the Lord has come

joy to the world!

thank You, Father, for loving us so much to Him to us.

thank You, Blessed Mother, for carrying Him.

thank You, Joseph, for leading and protecting Him.

thank You, Holy Spirit, for coming after Him.

thank You, Jesus, for Your peace and Your sacrifice and Your light and Your mercy.

repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.


and wonders of His love,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders, and wonders, of His love.

presence, not presents

Father, thank You so much for Your love and light and abundance.

thank You for what You provide that i cannot even imagine asking for.

may i live my life in Your glory.  may my life be a prayer and a blessing to those who You bring into my presence.

i ask You, Father God, to please keep in the palm of Your hands my father, my brother, my son, my sister, and my mother.  please surround them with Your love and Your light so that they love fully.

please, Heavenly Father, ease the pain of loss of the family of those who You have called.  i am confused and so sad, which cannot compare to the grief those loved ones are facing and living.  please send Your angels to their aid, especially as they exist in inexplicable afflication and heartbreak.

Abba, my Father, my soul is Yours.

in Jesus' name.

amen.

humbled

Heavenly Father, i come before You to offer You my love and gratitude for the love You have given me and my son the past few months.

thank You for answering our prayers in a way that has shown us Your majesty and Your power.  thank You for never failing us, though we fail You.

i ask, Abba, that You please bring peace to my father and my brother as they struggle with abundance and the idea that Your silence means You arent listening.

i know that we are afraid, Father, because we lose sight of You and of the Holy Spirit and Jesus and the Blessed Mother in our lives.  i am so very guilty of that.  but i ask You to please have mercy on us, to forgive us because our sight is so limited when looking for Your glory, Lord.

please, Father, please help my father and my brother trust in Your wisdom and Divine knowledge so that their mental burdens are eased.  help them to believe in Your presence in their lives.  please, Father, please give them the wishes of their hearts if it is Your Divine will.

i pray that i somehow find inspiration and love again, that i allow love to come into my heart and not be so jaded and closed off.  i feel such a disconnect, Father, with my heart, and im afraid that i wont be able to feel love and hurt and joy and grace.

thank You for the past few months at work, and i am especially humbled by the abundance You have provided for me, abundance that no one else on earth can.  thank You for providing me with my needs and for allowing me to do this work and to enjoy it without being bitter.

in Jesus' name, i pray.

amen.

indescribable

thank You, Father, for Your love and guidance.

thank You for the darkness of last week, for showing me Your light and giving me Your peace.

i ask that You please heal the hurts that my family and i are suffering, that You bathe us in forgiveness and understanding of each other, that You prevent our egos and our pride from overshadowing our love.

i ask that You please continue to provide us all with abundance, especially my brother, my son, my father, and my mother.

i ask that i have abundance in order to help when i am asked. thank You for the opportunities that You and i create to bring about financial abundance. i ask that photography be a part of my life plan, that i document lives in order to enlighten the world of some wonderful lives.

thank You, dear Lord, for the cross i bear, and to You, Jesus, i thank You for walking with me and for helping me with my burdens. this new phase in my life is a bit confusing and frustrating, but that is only because of growing pains and of changes.
 
thank You, angels, for navigating these waters with me as i make my way to the shore where our Father waits for me patiently. protect us, Father, from danger and from illness and from temptation.

in Jesus' name, i pray. amen.

transforming

Heavenly Father, i drop to my knees before You as i find You in my heart.

i am ready now to co-create with you...to manifest big changes that will make me better of service to You, to Your people, to those You want me to meet.

i feel Your love and Your support and Your guidance within me, though i know there is more work to do.  i no longer walk afraid, knowing that You love me and that love is greater than anything i can understand.

and i dont want to understand.  i surrender to Your will, knowing that i have my will as well.  i respect that You will always want more for me, more than i could ever imagine.

and so i welcome what is to come, and i release that which has passed.

my heart is tender, Lord, as i let go of those in my life who no longer serve me.  i still love them all, Abba, love the good and the better of them, but it is now done.

i know this, especially in my career.  i do not want to return as a counselor, knowing that the risk i am about to take will be smiled upon by You.

Father, please pick me up when i stumble,. please give me strength when i want to stay down, please give me patience when i feel as if nothing is happening.

i place before you my deep desire to be a photojournalist, to be successful in bringing light to those lives and hearts who may be forgotten.

i want them to be seen, i want them to be admired, and i want those who see their faces and read their stories...i want those people to be amazed and humbled.

i am humbled by the love You have for me, and i dwell in that space.  i love it there, wherever i am, i love that You meet me when i am at the top of the mountain or in the valley.

and i ask You now to please bless my father, my mother, my sister, and my brother.  i ask You to hear their cries for You, even if they are unable to hear You with their ears.  always hold them in the palm of Your hands and pour Jesus' precious blood over their pain.

i ask You to please bless my family, the struggles they face, and please be with them when they feel alone.

i ask You to bless my friends, Father, and please give them the love they need.

Jesus and Raphael, thank You for Your healing grace, for giving me an abundance of wealth.

Mother, thank You for driving with me every morning on my way to work.

i love You all.

in Jesus' name.

surrender

my God, please help me release all my fears so i may surrender to Your will without doubt or anxiety.

please bring me light so that i may see You in the darkness.

please give me love so i can wait patiently for Your word.

i know that You have plans for me, plans that are so grand that i wouldnt have thought of them alone for myself.  and because i cant see You in my clouded vision, please help me trust in my faith.

i struggled today, listening to voices that feed my concerns about finances.  and im weak because i know better, but i doubt my faith in You.

and this frightens me because i do not want to revert back to my old self that housed a false bravado.   i want to continue searching for the real me, and i know the real me lives in Your love.

and so, Father, i know You have already answered my prayer the first time in formed in my heart.  i ask You to please lead me to a place where i will work with amazing people who pray and laugh and hug and express their goodness and work collaboratively for the good of the students.

i believe that my anxiety is temporary, that You have already prepared a position for me, and all i must do is wait. 

in Jesus' name.

amen.

oh, Lord

my God, i come to You with my doubts and fears and anxieties, and i humbly lay them down before You in offering.

and before i ask, i know i have Your forgiveness for looking away, Jesus, when its so critical to keep my focus on You.

we are partners, You and i, and You answer when i ask.  You open when i knock.  You help me find when i seek.

i know i have nothing to worry about.  i know that my ego is not in control, that Your word is the ultimate truth.

but my humanity blinds me sometimes, my God.

how great Thou art, Father, that i am awed by Your power.

and i ask for such little from You.

but here i come before You asking You for great things such as a role of service, where hopefully art and my camera are involved.

i ask You to keep me in the palm of Your hands, to instill in me silence so that we can have our amazing talks, to surround me with people who will lead me closer to You, to guide my son and my cousins and those who will leave their homes for the first time, to protect my brother and those who have addictions from temptations, to heal my father and mother so that they may forgive and be happy, to continue to shower me with Your love and Your abundance so that i may give love and abundance to others.

and Mother, Your beauty is my drink.  i take You in before and after prayer and worship.

Holy Spirit, please breathe into me.  please help me understand my fears and help calm my anxieties.  please help me to choose wisely and to be forgiving and patient and kind.

angels, thank you for your messages and for your guidance.  i have to lean on you more.

and Jesus, my love, my heart.  i love You.

amen.

blessings

Father, i bow before You now, my heart overflowing with gratitude for blessing me and my child the past 18 years.

our sacrifices have been worth every effort.  thank You for being with us throughout, no matter what, and keeping us safe in times of when we could have been easily hurt.

thank You for keeping my son away from drugs and alcohol and other teenage problems.  thank You for guiding him with Your love and Your powerful yet calming presence.

Jesus, i love You so much.  Mother, thank You for Your beautiful heart and for letting us come to You.  Holy Spirit, thank You for entering our hearts and our minds.

Father, i ask You to please help my brother.  keep him close to You, and override his will power in order for him to be the father that my nephew needs.

You know my heart and what i need.  please bring me to a place of employment where there will be love, light, creativity, and people who believe in You and worship You and praise You.

in Jesus' name.

amen.

unburdening

Abba, i come before You now, excited because my son is going to college in a few days.  i thank You for this opportunity, and i humbly come to You now to ask You for Your unfailing love and guidance.

please continue to provide us with abundance.  right now, we are both pretty anxious about the money, and we are asking You for help to ease our burdens.

Father, i know that all we need to do is ask, and You will provide.  i know that You are with us as we pray to You, and You hear what is in our hearts.

thank You, Father, for being in our lives, for loving us, for taking our burdens from us.

in Jesus' name.

amen.

grateful

Heavenly Father, i humbly come to You in a state of gratitude for all the blessings You have brought into my life. as i sit here and push away negative thoughts that no longer serve me, i know how blessed i am with Your love.  and in this love, i feel Your Divine Love, Your guidance, Your abundance.

i have nothing to fear, Lord, for You have gone before me already and paved a way that will lead me to a purpose that You have designed especially for me.

im sorry for the sins ive committed against myself and others, and i feel lost when i do not walk the path that i am most comfortable on.

im sorry for the words ive expressed that may have hurt others or myself, for i know that words have power that must be used with care and love.

i thank You for caring for my loved ones, more importantly my brother, my nephews, my son, my father, my grandmother, my mother, my sister, my nieces, my cousins, my aunts, and my uncles.  i also ask that you ease the pain of those who suffer from loss or from anger or from emotional pain.

Father, please allow me to continue to be of service.  please place me in a school where there is prayer and worship, where there is love and care, where there is patience and growth.

i beg You, Father, to continue to provide me with abundance. and when my faith falters, i beg You to send the Holy Spirit to my side, to have the angels and saints surround me with their love, and to bring Jesus, Mary, and Joseph infuse me with their beautiful light.

in Jesus' name, i pray.

amen

in prayer

Heavenly Father, i come before Your presence today with so much more understanding of our creative relationship.

thank You for speaking to me through words found in books, through the majesty found in sunshine, through the beauty i see in my photography.

Blessed Mother, thank You for being with me throughout my day, whether im in joy or in turmoil, in peace or in conflict, in darkness or light.

please, Lord God, be with me this week, another week of challenges and successes.

i ask You, dear Jesus, to be at my nephews sides and my brothers side as the days go on.  may You always protect my nephews and nieces from harm and danger.  may You surround them with light and love, for You are the Shepherd, and these babies are Your sheep.  take them as Your flock, Jesus, and keep them safe.

in Your name, i pray.

amen.

healing

Father, i have so much to be grateful for, primarily for my ever evolving understanding of my spirituality and my relationship with You.

where once i would feel so scared and minute, i now know that You are in me, guiding my steps, but allowing me to choose where to go next.  for this, i am so deeply grateful.

i know that because You are the Divine Love that i search for within myself and in others, i will find You.  i believe that You are ultimately directing me to my ultimate self, a self that knows no boundaries, that feels overwhelming abundance, that sees nothing but beauty.

when i meet this self, Father, know that i will be fully aware that it is a reflection of You that i am looking at, for You reflect our inner soul as we reflect You from our core.

ive spent 42 years in this body, my Lord God, and i feel as if i am just awakening to the truth, to the light, to the word.  it is Your infinite patience with me, Father, that heals me, that restores me, that recreates me.

i honor You, and i honor that which You have chosen for me.  i wait eagerly for the man who will love me and who i will love with the purest of hearts.  i anticipate moments when i see You in smiles, in sunrises, in a random act of kindness.

it is when i love as You do the people i come in contact with that i feel Your presence so strongly within me.  it is then when i know nothing else...when i want nothing else...

in Jesus' name.

amen.

reverence

Heavenly Father, i come before You, humbled, my heart breaking open swelling from gratitude of what You have given to me.

i am so fortunate and blessed with the gifts Youve bestowed upon me:  friendships, relationships, challenges, obstacles, tears, joy, angels, the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Mother, my love Jesus, struggles designed by Your Divine will...i prostrate myself to You in gratitude for all of these amazing moments are to bring me closer to You.

tomorrow is the beginning of a work week, and i return stronger and armed with more understanding and ability to do the job that You need me to do.

but i also am coming more into who i am, thanks to the sweet souls and not so sweet souls You have sent my way.

i beg You, Father, to please help me be mindful of my actions so that i wont hurt anyone intentionally, but i ask You to help me be more aware of what i attract and what i manifest.

Blessed Mother, i ask You to please help me get to know Your loveliness better, to feel how You love more deeply, and to follow how You love more closely.  thank You, Mother, for interceding for me to the Heavenly Father and to the saints.

Jesus, my Love, i am high on Your love, and i ask that You always walk beside me and that You help me see Your truth, Your way, and Your light.


i, the Lord of sea and sky, 
i have heard my people cry,
all who dwell in dark and sin,
My hand will save.

i, who made the stars of night, 
i will make their darkness bright,
who will bear My light to them?
whom shall i send?


here i am, Lord, 
is it i, Lord?
i have heard You calling in the night.
i will go, Lord,
if You lead me,
i will hold Your people in my heart.

i surrender to Your will, please guide me to an illuminated path that leads me to You.

in Jesus' name, i pray.

amen.