I think God definitely has my best interests at heart. Certainly He cares for me much more than I care for myself.

Spring is a beautiful season. The sun starts to warm the earth; plants start to bud and bloom; animals start having their babies. I think God chose the spring season for His own rebirth because it is a season of rebirth. Eternal promise of a better future. And in this time of war, what better promise than that something better is coming?

Sometimes I wonder if God feels stress. I mean, He's in charge of lots of stuff, and He's blamed for a lot He didn't do, and not given credit for a lot He did and does.

Maybe He does feel stress, but has ways of coping.

Grant me some of Your peace today, Lord.

Heaven has to be all that is good here on earth, and then some. I'm sure some things in heaven won't be like anything I've ever seen before, but a lot of it must be familiar. When God created this world, He pronouced it GOOD. It may be fallen, but some of that goodness is still here.

Sunsets. Sunrises. The brisk clear water from a mountain stream. God surely takes as much pleasures from our pleasure in these things as we experience in our enjoyment of what He has made.

The older I get, the more I think God has been more than kind to me in giving me a single life. Far too many of my married friends are struggling in their marriages. And if it isn't the spouse who is the problem, it's the kids who are. I'd rather be single than have the conflicts I see.

Thanks, Lord, for taking care of me.

The new year is a time of renewal. God is a God of new beginnings. He takes what was old, tarnished and tattered and replaces the old with new, the tarnished with shiny-ness, and the tattered with fresh garments. He doesn't just mend the old; he transforms it into something new. We are new creations in Christ Jesus.

Why do I fear children? Oh, not the teenagers, them I understand. It's the little ones, under 10 years old that I fear. In my therapy group we touched on this fear of mine, and I still don't understand why I feel this way. I say it's because I might hurt them, but I wonder just how true that is.

Then I have to decide if I'm ok with this fear. I don't have to address it, although I would probably be better off inside my ehad if I settled this strange belief.