M * A * R * C * H

March 1

I praise you for manifesting yourself in a body for a while, and in paper and ink. I have access to you any time I want.  Wonderful words of life ~ beautiful words, marvelous words. Words from your heart that make me see who and what I really am, and what and who you are. You reveal all I need to know and more. You reveal that which is above and beyond what I can even comprehend. Each year I live I discover something new in your Words I never noticed before. Then I can hardly wait to tell my friends. I cling to your Words until someday I hear you speak them in your world. The sound of your voice must be at once a roar and a whisper. What a duet of divinity!

Lord, people in the organization I met with yesterday didn’t even speak to me. No one did. They were all friendly, but to each other. I waited for someone to smile and say hello.  I resented them for it. I should have walked over to them and given them my smile and my hello.  Forgive me.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all you did for us on earth away from heaven. You left comfort for discomfort. Riches for poverty. Love for hatred. Being everywhere at once to being confined to a body. All so you could take me home with you. Thank you for creating the road and then lighting the way for me.  You are the way. Also, thank you for my family and freedom. And for it being March at last. Spring is almost here!

 

March 2

Mighty Jehovah ~ mighty in wonder, mighty in love and life, justice and mercy. Mighty in creation of the largest and minutest. Never ending. Always persisting. Never giving up. Always here. Never giving in. Always insisting. I am so much lower than you. Yet I am close to you in mind and heart and am part of you in soul and spirit. My thoughts of you swirl around like in a whirlwind and soar to you. With all my being I laud and honor you.

I feel so lost. I went to that organization again and once again no one talked to me. I stood to the side and resented them when I should have stepped forward and smiled at them. Sometimes I am so selfish. Forgive my resentments. Replace the hard part of my heart with childlike acceptance and discovery.

Thank you, God, for the freedom I have living where I can worship you openly. And for health and wealth. For the beauty and peace of nature always around me, over me, under me. For color and shape, voices and music, taste and smell, touch and feeling. For beauty in all things.  Mostly for leaving the indescribable heaven to come rescue me from Satan. Then, when you returned to heaven you left behind a road for me to travel so I may join you in your world. The road is full of light and when I am on it, I feel the light; I feel you.

 

March 3

Oh, Lord, sometimes I am giddy with excitement over you. Sometimes I want to walk with you, talk with you, laugh with you, cry with you.  I want to run with you through meadows and lie on the grass and watch the clouds float by. When I am in a breeze, I wonder if you are whispering to me. Sometimes when I hear the flutter of wings overhead, I wonder if you are embracing me. You call me your child, then spoil me with your love. How I rejoice in you. My heart calls out to your heart. Even in the deepest gloom, I feel your presence. All that has been, is, and will be honor and glorify you.

I was with some friends the other day who had planned a party. It was all planned, but I chimed in and started suggesting they change this thing and that. I brought them into disorder when there was no reason to. Help me bury my ego and keep my ideas to myself.

Thank you for March. The snow is beginning to melt. There are puddles everywhere and the lawns are soggy. How I rejoice when I see all this because I know it is a prelude to spring. How I love spring. Thank you for spring. Yes, and winter. Winter when the world goes inside and rests. When I have more quiet time, family time, and reflecting time. Winter is good. But now I am ready for Spring. Your seasons. How delightful they are. And always on time. Your promises are like that ~ always on time. Thank you for the unique beauty and benefits of each season. You thought of everything.

 

March 4

Through the pulse of the universe, praises rise to you, Lord God. All you created praises you. All material things, all good feelings, good knowledge, truth, love, and life praise you. You made me in your image. May my efforts to remain like you be lifted up to your throne.  And someday,  may you bring me home with as close your image as I was able to keep ~ pure and innocent.  Your heaven is all that is right and good because they are reflections of you. What will heaven be like? With you in the midst of heaven, it will be like riding the waves of your spirit.

Forgive me, Lord, when I secretly find fault with others. Secrecy does not mean you do not know. Cleanse my mind and my heart. Most things in the world do not matter. This world is just temporary. Help me speak only of what matters.

Thank you, my God, for materializing and coming to earth to demonstrate right living. No one quite understood before you came. It really helped. We saw the laws you gave Moses were to help us and help each other, not interfere with a fulfilling life. So, you lived the law perfectly because it was a reflection of you. How often during the day did you stop and pray?  How often during the day did you stop what you were doing so you could spend some time with an orphan? Did you carry around with you a bag of coins so you could drop something in the bowl of every beggar along the way? What was your life like? I do not know all the details. What I do know is in the sacred writings of the Gospels, everything you did was good. Everything! Thank you for your example.

 

March 5

I praise and magnify your Name. You are the great I AM. You are existence. Existence requires love and truth, and you are that to the ultimate. You are the pulse of the universe. When Satan destroys what you made, you make it again. When Satan makes sick what you made, you heal it. When Satan makes someone sin, you forgive. When Satan kills, you bring back to life. You are all I need to live life to the fullest. I praise and rejoice in you. Every part of my being praises you. Now and forever you are my joy and wonder.  I cannot help but worship you.

Father, I told something a friend said about another friend, not thinking about what I was doing.  Why did I say that? I did not need to. All I did was cause dissension between them. Lord, help them forget what I said so they will still be friends with each other. And forgive my unnecessary talk.

Thank you, Spirit of God, for being the Word that I read, the meaning that it carries, the response that it evokes. Your words are power. They echo through the universe with truth and life and love. Your words will never lose their magnificence. And thank you for the two new books I just read about the different ways men and women think.  Men and women complement each other. That’s the way you intended us to be and it is dynamic. And for my family and friends I thank you. And my congregation. You bring us all together and we are one in you.

 

March 6

Ah, my Lord God, you are so patient. How can you be? If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be God. You wouldn’t be Love and Life. You keep loving amidst hatred. You keep recreating amidst death. You bring laughter where there are tears, tenderness where there is roughness, sun where there are shadows.  Your love penetrates my confused soul and gives me tranquility. Almighty God, how great and magnificent you are ~ more than I can fathom. With glimmering faith, I bow to you and my heart worships you.

I’m so afraid to confront people about misunderstandings or what I hope are misunderstandings. Instead, I let things fester in my imagination. I know it could make things worse. I know I appreciate people who confront me about misunderstandings so we can clear our misunderstandings up. But I am afraid to do that, I guess because I’m afraid it will make them angry. How silly of me. Give me the courage to make things right. Forgive me when I hang back and my confusion turns to bitterness when it does not need to.

Thank you for your patience. I sin and sin and after a while you have to punish.  Yet it breaks your heart. I race toward self-destruction and you keep stopping me. But it doesn’t stop me for long. How you ache for me when I fall into Satan’s traps. I do not deserve such love. Thank you for not turning away from me when I turn away from you. Thank you for never giving up on me and always offering me your divine clemency.  After every stormy, you always bring me a rainbow.

 

March 7

I praise you in the morning when the sun rises with glowing promise. I praise you at noon when everyone stops the bustle of the morning for a moment of respite and taking a deep breath. I praise you in the evening when all becomes quiet again and I rest once more, cozy in my bed knowing you are holding me in your protective arms during the darkness of the night. You are always there. And you make me feel as though I am the only person in the world. You are my dawn, my bright and shining sun, my moonglow.

Yesterday I was talking with some people who said we had met four friends while shopping. I was with them and said, “No, there were five friends.” Why did I do that? What difference did it make? All it did was fluster the person telling about it and confuse the people listening. I got them completely off the subject of chance meetings of friends and into an argument of how many. Lord, help me not say anything when it doesn’t matter.

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of my surroundings. Sometimes I am where there are mountains with white snow on top. Sometimes I am in valleys where green trees abound and there is grass to walk on and tickle my toes. Sometimes I am in a wide desert where I can see forever and the sky seems so much larger. How delightful you have made the earth with all its variations teasing and tantalizing me as I travel around your creation like skipping through verses of poetry.

 

March 8

Lord God, you are worthy of all praise. The mountains tremble at your presence. The seas swallow up torrents at the mention of your name. The whirlwinds roar at the thought of their Creator.  The stars zoom through the cosmos at seeing your glory.  The tiny baby coos with your gentleness, young men stretch their muscles with your toughness, the ladies sing with the strains of your effervescence. The whole universe praises you. My heart, my soul, my being reaches out for you.

I was drunk with excitement the other day at winning something. My friends joined in celebrating with me. We were not really drunk or “high”.  We did not need alcohol or drugs to feel the way we did. So, we carried on loudly and with abandon. Why did we carry on so about something so inconsequential? I lost my perspective on what is truly important and what is not.  Forgive my lapse.

My soul soars with the gladness of you, the love of you, the excitement of you. What more do I need? It seems so trite to ask you to help me pass a test, to win a contest, get a promotion or buy an amazing item of clothing. I need none of that. All I need is you. If I am in the chasm of a prison someday, may I remember I am most blessed because I have you. So, I say thank you for everything I have and everything I do not have. I have enough. All I need is lost souls to bring to you.  Give me souls, dear Lord, or else I die.

 

March 9

I praise you, God of my life. I praise you in song and word and time. I do not know how else to praise you. You are worthy of it all and so much more.  Break through the barriers people have put up between them and you. Break through with your powerful love that will not let them go. May I be your instrument somehow in my puny way. You are holy. Every place people step is holy ground, for you have already been there. You made it all. Shine through black hearts, bring your light into their lives and let their souls live again.

Lord, forgive me when I try too hard. Help me let go sometimes and step back so you can do your work. Sometimes I worry about politics, sometimes about the environment, sometimes about crime and immorality and people trying to turn false gods into you. Help me take a deep breath sometimes so you can move in and penetrate o heart. Forgive me when I think it all depends on me. It does not. You are in charge of all. Everything will ultimately work out to somehow glorify you. Everything and everyone will somehow bow to their Creator.

Thank you for modern computers where I can type words so much faster than handwriting as we did before, and talk to multitudes instead of licking a stamp and putting it on an envelope to just one person. How amazing all this technology.  May the forces of good outdo the forces of evil who try to use the same means to penetrate people’s hearts. And thank you for my family, my neighbors, the school teachers of the children, the medical providers, our government, and mostly for you, the lover of my soul. How I adore you, my Lord and my God.

 

March 10

I praise your very name, Lord God. Your name is holy. The angels praise you day and night. The heavens praise always. I praise you forever. But it is never enough. You, our Creator, are worthy of so much more. Accept my puny efforts as a little child standing before a giant. And as a little spider crawling through the sands of a great desert. And as a single little star surviving amidst untold trillions of galaxies. How overwhelmed I am that you actually notice little insignificant me. You not only notice me, but you love me and take me as your child. I am the child of the Creator and am consumed with amazement.

Lord, sometimes I talk too much.  I know it. Help me remember that my story of some event in my life is nothing compared with the stories of others who are surviving against overwhelming odds. Help me ask more than I tell.  Humble me, Lord. And forgive me once again for this sin.

Thank you, God, for loving me and caring for me. I cannot see you but you are everywhere I look.  I cannot hear you but you are in every sound I hear. I cannot feel you but you are in everything I touch. Most of all you are in my heart. Thank you for being there. Thank you for staying so close and making me feel as though I am the only other person in the world. Ah, even amidst turmoil, I feel such glowing inner peace.

March 11

I praise you, Jehovah God, for placing me here so I can be a spiritual warrior with you as you fight Satan. Make me strong so, no matter what Satan does to me, I can make him get tired of trying and he backs down. You make me strong. May I never forget that. You are all power, all might, all potency. You invade the world of Satan and his angels and challenge everything they do. When Satan kills, you bring back to life. When Satan hates, you love. When Satan makes people run from you, you go after them and bring them back. There is nothing Satan does that you cannot undo. He is the destroyer and accuser. You are the Creator and forgiver. He is the hater of our souls, you are the lover. Great and magnificent is your very name. I cannot help but worship you.

Lord, sometimes I become too self-absorbed. Sometimes I go an entire day just thinking about myself ~ my wants, my needs, my desires, my dreams. Forgive my selfish thoughts. Stop me and make me reach out to others who wonder if anyone cares what happens to them. Help me be more like you.

Thank you for your Bible. It overflows with examples in the Old Testament and poignant teachings in the New Testament. It has everything I need. And, oh Jesus, you became one of us. You emptied yourself of your glory in order to become the ransoming sacrifice Satan wanted. But, how you fooled him. You died like he wanted, you paid the ransom like he wanted, then you tricked him and came back to life. You came back!  And alive! You were the first one and cleared the path for the rest of us ~ the weak ones ~ to come back to life after we die! What a God!

 

March 12

All praises to you, God of Glory. You advocate everything good. You rage against everything bad. You are the Mighty God who will not tolerate evil and all that is Satan. Yet you force no one to choose you.  You hold back with unfathomable patience, not willing to force on us what is good for us. What restraint. That form of love struggles with my comprehension.  Sometimes I want to shake people and say, “Stop! There is danger ahead. Stop! You’re headed for hell!  Stop! Don’t you hear Satan laughing at you? Look up! Don’t you see?  God is calling you to his safety! Look up!” Oh, for everyone to see you as you are.

Ah, Lord. Sometimes I am too stubborn. Yes, if people agree with what I am standing for, they call me loyal. But if they do not, they call me obstinate.  Help me know the difference. Help me see the fine line between the two. And when I’m being stubborn about the wrong thing, help me know to let go.

Thank you, Jesus, Words of the Father Mind, for emptying yourself and coming into our world. I do not know why you put us in a material world when you are spiritual. What I do know is that this is Satan’s realm. I trust your wisdom and declare to you I will fight Satan in his territory. In my weakness, I thank you for the chance to be stalwart and stand up for you until Satan is conquered. Thank you for making me one of your warriors of fire-ignited faith. Thank you for your faith in me to stand and be strong. You are my strength.

 

March 13

I magnify your very name. You are in my heart and soul. I long to be with you in your realm, forever rejoicing, forever yours, forever at peace.  Even now I am with you laughing and crying and struggling and it is wonderful. To be on the side of the winner, my heart bursts. I can fight side by side next to you, for you are my betrothed. You are my spiritual darling, my spiritual sweetheart, the spiritual lover of my soul. Someday we will be wed. I do not understand it, but I can hardly wait. How amazing that the Creator of the universe calls me his own! You are my Lord, my Master, my Maker, my very Being.

God, I am doing more now and setting myself up again for another pouncing by the spiritually weak.  Help me be strong enough to not let anything others say or do convince me to not love them. I am so frightened of their assaults. Lord, help me love them instead.

Ah, my Lord. I see your holy blood that seeped out of your body. Your holy hands and feet that contorted in the shock of being assaulted by the spikes. Your holy back that was made pure meat when embraced by the scourger’s whip. Your holy brow that bore the mocking thorns. Together, they gradually overcame your body and made it lifeless. But they could not overcome your spirit and your stubborn will.  They could not overpower the love that flowed from you that day. They could not overpower the soul that had been alive forevermore and can never die. Thank you.

 

March 14

Ah, Lord, you are strength under control.  You only step in when I need your help. Then you back away to let me strive and accomplish with what strength I have, the strength you give me. You always know just when and how much. Amazingly, you keep everyone all sorted out. Millions of prayers rise up to you, and you know who is who and what is what. You are everywhere, but you are also in my heart. You are the grand, the magnificent, the glorious. You are higher than my imagination. Lord, expand my imagination so I  can praise you more.

Father, people have pounced on me for doing what I think is good. Give me courage to let go. Let go! Even if they do it again. Let go, even if they say and do things against me a thousand times over. I am so afraid. Give me courage. Help me smile when they insult. Help me bless when they tear down. Help me know how to give my enemies my heart.

Thank you, Lord God, for the beauties of your nature. Sparkling sunlight on the late winter snow, crocuses budding to hint of soon-coming spring, branches fluttering in the breeze, birds flying here and there deciding where to build a nest for their families.  Clouds bumping playfully into each other, sounds and color.  All that you delight in.  Thank you for the free gifts of nature all around me. Free gifts just for my delight.

 

March 15

Let them gossip about me and harass me and tell falsehoods about me. I will not deny you, Lord God of the universe. Let them cheat me, beat me, threaten me. I will not deny you, Lord God of all that exists.  Let them imprison me and execute me. I will not deny you. How can I? You are my heart, you are my soul, you are my being. Oh, for the privilege of dying for you. Let my death have meaning. Do not give me a peaceful moment in which to die.

Father, what I just told you. Help me keep my promise. May the promise I just gave you be what will happen, not just a wish. I know, I know. I am certainly not going to die for you sitting here in the comfort of my home. What I just said is easy to say. You know my heart. Strengthen my heart. Somehow.

Thank you, Jesus, God materialized. Other religions cannot fathom that. Either their god is too far above mankind to do such a lowly thing, or their god made us and went on his merry way without another thought, another care. When I think about your glorious body that can appear and disappear at will, that can walk on water, that can go through walls, that can rise to the clouds, and know you are going to give me a glorious body like yours in heaven, well, I am flabbergasted. More amazing is that you care about me at all. You have made so many promises I cannot count them. Your blessings are beyond comprehension. How I delight in you and bow before you in gratitude.

 

March 16

I praise you, Jehovah, for being Mind and Actions and Words. You are Spirit and I was made in your image. So I, too have a mind, actions and words. I spend my life trying to imitate your actions while you were on earth as Jesus. My words try to repeat your words as you had them written in your Bible. As Solomon said, there is an empty place in the hearts of man longing for you in eternity. And I do. I do long for you cannot control my desire to be with you in heaven. I cannot stop it. My longing for you is all the time. You are existence and love. You are my rescuer and my healer. You are all I need.

Lord, help me let go when people criticize me. Help me let them hurt me as much as they want so I may be kind to them. Satan wants me to complain and argue and fall in line with the masses. Sometimes I do complain. Help me not do that. If it were you, Jesus, you would not have. Help me be more like you.

Thank you for loving me. And for saving my soul. And for all you did to bring it about ~ all the details of your Plan carried out through the centuries. Thank you for heaven and that it is reserved for me as long as I believe and trust in you.  I am trying, not only to believe and trust, but to make it stronger.  And thank you for my family and the church. And for the blossoms peeking up from under the snow.

 

March 17

I praise you, my God, for you are the only God. All other gods are actually demons perpetrated by egotistical humans ~ both men and women ~ who want people to follow their leadership with false promises and false threats that frighten people into following them. You are selfless. If you became selfish, you would go out of existence. Then all would cease to exist. May you live forever, Lord God. May you keep bringing back to life what Satan kills. May you keep relighting the candles of hope that Satan snuffs out. May you reign on high forever and forever and ever.

Forgive me when I try to entice people into doing good works by promising rewards. And forgive me when I expect recipients of my good works to show their gratitude. They are not always grateful, do not always turn their life around, do not always decide to do good works for others. Forgive me when I look for those things in the people I help. I must not ever do something for someone else expecting anything in return ~ whether mental, emotional, or physical. Forgive me when I do.

Thank you, my Lord, for the country I live in. A decent home to live in and time to pursue the desires of my heart. Thank you for facing death and Satan for me, something I and everyone else could have never done. You materialized for us so you could live and die for us. War of the worlds, and you won. Thank you for showing me how to be on the winner’s side. Thank you for challenges and problems and enemies so I can stand up for you unflinching, unshakable, an imitator of all you stand for.

 

March 18

I praise you, my Father, for you are stronger than Satan. He wants annihilation, you enliven. He wants void, you create. He wants darkness and hatred, you light and love. When I feel isolated and alone, you are here with me.  I am never alone.  Even with fewer in numbers at your side than those on Satan’s side, you are stronger. You will overcome it all and chain Satan away from us someday when the time is right. Are you allowing Satan to hang on so we will become stronger by doing battle with him? I do not know the answer. What I do know is you are magnificent and wondrous and beautiful. My heart bursts with excitement when I think of you. No matter what scheme he tries, Satan will not keep me away from you.

Lord, I have been judgmental lately. How dare I? It is your place to judge people’s motives, not mine.  I have never walked in their shoes. I have never faced what they have faced. I have never fought the kinds of battles they have had to fight. Oh, Lord, forgive me.

Thank you, God, for sending a part of you to live among us and be our example.  Just as a part of you walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, you came back as promised. Satan won when he convinced them to believe his lies that you did not want what was best for them. You descended to face down Satan. This time you were going to win.  This time you did. I could never have escaped Satan. Nor anyone else. You were the only one who could. So, you did. For me! For me!  And so I worship you.

 

March 19

Ah, Lord God, you are the lover and master of my soul. My spirit touches yours and we sing and cry together, work and rest together, travel through meadows and up rugged mountains together. You are my life now and in eternity. You are my betrothed and oh, how I love you. I adore you as a bride adores her groom. I long for the day of our wedding feast when we become one. Such a life you have in store for me! I do not comprehend it. I cannot comprehend it. But life with you, my Lord, will be heaven.

Sometimes I envy people who are asked to speak at various events ~ men or women. I wonder why that opportunity was never opened up to me. Well, it was a little, but never for long. Forgive my envy. Help me be happy for them and remind myself to be content with opportunities for service you have given me.

Thank you, God, for providing the Bible so I do not have to guess what works and what does not work. So, I can understand your ways and Satan’s ways. You are the most mighty, the all mighty. Satan does not have a chance! He thinks he is winning, but he is not. He may win a few battles, but you will win the war. Thank you for the opportunity to stand with you despite opposition. Thank you for the opportunity to be defamed because of you, gossiped about, pushed around, and look like a loser because of you. When I am weak, that is when I am strongest, for my strength then is your strength.

 

March 20

How long must I wait to see you as you are and live with you throughout eternity?  I magnify you, Jehovah, in my heart, my soul, my mind. You are my life and breath. You are my light and love. You are my salvation when Satan tries to grab hold of me. You are my existence when Satan tries to annihilate me. I will cling to you instead of life, and you will give it back in exalted glory because it is you who granted it in the first place. Oh, how I long to see you with whatever kind of eyes I need. Oh, how I long to be able to bow at your feet. Oh, how I long to sing to you, to climb mountains of magnificence with you, to drink the water of life with you. Each moment I worship you.

I am full of selfishness, Lord. I do not take enough time to inquire how others are really feeling and doing deep inside. I am so ashamed. The world does not revolve around me. Forgive me, please.

My Lord, I thank you for all you did to ransom mankind from Satan when he took my soul the moment I first sinned. The ransom was steep. The ransom was so great, I could not pay it, nor could anyone else. You materialized and paid the ransom for us.  You are Love and had to ransom us from Satan. I will stand by your side and tell others what you did to bring salvation from Satan!  Thank you for preparing a better place for me and paying for my admittance with your blood.

 

March 21

God of heaven and earth, you are far above anything and anyone else.  You are our Creator.  You are perfection. I am so far below you in all things. But you are the lover of my soul, my protector, my comforter, my betrothed. Thank you. You deserve all earth’s praise and honor and glory.  All heaven praises you and I adore you.

Lord, I have been neglecting the lost. Why do I do that? Help me be alone with them and ask them about their relationship with God. Instead, I surround myself by my Christian friends. I need them, but the lost need me more. Forgive me when I become too comfortable. Oh, Lord, give me souls or else I die.

Thank you, God of my heart and soul, for loving me so. You stopped at nothing to save me from hell, despite my rebellious ego that does sinful things you say will hurt me.  You are so good, and though I offend you every day, you keep coming back and loving me all the more. No human is able to forgive as often as you do ~ hundreds of times just in one year and sometimes in one month. How can I truly thank you? I fall at your feet unworthy.

 

March 22

My soul magnifies you, Jehovah God. You are the Creator of my life and the Savior of my Spirit. The love you have for my soul overwhelms me. You give meaning to life when there are no answers. You help me rise to the heights of hope when nothing is working out right. You even allow me to share in a little of your glory and to show others what it is. You are my laughter and tears of joy. You are my contentment and my all.

Yesterday you made me forget myself a little while and talk to people about their problems and needs. It is still not enough. Make me reach out in more concern. Forgive me when I surround myself with my selfishness.

Thank you, Lord God of my soul, for taking notice of me, even though I am a sinner unworthy of your presence. I adore you and revere you. I fall at your feet in gratitude. You stopped at nothing to save me from Satan and hell, even though I do not always honor you. Your love is stronger than sin and Satan, danger and death. Your love transcends worlds and envelopes me in safety. And thank you, too, for my family and friends and time to use what talents you gave me to your honor and glory.

 

March 23

I lift up my praises to you, God of the universe. They swirl around the universe and finally to your throne. You are all might and power and everything good. You are right and just tempered with unimaginable mercy.  You alone are God. I will serve you all the days of my life. Take me to your home soon, though. How much longer will it be? A year? Ten years? Twenty? How long? Take me to your home and I will serve you there forever.

Help me love everyone instead, no matter how unloving, spiteful and hateful they are. Their lives must be so tortured. Make me overcoming all that in their lives with love because, as you said, “perfect love casts out fear.”

Ah, my Lord God, in deep gratitude that pierces my soul, I thank you for forgiving my many sins. I sin against you daily with bad attitudes that creep in. I am so ashamed and so weak. You forgive me anyway and I am not worthy of this. I fall at your feet and perpetually I whisper thank you. And spring.  Spring is here and the daffodils are peeking their heads out, laughing with the sun, and singing, “I’m back.  Didn’t I promise you I would be? What a winter nap I had. I’m all fresh and invigorated now.  And just wait until you see all my friends as they wake up ~ flowers in the soil, fruit in the trees, and grass to wiggle your toes in.” My Lord, you must have had such fun creating this earth.  Thank you for being the God of happiness too.

 

 

March 24

Ah, my Lord God, you are the highest and greatest above all others. You are the epitome, the mountain peak, the inner depths of all.  You are so much more powerful than Satan. May you be now and forever. You alone are worthy of the world’s honor. You alone are true glory ~ on earth and in heaven. You alone are my Maker, my Sustainer, my Savior. The stars race through the firmament to be the first to magnify you. The oceans soar to the depths to be the mightiest to magnify you. The new-born baby basks in the memory of seeing you face to face and being rocked by you in the cradle of a womb. All things praise you. And I cannot wait to do so again tomorrow.

Help me, Lord, to find a balance. Help me not be judgmental and just not have an opinion as though nothing truly matters. Forgive me when I say anything that is hurtful. Help me compliment instead of complain. Help me be more like you.

I thank you, Jesus, for materializing and doing all you did to save me from my deserved punishment for my sins. You did not have to leave the comforts of your home to live in a dirty, smelly world. You didn’t have to give up being everywhere at once to be confined to a body. You didn’t have to jeopardize yourself on the cross. But you did. Such love. The agony and anguish you experienced in my place. Such love. I am not worthy. But you could not let me go. Ah, heart of my heart.

 

March 25

The children, Lord. Make today’s children rebellious. Make them tell their parents and grandparents, “No more. You do not want rules, so I will find the rules for myself and live by them.” Make this young generation light the torch and carry it high so the world will see that Satan will not and cannot win. Help the teenagers of today do what they so naturally want to do. Help them rise up in rebellion against the immorality and lack of ethics that have raised their ugly heads in society. Help them find out who the only true God really is ~ not some high-minded imagination of people who make themselves gods by promising a religion full of emptiness.  Help these teenagers light the torch that reveals you to the world of their grandparents, their parents, their peers, and the next generation. May you be magnified and glorified through this next generation.

Lord, forgive me when I become suspicious of people’s motives. Why do I do that? You are the only one who can read hearts. I try to give a dollar here at there to beggars on the street and never question how they will use it; I just tell them they need to go home. But other people I do question. It is not up to me. That is up to you. No matter who does what, make me assume their motives are good, encourage them, and put my mind at rest.

Thank you, Lord God, for loving everyone, even my enemies. You give me courage when I have no courage. You give me strength when I am weak. You give me love when I do not feel it.  I am weak and sinful. Yet you love me and stay with me in your patience. I do not deserve you. I can only whisper over and over, thank you.

 

March 26

Lord, reach down and show your tender power in a special way to your children who are being severely persecuted for worshipping you. They face loss of jobs, loss of homes, loss of freedom, loss of life rather than deny you. They are heroes and do not even know it. Their courage in weakness declares your glory to those who degrade them. Their determination to never deny you declares your love to those who hate them. You are the one who gives them strength. You are the one who overcomes Satan through them. They are your hands and feet, their unwavering voices, their stubborn wills. To you belongs all wisdom and glory here on earth now, and in heaven forever.

The other day I declared something that is controversial and does not really matter. Why did I do that? All it does is promote factions, former friends turning against each other. Forgive me, Lord. If only I could take those words back. Forgive me, Lord.

Oh, yesterday was so beautiful and wonderful. The breezes were warm with the door to spring opening up to my part of the world. The sun shone bright in a deep blue sky. The cottony clouds bumped playfully into each other.  Even the fish in the pond nearby wiggled their way around each other while the ducks paddled their little webbed feet just as fast as they could in celebration. Ah, spring. The awaking time. The rest of winter is about over now. Time to plant and go for walks and enjoy the breezes wafting around me. Thank you, Lord, for springtime.

 

March 27

God, if I had a voice that was strong enough, I would declare your glory to the stars. If I had feet that were robust enough, I would climb the tallest mountain and raise a banner of love for the world to see.  If I had arms that were long enough, I would embrace the world with your magnitude. Give me eyes that see you in everything. Give me ears that hear you in all things. Though the world rebels against you, not wanting anyone to tell them what to do, I will defend you and reveal the part of you they do not understand ~ that you, their Maker, loves them so much you will spend their lives running after them. They are falling into the mire and do not know it. They are obeying Satan and do not realize it. Waken them, Lord, with your magnificence and envelop them with love that goes deep into their souls and will not let them go. Give them new eyes to see you, new ears to hear you, a new heart that loves you back.

Lord, as hard as I try, sometimes I begin to doubt you. I think I am not the only one who goes through this. I suppose if Satan weren’t afraid of me and my relationship with you, he wouldn’t attack me with doubts. Forgive me when I succumb to the doubts he puts in my mind. Though sometimes he kidnaps my mind, keep him from having my heart and soul too. At such times, help me to at least hope. Hold me up until my faith in you returns.

Thank you for opportunities to suffer for you. Your Word says the righteous will always be persecuted. Take me down paths where I know persecution will travel toward me. May I never “play it safe”. Open up doors where Satan thinks he rules so I may have the privilege of proving him weak and wrong. Lord, you made me your bride. How blessed is that! Oh, the depths of the relationship you want with me. Thank you, my Lord, my God, the reason for my being.

 

March 28

I praise you, my Lord and my God. You are so much loftier than I.  I look to the day when I can walk the streets of heaven with you, when I can sing to you, see your smile, bow at your throne. You are so good and I am not. How can you love me? But you do. Ah, yes. how you do! It is beyond my comprehension. But I am trying, Lord. I keep trying to understand your love. Sometimes would you give me an extra peek into your realm so I can, for a moment, be a little closer to you than I was before?

I am so selfish and weak. When someone offends, I run from them in fear. Oh, God, I am useless when I do that. I wasn’t easily offended as a child. Help me be more childlike, not hear their hurtful words or actions, and think only the best of others. Perfect love casts out fear. Help me overcome this and be as you have said.

Thank you, Lord God of all heaven and earth, for being all might and glory. Thank you for stopping at nothing to snatch me out of the clutches of Satan and save me from an eternal living death with him. You love me so and I am so unworthy, swaying back and forth between you and Satan. But you never give up. You follow me and snatch me away from him whenever necessary. Nothing stops you, God. I am so blest to have you.

 

March 29

I lift up my praises to you, God of the universe and Lord of my life. You are my priest and king. You lead the way where ever I go. You pull me back whenever I wander astray. You are might and power far beyond all that is wrong, constantly overpowering and overcoming. Always making sure that right and mercy and love and life remain to conquer again. With adoration in my heart as strong as the wind, you are my Lord and the love of my life.

Satan has such a hold on me when I begin to fear what others say against me and do to me. Help my ego die so that only Jesus lives in me.  Help me be grateful that I am counted worthy of such things.

Ah, how can I thank you, God, for all you have done for us through all the ages? You never stopped trying You have stuck it out with us though we offend you every day.  What love. It climbs to the highest peak and plunged to the core of the earth. It soars to the stars and it crawls into every atom. It transcends your world into ours and overwhelms my heart. Jesus, you faced Satan in my place. You overcame who and what I could not overcome. I fall at your feet with gratitude I cannot express.

 

March 30

Ah, Lord God, you, are my warrior who keeps Satan away, my priest who presents me to yourself, my king who welcomes me into your kingdom. You are my shepherd who feeds me, my Creator who gives me life every day, my sun to bring me light. You are my guide, my love, my savior, my friend. You are my Lord whom I adore. I fall at your feet overwhelmed with your love.

Take hold of me, God, shake me, and make me learn once more to let people persecute me if it is your will.  You are in command.  Love is in command. Forgive my weakness and be my strength.

Thank you, God of mankind, God of angels, God of all inanimate things. You created beauty for me and music. Oh, music with its sounds high and low, fast and slow, rhythmic and steady ~ all orchestrated to be your song to me. For colors. Oh, colors! dark and light, meshed and singular, flowing in and out of each other, painted by your finger as a gift to me. For touches soft and rough mixed and alone, fast and slow, all put together to form your embrace. You delight in me and how I adore you for it.

 

March 31

Always I praise you, Lord God. You are in all I see and hear and touch in nature. But you are more. You are Truth and Life and Love and Justice and Mercy. You touch my life with tenderness. You forgive so easily and hastily. How you love me and love to watch me. You spared nothing to bring me close to you in ways I do not begin to comprehend. Your mind and your ways are so far above mine.  I cannot laud you enough.

Lord, yesterday I let someone believe a lie. They believed I had done some good thing but I had not. Further, I did not set them straight. By my silence, I let them go on believing it. Make me go to that person and tell them the truth. If I am embarrassed, so be it. I should not have perpetuated a lie by my silence.

Ah, Jehovah God of the universe, thank you for loving me and caring about me. If I go to a wilderness of apathy, you guide me out. If I climb mountains of egotism, you bring me down. If I dive into the deepest ocean of self-pity, you bring me up. You watch me every moment, not just to protect me from others, but protect me from myself. You never tire of me. I never tire of you. You are my joy, my king, my hero, the lover of my soul.