February 1
You are the self-existent one. I am always overwhelmed with awe when I read Isaiah’s prediction that the Child who will be born someday in Bethlehem will be called both Son and Father and mighty God. The Son is Father of the Child. You begat each other because you are both the First Cause and the material manifestation of yourself. You are self-existent. You are the great I AM. You are from eternity to eternity. You are so far above my understanding, I ache to comprehend the unfathomable intensity of your being.
Father, I spoke needless things of someone the other day doing the best they can. I should not have said anything at all. It not only lowered that person in other people’s eyes, but it lowered me. Forgive me, please, and remind me to be extra nice to that person.
Your love washes over my soul and makes me feel wanted and protected and special. Ah, my Lord, I am a friend of the King of the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Lover of my heart and soul. Just think! I am not only your friend, but you have made me your Bride. Sometimes you smile at me, sometimes you take my hand and walk through dark shadows with me, sometimes you run with me through meadows of happy deeds as together we reach out to the rest of the world. I am never alone when I am with you. How blissful and beautiful I feel when I think of you, my Lord.
February 2
I adore you Lord God, for you are the Will of the universe, the Voice of the cosmos, the Spirit of the heavens. You provide all my needs. You are my delight now and will be forever. I know someday you will take me home to, not only know you, but be with you. What a glorious day it will be. Though others may weep, I will celebrate with the angels, for I will be at home with you at last. At last. Oh, delightful thought, awe-inspired thought. My soul soars in praise of you.
Forgive me when I complain to others. I need to keep my thoughts to myself. If I just have to complain, I must bring it to you, then leave it with you to solve.
Thank you, my Lord, for your Words that explain everything so clearly. They touch my heart like silk and lighten my day like a thousand suns. They are my daily enchantment and delight. I have pored over them and meditated on them like a thirsty wanderer every day for many years and haven’t tired of them yet. Nor will I ever. Sometimes I come close, but the desire never really goes away. Did you put that longing in my heart? Is it your Spirit embracing mine? I worship you in the splendor of thanksgiving.
February 3
I praise you, my God, for your stubborn love, your patient, protective, persistent love. A love that never lets go of me. You are my joy in the morning, my courage during the day, my peace at night. You are the air I breathe, the bread I eat, the songs I hear. How I long to be with you in your home someday. It will happen, my Lord. I know it will happen.
Help me to not talk too much in groups. Help me delight in what others have to say in their own way. Help me appreciate, too, the quiet among friends.
Thank you for going through so much to save me from problems that are my own doing. You straighten out my messes and turn them into butterflies and roses and gentle waters. Thank you for helping me sense the problems of others so I can soothe their aching hearts with a mutual tear, a smile, a happy word, a walk together. My heart overflows with enraptured gratitude for your Bible so I can know and understand you even with my finite mind. Thank you for materializing your Words and walking among us so we could see your example of stubborn loyalty to truth and love. You never faltered, all the way to suffering in my place and , despite your agony, standing up defiantly to Satan. The blood ransom you paid Satan to free us: He didn’t think you would pay it. He underestimated the power of your divine clemency. Ah, rapturous thoughts of gratitude.
February 4
You alone are worthy of all praise, honor, and exaltation above all others. You are the God of gods, King of kings, Lord of lords. You are the Truth of truths, the Life of lives, the Love of loves. And you actually love me. You are so large, I can only see a pinpoint of you. You are so minuscule, I can only see a small speck of you. You are everywhere. I rejoice in the journey, the adventure, the challenge of encountering more and more of you. One small step at a time, I am drawing nearer to you, my God. Steadily nearer.
Help me take the time to look around my little world for people who need a smile, a touch, a song, a flower, a few moments of my time. Forgive me for the good I should be doing but am neglecting.
I thank you for your Bible. You disclose yourself to me, you pour out your heart with me, you reveal your dreams for me. You share your ups and downs as we love and then turn against you. But most of all, your Bible shows how you have stuck with us even to sending a part of you to live with us, show us what it is like to be sinless, then show us how to die while taking the blame and punishment for our sins. Not only mine, but that of the most deviant degenerate sinner. Did that part of you descend to hell for us so you could break out for us? How can I thank you for all this and then writing it down so we can know about it? How I love your Word.
February 5
I praise you all mighty God, all-powerful, all-loving, all living. Without you I have and am nothing. With you I am and have all I need. Oh, how you have spoiled me. You placed diamonds in mountain-top snow, rubies in the flowers, emeralds in the meadows, and delight in the birds that daily sing to me. As I climb the mountain of my life I think back of all the enormous opportunities I had as a youth. As I grow older and climb higher, my choices are narrowing and I am glad. My focus is more and more on you. Someday I will reach the mountain top, and you will be there. You will smile and say, “Welcome home.”
Forgive me when I refuse to forget a hurt and let myself become bitter. Help me not forget those who have mistreated me. Perhaps they did not know they did. Or, even if they did so on purpose, bless them anyway.
Ah, thank you, my Lord, for all you have done for us through the history of mankind. I, along with everyone else, travel a wilderness, often not making good choices. The frustrations you must feel when I don’t pay attention to you but they do not stop you from loving me. You have been too patient. But you also give me your Word map in my wilderness to show me just where I am. And give me work to do in order to make sense of life. Thank you for entrusting me with that work. I will do the best I know how. I know you smile and reply, “That’s all I ask: Do your very best.”
February 6
I am thrilled with you, my always-present one. You are most powerful, yet gentle, most gigantic, yet minute. You are the roar and silence. the silk and sackcloth, the laughter and tears. You are light but never dark. Life but never death, love but never hatred. You are all that is good and right. You are my all and I worship you.
Lord, yesterday I condemned a friend for doing something before I knew the circumstances. Make me call my friend and tell them I am behind them, no matter what they say or do about it. They need my friendship right now, not my condemnations.
Thank you for being the Warrior King that you are. You are the conqueror of Satan because you are stronger than him. Thank you for attacking Satan in that hidden realm where I cannot go and getting him away from me. For fighting so many of my battles for me. For standing over me protectively and being strong for me when I am weak. I cannot imagine life without you. Thank you for my loving spouse, the church, the Bible, and your amazing grace.
February 7
You, oh, Lord, are my heart, my soul, my spirit, my being. You are my sun in dark places, my courage in scary places, my gentleness in rough places. When I need you to defend me, you roar. When I need you to give me strength, you send me work to do. When I cry, you wipe away my tears. You know my heart.
Forgive my laziness, when there are good things I should be doing, but close my eyes and ears and refuse to interrupt my ordered life to bring comfort or joy to another who needs me.
Thank you for the beautiful earth you prepared for me. Oh, how I delight to hear the birds in the summertime as they warble and sing their songs to me and flutter from flower to flower as my soul does among the stars when I think of you. How I wonder when I see the ocean and imagine its depths teeming with life great and small, dreary and colorful happily existing together there. How I gasp when I feel the wind always turning and swirling like a top and playing tag with my hair. It rushes in like a lion, then just as suddenly purrs like a kitten. Such a delightful Father you are to me.
February 8
Ah, my God and my Creator. What a wonderous artist you are. You delight my senses with the gentle touch of a snowflake and the crunch of my feet as I walk among your whited wonder. The wind is cold, but inside I am warm. Oh, look at that Woodpecker. How much fun he is having with that tree. And that squirrel scampering across the snow with something in its mouth; I’ll bet it’s some morsel it buried during the fall. Oh, my, that child has made snow angels, and those children over there are making snowmen. How beautiful and enchanting you made everything on earth, my home.
Father, how can you forgive me for doing the same wrong thing over and over? How can you forgive me for leaving undone the good things I need to get out there and do? Help me forgive others in the same way I need you to forgive me.
Thank you, dear Lord, for loving me with a love so powerful, nothing holds it back. When I sin, you ache, then call me to you. When I ~ with your help ~ convince someone to become a Christian and be saved from Satan, you notify the angels, and we all rejoice together. When I feel lonely, all I have to do is call one of the many friends you have given me. Oh, and thank you for children that remind me of innocent wonder. Even in winter, you are the sunshine of my soul.
February 9
Ah, my Lord God, First Cause of all things, I praise you for being and for willing me into existence so you can love me. And for your Spirit that animates my soul and keeps me eternally alive, making me your forever child. And for your Son, ~ you in flesh ~ who came to me out of eternity to show me how to live. Speaking holy Words aloud ~ Words ethereal. Words wonderful. Words down to earth so I do not need to guess who and what you are. I long to know you more, but with my finite mind, I cannot. I live in wonder of you and worship you with my puny glimpse of your indescribable holiness.
Forgive me, Lord, when I do not let go of offenses. Instead, I harbor them and relive them over and over in my mind. Help me let go of them, forgive, and move on.
Thank you, God, for giving me your love letter, the Bible, and telling me all that you are constantly doing ~ both the easy and the hard. Thank you for pouring your heart out to me with all the laughter and tears that flow from you to the world. For sharing yourself. I never tire of your letter. Thank you for giving yourself. And, by the way, Lord, thank you for books and computers and radios and all things electronic, and time to use them to magnify you to the world.
February 10
God of Glory, Truth, Life, Love. You made the world with all its wonders. Satan tried to take it from you. He tried to take over the world you made. You said, “Just try it and I’ll destroy your destructions.” You are so strong. You destroy darkness with light. You destroy evil with good. You destroy nothingness with creativeness. You destroy death with life. Such a warrior. Nothing stops you!
I have taken sides with a friend against another of my friends. Why did I do that? Help me be a peacemaker instead like Jesus was. Please forgive me. I pray both my friends will too.
It is morning. The night dew has fallen and cleansed your world. Fresh. Newborn. Full of exciting unknowns for the rest of the day. Ups and downs like a bird hopping on the snow. What shall today bring? You are the God of second chances. Of starting over. Of being reborn. Yes, come sweet morning. Oh, and thank you for the church, my family, the Bible, friends, Christian radio and TV and films and music. And yes, the songs. The wonderful, glorious songs too. I am so happy there will be singing in heaven. Somewhere in your Word, you admitted you sing. Oh, glorious thought. Powerful anthems and gentle strains. Thank you for all this and for you being you ~ my loving God.
February 11
I praise you, Lord God, for your marvelous Plan for the universe and for mankind. Though Satan is always around trying to thwart your Plan, he is not strong enough. He thinks he is because his ego is so large. But, even with his most masterful plan to destroy, you laugh at him and say, “Do your best. You will lose.” Your Plan to save mankind from him is firmly in place. May more and more people realize they are in danger from Satan who is always lurking in the shadows of everything they do. May they open their eyes and understand your Plan. May they draw close to you and your great light of safety. May they happily bow at your throne of majesty. It is not cowardice to run to you; it is wisdom.
Forgive me for not sending notes to people in the newspaper. It is so full of misfortune and tragedy. Help me read the newspaper as a cry for help. Stop me when I start to do something just for me and make me sit down and write those notes.
Thank you, my Lord, for putting your Words in flesh so we could see you, hear you and walk with you a while, just as you did in the Garden of Eden at the beginning. When you spoke, that was God speaking. When you entered a home, that was God entering the home. When you laughed and cried, that was God laughing and crying. Though not now, someday you will let me once again walk with you in the garden of heaven. How I long for that day. Keep the door open for me, Lord. Keep it open. I’m walking your way. Do you see me? I’m headed home.
February 12
I praise you, mighty God ~ mighty in truth, in love, in life. Above all lies and hatred and annihilations. You are the strongest, the highest, the greatest. You are above all, in all and through all. You are brighter than the sun you formed, deeper than the oceans you brought forth, higher than the stars you sprinkled throughout the heavens. You are holy and filled with majestic greatness. My soul soars to you, then bows low to honor you.
Oh, Lord. I went to a meeting yesterday and all but demanded they do something my way. I am so embarrassed. In the end, most of these things do not matter. Help me control my own heart and words better.
Thank you, my Lord, for giving me your Bible so I can understand your stubborn love and mighty truth. For sending a part of you in Jesus’ body so we could see your Word in action. For sending a part of yourself in your Spirit of Truth so I can read your Word for help in my earthly struggles. I would be completely lost without your guidance. Thank you for the winter snow and icy wind, and time of rest for nature. A calm and serene time for me when nothing much is going on outside in the cold, leaving more time to read of you, meditate about you, pray to you.
February 13
I praise you, king of my life, enthroned on my heart, crowned with my love, armed with my devotion. Make my mouth my hands, my feet yours. You alone deserve all honor, admiration and esteem. You alone made the world, made mankind, then placed in us your very breath of life. You, my Maker, are my beginning and ending. You are my eternity.
Lord God, I have been talking too much lately about a controversial issue. Help me keep such thoughts to myself. Help me create healing, not controversy. Help me be a peacemaker instead of a rift Maker.
Thank you for loving me and going through all you did to save my soul from hell. Nothing was too much for you to save my eternal life from the unbearable where it is always dark and all I hear is others enduring the unbearable. You rescued me with the promise of bringing me into the light of your love and singing praises to you. May I never take it for granted. As I grow older, I ponder it more and more. Such love is as far beyond my understanding as the trillions of galaxies out there. It is deeper than all the oceans. Your love is so complex, I will never be able to comprehend even a corner of it. Such wonder. Such unconquerable love! My heart is full of gratitude. I do not deserve it. Therefore, I bow at your feet and worship you.
February 14
I praise you, God of my life, my soul, my being. You are all I need to exist. Without you the world is formless and empty just as it was at the beginning. You give my life form and substance. You give me a reason to be, to live, to die. You are beyond the finiteness of my comprehension. Oh, how I wish I could understand you more.
Forgive my inability to forgive 490 times like you said ~ 70 x 7. If I forgive, I know I am opening myself up to them doing it again, then I’ll have to forgive again. 490 times? I haven’t even begun to reach that. Slow me down, Lord, and help me unburden myself of others’ sins.
Ah, thank you, my Lord, for your simple Word. You never leave me guessing what you are doing or wanting or saying. I can just follow your Words with simple, childlike faith. When I read it and meditate on it, I feel as though I am sitting at the foot of your very throne. You are reading to me, and looking down at me to make sure I’m still paying attention. And you smile. Thank you, too, for sleep. When I awake each day, I am full of gratitude for chances to start all over again. You are, indeed, the God of second chances. Keep smiling, Lord. I am smiling with you.
February 15
What a powerful God you are. You speak and your words roar through the universe. You sing and your song echoes from star to star. You whisper and the wind swirls and makes the clouds bump lazily into each other. You sigh and I feel your Spirit within my soul. Mighty and gentle. Tough and tender. Everywhere at once and nestled in my heart.
Oh, my. Forgive me when I judge others by myself. I was where they are once. Help me be patient with others and delight in their little bit of growth instead of their slow progress.
Thank you, my Adonai, for cold, nippy mornings with the wind pounding on my cheeks, icy paths challenging my balance, and cabin fever when I stay indoors too much. And for rush-hour traffic and horns that honk and declare their presence on the road. Thank you for restless children and empty cupboards and flat tires. Thank you for a world that is not perfect so I can watch you work within it all to bring blessings and peace and wonder.
February 16
I praise and adore you, God of all heaven and earth and all existence. You are greater than death, for you are the life-giver. They couldn’t kill you. They thought they did; but you were just resting for those three days. Then you tricked them. You are a user. You turn death into the glorious doorway to life more glorious than imagination. You are Life. Life is stronger than death. You will be there when I die, welcoming me into a realm of joy and beauty and peace that I cannot even begin to imagine. Life here is like living in a cave compared with heaven or being blind and trying to understand color. How I long to leave this cave and to open my blind eyes. How I long to be in your world and before your throne. I think when I get there, I shall try to sing to you louder than anyone else. Would that be a sin, Lord?
Oh, my Lord. Forgive me when I judge others by myself. I was where they are once. Help me be patient with others and delight in their little bit of growth instead of their slow progress.
Thank you, God, for being close to me in prayer. No other god has done that. No other god loves because no other god exists. Those so-called gods stay at a distance from mankind with no love, but only instilling fear. You are my Maker and the Lover of my soul. Thank you for your Words in flesh and the pain you willingly endured in my place for my sin. How could you have done it? Well, it is morning again. Morning when I can greet the day you brought me. Morning when I can once again greet you, though in my sleep, I know you never left me. Morning when I can face my griefs and pain and let you smile and lift my burden so I can walk free, knowing you have everything under control. With you, it is always morning.
February 17
Ah, Lord God, when I look at the mountains, I see you standing on top of them with laughter on your lips, power in your legs, protection in your arms. When I look at the animals in winter, I see you with determination, resilience, and strength against the winds, the sleet, the snow. One of these days I will see the crocuses peeking their heads through the snow and saying to the world, “Hi! Remember me? You’ve almost made it through the winter. See I’m proof.” Oh, the beauty of your universe and all the promises it reflects of their Creator.
Lord, I get impatient sometimes, and along with that comes the worry. Things haven’t worked out so they probably will continue to not work out. How silly of me. Everything is working out in your way. You are still smiling. Help me, when I grow worried and impatient, to smile with you.
Thank you for life and love, for peace and freedom, for family and friends. And, well, it’s hard for me to do, but well, here goes. Thank, you for people who talk mean to me, are impatient with me, who mock me, who hate me even though they do not know me. Thank you for people who misrepresent me, gossip about me, and do not see things the way I do. Thank you for all these opportunities you put in my path to love those who do not love me. Like you. Just like you. Thank you for the opportunities to smile when I want to frown, sing when I want to cry. As you once said long ago, “What does it profit me if I love only those who love me?”. And, yes, the biggie: You loved me before I loved you. I guess it’s my turn now, Lord. But what’s this forgiving 490 times the same person for the same thing over and over? Oh, that’s me. I think now I understand. I am most blest. Thank you for forgiveness and all those second chances you have given me. How can I ever thank you? Hmmm… Looks like I’ve gone full circle, my Lord.
February 18
I adore you, God of the great Example, God of the mighty Word, God of everlasting Life. I long to see you face to face, but I already do. Your face is in the sun, your eyes in the stars, your ears in the wind. But one mystery I cannot fathom: You adore me. How can that be? I am just a spec in the universe. I sin every day by doing or thinking something amiss or by leaving undone things I should be doing for others. Oh, yes. I remember now. You dote on lowly me because you made me your child. Your child! You are so full of surprises. Delightful surprises. Ah, my heart swells when I think of you.
Forgive me when I get involved in controversies that don’t matter. There are enough important controversies out there that I do not need to add to the load. Help me just let the little things fade away. And, in the midst of important controversies, help me embrace it with love and patience and mutual understanding.
Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful February day. The cold has shooed the germs away and made them go into hiding so we can have a healthier summer. The trees are getting their much-needed rest. My, my! How they stand strong under gales, sleet, rain. They stand strong in floods and drought. They even stand unconquerable when they are cut down; they just send new shoots up from their strong roots and start all over again. Am I nearly as strong as the trees? The more the weather beats on them, the stronger they become. Thank you, Lord, for those things that beat down on me. Thank you for the opportunity to stand despite them all and grow stronger. Though the world cut me down completely, may my roots be strong enough to start all over again. What a privilege it is to be in a storm with you.
February 19
I can’t help but praise you, Oh God, each day and all day. You alone are worthy of this. You alone are God and there is no other. You are the life of my body and spirit. You are the love of my heart and soul. Your words are absorbed in my heart and treasured in my soul now and forever.
Lord, I was in someone’s house yesterday and they had the most beautiful rug. I wanted such a rug for my house. I almost envied them. Then I caught myself. What difference does it make how I decorate things? Help me look at the beauty of their souls instead. Help me want what I have and no more. All I need is you.
Thank you, God, for the little birds I see outside my window each morning. There they are, ready to greet me. And the sun. Each morning it rises just to say, “I’m back. Didn’t I promise you I would be?”. The darkness is good because it makes me rest. But how I love the morning and the world waking up with it. And thank you for pouring your heart out to the world in your Bible. Now I can know you and have no doubts. How many in this world are willing to pour out their heart to others as you did?
February 20
I long to be closer to you, my Lord, and understand you better. It will come. For I will live with you forever. I can hardly wait! To see you face to face. Ah, the thought. My father, if my body is attacked by a deadly disease or I am in a vehicle accident, please pay no attention to my friends who will pray for my healing. I do not want healing because that only will deter me from being with you. Welcome disease, welcome accident, welcome the end of my life here in the shadows. The end here is the beginning of real life. Welcome bright glory, welcome the sunshine of your presence, welcome the majesty of you on the throne of the universe and beyond. You are the Power of all powers, Maker of all makers, Lord of all lords. You are the Seen Son, the Heard Spirit, the First Cause Father. And I worship you.
Lord, some people overdo it in eating, in drugs, in hating the world, in bouts of drinking alcohol, in gambling. The Bible translates it debauchery. Do I get caught up in something I lose control over? Some people are on their phones all the time, some people on their computers all the time. I am constantly writing instead of getting out and visiting people who need encouragement. This is a hard one for me to break away from. I do break to worship with my congregation, but that is all. Touch my heart and make me do what is right.
Thank you, holy God, for making me so I can be close to you and magnify you. I often wonder why some people naturally lean toward God and others do not. Perhaps some just do not show it outwardly as much as others. Thank you for the peaceful life I live with my family. I’d be happy with my family in a barn! It is not where; it is who. And thank you for my warm home, sheltering me from the blustery wind and snow out there. And thank you for Christian hymns. Most of the composers are long ago through with this life. But I thank you for putting the songs in their heart to write and share with the world. What delights you put in my life.
February 21
You are the glorious God of the universe and beyond. You are also the God of the minuscule and dwell in such small specs, no one can even imagine you are there. Mostly you are the God of my heart. I adore you. You forgive me for the same things over and over. How can you? Because you are Love and to be less would be beneath your very nature. I am so small and unworthy, but you see me anyway. You even think about me all the time. I am never out of your thoughts. The magnitude of your heart transcends worlds and all that exists.
Lord, I was deceitful yesterday. Someone asked me if I had done something in the distant past and I was so ashamed to admit I had that I lied and said I hadn’t. I could have changed the subject. I could have smiled and walked away. I could have admitted it and said I learned my lesson. I did none of those things. I deceived them. Forgive me please.
Oh, Jesus, you did so much, felt so much, said so much, gave so much. Mostly, you forgave so much. Thank you, God, for materializing so you could do those things for me. Thank you for leaving your world and entering mine. Thank you for doing what was necessary to ransom my soul from Satan and open the door to heaven. How I long to go through that door and be with you one-on-one forever. Thank you for being everywhere at once and making each one of millions feel as though we alone have your undivided attention. I can never understand how you do it. But I can thank you over and over and over, my Lord. And worship you.
February 22I
Jehovah, you are the God of my heart. I trust in you. I believe you are here even though I cannot see you or feel you. If I could, you would be finite and not with everyone at once. You are infinite in greatness, in power, and invincible love. You are larger than the universe that has never been and can never be measured. And, just how do I trust you? There are some things I have hoped would happen for a very long time. Years. Sometimes I begin to worry, but stop myself. If it is your will, it will happen, no matter what people try to do to stop it. If it is not your will, it will not happen. I will continue on in my life feeling at peace because I trust your decision. Oh, what an effervescent thought. You are in on all my decisions. I worship you.
Someone told me something bad about a friend and I refused to believe it. They showed me proof. I knew it to be true. But I denied it so I could hide my head from their weakness. In denial I do not have to interrupt my life and go to them. In denial I can go on my merry way and pretend everything is fine. In denial I can leave them stranded and all alone. Forgive me for not believing what is true so I can act on it.
How can I thank you, Lord Jesus, for willingly going through the pain I caused you in order to save me from the consequences of my own sins? You did not have to. But love is that way and you are Love. Love compels and will not let go. You ran after me and said, “Follow me out of the darkness.” I followed you and what an adventure it has been since then. The sad and remarkable thing is that I continue to sin over and over, and you continue to forgive me over and over. Oh, that I would have a love like that. As hard as I try, my gratitude is just a glimmer of a spark compared to you, my mighty sun.
February 23
Ah, my amazing God, you decorate eternity with your presence. When you shout, the cosmos quivers. Satan did not have a chance against you. Even when Satan planned to kill the souls of all mankind, you stepped in and would not let him. You ransomed us from him with that terrible price he demanded. You are so powerful. Satan keeps killing, you keep creating. Satan keeps convincing us to sin and you keep forgiving. Satan brings darkness into our lives, you bring sunshine into our souls. You are omnipotent beyond understanding. You are Love and will never give up the fight to keep Satan away from us. I cannot help but worship you, the Delight of my soul.
I do not understand why my family becomes annoyed at me when I become emotionally down. Is it because I am pulling them down? Forgive me for letting it show. Help me smile despite how I feel.
Jesus, my sins are so many. I do the same things over and over. I am trying to overcome them. I feel the guilt, but I also feel your everlasting forgiveness. Over and over you forgive. Such love. Such love. How can you? You never tire of forgiving. How can I thank you enough? Each page of your Word astounds me. Within those pages you reveal everything about yourself ~ your deepest longings for mankind, your disappointments, your feelings of betrayal, your shouts of joy. It’s all in there ~ as much as my finite mind can grasp. No guessing. Oh, and thank you for color. Color is so delightful! When Spring returns, all the colors will arise in greeting.
February 24
The snowflakes outside my window praise you with all their intricacies and surprises. The icicles praise you as they hang on upside down and grow longer with each drip, drip, drip. The scampering squirrels and fluttering little birds praise you as they brave the cold outside and look in my direction every once in a while as though to say, “Come on out. The winter’s fine”. And, oh how the stars take on a special sparkle and effervescence in the wintertime when so much of the earth is asleep. It is as though they are saying, “Go ahead, world, and sleep. I’ll be here watching over you.” You are in everything because you made everything. How exciting it must have been for you those days of creation.
There are people in this world that seem to have no conscience. They had just as soon kill a person as to step on an ant. I am afraid of people like that and do not want to be around them. Even though they are overtly doing the work of Satan, I must cover them with prayer. I don’t do it. I don’t pray for my enemies or the enemies of the world. Grab them, God, and stab them in the heart so the hardness will leave and they can catch a glimpse of you.
Thank you for little babies. They remind me of my helplessness to make food grow and my dependence on you. Thank you for little toddlers who patter around discovering their world and giggling in delight. Thank you for adults who are mentally still like children. They remind me of innocence in an adult body and how I should be more like them. As I look around this world, I see blessings you give me in every corner of the universe. And, oh how they make me want to worship you.
February 25
I praise you, God of creation and God of my heart. How can you have such power over the workings of the universe? It has two trillion galaxies in it and each galaxy has 100 thousand million stars in it. Well, I do know the answer to that. You made it all. But it is a temporary universe. You will never dissolve it until it has served its purpose for mankind. Your purposes are beyond comprehension. Your purposes are in mysterious shadows beyond my understanding. I know someday you will pull aside the veil of mystery and I will see your purposes in all their glory.
Lord, I repeated something yesterday I shouldn’t have. All it will do is spur people to not get along because of what I said. I should have kept it to myself, but I was caught up in the moment. Forgive me and help me control my words better.
Thank you, Jesus for all you did for me. You did not have to leave the safety of your world, heaven. But you are Love. You would have no longer been Love had you stayed. You could not bear Satan destroying my soul even though I and everyone else had sinned against you and continue to. They say love is what makes the world go ‘round. Some are arrogant and exclaim, “Stop the world and let me get off.” You, Lord God, humbled yourself and said, “World, I am coming to you.” You humbled yourself and became like me to show me the way home. I fall at your wounded feet and thank you over and over.
February 26
Jehovah, you love me so. You made me and loved me even before I came into being. And when I lost my innocence with my first sin as they did in Eden, you loved me still. You only walk away from me when I reject you over and over. Even then you turn and follow me around begging me to come back to you. When I shun you, you weep in agony. Finally, I turn around and let you embrace me and we are one again. Then I sin once more and run from you, and you run after me once again in tears, once again saying, “Return to my arms”. Such love. Over and over through life this happens. You never give up. Your love is so amazing. It is greater than the unending cosmos. It is greater than my heart. I bow before you, unworthy.
I bragged about something yesterday. Why do I do that? Help me forget myself and enter the hearts and lives of others. Help me bury my ego and let you live in me.
Thank you for Jesus who is the reason for my life here. Jesus, you did so much for me. More than I can ever understand. Why did you? I am sinful. I will tell others what you did in such a way that they realize all you suffered was for them too. In every way I know how, I will tell others because of my gratitude. How can I thank you enough for saving my soul from Satan and opening the door to heaven for me? I will try to live a life of gratitude so that, in some way, you will know the depths of the happiness you bring to me.
February 27
My Creator, my very being praises you. My every breath, my every heartbeat, every blink of my eye praises you. The mighty mountains and roaring seas praise you. The eagles flying high and soaring on the wings of the wind. The fish great and small that thrive somewhere in the deep waters. The unborn children still snug in their mother’s womb. The stars dancing through galaxies around the orb of the universe. Touch and sound, motion and stillness praise you. On ethereal wings, all things praise you.
Lord, I was in a hurry and I went way over the speed limit. Most people would call such claim of guilt silly, but I feel it. I endangered others by going a speed the engineers consider dangerous. I didn’t listen. I paid no heed. I should have left home early enough. I didn’t. I endangered people because I was not prepared enough and was running late. And the place I was rushing to was not worth anyone’s life. What if I had hit someone and caused them to be maimed the rest of their life? Worse, what if I had killed someone. I am so sorry. But thank you for protecting everyone I drove near.
Ah, thank you, my Lord for color. How delightful color is. People who have been blind all their lives do not comprehend color. That just reminds me of what is in store in your world. What will heaven be like? I cannot begin to imagine. And for sound. Thank you for the sound of music, whether it be on the lips of a chorus, a child, a songbird, or the wind dancing among the leaves of a tree. How much fun it must have been for you to create the world. A little dab of blue here, a little dab of red there. The warble of a bird, the enchantment of a bubbling creek. Teach my eyes to see and my ears to hear it all.
February 28
The stars praise you by night, the sun declares your glory by day. They sparkle with the romance of the ages in their own way. Even raging storms declare your power, butterflies declare your gentleness, giddy grass coming back to life each spring declares your mercy. You make, then you remake. You create and recreate. You raise up, cheer up, climb up, clean up. You love without boundaries. Your mercy is limitless. Your life without end.
I was discouraged the other day and dragged my family down with me. I could have excused myself and gone for a walk or into a room alone. I could have written them a love note asking for their patience while I rebuild. I did not. I snapped at them because I felt so bad inside. It was probably just some chemical thing in my body, but I did not know how to change it. Do you think it would help to write some love notes to my family and put them away for the next time it happens?
Thank you, Jesus, for all you did for me. I couldn’t do it. I still cannot be perfect. No matter how hard I try, I fail. So, you did it for me. You were perfect for me. Then you took the blame for my imperfections along with my punishment. The world hated you because you were perfect and we were not. Jesus, you did so much. I cannot begin to comprehend it all. But I can spend eternity thanking you with my heart, my spirit, my soul.
February 29
Ah, my Lord God of heaven and earth. How I long to see you in all your glory. I do not know how it is possible since you are larger than the cosmos with its two trillion galaxies and 100 thousand million stars in each one. But then, you are the God of the impossible. To behold the One who is Pure Love. To be enraptured by my Creator. Oh, to expand the wings of my adoring soul and fly to you. This is my dream. This is my reason for being.
Father, I had a terrible attitude yesterday about someone I had never met and never will. Someone in a corporation somewhere made a decision that will bring much inconvenience to me and hundreds of others. I actually wished that unknown person would be fired for that decision that will hurt my city. How judgmental of me. I do not know all the circumstances. Whoever that person or those persons are, give them an extra little blessing today to make up for my attitude. Love them for me.
How can I stop thanking you, my Lord, for so many blessings? A decent place to live, friends, sufficient food, reasonable health, a way to get around. Restful evenings when I am enveloped in the arms of sleep and sunshine that shoos the night away each smiling morning. Mostly I thank you for materializing your Words in the form of Jesus so we could see you, hear you, touch you. It was akin to me reducing myself to the form of a cockroach, so great was your sacrifice. I do not understand your love. Open the eyes of my heart to know you better so I may express an all-consuming gratitude in my lowly way.