, she knew she could get into trouble if found out. Women were and are still thought of as property. But Jesus did not rebuff her. He wanted her to have faith in telling her story to everyone that she was healed just by touching His robe.

Remember in the Old Testament, Elisha the prophet was like that…people would touch his bones and come alive!

Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb.
When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
2 Kings 13:21

Elisha was a holy man of God…one of His great prophets.  And then there was Peter…his shadow would fall across people and they would be healed.  What a great testimony of one of the disciples that loved Jesus!
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Father, help us have faith in Your Word.  Like the man asking Jesus to heal his daughter, ‘If you can’ and Jesus saying that  He can only do it if the man had faith. The father responded, “I believe, help my unbelief’.” We want that. You are our Sovereign God. There is none like You. Thank You for loving us more than anyone on earth ever could.  Forgive us and help us to show grace to others. Thank You for always being there and never leaving us. Thank You for second chances!  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Give Us Faith To Be Strong

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Give us faith to be strong
Father, we are so weak
Our bodies are fragile and weary
As we stagger and stumble to walk where You lead
Give us faith to be strong

Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it’s hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we’re torn
Mend us up when we break
This flesh can be wounded and shaking
When there’s much too much trouble for one heart to take
Give us peace when we’re torn

Give us hearts to find hope
Father, we cannot see
How the sorrow we feel can bring freedom
And as hard as we try, Lord, it’s hard to believe
So, give us hearts to find hope

Lord, give us faith to be strong
Give us peace when we’re torn
Give us faith, faith to be strong

 Singer / Songwriter: Andrew Peterson

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This song is a prayer—an acknowledgment of our great need for God in all things.  As in every area of our lives, we need the help, the provision, the supply that only God can give.

It is true that we need to have faith; no doubt.  Jesus spoke often to His apostles and the other disciples about faith.  Over on the Seeking Him daily devotional blog, we are in the midst of a series looking at some of  Jesus’ words on FAITH.  This week the bloggers are focusing on the account (click here) from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5 where we hear about the woman with a long-term bleeding disease who is healed simply by touching Jesus’ garments.  It is an incredible record!  Listen…

She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment,  for she kept saying,  ‘If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.’  And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source,  and [suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [distressing] ailment.

verses 27-29

There is a pivotal point here: she believed—she had faith—that if she could just get close enough to simply touch Jesus’ clothing, she would be healed.  Remember she “kept saying, ‘If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.’”  And so she took the action necessary.  Having faith requires action.  As I think about this scenario, it seems to me there were a number of strong deterrents standing in her way.

  • The crowd
    Verse 24 tells us, “…a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him”
  • Her own physical frailty
    Verses 25 and 26 say she “…had been subject to bleeding for twelve years…had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and …instead of getting better she grew worse”
  • The social stigma of a woman touching a strange man in public
    Verse 33 relates, “But the woman…though alarmed and frightened and trembling, fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.”

In spite of these things she believed “…the reports she had heard about Jesus…”.  Put yourself, sisters, in her sandals…would you (would I?) have had the courage, the fortitude, the faith to do what she did?  I do believe we could…we would.   I do believe we do.

Throughout our lives, we find ourselves experiencing similar circumstances and hard times. Right now, today, I know some of you are living through difficult, demanding, hard situations. Whether they are health-related (like this woman), or difficulties in relationships, or financial problems, or a myriad of other troubles…we need to have faith that God will take care of whatever might be our need.  Our faith is based on our knowledge of His promises in His Word.

…So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17

So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:5

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.
Verse 6

We live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.  According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature…”
2 Peter 2:1-4

May we keep all these things in mind as we have faith in the Almighty God Who provides—Jehovah-Jireh.

  • When we feel weak, may we ask for ‘strength to be faithful.’
  • When we are weary, may we ask for ‘grace to go on.’
  • When we are anxious, may we ask for ‘peace when we’re torn.’
  • When we can’t see the way out or through or around or beyond, may we ask for ‘hearts to find hope.’
  • When we feel we have nothing left, may we ask for ‘faith to be strong.’

We must always remember that there is no need we will ever have that He is not already aware of.  He is the Eternal God our Provider—Jehovah-Jireh!

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O Lord, we recognize that we need Your help in everything.  As the beautiful lyrics of this song sing out, we also ask You, Father, please give us faith to be strong…give us strength to be faithful…give us grace to go on…give us peace when we’re torn…give us hearts to find hope.  We thank You, now in advance, for each of these things because we have already been given a measure of faith by Your grace and mercy.  We have faith placing our confidence and trust in You, El Shaddai.  And we pray all these things in Jesus’ precious and powerful Name.  Amen.

Joy

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

You’ve turned it all around
Where I was hurting, now I’m rejoicing
In Your love I’m found and I have joy

You took away my pain
You turned my mourning into dancing
I can smile again ‘cause I have joy

Let the celebration begin
Make a joyful noise unto Him
Come on everybody
Let’s give Him praise for He is good

You have given me a joy that won’t stop
And will never leave
So I will praise You with gladness
For You are good

You’ve turned my sadness into gladness
You’ve turned my sorrow into joy
Now I’m singing and I’m dancing
And I will shout for joy

Songwriter: Joth Hunt  ~ Performed by PlanetShakers

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Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!  Come into His Presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, He is God!  It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him; bless His name!
For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever,
and His faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100

‘Make a joyful noise!’  Oh, you don’t have to tell me twice!  (And sometimes it is just that—a joyful noise.)  Do we not just love to sing our praises to the Lord God?!?  We have so many, many reasons to praise Him, to thank Him, to bless His Holy Name.

Here in Psalm 100, verse 5 offers three extremely compelling reasons to praise Him:

He is good

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for  those who trust in Him.
Nahum 1:7

This we know…in fact, isn’t there a praise chorus that we love to sing: ‘God is good ALL the time!  And ALL the time, God is good!’

His love endures forever

Give thanks to the God of Heaven for His steadfast love endures forever.
Psalms 136:26

Twenty-six (yes, 26!) times in Psalm 136, this praise is exclaimed!  (Here’s a link to read the whole psalm.)  Throughout the entire history of mankind—from Adam & Eve and all the way along through the Scriptures—we read of the myriad of ways that our Great God has manifested His steadfast love.  AND He has made promise after promise to His children (us! you and me!) that His love will endure for eternity!

He is faithful to all generations

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Deuteronomy 7:9

What a promise of hope He has made—His covenant of love to those who love Him and obey!  Our God always brings His promises to pass!  What a faithful God!

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Dear Lord,
We love to make a joyful noise, Lord, singing Your praises!  You are the Almighty God Who deserves all the praise there is to give!  Thank You for Your faithfulness, Your goodness, and Your love!  HalleluJAH!  Amen.

Faith That Brings Peace

SeekingHimLogo

Then He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace and freed from suffering.”
Mark 5:34

Jesus went about doing good in His ministry.  Each and every time He healed the sick, He would release them with some grace.

In our Scripture reference today we see the lady being healed and at the end Jesus said, “Your faith has healed you, go in peace and freed from suffering.”  In this Scripture we see that if it wasn’t for faith this lady would not have benefitted from the presence of Jesus on earth.  You know what, sisters—we can attain all things when we have faith.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for….
Hebrews 11:1 KJV

This lady knew that ‘if only I can touch Jesus’ hem of His garments…all will be well for me.’  She took a step of faith and broke protocols of that time by maneuvering through the crowd and found herself amidst the disciples (men) and touched Jesus.

On its own, it was not proper for a woman to be brushing shoulders with men; she didn’t mind what people would say about her.  All she was concerned with was that she would be healed.  I therefore urge each one of us to be a people of vision.  Let us also ask ourselves these questions below:

  • What is it that we want God to do for us
  • How are we drawing near to Him for Him to help us
  • How much time do we have for God
  • Do we believe He can do it
  • How great is He to heal us and free us from suffering

There are times we need to fast, pray, and believe God for a miracle.  As well as have faith that whatsoever we pray for we shall have it (Mark 11:24-25).  Sometimes we just need to make bold decisions. Such as going for ‘Esther-type’ of prayer when you have husband at home whom we can’t deny matrimonial rights.  Except for the time of fasting (1 Corinthians 7:5) you excuse yourself to that.

We see also this type of faith in Mark 10:52 where Jesus healed blind Bartimeaus, who later followed Jesus. Let us follow Jesus always—we know what He is capable of doing!  Let us not doubt anything.

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Dear Lord, thank You for Your Word at the right time.  Thank You for You made it possible for us to study these Scriptures which show us how great You are and that you operate well when we have faith.  We thank You for You stand by Your Word that without faith we can’t please You.  As You are pleased with our faith, Lord, do unto us what we need not…what we want.  We ask all this in Jesus’ name Amen.

I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Over the mountains and the sea
Your river runs with love for me
And I will open up my heart
And let the Healer set me free

I’m happy to be in the truth
And I will daily lift my hands
For I will always sing
Of when Your love came down

I could sing
I could sing of Your love forever

I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever

Oh I feel like dancing
It’s foolishness I know
But when the world has seen the light
They will dance with joy like we’re dancing now

I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever

 

Singer /Songwriter: Martin Smith along with Delirious 

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As for me, I will tell about Him forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
Psalm 75:9 HCSB

I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!
Psalm 89:1a NLT

“…For we must, in every thing, in every state, give thanks; thus we must glorify the Lord in the fire. We think, when we are in trouble, that we get ease by complaining; but we do get more—we get joy, by praising.”

– Matthew Henry

It is so easy to complain, isn’t it?  We feel things aren’t going our way or things should be different or things should be better.  I agree with Matthew Henry…we do get more when we praise God than when we complain. When we choose praise, we stop being a Debbie Downer and our joy is suddenly bubbling to the top.

When I feel the urge to complain, I need to look back at what God has done and trust Him for today. Look at Psalm 52:9 (HCSB) “I will praise You forever for what You have done. In the presence of Your faithful people, I will put my hope in Your name, for it is good.”  As we look back over what God has done for us, we should feel like dancing.  Psalm 68:4(AMP) tells us to “Sing to God, sing praises to His name, cast up a highway for Him Who rides through the deserts—His name is the Lord—be in high spirits and glory before Him!”  We are to be in high spirits before our Lord!  And 2 Chronicles 20:21b (HCSB) gives us this reason (as if we need one!)

Give thanks to the Lord, for His faithful love endures forever.

God is good.  His faithful love does endure forever.  We have much to be thankful for so let’s nix the complaints.  Instead, let’s dance and sing of His love forever.

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Abba, thank You so much for You faithful, never-ending love that endures forever, regardless of what we have done or will do.  Let us sing praises to You and be in high spirits before You so that we may bring You glory.  In Your Holy name I ask this – Amen, so be it!

Healing Power

SeekingHimLogo

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.
Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her,
came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Mark 5:32-34

There are many families around us that are dealing with diseases and lasting injuries. These diseases and injuries drain the life out of many people.  The make life miserable, and they can make people wish for a better life.  These traumas also make people wonder… ‘Why did this happen? What is the reason?’  Only God knows, but it is up to us as humans to persevere through it.

One of our church members was involved in a bad car accident this week.  He was in very bad shape.  He was paralyzed from the neck down and was having trouble breathing.  The family asked for prayers.  Prayers went through the church.  As of the last update, he was being moved to another hospital, and was off the ventilator and breathing better.  However, he is still in critical condition.

The power of prayer and faith in God has helped this follower of Jesus to improve. What is so moving about this is that he had just challenged church members about their giving and tithing; then two days later…he is in a car wreck.  Through the prayers of family and church members he is improving, though still in critical care.

Faith and prayer is hopefully going to bring this family through this season in their life.  They are prepared for the Lord’s decision, and they are praying for the best for their loved one.  They have a long road ahead of them if improvement continues. However, I believe that they have faith like the woman in this record in the Gospel of Mark.  They have been praying, and he is slowly starting to improve (at last update).

To have faith strong as this is a blessing to any family.  Faith this strong can bring the healing power of God to anybody.  This is what Jesus wants from us—full faith in Him.  He wants us to rely on Him.  He died for us…we should all be able to rely on Him no matter the season or the trial ahead of us.

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Dear Heavenly Father:  Thank You for Your love and healing.  Our faith in You keeps us strong and heals our hearts.  Without You, we would not be healed, and we would remain broken.  Thank You for fixing us and being in a relationship with us.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Take Heart

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv
There is a Light
It burns brighter than the sun
He steals the night
And casts no shadow
There is Hope
Should oceans rise and mountains fall
He never fails

So take heart
Let His love lead us through the night
Hold on to hope
And take courage again

In death by love
The fallen world was overcome
He wears the scars of our freedom
In His Name
All our fears are swept away
He never fails

All our troubles
And all our tears
God our Hope
He has overcome
All our failures
And all our fear
God our Love
He has overcome
All our heartache
And all our pain
God our Healer
He has overcome
All our burdens
And all our shame
God our Freedom
He has overcome
All our troubles
And all our tears
God our Hope
He has overcome
All our failures
And all our fear
God our Love
He has overcome
God our Justice
God our Grace
God our Freedom
He has overcome
God our Refuge
God our Strength
God is with us
He has overcome

Songwriter: Joel Houston ~~  Hillsong United

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Oh, how I love His promises.  They comfort us in all situations.  Whether you need healing physically or you need chains to be broken—He is always the answer.  There is no burden too heavy that He can’t carry it for you.

If there is one thing we know for sure it is that this world is changing daily (and not always for the better).  There is so much hurt and anger, there are so many lost people trying to find an answer and searching for a little hope.  But we as Jesus’ followers know that Hope—and His name is Jesus.  He never changes and He never fails.  He is our strength and He is our refuge in times of trouble.  And He is that Light in the midst of this dark world.

God is just so full of grace and mercy, and so much love.  Every fear and every failure, He has already conquered it for us.  He has overcome this world.  And to prove to us just how much He loves us, He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for us so that we can live in Heaven forever with Him.  In His hands, He bears the scars of the nails and every sin that we would ever commit hung on that cross that day.  Do you realize that we are free?

What do you need freedom from today?  If you have  just a little faith, He can move that mountain in front of you.   He can break the chains of addictions.  He can take anger away. He can give peace to the one who suffers from anxiety…and grace and mercy to the one who can’t forgive himself.  I pray as you listen to this worship song that you will let His love wash over you.  I pray that you feel loved because you are.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me.
Here on this earth you will have many trials and sorrows.
But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

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Let us pray:
Dearest Lord, You are so awesome and amazing!  You are our Portion and Strong Tower in this shifting world.  Thank You for taking our burdens and giving us peace. Thank You for the grace and love You give so freely. You have overcome and You give us strength.  May we take this light that You give us and share it with all who will listen.  You are good, You are God, and You are still on the throne.  We love You. In Jesus’ name, amen.