A Heart Full of Praise

September 4, 2026 / Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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My Daily Musings- September 4th, 2026

I have loved the book of Psalms in the Old Testament for a long time. But recently it has really stood out to me. I especially love Psalm 116. In the first verse it says, I love the Lord,” then it tells us why the person loves Him. On the Don’t Miss This podcast this week, one of the hosts asked us to write down, “I love the Lord” and then write down why you love him. She said that “praise works wonders for the soul.” I really like that idea.

I think of Lord here as referring to my Heavenly Father. So, here are some of the reasons why I love my Heavenly Father. When I pray to Him with a sincere heart, I can feel His love for me and I can feel that He is there. That truth alone is incredible to me. I am not perfect and I make so many mistakes, but no matter what I do, He loves me with a love I can’t even begin to imagine. Also, that He wants to listen to me and hear about my problems is amazing.

He created this earth with the beauties of the mountains, the blue sky, the puffy white clouds, the animals, and human beings for me to enjoy. I am amazed when I look at the beauties of nature all around me.

But the main reason why I love Him so much is because He sacrificed His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, so that I can repent, become better and live with Him again someday. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been to watch Jesus suffer. But my Father knew that I would need a Savior, so He did it.

I could list more reasons, but for now, that’s all.

When you think about all that God has done for you, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Have you ever taken time to write down the reasons you love God?

A Soul’s Prayer

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 / Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

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The Backstory

“There are thoughts which are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the posture of the body, the soul is on its knees.”
— Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

This quote by Victor Hugo really made me ponder and research the meaning behind it. In 1843, his daughter passed away, and during much of the time he was writing Les Misérables, he was living in exile from France.

When he speaks of “a soul on its knees,” he is talking about anyone who feels broken, alone, humbled, searching, grateful, or simply reaching toward God. I think we all have those moments in our lives when our bodies and minds are so weary that we cry out to our Father in prayer for relief.

A Soul’s Prayer

We all have felt alone a time or two,
Because no one understands us and we feel blue.
Our trials hang so heavy on our weary shoulders,
That it feels like we carry huge boulders.

When our bodies are so weary from the weight
And we can’t seem to get our minds straight.
So we try to fix our problems all on our own,
Because we think that our worries and cares are unknown.

Just when we feel the darkness try to creep into our souls,
And we don’t know if we can make it anymore in our various roles.
That’s when we cry out to our Heavenly Father on bended knee,
Even though we can’t articulate the words, we send out a plea.

We plead to our Father in Heaven
That He will be with us without question.
Our soul feels so weary that we surrender to His will,
Because He has a plan for us to fulfill.

We share our innermost thoughts in our soul’s prayer,
Pleading with our Father to always be there.
He is there when we need Him any time of the day,
Because He loves us more than we could ever say.

The Takeaway

Sometimes the weight of the burdens that we carry becomes so great that we don’t know if we can make it anymore. Our soul starts to feel the burden and we don’t know what to do. That’s when we should drop to our knees and pray to our Heavenly Father. We can reach Him any time of the day, and He will hear the thoughts and intents of our hearts and souls. He will always be there for us because we are His children, and He loves us very much.

Watch the YouTube short of me reading part of this poem here:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Tzsjwrzx20Q

Not Without Pain, But Without Stain

August 25, 2026August 25, 2026 / Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

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Backstory

This quote really resonated with me and made me ponder the meaning. “God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.” – C.S. Lewis We all go through hard trials in this life. I have always believed that our Heavenly Father is with us through those difficult times. That doesn’t mean that our trials won’t hurt us but they don’t have to leave a stain on our souls if we trust in our Heavenly Father to help us through them.

Not Without Pain, But Without Stain

We all have difficult times during our lives on this earth,
That’s been part of the plan since before our birth.
Some days our hearts might break from the pain we endure,
But we are never alone, of that we can be sure.

Our Heavenly Father will be beside us through it all,
Even when we feel weak, He will catch us when we fall.
We can be sure that He will arm us with His power,
So we can make it through the battle, hour by hour.

That doesn’t mean on our daily journey that we won’t feel pain,
But He will help our hearts heal so there won’t be a stain.
Our Father in Heaven loves us each very much,
And when we kneel before Him in prayer, we can feel His loving touch.

Our Father has a plan for each one of us that we cannot see,
But just knowing that He will be beside us is the key.
We are never alone on our journey down the road,
For our Father will help us carry our heavy load.

Yes, we all have trials that can break our hearts wide open,
And some days we might feel like we are broken.
But we are not meant to go through this life alone
Because our Father in Heaven will help us feel known.

Watch my YouTube short of me reading part of this poem here:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mAxUB6z8_wY

Slow Down and Be Still

August 22, 2026 / Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

My Daily Musings-August 22nd, 2026

I recently listened to the song by Sissel called Slow Down. Here are the lyrics to the song because I think its message is very important for us in our busy and chaotic world.

In the midst of my confusion
In the time of desperate need
When I am thinking not too clearly
A gentle voice does intercede

Slow down, slow down, be still
Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord
Slow down and hear His voice
And know that He is God

In the time of tribulation
When I’m feeling so unsure
When things are pressing in about me
Comes a gentle voice so still, so pure

Slow down, slow down, be still, my child
Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord
Slow down and hear His voice
And know that He is God
And know that He is God.

Here’s the link to the video of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFe84U__kt8&list=RDEFe84U__kt8&start_radio=1

I was deeply touched by the message of this song. In this crazy, busy, and chaotic world, do we really take the time to slow down, be still, wait, and hear God’s voice so that we can know that He is God? Do we take the time to be still and study the scriptures, be still and pray, be still and just rest in the fact that our Heavenly Father is who He says He is? Or are we so consumed with our never-ending to-do lists that we don’t have the time we need for sacred things?

I think we are all guilty of not slowing down enough to listen and to pray to our Heavenly Father. Our souls and hearts need spiritual nourishment to function, just like our physical bodies need water and food. I sometimes forget to pray throughout the day and I can surely notice a difference in my day. I have a better day. I’m in a better mood if I take the time to read my scriptures, pray and just be still and know that He is God.

Trusting God’s Answers

August 18, 2026 / Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

My Daily Musings-August 18th, 2026

I was talking with a friend a few days ago. We were talking about her current trial. She said that she had spoken to her aunt about it. Her aunt told her that she knew what it felt like when her prayers were not answered. My friend has a lot of faith. We said to each other that our prayers are always answered, but sometimes not in the way we expect them to be. Our timing isn’t God’s timing and our ways are not His ways.

We may sometimes feel like our prayers are not answered when our trials are not removed. We may struggle every day with a specific trial and ask our Heavenly Father to remove it from our lives. But I have learned in my life that we go through our specific trials for a reason. Our trials are tailor-made for us and can help us learn and grow in this life.

Yes, sometimes my faith wavers and I doubt because I’m human. But at the end of the day, when I kneel to my Heavenly Father in prayer, I can feel Him near me. My prayers are not always answered in the way I thought or wished they would be, but I know that they are answered in one way or another.

For my situation, living with chronic illness symptoms every day, I pray multiple times a day that I can have faith and trust in my Heavenly Father to accept that His will may be done in my life. We all need to keep our faith intact and know that our prayers are heard and answered. We also need to trust in God’s timing and promises that He will help us through our trials.

Have you ever had a prayer answered in a way that was different from what you expected? How do you continue to trust God when His answer or timing is different from what you hoped for?