May 4, 2015

With a little help from parts of Psalm 66 today:

Here we are Lord,
These crazy, little, amazing, creatures You have made.
Fiercely independent,
yet totally dependent on You.
How amazing is a God who can create such a complex body.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!"
...All the earth bows down to You...
Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind!

Thank You for:
+hair--the curly, soft, big, in all colors--we have fun decorating it
+eyes--the jewel colors
+smell--bacon, spring earth, wood smoke--evokes memories and emotions
+taste--tang of grapefruit, spice of a green onion, cream of chocolate--all showing Your generous creativity
+hands--can hold a friend, can pen an encouragement, can rescue a child
+skin--in beautiful shades, semi permeable and washable and stretchable
+feet--oh the joy to feel movement, to run!, to jump, to dance and spin--from the time we can first manage it, it bring happiness
+the millions of actions and reactions, chemical and mechanical, that make this body work without a thought from us
+with each beat of our heart, we hear Your power, Your love.

We don't have to look further than the end of our nose to see how amazing You are!

We glory in our health, and thank You for so much.
But when the slightest little thing goes wrong, it is so hard for us. You understand. How amazing to have a God who put Himself into our situation, and felt our pain. While we know You use it to teach us, You also healed so many through Jesus.

So we ask for Your healing, Great Physician:
--for our new babies, struggling to live
--for our kids, with pink eye and strep and stomach aches and so many vulnerabilities
--for our sisters, the military moms on whom so much depends, who have mono, and bronchitis, and lyme disease, and migraines, and____
--for our soldiers, these pro athletes, who beat their bodies to do their jobs and have broke feet, hurt backs, torn shoulders, brain inconsistencies,
--for our wounded warriors--Lord, please give them the courage to face their new challenges. May their breaking be the point where they turned to You.
--and for our soldiers with broken hearts. Lord, we can name so many maladies, fix a few of them, analyze the thumping of the heart muscle and the pull of the lungs. But we can't explain, or help, the spirit, the will to live. Please heal our veterans. Save them from the despair. May they know Your presence.

He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
For You, God, tested us;
You refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs....
We went through fire and water,
but You brought us to a place of abundance...

As we use our bodies this week in Your service, may we remember You.

And we pray for the heart of our nation on this week of the Day of Prayer. You've blessed us with the best nation in the world. Such wealth! Such freedom! Such resources! From the shrimp of Florida waters, to the king crab from the Alaskan waters. From Texas beef to California strawberries to Iowa hogs to the grains of the Great Plains. Thank You Lord.

We pray we will use it well. We pray we will manage these great blessings to bless the rest of the world. We pray for our leaders. We pray for our military. We pray for revival Lord. Because while we are surrounded by all these wonderful things, we still can't make the heart beat on our own accord. We need You for every breath.

In sickness, and in health--
even if there is no food in the field or cattle in the stalls--
we trust in You.

Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld His love from me!