God's Minute

December 28

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.--Ephesians 5:20

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ.--1 Corinthians 15:57

OUR Heavenly Father, for all Thou hast given and all Thou hast forgiven, we thank Thee. For every gift of nature, and Thy favoring providences, and Thy great salvation through Christ, we thank Thee.

For blessings within us and around us; for everything by which Thou hast brought good and drawn us to Thyself through all our lives and the lives of our kin; for our power of understanding, of loving, of homemaking, of sharing friendships; for the good hope concerning loved ones who have gone from the ways of earth, and for our own expectation of sharing heaven's joy with them through Christ's saving merit--we thank Thee.

Help us, O Father, to live and work with the cheer of a grateful spirit, overcoming all trouble by the patience of hope and the wisdom of love. So may we share the fellowship of all who follow Christ, both near about us and in all the world.

Amen.

Rev. William Allen Knight, LL.D.
Boston, Massachusetts

Moving Day

That's right. For the past month, I've been quietly setting up and moving Hiraeth to my new location on Squarespace. I still have some work to do and I'll probably be re-arranging and moving stuff around as I get used to my new home, but it's finished enough for me to move in officially on New Year's Eve. I'm still working on sidebar links and buttons and categories, so you'll be seeing some changes in the days to come.

I hope you'll like it there. You can find Vizslocity and my reading blog, Hiraeth Warehouse right there in the side bar, too. If you want to subscribe to them as separate blogs, you can do that from their front pages. I hope that you, my regular readers, will follow me over there and change your subscriptions. Also, when you next update your blog rolls, would you mind changing my link in your sidebars? Thanks.

I'll continue to update this blog through New Years Eve and I'll be keeping it what's here available, but I won't be updating it anymore starting New Years Day.

I want to thank each and every one of you who has taken time everyday to come and read my blog. I'm especially thankful for those of you who have become my dear friends. You know who you are!

I have some new things planned for next year! I'll tell you more about that after the first of the year!

Too funny

Someone googled "images of angelic beings" early this morning and landed on Vizslocity, my "dog blog."

Angels? I think not.

Ivy's Mug Shot

Well, sometimes.

God's Minute

December 27

And He said to them all, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?--Luke 9:23-25

O LORD, Thou Whose eye seest everything, even into the secrets of our hearts, and with Whom is all wisdom and power, be not silent to our petition. In our suffering let us observe Thy presence, and, out of pain, teach us submission.

We cannot always understand what Thou art doing with us, but O Thou Watcher of men, make our souls to know that Thou art always just and good, ever long-suffering in Thy mercy. Give us Thy strength to bear the burden.

Teach us that if we would be most serviceable to Thee, we must be marred and hurt and made to bleed. The we shall come forth as gold tried in the furnace, and Thy righteousness shall be our robe, and Thy glory our diadem.

Amen.

Peter Ainslie, D.D.,
Baltimore, Maryland

Dear friends and readers:

This prayers seems providential this morning. I just read an email from a friend, telling me of her husband's trip to the emergency room last night and the pain that he is suffering. Our family has two dear friends who are suffering in great pain this day. Dan is still going through the process of diagnosing the cause of his severe jaw pain. Our other friend, Jeff's condition is chronic (arachnoiditis) and he lives with pain day in and day out without much hope of relief or change. Would you take a moment and pray for these two men? Thanks.

God's Minute

December 26

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.--Romans 5:1

OUR Father, Thou Who sitteth upon a throne high and lifted up, Whose glory fills the Heavens, make us conscious this morning that Thou art not far from any one of us, Thy children. Thou has revealed Thy nearness to us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Help us to see that our selfishness is the only thing that can separate us from Thee. Take out of our hearts every selfish impulse, and fill them with a holy l0ve for Thee. Then we know that there shall be fulfilled for us the promise of Jesus, that Thou, our Father and He, our Brother, shall come in and dwell with us this day. Speak to us by Thy still, small voice.

Christmas day has come and gone. We have given and we have received the tokens of friendship and love. We cannot repeat these gifts every day, but we earnestly beseech Thee that the Christmas spirit may abide in our hearts and in the hearts of mankind everywhere. Take out of our hearts every trace of jealously and hatred toward any of Thy children, and give us the attitude toward all mankind which was in Jesus Christ our Lord. Hasten the day when our ears shall hear the morning stars singing together and all the sons of men joining with the angelic choir in the anthem of the first Christmas morning, "Peace on earth among men of good will." Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Rev. Frank W. Padelford,
Boston, Massachusetts