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Daily Blessings

Psalm 34:1
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

How you do greet the start of a new day? Do you wake up and begin to think of the many things you’ve written on your “TO DO” list? Do you grumble knowing you can’t possibly make all those return phone calls or get to all those emails that are waiting for answers?

What about the kids, your husband or wife, their schedules and appointments. The list of things and people and problems and issues just do not go away and can really make the start of a new day seem pretty grim.

Let me tell you about my friend, Nancy. I’ve known Nancy for seven years, and we have become very good friends. She is a soft-spoken lady and loves her Lord very much. When you talk to her about God, her eyes light up and with a big smile on her face she proudly says, “Jesus died on the cross for my sins, He rose from the dead on Easter morning, and when I die I will go to heaven to be with Him.”

With tears in her eyes, Nancy will sometimes ask me, “Will I be able to talk to Jesus when I get to heaven? What will He say to me, and do you think I will be able to hold His hand and walk with Him?” Nancy patiently waits for my answers and is always ready to say, “I can’t wait to be with Jesus.”

Nancy is one of the adults that attends my special needs ministry program at church each Saturday morning. Each week, she reminds me just how excited she is to be a child of God, and she knows that someday she will be with Jesus in heaven.

Nancy does not worry about the cares of the day - she realizes that her job waits for her at the workshop and that she has work to do when she gets back to the group home - but she knows that Jesus loves her. No matter what happened in Nancy’s week, with her bright and happy eyes, she faithfully and joyfully walks up to me in my classroom, shakes my hand and says, “God bless you, Kathy. I prayed for you this week.”

How many of us say that to our spouse, our kids, our friends, our pastor or to others we meet? How many people do we tell that we pray for them and that God blesses them each and every day? Nancy starts her day with God and shares her blessing with others. She is a gentle witness of her faith. She delights in praising God and proudly leads my class in singing:

Where He leads me I will follow,
Where He leads me I will follow,
Where He leads me I will follow,
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.
John S. Norris

No matter how your day begins, remember that it is a gift from God and that you should receive His blessings with hearts filled with joy. As Nancy would say, “God bless you, and I’ll pray for you this week.”

“Thank you Lord for the gift of another day and that I can celebrate in Your love. May I share the joys and blessings of this day with others and rejoice and delight at being Your child. Amen. ”