MELBA’S SWAP SHOP
Shower of inspiration
DEAR MELBA: Oh,
What a Beautiful
Morning! To assure that every morning will be beautiful, I sing this prayer in the shower to jump-start the day:
“Thank you Lord for saving my soul, forgiving my sins and setting me free.
“Thank you for placing me in the body of Christ seated next to God the Father in the heavenlies and that all of Satan’s deeds and schemes and lies and deceptions are crushed beneath Your feet. And you have made me super overcomer, conqueror, victorious in all things.
“I put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the feet shod with the gospel of peace and hold up the shield of faith to deflect all of Satan’s fiery darts from distracting me from knowing and loving you.
“I put on the helmet of salvation and cast off ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ and anything that exalts itself against the glory of God like pride, selfishness, fears, worries, idolatry, materialism, unbelief, unforgiveness, gluttony, insecurities.
“I take into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ and think only what is true, beautiful, and praiseworthy and give thanks in all things.
“Stand guard at the threshold of my mind and don’t let any lies or deceptions enter in — only the truth of who I am in Christ, rejoicing always in the Lord and giving thanks in all things.
“I take up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and I defeat Satan with ‘thus it is written.’
“He that is within me is greater than he that is without; He has made me super overcomer, conqueror, victorious in all things. And He’s adopted me as His precious child. I am deeply loved, totally forgiven, fully pleasing, unconditionally accepted and complete in Him.
“He chose me as His ravishingly, beautiful bride upon whom He lavishes all His love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, kindness, humbleness, faith, faithfulness, patience, selfcontrol, wit, wisdom, humor, social graces, creativity, strength, energy, healing, comfort and encouragement.
“I pray: ‘Fill me with Your Holy Spirit — to the full measure of Christ Himself. Control my thoughts, emotions, words, actions, attitude, deeds and will that I might bring praise and glory to You.
“I bow down before my King and Master waiting for marching orders. I’m your humble servant. What would You have me do moment by moment throughout this day?”
Then to awaken my spirit and weary body as I switch from hot to ice cold water, I sing,
“Oh, what a beautiful morning. Oh, what a beautiful day, I’ve got a glorious feeling, everything’s going God’s way.”
I continue singing as I grab my towel and step out of the shower: “I’ve got the love, joy and peace of Jesus down in my heart ... and I’m so happy, joyful, kind, considerate, patient, friendly, wise, energetic, healthy ... I’ve got the love and joy and peace of Jesus deep within my heart.”
— Judy Howard, Oklahoma City DEAR MELBA: A few weeks ago, you had a note about a woman who said she was receiving time as a gift from God. I don’t know where she got it, but I received a note from a friend with that story plus the following:
Doest thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.
See Psalm 89:47 in your Bible. I looked it up, and this is what my Bible says. I believe it’s written for all of us: Psalm 89:47 — Remember how short my time is.
Thinking of Mom
— Juanita
DEAR MELBA: April is flitting past, meaning that soon we’ll be searching for recipes for Mother’s Day, May 13. I think readers will like this one, because it’s not only tasty, it can be made a day ahead.