Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
February 3, 2021
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we pray with Psalm 103, an extended exhortation to bless and praise the Lord.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
Psalm 103: 1-2
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

Running through all of Psalm 103, the psalmist creates a list of reasons to bless God.
For me, it was a good morning to create my own list and simply pray with that opening phrase:
I bless you, Lord and thank you…for …
The beauty outside my window was a good place to start.

Where would you start your “praise list” today?
Poetry: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening – Robert Frost
Appreciating God’s beauty and blessings may lead us to act on our prayer, as it seems to for the poet:
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Music: Winter Snow – Chris Tomlin