.where i am.

wow, oh, wow, man, i'm just so thankful for the girls in my bible study. it's just so beautiful sharing our lives... we ended tonight with this beautiful prayer that is so rich and real, i have to share...

O Thou Creator of all things that are, I lift up my heart in gratitude to Thee for this day's happiness:
for the mere joy of living:
for all the sights and sounds around me:
for the sweet peace of the country and the pleasant bustle of the town:
for all things bright and beautiful and gay:
for friendship and good company:
for work to perform and the skill and strength to perform it:
for a time to play when the day's work was done, and for health and a glad heart to enjoy it.
...
Preserve me by Thy grace, good Lord, from so losing myself in the joys of earth that i may have no longing left for the purer joys of heaven. Let not the happiness of this day become a snare to my too worldly heart. And if, instead of happiness, i have to-day suffered any disappointment or defeat, if there has been any sorrow where i had hoped for joy, or sickness where i had looked for health, give me grace to accept it from Thy hand as a loving reminder that this is not my home.

I thank Thee, O Lord, that Thou has so set eternity within my heart that no earthly thing can ever satisfy me wholly. I thank Thee that every present joy is so mixed with sadness and unrest as to lead my mind upwards to the contemplation of a more perfect blessedness. And above all I thank Thee for the sure hope and promise of an endless life which Thou hast given me in the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.


i woke up this morning and my prayer was, "God, help me to be where i am... today. help me to embrace and love the people around me today." i have so many dreams and ideas and i love thinking of possibilities and the future... that's it's sometimes hard for me to focus on the now. and then God in His faithfulness completely soaks me in the now and the pure beauty of living and well, living among friends.