“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits.” Psalm 103:1-2
Blessing the Lord comes from our acknowledgment that everything we have is a gift of God. In the midst of all of our Pandemics, and all of the challenges that we and in fact the entire world are facing, sometimes it is hard to bless the Lord. It takes more effort for all of us to find a blessing in these moments of stress and pain. However, I believe that as this verse notes, God wants us to try and look for those times that are a blessing, even if they are small ones.
From the pictures with some of my postings you can tell that I love sunsets and sunrises. These are wonderful times to bless the Lord. Shirley and I lived in Alpena, Michigan, when she served as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church. The city was right on the bay reaching out to Lake Huron. We both loved seeing the sun and how it made wonderful sights on that great body of water. Sometimes it could take your breath away, and cause one to think, WOW! I tried to visit the bay whenever I could, and no matter how many times I saw it---it always looked different.
We are also able to live in the greater Louisville, KY area when Shirley was pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church there. We both enjoyed walking the Riverfront area which had been developed along the Ohio River, which was very awesome and again, always looked different. Additionally, with my late, Judy, we lived in the Bay area of Northern California, and a number of places in the Midwest, and there were always sights, sunsets, and sunrises, that were so lovely and again changed with the seasons. Now Shirley and I live in the greater Denver area, and the Rocky Mountains can take one’s breath away. In all of these places, we have had many reasons to bless the Lord!
As we get caught up in the challenges of life that impact us all, it is easy to go right by views like these. But when we are able to stop a moment, slow down, and take in the scene, we can begin to bless the Lord, right then and there.
Moreover, we can also bless the Lord anytime during the day for small happenings. Things like seeing a baby take it first’s steps, witnessing an act of kindness, or realizing that if we were able to get out of bed this morning---that could be a miracle that many others may not be able to achieve. I would challenge each of you to find ways during your day to bless the Lord, even when you didn’t feel like it, or have to look long and hard to do so. This blessing can aid you in your spiritual pilgrimage. Peace! Vernon T.
Copyright © 2021 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
Blessing the Lord comes from our acknowledgment that everything we have is a gift of God. In the midst of all of our Pandemics, and all of the challenges that we and in fact the entire world are facing, sometimes it is hard to bless the Lord. It takes more effort for all of us to find a blessing in these moments of stress and pain. However, I believe that as this verse notes, God wants us to try and look for those times that are a blessing, even if they are small ones.
From the pictures with some of my postings you can tell that I love sunsets and sunrises. These are wonderful times to bless the Lord. Shirley and I lived in Alpena, Michigan, when she served as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church. The city was right on the bay reaching out to Lake Huron. We both loved seeing the sun and how it made wonderful sights on that great body of water. Sometimes it could take your breath away, and cause one to think, WOW! I tried to visit the bay whenever I could, and no matter how many times I saw it---it always looked different.
We are also able to live in the greater Louisville, KY area when Shirley was pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church there. We both enjoyed walking the Riverfront area which had been developed along the Ohio River, which was very awesome and again, always looked different. Additionally, with my late, Judy, we lived in the Bay area of Northern California, and a number of places in the Midwest, and there were always sights, sunsets, and sunrises, that were so lovely and again changed with the seasons. Now Shirley and I live in the greater Denver area, and the Rocky Mountains can take one’s breath away. In all of these places, we have had many reasons to bless the Lord!
As we get caught up in the challenges of life that impact us all, it is easy to go right by views like these. But when we are able to stop a moment, slow down, and take in the scene, we can begin to bless the Lord, right then and there.
Moreover, we can also bless the Lord anytime during the day for small happenings. Things like seeing a baby take it first’s steps, witnessing an act of kindness, or realizing that if we were able to get out of bed this morning---that could be a miracle that many others may not be able to achieve. I would challenge each of you to find ways during your day to bless the Lord, even when you didn’t feel like it, or have to look long and hard to do so. This blessing can aid you in your spiritual pilgrimage. Peace! Vernon T.
Copyright © 2021 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
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