Psalm 108 begins:

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make melody.
Awake, my soul!

Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
and I will sing praises to you among the nations.

For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

What a beautiful way to begin a day!

For many of us, morning time is a time of alarm clocks and tired children and scrambling to get moving. For others of us, it is hard to get out of bed; aching bones and muscles make it difficult to get moving. For others still, despair can be paralyzing.

C.S. Lewis has some powerful thoughts on this. He once wrote, “The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”

My prayer for each of you at first morning light, you would pause even for a moment, give thanks for the new day, and open your heart anew to God’s strength and love.

Let us pray: We praise you, O God, for your mercies are new every morning. Grant us hearts that will sing in response. Amen.

One of my favorite subjects is gratitude. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” Friends of Dial Hope, most of us specialize in periodic outbursts of gratitude. Rather than a continuous condition or a state of being, thanksgiving becomes an event, a time, a day in particular, the fourth Thursday of every November. But gratitude needs to be an attitude, a perpetual one.

To keep myself in a thankful condition, I do the following: I launch my attitude of gratitude when I awaken. In the silence of my heart, I say, “Thank you, God, for a night of rest and for the gift of a new day. I am thankful, I am thankful. I am thankful, and I will live this day in gratitude, from start to finish, come what may. Lord, what are you up to today? I want to be a part of it. Now I ask that you bless me so I may be a blessing to others.”

The crucial thing is to get yourself prepared for yet another day of thankfulness. Crashes, victories, and boredom will come and go. Our attitude of gratitude endures. With perpetual thanksgiving, I remain.

Let us pray: Loving God, who broods over us at night like a mother bird over her nest and rises upon us in the morning like the sun that warms the earth, we lift our hearts to you in praise and thanksgiving. You have richly blessed each of us. Thank you for your love and extravagance. This day, may we be beautifully extravagant in our generosity, gratitude, and kindness toward others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sometime back I was listening to an interview with George Forman – former Heavy Weight Boxing world Champ. I was super impressed with his interview! At one point, he spoke about making a lot of money. He said something along the lines of this: Money is a good thing. It is okay. But just remember that every morning you have to wake up with something that no one else in the world gets up with, and that is that image in the mirror – that face you see. You have got to love it! You have got to do something that you feel good about. Money may come, but you have got to do something good with it.

He went on to say: The first time I made millions, I had a swimming pool and a Mercedes and all kinds of things that speak of success. But, I hadn’t done anything to treat mankind the way mankind had treated me.

At some point in time, Foreman built a youth center in Houston, Texas, and he almost went broke. He had to go back into boxing to fund it. But the second time around he had a reason, and he found himself gifted with endurance and stamina. He said when you are fighting for something beyond yourself and money – that’s when nothing can stop you.

It is true. People who find a way to give back, to do good for others are happier and more fulfilled. I don’t know about you, but I am inspired to keep on trying to find ways to make a difference.

Let us pray: God of Grace, in our own lives, show us ways that we can give back and make a positive impact on others. As we do so, may you fill us anew with joy and hope. Amen.

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast to her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, “Mom, why are some of your hairs white?”

“Well,” her mother replied, “Every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.”

The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, “Momma, how come all of Grandma’s hairs are white?”

That’s funny! And you know we do, we all have a lot of stress in our lives – things that make us unhappy. The truth is, so many of us are carrying around so much, and, it is easy to point the finger at someone else. It is easy to try and find someone or something to blame. But that doesn’t help, does it?

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul gives what looks like a prescription for dealing with anxiousness and stress. He writes:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In your own life, you may very well have noticed the connection between gratitude, trust, and God’s peace. May you and I follow Paul’s advice more often.

Let us pray: God of grace, we thank you for the way your blessings have rained down upon us – grace upon grace – gift upon gift. Today, even at this moment, we hand you our burdens, our stress, our anxiety… We ask you to help us trust you. May your peace rest upon us, and flow through us. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the story of Abraham, in the book of Genesis – after the birth of Ishmael, Abraham waits 13 years for another word from the Lord. 13 years of silence. Abraham is an old man at this point. God has promised him an heir, and he knows it is not Ishmael. So Abraham waits in faith, and God is faithful.

In our culture today, we’ve become accustomed to getting what we want when we want it. And, we get impatient. We want to see spiritual growth today. We want our confusing scary situation to change now. We want our loved ones to get well immediately. But life doesn’t always unfold according to our time-table. Sometimes, as difficult as it is, we have to wait.

Of course, we do have a choice. We can wait in anxiety and worry. We can wring our hands and complain bitterly to anyone who will listen. Or, we can wait in patience – with trust. Yes, there may be steps we need to take. There may be issues we need to talk through. There may be heart-felt prayers that need to be lifted up. But, once we’ve done our part, we need to trust that it is in God’s hands.

Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Pastor and scholar Joshua Kang suggests that it a prerequisite for spiritual growth.

Let us pray: Pour out your Spirit on us again this day, Loving God. Fill our cups to overflowing again with your grace. For sometimes it is hard to wait for answers to our prayers. In our daily struggles, we need your strength. We need to be reminded that you are good and that you are with us. Grant us the patience and the courage we need for this day. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.