Thank you for the Rain

It's Morning, Jesus
There you are, seated at the right hand of God the Father
The three of you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
have and do exercise Sovereign reign over all the universe
Thank you for the water that fell from the sky today
to quench the parched earth
to give drink to the thirsty trees
to fill the creeks and rivers
to swell the lake
to replenish the wells


Thank you, heavenly Father, for the gifts you give us all
For the often forgotten gifts of health
For the joy of sports
For the ability to walk and run

I saw a jogger today, Lord, running in the rain
His legs were stretched out
His back was straight
His arms pumping
His lungs breathing

What a gift!
O' that we may run in this day with the gifts we have from you,
the passing gifts we take for granted.
O' that we may use the gifts of heart, soul, mind and body,
to exalt you, Lord Jesus.

Keep me aware today of all I have been given and all with which I am entrusted
This body is on loan, today, from you.

Amen

Ask and It Shall be Given to You, Seek and Ye Shall Find

It's Morning, Lord
And we ask.
We desire to ask rightly and not amiss
We ask for a conscientious worker in Dubais to look through luggage and find Berewan's bag.
We ask for a caring government worker to hear and see the story of her child
We ask for passageway to America for her little girl.
We ask for doctors and health-care workers
We ask for immigration officials
We ask for health
We ask for life.

Amen

Can I Make a Difference Today, Lord?

It's Morning, Jesus
I read your story again this morning.
I read the part about what said you went about doing good.
Help me follow you, today Lord.
And I thank you, Lord Jesus,
For all those whose love and life in you
trickled on to me this week.
I knew your goodness, your care, your thoughts for my family
in their acts of goodness.
Challenge me, Lord
To simple acts of goodness that exemplify your love.

a dish of banana pudding
a Star-Bucks card for my girls
a hand-written Christmas letter
a tin can of porpcorn
a phone call of encouragement
an email of thanks
a ladder and a carpenter
a job for Hannah
a word of praise for Chelsea
a laugh with Jenna
a game on a kitchen table
a cold glass of water
a firm handshake
a close hug
an act of understanding
a gift of patience
an overlook of error
a helping hand

So today, Lord, as I have seen and known you
May I make a difference today in someone elses life.
Amen!

Christmas Blessing

It's Evening, Jesus
We give thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to
be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.
Colossians 1:12

Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens
with the saints and of the household of God. Ephesians 2:19

Amen

Christmas Today in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) - Thousands of Iraqi Christians made their way to church through checkpoints and streets lined with blast walls, many drawing hope from a lull in violence to celebrate Christmas Mass in numbers unthinkable a year ago.
Death is never far in Iraq—two separate suicide bombings north of Baghdad killed at least 35 people and wounded scores more. But the number of attacks has fallen dramatically in the past few months—the U.S. military says by 60 percent since June.

"We did not celebrate last year, but this year we have security and we feel better,"
Families streamed into the church's courtyard, wrapped in heavy winter jackets to protect them from the early morning chill. Young children with neatly combed hair held their parents' hands, and women stopped by the front door to pick through a basket of small lacy headscarves, placing them over their hair before walking in.

in. Outside, police armed with automatic rifles manned a checkpoint at the corner of the narrow street, searching every passing car for possible bombs.

A coordinated bombing campaign in 2004 targeted churches in the Iraqi capital, and anti-Christian violence also flared last September after Pope Benedict XVI made comments perceived to be against Islam.


Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, leader of the ancient Chaldean Catholic Church and Iraq's first cardinal, celebrated Mass before about 2,000 people.

Muslim clerics—both Sunni and Shiite—also attended the service in a sign of unity.

"May Iraq be safe every year, and may our Christian brothers be safe every year," Shiite cleric Hadi al-Jazail told AP Television News outside the church. "We came to celebrate with them and to reassure them."

William Jalal, a 39-year old father of three attending Mass at Mar Eliya, said this Christmas was clearly different.

"We didn't celebrate like this in the past two years as we were holding limited celebrations for relatives in an atmosphere filled with fear," said Jalal, a cook in one of Baghdad's social clubs. "Now we feel better as we see all these security forces in the streets to protect us."

Bombers still attack city markets, police or army patrols and stores, and the dead bodies of tortured kidnap victims turn up almost daily along river banks or dumped on the streets.

Venturing out in large numbers late at night in Baghdad is still unthinkable, so the capital's Christians celebrated midnight Mass in the middle of the afternoon on Christmas Eve.

"Here, I feel my soul is at rest," said Matti Gordese, a 40-year-old father of four originally from Baghdad. "I can practise my religion without feeling that suddenly, a bomb will explode and kill you in God's house."

Christmas

Luke 2
1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men

1st Christmas

Aidan Brock
Greg and Sherri's Neighbor

Lord Jesus,
Do bless these babies you have given to us
Do make our family of faith a warm and secure nest of love
Do grant to us the love and spirit that imparts life
May a spirit of love and affirmation of truth
Inform each of us as caregivers,
To babies and parents and mee-maws and papaws...
That our children will rise up and call You and us blessed!

Julia Nehring
Cody Yawn
Paisley Jackson
Ella Kate Firth
Sydney and Ethan Bryant
Sam Kunczewski
Ambree Lynn Scott
John Wyatt Sanders
Lydia Vickery
Joshua VanLarhoven

In Memory of Steve Herod

You got away from me, Steve
Before I got to say goodbye.
You took the road out of here,
quietly, quickly.
We've said our farewells dozens of times
always knowing we would meet again
sometimes....either later or sooner.

In spite of distance, we had a brotherhood that kept us close
We piled up memories behind us
We stood together in the ashes of a burned down church
We climbed ladders on a roof top where a tornado ripped a steeple
We poured foundations and put the footprints of my children in them
and declared to each other that whatever else we did
these labors would last.
So, we did try to feed the hungry
And we did try to clothe the naked
And we did try to help the helpless
And that was when we mutually discovered that "the least of these" was us
For we met such beautiful people
Whose soul struggle, courage, and indomitable spirit
Strengthened and challenged us.

I still have the knife you made me.
And I still recall with smile and pleasant laughter
our walks in the river basin
and the arrow heads you hid for finding

Whatever part of Indian was in you...I admired it.

I sat with you among the fragments of the Cherokee nation
I admired the relics you excavated from Cherokee history and kept in hallowed memory.

When it rains, my little finger still hurts,
Where you almost broke it. Remember?
Our hands gripped in prayer when you suddenly tried to pass a kidney stone.

You were quiet, Steve, so quiet
It took me two years to get to know you
But after two years I finally learned to listen to your silence
I figured out how you talked with your eyes
And communicated with your grin
I liked the shrug of your shoulders
And became relaxed in your laugh.

We always said that when we got old
We would remember together the things God led us to and through
We made the bet that we were making the right choices those cold
Saturday mornings when it was just you and me

But you got away from me, Steve,
Before we ever got to have any of those conversations
We don't get to become old men together

And you have taken up your residence now in that place already prepared

And could you whisper down to me, I think I know what you would say
I think your eyes would twinkle, you would grin and laugh
And leave me to figure out the rest.

Take rest my brother, take rest
And take joy in the magnificence of glory
God has called you home.

Hospice, Hospital, and Hope

It's near Christmas, Jesus
And we bring to you what you already know
That those we love
Struggle for health and hope.
And so we who have not the trained hands to hold surgeons knives
Press our hands together in prayer
And join the doctor and the nurse in the arts of healing
And the labor of hope this Christmas.
Amen

The Agony and the Ecstacy

It's Morning, Jesus
You are the God of the Mountain Top
You are the Sovereign One who reigns in the Valley
The concrete doors to the heavenly places
Look like cemeteries to us
We etch the names of our loved ones
In stone portals.
We sometimes stand among
the fallen doors we can neither open nor lift
Because they mark the path back to you
And declare to us that we cannot enter Heaven as we are.

So we number our days and count our blessings
But count as most blessed those who have already passed through
from us to you.

Amen

Courage

It's Morning, Jesus
At the basketball game last night,
I learned from my daughter Chelsea.
She taught me about courage, perseverance, confidence, anger, determination, stamina, frustration, strength, commitment.
She could have quit. She could have given up. But she didn't.
Angelina taught me a lot too. About dribbling among giants.
About getting knocked down and getting back up.
Dorothy taught me about fierce, no-fear playing.
Lord, I thank you for all the victories we've had
And I thank you, too, for last nights defeat.
For you teach us in adversity the lessons we cannot be taught in victory.
I thank you for Julie, the coach
The mom, the wife, the church member, the school coach who cares.

Amen

How Can This Be?

It's Morning, Jesus
All the lights are burning on my Christmas tree
I turned them on in the darkness of the dawn
To sit and think of you
To meditate on your birth.
But these thoughts led me to your death.
How can this be?
So I pick up a bible, and read it again
Your word
Your truth
Your explanation..

Who Can Believe It?

1 Who has believed what we've been saying?
Who has seen the Lord's saving power?
2 His servant grew up like a tender young plant.
He grew like a root coming up out of dry ground.
He didn't have any beauty or majesty that made us notice him.
There wasn't anything special about the way he looked that drew us to him.
3 Men looked down on him. They didn't accept him.
He knew all about sorrow and suffering.
He was like someone people turn their faces away from.
We looked down on him. We didn't have any respect for him.
4 He suffered the things we should have suffered.
He took on himself the pain that should have been ours.
But we thought God was punishing him.
We thought God was wounding him and making him suffer.
Isaiah 53

He Was Punished to Make Us Whole

4 He suffered the things we should have suffered.
He took on himself the pain that should have been ours.
But we thought God was punishing him.
We thought God was wounding him and making him suffer.
5 But the servant was pierced because we had sinned.
He was crushed because we had done what was evil.
He was punished to make us whole again.
His wounds have healed us.
6 All of us are like sheep. We have wandered away from God.
All of us have turned to our own way.
And the Lord has placed on his servant
the sins of all of us.
Isaiah 53

He Was Beaten and Made to Suffer

7 He was beaten down and made to suffer.
But he didn't open his mouth.
He was led away like a sheep to be killed.
Lambs are silent while their wool is being cut off.
In the same way, he didn't open his mouth.

He Was Cut Off From This Life

8 He was arrested and sentenced to death.
Then he was taken away.
He was cut off from this life.
He was punished for the sins of my people.
Who among those who were living at that time
could have understood those things?
9 He was given a grave with those who were evil.
But his body was buried in the tomb of a rich man.
He was killed even though he hadn't harmed anyone.
And he had never lied to anyone.
Isaiah 53

He Will be Punished

10 The Lord says, "It was my plan to crush him
and cause him to suffer.
I made his life a guilt offering to pay for sin.
But he will see all of his children after him.
In fact, he will continue to live.
My plan will be brought about through him.
11 After he suffers, he will see the light that leads to life.
And he will be satisfied.
My godly servant will make many people godly
because of what he will accomplish.
He will be punished for their sins.
Isaiah 53

He Gave His Life

12 So I will give him a place of honor among those who are great.
He will be rewarded just like others who win the battle.
That is because he was willing to give his life as a sacrifice.
He was counted among those who had committed crimes.
He took the sins of many people on himself.
And he gave his life for those who had done what is wrong."
Isaiah 53

An Oak of Righteousness

The Year of the LORD's Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61

It's Morning, three-personed God
It is for the display of your spendor
That you sent your son
To build a righteous people
You came to bear our sin (Isaiah 53)
And you came to make us righteous (Isaiah 61)


Water me as your planting, today Lord Jesus
Tend me with conviction and truth
Prune me
Cause me by your Spirit
to bear fruit.

I yield all of myself to you today.

By "binding up the brokenhearted"
By giving "liberty to the captives"
By releasing those imprisoned by sin,
You purposed as Messiah to make us "trees of righteousness."

O Lord God,
It is your will that I be righteous
Because you want me to display your glory.

Thy will be done today.
Amen

The Horn of Salvation

67His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68" Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
Luke 1

It's Morning, Jesus
I laugh
I chuckle for joy
You go before me as the "horn of my salvation".
To walk behind you is to walk as securely as one walks behind this powerful creature
To feed in your pasture is not just to be helped by a shepherd
But to be guarded by power

Satan may be a roaring lion, but none of those who take refuge in Christ, the horn of salvation, can he destroy.

We are saved from the enemy.
Praise God!

Amen

Looking for Christmas

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss[a] your servant in peace.
30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[b] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:25-38

It's Morning, Jesus
Do stir up in us today
a longing for consolation
a desire for redemption

"Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, and her iniquity is pardoned." (Isaiah 40:1-2)

You, Lord Jesus, are the consolation of our hearts.

Today, Lord, my warfare is ended
I surrender all to you
I know longer try to have it my way
I seek your way and get in it
Today, Lord Jesus,
My iniquity is pardoned
When I tried to have it my way, I messed up
And in messing up I made a mess
But today, my iniquity is pardoned
You have bought me back.
Today I begin to live in your redemption.

Amen

A Prayer for a Friend

1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40

Lord,
I lift this cry to you
For him
He needs patience in truth, today
He needs the capacity for longer suffering
He does not feel able to endure anymore
He does not have a willigness in himself to take anymore

I know, Lord Jesus, that you hear his cry
I ask you, Lord Jesus
to give him a sign

He cannot get out of this by himself
The pit is too slippery
The slope is too high

Help him, Lord
to lean into the lift
to rest into the rescue
to fall into the grace

Every thing in him
Every bone in his body
Causes him to struggle, to exert, to try harder

Help him release and let go, Lord Jesus
and experience the fall he feels is dangerous
until his feet rest on the rock of your truth.

Amen

I Exalt You

It's Morning, Jesus
Your name be exalted
Your life be lived in each of us
Your love be expressed through our compassionate vision
Your justice be won by our discipline
Your truth be seen in our character
Your glory be known as the glory of God the Father
Be exalted O'God
above all the earth
I exalt you today

As I love my wife, you will be exalted
As I instruct my children, you will be exalted
As I serve my neighbor
As I discipline my character
As I manage my mouth
As I bring every thought captive to the feet of Jesus
As I take custody of my eyes
As I study your word
You will be exalted above all the earth.

Amen

Evening Prayer

It's Evening, Jesus
Today we lit a candle signifying your coming.
And today we remembered our brothers in Cuba and China
who must hide their light.
Today we joined Christians all over the world
in celebrating your life.

As I sleep, tonight, Lord Jesus
May your light speak to me, even in dreams.
May your desire that I be closer and closer to you
find me receptive in sleep
to the kisses of angels.

Amen

Christmas in the Old Testament

Four Creative Acts of God
After Creation
Genesis 3

1. He Stepped in to the Ruins
"Adam, where are you?"

2. He Confronted Evil
"He said to the serpent...."

3. He Set forth a Plan of Redemption
"Out of her seed..."

4. He Covered Their Shame
"And the Lord God made them covering of animal skin."

Best of Huckabee

Faithful God

It's Evening, Jesus
Before you punished Adam
Before you spoke to Eve
After the fall
Afer the failure
You addressed evil itself.
You stood between them....between Adam and Eve and Evil itself.

You are a God who watches over His word

Grant it, Lord Jesus
That today
I will be a part of confronting evil.
Before I point fingers and lay blame upon your creation
Let me join you in your work of confronting the evil one in our midst.

As your merciful stance between them and evil came before judgement,
Allow my mercy to be swift
That justice may be just.

That your name be exalted
And healing come that glorifies you.

Amen

The First Sermon Ever Preached

14 So the Lord God spoke to the serpent. He said, "Because you have done this,
"I am putting a curse on you.
You are cursed more than all of the livestock
and all of the wild animals.
You will crawl on the ground.
You will eat dust
all of the days of your life.
15 I will put hatred
between you and the woman.
Your children and her children will be enemies.
Her son will crush your head.
And you will crush his heel."
Genesis 3

Father in heaven,
I thank you that you set in motion in that single day
Your plan to redeem the world.
You stepped into the garden.
You declared that destruction would not stand.
You told the evil one his days were numbered.
You preached the first sermon ever preached in the garden
And you spoke to evil itself.

Enable me, Lord Jesus
to interfere with Satan's plans
to expose His scheming.
As you sought to retore your creation,
Enable me to join you in that work.
Thy kingdom come.

Amen

Now the disquieting thing is not simply that we skimp and begrudge the duty of the prayer. The really disquieting thing is it should have to be numbered among duties at all. For we believe that we were created ‘glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ And if the few, the very few, minutes we now spend on intercourse with God are a burden to us rather than a delight, what then?

–C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm

It's Morning, Jesus
I adore you
I simply adore you.

May every action I take today
be a small step toward you
on the lowest rung of the ladder

May I glorify and exalt you
sitting at the table
typing on this computer
driving my car to school
walking the halls of the hospital
opening the book
reading the mail

May I know you, share you, be with you
in Sherri
in Chelsea
in Jenna
in Hannah

May I bless you
in traffic
in store
in hallway
in line

in gym
in store
in restaurant
in meeting

in writing
in thinking
in studying
in praying

in talking
in listening
in feeling
in being

in all things
I exalt you today.

Amen

Ah!

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a lonely place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" (Mark 1)

It's Morning, Jesus
Now I know, all over again, why you went away. Why you got up early, and found a solitary place, to be alone with the Father.


Grant it, Father, that even though others do not understand, or despise, or question why...grant me the courage and discipline of withdrawing to be with you.

Impart to me your life, Lord Jesus, not someone elses.
Let me live to the favor of your face, not someone elses face.

Pull me aside
Draw me close

Thank you for your presence.
Thank you for your peace.

Amen