Heavenly Father I praise You for today. I praise You through the wind, the heat, the cold, the rain, the tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, or whatever the weather may through at us, You are there with us. I praise You for giving us intelligence so that we have learned to be better prepared and have the tools to rescue people and people trained to help others. I praise You for the times when humanity pulls together to help each other during disasters.
Holy Spirit I praise You for being able to stop just fast enough that a deer was able to jump my hood and miss my car. In that instance, I was reminded that as close to death as that could have been if it had come through the windshield You were with me and I was relieved that I was not scared of eternity that awaits me. I have faced cancer twice in my life, blood clots and I have been hospitalized for being septic on three different occasions. I struggle to keep my A1C down, yet I live, breathe, and enjoy my grandchildren, my children, and especially my wife. I love to worship with the worship team at my church where they let me play harmonica and occasionally sing back up. I feel alive doing my current job as a principal where I can help make real change and encourage people to do their jobs. I feel most alive when I can pray. I am grateful that I can pray for Kayla who truly needs healing yet is faithful to You. I can pray for my Aunt who is going to start radiation to keep her from any cancer after her surgery. I am so thankful for praying for Emma, Amber, Olivia, Margaret, and Madalynne this past year while they were doing college and growing into outstanding women. I praise You for the times I have been able to speak at churches or be interviewed for online TV. Most of all when I face a close call, I am so humbled by the realization that You love me, forgive me, and created me with a purpose and allow me the room to try and fulfill it. I am so grateful when Your Spirit speaks to me encouraging me, warning me, and giving me wisdom or discernment. Close calls teach us to be grateful and to live life to the fullest potential that You made for us to live.
Therefore, let me not sleep as others do. But let me be alert and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But let me, who is of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed me to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for me, so that whether I am awake or asleep, I will live together with Him. So, I will comfort myself, and edify my brothers and sisters. I will acknowledge those who labor around me, and/or are appointed over me in the Lord, and instruct me. I will esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among the members of the body of Christ. I have been exhorted, to warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, and be patient toward everyone. I will not render evil for evil to anyone. But always seek to do good to others. I will rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning me. I will not quench the Spirit. Nor will I despise prophecies. I will examine all things. Firmly hold onto what is good. Abstain from all appearances of evil. May the very God of peace sanctify me completely. And I pray to God that my whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For I know that faithful is He who calls me, for He also will do it. Amen. 1 Thessalonians 5:6-24