Malachi 1:1-2:17

Lord I ask that you would give me an open ear to hear what you have to say today.  Help me to be sensitive to your leading and your voice.  I commit this day to you.  Thank you for another day to live and breathe.  Thank you for your grace and your new mercy today.  Help me to grasp your grace and mercy in a new way. Also, thank you for helping me to be the Mother you want me to be.  I do not have to compare myself to others and I do not need to compare my children to other children.  You made us all unique.  I want to do all my work unto you today, Lord.  Thank you for helping me to live in You.  God LOVES ME!  You've chosen me on purpose and picked me out.


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A Call to Faithfulness

 ¹⁰ Are we not all children of the same Father? Are we not all created by the same God? Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors? ¹¹ Judah has been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled the Lord’s beloved sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols. ¹² May the Lord cut off from the nation of Israel^[f] every last man who has done this and yet brings an offering to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
 ¹³ Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. ¹⁴ You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
 ¹⁵ Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his.^[g] And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,^[h]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”

Zechariah 4

Zechariah 4

A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

 ¹ Then the angel who had been talking with me returned and woke me, as though I had been asleep. ² “What do you see now?” he asked.   I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks. ³ And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.” ⁴ Then I asked the angel, “What are these, my lord? What do they mean?”
 ⁵ “Don’t you know?” the angel asked.
   “No, my lord,” I replied.
 ⁶ Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ⁷ Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’^[a]”
 ⁸ Then another message came to me from the Lord: ⁹ “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. ¹⁰ Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”
   (The seven lamps^[b] represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)
 ¹¹ Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand, ¹² and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?”
 ¹³ “Don’t you know?” he asked.
   “No, my lord,” I replied.
 ¹⁴ Then he said to me, “They represent the two heavenly beings who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth.”

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Lord, Thank you that you speak through your word.  Thank you for encouraging me again the area of small beginnings and that is not by force or strength but by your Spirit.
Thank you sending your son Jesus and for coming and being just like us.  You came at the lowest level of humanity just so we all would feel welcome to come to you.  You gave up so much just to walk among us.  Thank you.  Today, help me to remember that you gave everything just to be with us.  Help me to live and give out of your love.

Lord, I left up, Diana, Angel and Joe to you.  I have no idea why Angel's Dad had to pass away a few days before Christmas, but you know the timing.  I ask that you would send your mighty angels that minister.  Minister peace and comfort to their shattered hearts.  You truly are close to the brokenhearted.  Help me to know what to say and do to encourage them.  Even if it's to give them a listening ear and a heart to lean on. 

I also lift up Lael to you.  I ask that you would help her to take care of herself and to find rest in this time with her Dad's passing so fresh in her mind and also with her Mom's passing so near.  Give her the strength that she needs.  Lord thank you remind us that it is not by our own strength or force but by your Spirit, that we continue to walk on through the trying times.  Continue to draw her and Andrew onto yourself.  Let her be so close to you that she breathes in the same air as you, and by that may she breathe in your peace and anointing.  As her friend, I ask that you would give me the right words to say and the timing.  Help me to know how to be there standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her .

Zechariah 3 & Psalm 91

Zechariah 3

Cleansing for the High Priest

 ¹ Then the angel showed me Jeshua^[e] the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan,^[f] was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.” ³ Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. ⁴ So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”
 ⁵ Then I said, “They should also place a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by.
 ⁶ Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said, ⁷ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here.
 ⁸ “Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. ⁹ Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets.^[g] I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.
 ¹⁰ “And on that day, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree.”

Psalm 91

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”  ³ Surely he will save you
   from the enemy's snare
   and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
   nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
   nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand,
   but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
   and see the punishment of the wicked.
 ⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
   no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
 ¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”

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Thank you Lord that you stand in my honor and that you rebuke the accuser, Satan, on my behalf.  And that you reject all accusations against me and my family.  That you take my filthy clothes and dress me in clean garments.  You removed my sin from me, as far as the east and from the west.  WHAT A GOD!  Thank you!  Thank you.  You anoint my head and give me peace as I dwell in the shadow of the ALMIGHTY.  The Lord is my refuge and I make you my dwelling place.  Even in the midst of busyness I will rest in you.

Zephaniah 1-3:20

¹⁴ Sing, O daughter of Zion;
      shout aloud, O Israel!
   Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
      O daughter of Jerusalem!
 ¹⁵ For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment
      and will disperse the armies of your enemy.
   And the Lord himself, the King of Israel,
      will live among you!
   At last your troubles will be over,
      and you will never again fear disaster.
 ¹⁶ On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,
      “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
 ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is living among you.
      He is a mighty savior.
   He will take delight in you with gladness.
      With his love, he will calm all your fears.^[i]
      He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
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Lord, Thank you for taking great delight in me and thank you that you calm all my fears with your love.  You rejoice over me with joyful songs.  What a great God.

Revelation 7:1-17

Revelation 7

God’s People Will Be Preserved

 ¹ Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. ² And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, ³ “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.” ⁴ And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

       ⁵ from Judah — 12,000
         from Reuben — 12,000
         from Gad — 12,000
       ⁶ from Asher — 12,000
         from Naphtali — 12,000
         from Manasseh — 12,000
       ⁷ from Simeon — 12,000
         from Levi — 12,000
         from Issachar — 12,000
       ⁸ from Zebulun — 12,000
         from Joseph — 12,000
         from Benjamin — 12,000

Praise from the Great Crowd

 ⁹ After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were shouting with a mighty shout,   “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
      and from the Lamb!”
 ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. ¹² They sang,
   “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
      and thanksgiving and honor
   and power and strength belong to our God
      forever and ever! Amen.”
 ¹³ Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”
 ¹⁴ And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”
   Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in^[a] the great tribulation.^[b] They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.
 ¹⁵ “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
      and serve him day and night in his Temple.
   And he who sits on the throne
      will give them shelter.
 ¹⁶ They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
      they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
 ¹⁷ For the Lamb on the throne^[c]
      will be their Shepherd.
   He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
      And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

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Lord, thank you for this day.  Help me to live today like it was my last.  I want to treasure my children and Jeremiah and my family that you have given to me.  Help me to see this day through your eyes and help me to have an open heart to what you are saying.  My heart mirrors this: 
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
      and thanksgiving and honor
   and power and strength belong to our God
      forever and ever! Amen.”

Be to our God, forever and ever, amen.     What a GOD a serve!  Thank you for giving me the greatest gift of all...your son.  Help me to focus on the real meaning of this season (and every season).  I don't want to get lost in the busyness, buying, wrapping, baking, but I want to get lost in your presence and the love you give and the price you paid to come and walk among us.  What an amazing GOD!

I pray for Josh and Saray, I pray that they would have an amazing amount of patience and grace with one another today and with me.  I pray that they would learn to love and share like you, help me to model this love and selflessness.  I pray too that I would also have anointing to walk in your patience and love for them.  I cannot parent without your guidance and grace.  Where I miss the mark, I ask that you would move the target.  Show me simple ways to teach my children about you, the Kingdom and the real reason of Christmas.

I pray for Grayson; I ask that you would heal his little body and remove this cold from him.  Allow him to breathe without difficulty.  Thank you for his gentle heart.  Help me to love on him and teach him too about you and your ways.
I ask that you would be their health, that you would heal them from these colds.  Thank you that you are our Healer.

Lead my children on the narrow path; teach them what it is to go against the stream.   Teach them how to trust and lean into you, your strength, power and love.  May they have a love for God, a love for the WORD, and a strong love for others.  And may they learn to hate what you hate, Lord and love what you love.  Thank you for teaching them, Holy Spirit.  I give you the freedom Lord to move in their lives.

Thank you for Jeremiah.  Thank you for his tender heart.  I ask that you would protect that tenderness.  Continue to draw himself to you.  Teach him your ways.  Give him a passion for your presence and your Word.  Give him a desire to be lead more and more by you.


Lord, I lift up Lael to you today.  I ask that you would give her the strength that she needs for today.  Give her peace that passes all her understanding.  Continue to heal her heart and bind her any wounds that may be exposed to the air.   Be also with her Mom as she continues to deal with the emptiness of her spouse not being here anymore.  Give them grace.  Be so near today that they feel your presence.  Glory of God move and hover over them today.

1 John 3:7-24

1 John 3:7-24

 ⁷ Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. ⁸ But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life^[a] is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. ¹⁰ So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers^[b] does not belong to God.

Love One Another

 ¹¹ This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. ¹³ So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters,^[c] if the world hates you. ¹⁴ If we love our Christian brothers and sisters,^[d] it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates another brother or sister^[e] is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
 ¹⁶ We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister^[f] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
 ¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. ¹⁹ Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. ²⁰ Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
 ²¹ Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. ²² And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.
 ²³ And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. ²⁴ Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

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Thank you Lord for showing us how to truly love.  You gave us the best gift of all, your life, salvation, freedom, and unconditional love.  Help me to love like you love.  I know my current state of love is rather selfish.  Help me to die more to myself and live more alive to the idea of being a servant of all, a servant to the KING.  Everything I put my hand to, I want to do it unto you, LORD.  Even if it's changing diapers, and getting food ready for kids that rarely eat what I place before them, or dealing with tempers, loving my husband, doing endless amounts of dishes and laundry.  Help me to think of you and do all this for the glory of your name. 

Lord, help me to focus on you during the challenging, chaotic moments, and the slow moments.  Be the center of my day and the center of my reactions and emotions.  I need wisdom as to how to deal with the kids and the challenges that come.  Help me to deal with the kids honorably and not to get out of control with my anger or my frustration, but help me to be slow to anger and rich in love for my kids today.  I confess that I can NOT do this on my own and I am in need of your strength, energy and your heart of love. 

Thank you Lord for dreams that remind me to pray for people.  I lift of Elisabeth Walker and Dave Walker to you.  I ask that you would give them wisdom on how to parent their boys and give them lots of grace as they progress into a some new seasons and new ages with their boys.  Also, stir up a fire within them for you and your ways.  I ask that you would mend hearts and relationships.

I lift up Siobhan to you.  I ask that you would fulfill the promises you have spoken to her and Michael.  Whatever is holding these promises up in the spiritual realm I ask that you would send your mighty waring angel & deliverer to release the promises that have been bound up.  I pray that the delay would be released and that God speed would take over these promises and that they would come at just the right time, your perfect, never late, kind of time.  Thank you for giving them the desire of their heart.

Thank you Lord for the day you have given me, help me to use my time wisely and focus on the important things.  Thank you also for my husband Jeremiah, help me to love him right and to love him with your heart. 
Thank you for giving me 3 beautiful children.  I still am amazed by your amazing gift of children.  Help me to love them and meet their needs and in the area where I slack, fill in. 

1 John 2:18-3:6

1 John 2:18-3:6

View commentary related to this passage

Warning about Antichrists

 ¹⁸ Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. ¹⁹ These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. ²⁰ But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit,^[a] and all of you know the truth. ²¹ So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. ²² And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.^[b] Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.^{[c] 23} Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
 ²⁴ So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. ²⁵ And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
 ²⁶ I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. ²⁷ But you have received the Holy Spirit,^[d] and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit^[e] teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

Living as Children of God

 ²⁸ And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. ²⁹ Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

1 John 3

 ¹ See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. ² Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. ³ And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
 ⁴ Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. ⁵ And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. ⁶ Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

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Thank you Lord for giving us the Holy Spirit.  Help me to remember that the Holy Spirit lives in me and that the Spirit teaches me everything I need to know.  Keep me on the straight and narrow path.  I do not want to fall away from you.  Keep in line with YOUR truth.  Thank you for calling us your children; help me to live like your child.  I forget so easily what it means to be a child and what it means to be YOUR child.  I need your help and wisdom to stay in your way. 

Hebrews 4

Promised Rest for God’s People

 ¹ God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. ² For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.^{[a] 3} For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,    “In my anger I took an oath:
      ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’”^[b]
   even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. ⁴ We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.”^{[c] 5} But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”^[d]
 6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. ⁷ So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:
   “Today when you hear his voice,
      don’t harden your hearts.”^[e]
 8 Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. ⁹ So there is a special rest^[f] still waiting for the people of God. ¹⁰ For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. ¹¹ So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
 ¹² For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

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Lord you speak of this special rest, I want to strive for this resting in You, even in the midst of my crazy, busy days.  I don't want to miss out on experiencing this special rest.  Help me to be so in tune with you that I know when I am resting in You.

Thank you for your living and powerful Word!  Help me to remember to run to you and your word, and not depend on my own thoughts and words that come from my mouth.  I need your living and powerful words to be active in my everyday life.  Help me to teach my children about this living and powerful word of God.  I want them to know and experience your awesome Word and Power.  How should I show my kids all about you and powerful living Word??  Give me wisdom and ideas.


I lift up Lael to you this morning, I ask that you would continue to surround her and her Mother with your peace, rest and comfort.  That you would also give them a quick healing in their hearts, that in the knowing you are made things rights.  Restore their own physical bodies, especially since they are tired and weary from this past season.  I also ask that when the time comes and Lael's mom passes, that it would be a peaceful and quick passing.  And that you would do a great work in Lael's heart regarding the temporary loss.  That soon they will meet up again.

I also lift up Jeremiah to you.  I ask that you would strengthen him, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Give him the drive he needs to finish his RRT test.  Give him a heart for You and your Powerful, living word.  Teach him how to lead his family in the way of the Lord.  Give him a passion for your presence and for the things of your kingdom.  Teach us both how to serve.  There are so much you want do in and through Jeremiah, help him to yield to your molding and direction.  Help us to live our lives pleasing to you.

I ask for a special anointing on my day today with the kids.  I need your rest in the midst of the crazy moments where I am being pulled 10 different directions.  Help me to teach me children, by example mostly.  Give me keys on how to get Josh and Saray potty trained.  I really need wisdom on this issue.  I really would like to see the outcome on diapers go way down in a month.  Help both Josh and Saray to be ready and at ease with the idea and the process.  Give Jer and I a special grace during this period, slow to anger and rich in love and encouraging through this training period.  Give me fantastic ideas on ways to encourage the kids to potty train, eat and care for each other.  These are such important years of development.  Speak to them in their day, more than anything, I want them to know you and know and hear your voice.  Teach them how to live life in perfect rest in You.

Thank you for all your goodness, faithfulness towards me even when I am so far from where I could be with You.  You truly do love me with an everlasting love, and for this I am thankful.  I love you Lord.