
A picture speaks ten thousand words. We are all better off thanks to Thomas.
Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory.





St. Cyprian was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received an excellent classical education. After converting to Christianity, he became a bishop (249) and eventually died a martyr at Carthage.
Cyprian sees in the hours of prayer, Terce, Sext and None, which come after a lapse of three hours, an allusion to the Trinity. He adds that these hours already consecrated to prayer under the Old Dispensation have been sanctified in the New Testament by great mysteries—Terce by the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles; Sext by the prayers of St. Peter, the reception of the Gentiles into the Church, or yet again by the crucifixion of Christ; None by the death of Christ.[20] St. Basil merely recalls that it was at the ninth hour that the Apostles Peter and John were wont to go to the Temple to pray.[21] St. John Cassian, who adopts the Cyprian interpretation for Terce and Sext, sees in the Hour of None the descent of Christ into hell.[22] But, as a rule, it is the death of Christ that is commemorated at the Hour of None.
Oh God, come to my assistance!
Oh Lord, make hast to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
God, Be Merciful to Me
(Psalm 51)
1. God, be merciful to me;
On Thy grace I rest my plea
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within;
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.
2. My transgressions I confess;
Grief and guilt my soul oppress.
I have sinned against Thy grace,
And provoked Thee to Thy face.
I confess Thy judgement just;
Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.
3. I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art,
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.
4. Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice,
And in gladness hear Thy voice;
From my sins O hide Thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.
5. Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true.
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation's joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.
6. Sinners then shall learn from me,
And return, O God, to Thee
Savior all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing Thy love
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord
Psalm 126
4Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negeb!
5(F) Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Psalm 127 Praise of God's goodness: A pilgrimage son
1Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD(B) watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious(C) toil;
for he gives to his(D) beloved(E) sleep.
3Behold,(F) children are a heritage from the LORD,
(G) the fruit of the womb a reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of(H) a warrior
are the children[a] of one’s youth.
5Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies(I) in the gate.[b]
Psalm 128 The blessings of home: a pilgrimage song
1(B) Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who(C) walks in his ways!
2You(D) shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3Your wife will be like(E) a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like(F) olive shoots
around your table.
4Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
5(G) The LORD bless you(H) from Zion!
May you see(I) the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6May you see your(J) children’s children!
(K) Peace be upon Israel!
Short Reading ( 1 Corinthians 6:20)
We were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
Cleanse me from my unknown faults, O Lord
And restrain me your servant from sin.
Prayer: Lord God, grant that through our work we may provide for the needs of this life, while never losing sight of what is of true value, those things which alone remain forever and ever.
Conclusion:
Let us bless the Lord
Thanks be to God
Two eggs is a plenty for a 19 month old. Three is putting away some serious chickens. Four is outrageous. Five is epic. I feel like a regular Waffle House over here. Silas had two eggs. Now he is on to his third. Oh wait, we have moved onto his 4th. But wait, now Josie wants two eggs, and Silas has taken one from her. That puts the total to 5.
Josie is in the backyard rolling snow balls. She has been up since 7:00, woke me up at 12, 2, and 4 for small favors in the night. "Can you change the song...its too loud," and I have forgotten the last request. I was somewhere hovering between sleep and sanity. "I need help," is a nice phrase, spiritually speaking, but as it relates to Josie, I am sick of it. If God is just a giant version of me, a cosmic grandfather, we got problems. I am thankful that is not that case. And Silas, what will he want next? What will I want next?
The breach is ever before me, the breach between "life as it should be, and life as it is." Another egg please? There is nothing like having my appetites curbed by the appetites of my 19 month old. Nothing is right. The reality of feeding, changing, and feeding him, again and again, over and over, is like nothing. I literally am used. I am a servant. I guess I have advanced. I am married, I have a house, and I have two children. But, if I were Darwin, I would have assumed I had failed. It is very hard. Sometimes I feel like I would rather be cleaning garbage cans than cooking my 19 month old eggs. And that is honest. But here I am, on my third egg, charging forward.

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.
It is so very exciting what is about to take place.
The first black man in power in the most powerful nation in the world. This is an amazing statistic. Something is happening. This is a real paradigm shirt. It is time for us to pray for the Obama's, praying that they will not try to do more than they in fact can do, and praying that the Lord will have mercy. I have never seen this type of energy.
I wish I was in D.C. My wife is very happy to be here.