[Faith-talk] Good Night Message for Friday, July 20 2012

[Paul]

Well, even though it's a bit early, am posting this good night message now because I'll be in an Internet chatroom and, not knowing when the session will end, I just might be too tired to post this message.  Besides, I really like being with you guys and gals.  Especially those whose voices I know and who know mine, it's really special to know that you're reading what I or others, in the case of the poets and poetesses, have to say via their writing.  Anyway how was your day today? Mine was good.  Michelle and the undersigned went to a little coffee shop located right next door to Zeke's Coffee, a company that specializes in buying their coffee beans from producers who might be left out of what the larger coffee plantations generally grow, something that I applaud very much.  Don't know what blend I had this afternoon, but it was sure good.

Our poetic words of inspiration today come from the pen of Patricia Ann Cupit of Charleston West Virginia.  Her poem is simply entitled "My Prayer," and is rendered as follows:

O Lord Jesus,
May there be less of me
And more of Thee.

May I keep my eyes
On Thy holy face,
And talk less of my goodness
And more of Thy grace.

Instead of complaining and murmuring
The whole day through,
Help me to glorify Thee
In all I say and do.

Instead of going about
Doing just as I please,
May I seek Thy guidance
Upon my knees.

May I find the center
Of Thy perfect will there,
And ever live for Christ
Is my earnest prayer.

And there you have it for today.  I hope and trust that, even if you didn't comment, that all the poems for almost the past two weeks presented in this space were an inspiration to at least some of you.  They sure were to me when I first heard them years ago, and I just wanted to share them with a new generation of blind and partially sighted folks.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep you safe throughout the night and especially in these last days in which we live.  And hey, how about each other symbolically tuck one another under the covers this evening, OK? Now I know that doing that in a literal sense would be impossible, as we all have different times when we go to bed and we all live in different time zones.  But we could at least imagine our favorite guy or gal on this list doing this.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul