Praising God

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Iris in our backyard - Spring 2009)

[Praising God] ... means being grateful for all the wonderful things in the universe and all the blessings in your life. (Alan L. Roeck, Look To This Day, 30 May)

Blessings

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Peonies in our backyard, Spring 2009)

I pray that I may be grateful for all my blessings. I pray that I may be humble because I know that those blessings are a gift to me from God. (Alan L. Roeck, Look To This Day, 30 May)

Progress

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Peony in our backyard, May 2009)

"Praise God" for the progress I am making today. (Daily Reflections, 27 May)

Bible Verse

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Backyard Iris plants)

Ask, and it will be given you, search , and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. (Matthew 7:7 in Daily Word for Healing by Colleen Zuck, et al., p. 125)

Prayer For Others

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Iris in our backyard, Spring 2009)

Dear God, please make some good come about in the lives of these people. Lighten the load of their suffering and help them to find a way to make sense of this terrible episode they are enduring at this moment in their lives. (Prayer of Suzanne Somers in 365 Ways to Change Your Life, Day 157)

We Give Thanks

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Iris in our backyard, Spring 2009)

Holy God, I come to You today seeking refuge from the pressures of my life. Soften my heart. Make me sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Speak to me today as I quietly wait on You. (Kay Arthur, Search My Heart, O God, 24 May)

We give thanks for the skilled and knowledgeable doctors and nurses who are caring for our friend Jim as his heart is repaired and healing.

Memorial Day - 2009

Father in heaven, today we remember and honor, with gratitude, those people no longer with us who played important roles in our lives: grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles and cousins, siblings, spouses and children, teachers, friends, bosses, and co-workers. May they all rest assured that those of us still living remember them fondly with love. (REH, 25 May 2009)

Blessings in Disguise

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Emmitsburg, MD)

All problems are blessings in disquise. (Susan Smith Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully, Day 128)

Spiritual Things

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint, Emmitsburg, MD)

The cure for world-weariness is to turn to spiritual things. (Alan L. Roeck, Look To This Day, 6 May)

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Melva's plant in kitchen garden)

The one area of life that cannot be addressed on a part-time basis is the spiritual life. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 11 May)

I will remember today that spiritual progress comes only when I make room for it in my life. (9 May, unknown book)

God's Laws

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Backyard azalea - Spring 2009)

God's laws are perfect. They protect us, make us wise, and give us joy and light. ... They are more desirable than gold. ... (Psalm 19:7-8, 10 (TLB), Daily Guideposts 2006, 8 May)

Prayer For A Friend

I believe that if I seek God I can find a better way to live and I ask Him daily to assist me in living a [balanced] and sober life. (Daily Reflections, 6 May)

Lord, today and the in the days ahead we ask that you give courage and strength to our friend as he submits to heart surgery. Guide the surgeons hands and the health care professional hearts. Comfort and give courage to family and friends. We give thanks for the skills and tools of modern medicine which make such surgery possible. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who, in his time and to this day, brought healing to so many.

Times of Withdrawal

Times of withdrawal for renewal of strength are always necessary. (Alan L. Roeck, Look To This Day, 26 April)

Earth Bound

You can be so earthly bound until you are no earthly good. (Dr. Oscar Lane in Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant, 4 May)

Thank You

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Near our carport, Spring 2009)

Lord, thank You for the many times you have shown up in my life through someone helping, teaching or needing me. (Eric Fellman, Daily Guideposts 2006, 10 May)

Wasting Time

Forgive me, O God, for wasting time, for allowing my day to become so full of things that have no eternal value. (Kay Arthur, Search My Heart, O God, 10 May)

Would It Make Any Difference?

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Backyard garden, May 2009)

Would it make any difference in your life if the government took away your Bible? (Kay Arthur, Search My Heart, O God, 13 May)

Things That Matter

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Orange azalea in our backyard, Spring 2009)

It is essential to our spirituality to have time to think about those things that matter. (Suzanne Somers, 365 Ways to Change Your Life, Day 135)

People Are Praying

People all over the city are praying - they can't help themselves. (Dave Franco in Daily Guideposts 2006, 4 May)

Guidance

Maryland Lighthouse

I pray for guidance from my Higher Power in everything I do. I know that many of my decisions could have been more wisely made, if I had been more receptive to His guidance. (One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, 1 May)

Calm Our Anxious Hearts

Loving God, calm our anxious hearts as we face the reality of death, and grant us the grace to be faithful in our journey of life. (The Upper Room Disciplines - 2006, 15 April)

Spriritual Growth

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Emmitsburg, Maryland)

[To achieve spiritual growth] You must work hard and exercise what you know before you reap the benefits of what you know. And the more you know, the harder you must work to exercise the principles in all situations and under all circumstances. (Iyanla Vanzant, Faith in the Valley, p. 140)

Doing Your Chores

Dick and Melva Henthorn at Cape Henry, Fort Story, VA.

Thank You, God, for helping me to do this chore. Please let me see the beauty in the usual: a tree, a child, a sunrise. (One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, 2 May)

Prayer Is

Photo: Mr. Dickie ("Footbridge to Nowhere" across the Missouri River at Omaha, NE, cost $22 million dollars in earmark money.)

Prayer is simply a reaching out to make contact with a Power greater than ourselves. It is an acknowledgment of our personal helplessness, which has been demonstrated to us so often in our efforts to find peace and security. (One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, 2 May)

Stigmas

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Christmas Cactus)

A appropriate spiritual exercise ... involves thinking about people in our time who bear particular stigmas; ponder quietly what it would mean to make friends with them. Then do it!

Cooperation

Cooperation with God is the great necessity for our lives, all else follows naturally. (Alan L. Roeck, Look to This Day, 23 April)

Decisions

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Taken in either Nebraska or Kansas more than fifty years ago)

Give me your wisdom as I make decisions that will impact the rest of my life. (Kay Arthur, Search My Heart, O God, 12 April)

I'm So Sorry Lord

Photo: Mr. Dickie

I'm so sorry, Lord. So many times I've said something thoughtless, even cruel, only to regret it for days. I want my life to be a reflection of Your love, but I'm not sure I'll ever get it right! Thank You for Your mercy and patience and for never letting go! (Kay Arthur, Search My Heart, O God, 4 March)