Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding.
Acknowledge him in all your ways,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6, NET
The above well-loved bookmark came home with me from a family vacation to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in the first half of my lifetime. . . maybe 1989? The Christian bookstore in the Victorian downtown area had a stack of these by the cash register, free to those who wished. It has traveled with me to college and across the Pacific. Amazingly, it has survived many moves, purges of extraneous belongings, and simple carelessness. It caught my attention again at the start of this work week, and I have followed its advice, with one modification: I'm starting with thanks instead of waiting until the end of the day.
In case you are not able to view or read the above photo, here is the text on the bookmark:
Let me suggest a project for you each day. Begin each day acknowledging your need for Jesus in all things. Commit yourself to him with all your heart as your day begins. Then commit the day to him, believing that God will govern what your day brings. Trust him to give you victory every time you need it. At the end of each day, look back and see the hand of God in the events of that day. I think you will say with Paul, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord for all His many multitudes of graces poured out on me and mine over the last week:
His goodness and protection
His grace to take me out of the muck and mire of sin
in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God, I am washed,
sanctified,
and justified!! (1 Cor. 6:11)
a timely reminder that my body has beauty and dignity because it is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
the challenge to treat it accordingly and glorify God in my bodily conduct today
the price paid to buy me
my dear husband
celebrating 14 years this week since our wedding and first kiss
all his hard work on the house
doing errands together on the weekend
holding hands
family time Tuesday on my mom's birthday
nephew laughs
showing them photos on my phone
one of them saying (about the butterfly festival photos), "I want to go to your house!"
a quick stop at Nonni's too
appointment changes
credit card confusion cleared up easily and at perfect time
first college teaching job for Mezzo
kind e-mails
construction dust gradually clearing
trace of rain
wrens and hummingbirds visiting briefly
cool mornings
Artizone delivery of some groceries
Bach's Suite for Unaccompanied Cello on the radio at bedtime (I think the first suite was what we heard.)
"Though You Slay Me (featuring John Piper)"--so very deeply encouraging
the ineffable comfort God's truth brings in hard times
the Lord's great and frequent mercies for all the times I look elsewhere instead
(gratitude journal, #1470-1500)
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