Our Father, which are in heaven, You are worthy of our praise. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise in the heights! Praise Him all His Angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! You brought my inner parts into being; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for You made me with fear and wonder; marvelous are Your works, and You know me completely. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret and intricately put together in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw me unformed, yet in Your book, all my days were written before any of them came into being. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and leads me along the path of everlasting life. [Psalms 148:1&2; 139:13-18; 139:23&24]
Holy Spirit Your word says: Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world, you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” [John 16:31-33, The Message] If my goal in life is to immolate Jesus, then I must realize that at times in life all people will abandon me, but that I am not abandoned because Jesus is with me. Also, I will and have faced troubles in life, yet I must stand on the truth that Christ has conquered life and death and gives the hope of eternity. Not only losing my son, but being the one to find him has been my greatest trouble to face to this date, yet the only way I keep my sanity is my hope in God. I can not face a day without facing the reality of him being gone and the memory of finding him dead, yet I must continue to live. I have the hope of seeing not only Jesus but Philip someday in heaven. I also have the hope of meeting the children we lost before they were born (Charlene, Alexander, Joshua Jacob, Jubal, and Abigale) I live today because I know that Jesus has conquered the sin and curse of this life and the sting of death. Through him, I can still live, find joy through my hope, and still be with my wife, daughter, son, and grandchildren. I no longer fear death for to me as Paul once said, to die is gain and to live is gain, I am content in either state. This life is but a vapor compared to the thought and concept of eternity.
Let me continually offer the sacrifice of praise to You, oh God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to Your name. Help me to not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices You are well pleased. I will do my best to obey those who rule over me and be submissive for they watch out for my soul, and they will give account for how they lead. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for me. For I am confident that I have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. But I especially am urged to do this. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make me complete in every good work to do His will, working in me what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:14-21)