Who do you travel with?

Sometimes you pick your companions.
Sometimes they’re chosen for you.

We started our flight to El Salvador in Atlanta, Georgia,
on an airline I had never flown before:
     Spirit.

I took it as a positive sign and wondered why I had failed to see the significance of it when I had first heard of the flight plans.

But now I grasped it and my thoughts flew this route:

Spirit! Pneuma. Breathe deep.
Inhale in His grace; exhale out His praise.
Drink in the Spirit and be anxious for nothing.

My turn to check in for the flight on Spirit Airlines brought me to Leland’s counter at Hartsfield International Airport.

Leland, with an accent of a different land that caught my attention. 
Leland, who wanted to confirm where I was going.
Leland, who asked me why I was going there. 

And when I told him, this is what Leland told me:

I will pray for you.
I’m glad you are on a mission.
We need to pray for each other.

I breathed deep. Thank you, Lord, for sending Leland—of Spirit Airlines—as one of my companions on this journey. The first of many, many I was to see on the trip, in addition to the ones that had already begun with me months earlier through prayers and words of encouragement.

• Who are your companions on your journey?
• Who have you chosen to walk alongside you?
• Who has chosen you?
• Are you aware you’re also traveling with the Spirit?

Be attentive to the Spirit’s companionship. His presence stays with you—whether on home turf or high in the sky or when your feet touch down in strange new places. The Spirit confirms your travel plans and intercedes for you on your mission.

Think about your other traveling companions.

• Are they helpful along your journey?
• Are they ones you pray for?
• Are they ones who pray for you?

Has God sent you a Leland lately?

* * *

Besides the Spirit himself, who else are you traveling with today?

I thank God for you—my friends in daily life and in the blogosphere—who are encouraging spiritual companions along my journey.

5 things I learned from my “Year of Deep Breathing”

The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4

We’re designed to breathe in his sustenance.

And breathe out his praise.

No matter what. Good times. Bad times. All the time.

Ironically, in this Year of Deep Breathing, I watched both my parents struggle for breath, and ultimately stop breathing here altogether. My dad died on Valentine’s Day; my mom died September 8.

With those vivid experiences fresh in heart, God has been teaching me about the natural rhythm of inhaling and exhaling. Throughout this year I have journaled and prayed and talked and received gifts (thanks, Brenda)...of breathing. In and out, over and over. 

Here are five lessons I’ve learned about breathing:

1. Keep the rhythm
Inhales and exhales work best in balance. Inhales can come through scriptures, through music, through prayer, through conversations, etc. Exhales can come through service, through kindness, through verbal affirmations, through worship, etc.

Monday, May 24
“I felt myself breathing him out while singing with the residents today,
not only for my sake,but giving them the opportunity to breathe out, too.”

Monday, December 13
“I exhale less when I have shallow inhales. Breathe him in deeper.”

2. Don’t take breathing for granted
Breathing may come naturally—God created you to do it without thinking—but ordinary things can also be purposed things. Don’t belittle the ordinary. The daily inhales and exhales are sustaining.

 Wednesday, August 18
“Sometimes having quiet time is my most disciplined way of hanging out w/him to let him know that he matters to me, & that I know I need to sit with him for my own well-being, too.”

Tuesday, November 16
“Pushing hard to identify the ways he blesses me
thru what he gives and what he does not give.”

Monday, December 13
“I feel short of breath today…”

3. Fresh (Spirit) air is best
You can breathe in bad stuff, too, which means your exhales will also be unhealthy.

Tuesday, March 16
“I need to breathe him out more with those I get too easily frustrated with. I’ve been breathing out ugly me instead of beautiful Christ.”

The freshest, purest air is straight from God’s Spirit.

Friday, September 24
“Did all my memory work today, breathing in His Spirit thru His Words.”

Tuesday, December 7
“Daily, daily, over & over, I say these same words, inspired words,
to myself because I need to breathe them like air—continually.”

4. Straighten up for easier breathing
You breathe better when you’re straightened out. This was the year I had surgery to straighten my very deviated septum so I could breathe better (wasn’t that appropriate?).

Thursday, April 8
“Breathing you in, Lord, in deeper ways with my
new & improved air passages! Thank you!”

It’s hard to breathe deep when we’re hunched over in self-pity or with our nose up in the air in pride. Straighten up, and the breathing becomes easier.

5. Breathing in = Loving God
    Breathing out = Loving others
On January 1, I had those four phrases listed as four separate resolutions. But by December, I realized they’re really just two.

When you love God, you’re breathing him in. You take in his nourishment when you study his words; you breathe in his strength when you stand in awe of his.

And the best way to love others? Breathe God into them.

Monday, January 4
“Lord, you provided time alone w/my father to take him to his PET scan. Precious to me. He was glad I was driving. I had to open his water bottle. 
We need him; he needs us.”

Tuesday, August 24
“Letting others help me. Gretchen bringing supper Fri nite—may she feel the exhale of giving God glory by my acceptance of her gift in His name.”

May the Lord continue to transform us one breath at a time,
and may all our breaths be deep!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! 
Psalm 150:6

* * *

What lessons did God teach you in 2010?

No purpose so extraordinary as...

I pull out my Moleskine journal today. I bought it for a special purpose last December. Even though I didn’t know what that purpose was.

I knew something special would come along.

It did. In the ordinary. 

Each year I make spiritual resolutions. I declared 2010 “The Year of Deep Breathing.” And the Moleskine journal is where I tuck away my breaths.

Breathing. An ordinary thing. But a purposed thing.

So on an ordinary September day, under “Breathe Him in,” I write in my notebook:

“Accepting the inhales he’s blowing into me for my healing. CPR for my soul.

Soaking in the meditations on Psalm 27 from Tripp’s book, one verse, one day at a time.”

And under “Breathe Him out,” I write:

“Yea! Was able to return to 5:30 singing and praise Him from my heart with  my family.”

We’re not always clear what our purpose is. But if keep doing the day-to-day things with Him—breathing in, breathing out—we find that even our ordinary moments contain purpose.

And in our daily spiritual breathing, maybe we discover those ordinary moments are our life’s purpose.

Don’t belittle the ordinary. The daily inhales and exhales are sustaining.

We’re being transformed into His image.
One day at a time.
One breath at a time.

There is no purpose so extraordinary as this.

* * *

Do you know what your purpose is?

Related:

• Do your one small thing
• What’s ordinary?
• The inhales and exhales
• Does it add up?
  

Breath Redeemed

i strain to hear
nothing
only silence

then
noisily 
a breath sneaks out

it sighs i’m still here

and all over
it begins
again

i strain to hear
nothing
only silence

And finally
None escape 
Breath rises on purpose 

Up
Up
Up

It shouts I’m home

He hears
He lifts
He embraces

She is strong
She is whole
She is she

Breathe
Breathe
Breathe

Amen!

In memory of my mom

* * *

Related:

• Supermom
• And she laughed
• Alzheimer’s...My reflections
  

“Noticing” breath - Corner View

How long can you hold your breath?
Try it now.     
                    [Use this online stopwatch]

Did you make 50 seconds?
If you’re an adult in moderately good health, you should have.

We take an average of 10-20 breaths per minute, breathing in and out every 4-5 seconds, more when we exercise and more among the youngest.

We can live only 4-6 minutes without oxygen.

Yet we rarely notice our breathing.

It comes so naturally we don’t think about it. 

Until it doesn’t. Then we can think of nothing else. It signals we’re in distress. Slow down. Come up for air. Breathe deeper.

Moving air is life. Inhales and exhales.

We need stirring.
We need an efficient flow of Spirit, in and out.
Notice Him. He’s on the move. 

I am a lung

Presentation by LisaNotes 

In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:10

* * *

For more interpretations of noticing, visit the links at Jane’s.

A growth spurt

We took Kandie to the vet yesterday for another round of shots. Three weeks ago she weighed 13 pounds. Now? 21 pounds.

The vet said she’s going through a fast growing spurt. In another 9 months, she’ll be full height.

Growth spurts are exciting. But they require extra care. Eat a healthy diet; get plenty of rest; exercise appropriately.

My Year of Breathing Deeply is about that.

While I can’t make myself grow any more than Kandie can will it on herself (only the Lord causes growth, 1 Corinthians 3:6-7), I can make sure that we’re both prepared for it.

For me, I’m breathing in His sustenance—deep gulps—and breathing out His praise. I’m logging them in a journal so I don’t take them for granted and forget to notice they’re happening.

The inhales have come...
Through songs. Through ‘randomly’ bumping into a cousin. Through an extra 30 minutes of play here and there. Through an e-mail of encouragement. Through a Bible verse taking root.

The exhales come, too…
Opportunities to praise Him with friends. Mutual encouragement among sisters. Times when I could have gotten angry but didn’t. Stilted but sweet conversations with dementia sufferers.

The Spirit nurtures my growth—in harmony—my breathing in, breathing out.

A sacred rhythm.

The vet said that while Kandie’s bones may mature in a year, she won’t have full muscle growth and girth for another year after that. I think of lanky teenage boys whose bones outgrow their muscles. Not until their 20s do some of them catch up. They can look and feel awkward.

Perhaps my growth will be that way, too.

While my faith is being stretched in this season, I won’t gain full strength until a later one. My spiritual muscle may not catch up for awhile. I may look and feel awkward.

No matter. I trust the Growth-Giver.
Because He knows what He’s doing, I can breathe easy.

* * *

When’s the last time you’ve been through a growth spurt?
What did you learn?

Join the community at Holy Experience for more on
“How we live in the Spirit”

My Walks with Him

I can breathe!

But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
Revelation 11:11

(Forgive me for straying from the context of what this means in Revelation because I’m not exactly sure! But what I am sure about is this..)

Yesterday morning, the doctor removed the splints that had been sharing nasal space with me for a week.

And I could breathe!

I was at the beach, sucking in the ocean breeze constantly blowing off the water. All day long I kept taking deep breaths in and out and appreciating each one. 

This physical “breath of life from God” enters every one of us at birth. We can’t appreciate it at the time (although our parents sure do!).

But we get another huge breath spiritually when we put on Christ. And we can appreciate it that time—the Spirit of life—the pneuma of zoe. What a gift!

And He continues to breathe in us over and over in our daily walk. When we deplete our own strength, we are so empty and open to Him. And He is so abundant and willing to fill our lungs with His air.

When He breathes in, we stand up on our feet again. 

Breathe in His sustenance.
Breathe out His praise.
Appreciate each breath of life from God!

* * *

2010: The Year of Breathing Deep

“Every Time I Breathe”—Then Sings My Soul Saturday

How often do you have quiet, still moments with nothing to think about but God and how good he is?

Not often enough? Me, either.

Life is a crazy mix of quiet moments and loud moments and confusing moments and contented moments.

We need God in all those moments.

This song speaks to me about seeing God’s provision all the time, every time I breathe.

Knowing You is everything.

Every Time I Breathe
Big Daddy Weave
Lyrics

I am sure all of heaven's heard me cry
As I tell You all the reasons why
This life is just too hard

But day by day
Without fail
I'm finding everything I need
And everything that You are
To me

CHORUS
Every time I breathe You seem a little bit closer
I never want to leave
I want to stay in Your warm embrace
Oh basking in the glory shining from Your face
And every time I get another glimpse of Your heart
I realize it's true
That You are so marvelous God
And I am so in love with You

Now how could I after knowing One so great
Respond to You in any way
That's less than all I have to give
But by Your grace I want to love You not with what
I say
But everyday
In a way that my life is lived

CHORUS

Wrapped in Your mercy I want to live and never leave
I am held by how humble
Yet overwhelmed by Your majesty
Captured by grace and now I'm finding
I am free
You are marvelous God
And knowing You is everything

* * *

For more inspirational music, visit the links at Amy’s blog.

2010: Year of Breathing Deep

“Breathe in Me”—Then Sings My Soul Saturdays

I like every single song on Aaron Shust’s CD Take Over, including Live to Lose, To God Alone, and Rest in the Arms, which I received as a sweet and personal blessing on Wednesday (thanks, Central singers).

Breathe in Me is another favorite that I was reminded of this week (thanks, Kay), so enjoy it below.

I’ve been extra blessed this week to experience the Breath of God moving through me, by His breathing through so many of His people and through so many avenues. Quite incredible.

May you also be aware of the Lord’s presence in your circumstances today.

For more inspirational music, sing through the links at Amy’s blog.

Breathe in Me
LYRICS

Verse 1:
Mercy in your tender mercy
Look on me (x2)
Frailty even in my frailty
Welcome me (x2)

Bridge:
Father this my invocation that you would come and lead me once again

Chorus:
Breathe in me Breath of God
Mend in me this wounded heart
That I may know you’ve made your peace with me
Breathe in me

Verse 2:
Burden take away this burden
Set me free (x2)
Calling I have heard you calling
Out for me you shout for me

Bridge 2:
Father this my invocation that you would come and lead me once again
And I know you will hear my pleading and you will find me ever once again

(Chorus)

Verse 3:
Empty empty
Fill me Father fill me
Empty I am empty
Won’t you fill me once again

(Chorus)

Grateful I’m forever grateful

2010: Year of Breathing Deep

Nooma video—“Breathe” by Rob Bell

The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4

---

Nor is he served by human hands,
as though he needed anything,
since he himself gives to all mankind
life and breath and everything.
Acts 17:25

---

For “In him we live and move and have our being”…
Acts 17:28a

2010: Year of Breathing Deep

“I Know You’re There”—Then Sings My Soul Saturdays

I listened to this Casting Crowns song over and over in 2009, so it’s fitting that I start off 2010 with it.

It says what I want to say—and sometimes do, but sometimes don’t.

May it minister to you as well as give you an opportunity to come alongside and praise God through the lyrics.

He is always there.
He does always see us.
He does always hear us.
Aren’t we blessed?

* * *

Join Amy and friends to sing along with more songs of inspiration.

I Know You’re There
Casting Crowns
LYRICS

If all I had was one last breath
I'd spend it just to sing Your praise
Just to say Your name
If all I had was one last prayer
I'd pray it 'cause I know You're always listening
If I could live a thousand lives, bind the hands of time
I would spend every moment by Your side

CHORUS
'Cause I, I know You're there, I know You see me
You're the air I breathe
You are the ground beneath me
I know You're there, I know You hear me
I can find You anywhere

If all I had was one more song to sing
I would raise a noise to make the heavens ring
If all I had was one last chance, I'd take it
I would stake it all on You

If I could raise up high and catch a glimpse of every eye
I would make them believe
What I feel inside

CHORUS

If I could live a thousand lives and bind the hands of time
If I could rise up high and catch a glimpse of every eye

CHORUS

I know You're there
I know You're there
I know You're there, You're there

2010: Year of Breathing Deep

New things—Friday’s Fave Five

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17

Happy 2010!

I love a new year, a fresh start. Here are 5 new things this week that I’m thankful for.

Visit Susanne’s blog for more Friday’s Fave Five from other friends.

1. New calendar
Yesterday I transferred birthdays from my 2009 calendar to my 2010 calendar. It reminded me how I love all the empty spaces on a new calendar. There’s just no predicting how all the blocks will be filled. A little scary when I think about certain possibilities, but very exciting, too, to wonder how God will choose to breathe through the life of my family this year.   

2. New puzzle
I only trust myself with a jigsaw puzzle during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. I totally lose track of time when I’m working a puzzle. So I had great fun indulging this week during any available opportunity. 

3. New friend
One of our neighbors held an Open House on Tuesday night and invited us. I enjoyed making a new friend there. We swapped stories of how we came to know Christ. She was mostly influenced by some gospel tracts that someone gave her dad when she was 16. Her dad would throw them on their coffee table, unread. But she read them. And became a believer!

4. New doctor
We met with my dad’s lung doctor twice this week, and since he’s out of options he can do, he’s referring my dad to a surgeon next week. I’ll be glad to hear a second opinion. As much as we complain about health care systems, I’m very thankful for all the choices we have open to us.

5. New spiritual resolutions
I know we have a fresh start with God every day, but I especially love the fresh start at the beginning of the year, a chance to refocus. For me, I’ve dubbed this as the Year of Breathing Deeply. I’ve written down five concrete things that I need to pray about and work on. One is to praise God for how he’s taking care of me and my family, even when I don’t understand what’s going on.

* * *

Like every year, this year will bring many new things to all of us.
May we use them to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord!

2010: Year of Breathing Deep

Pray a deep breath

Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:
Behold, I will cause breath to enter you,
and you shall live.                              EZEKIEL 37:5

LORD,
2009 was a year of change. Jeff traveling; Jeff at home. Me here, there. Cancer comes, goes. Morgan engaged. Roles shift. Daddy weakens; Mama is confused.

Vision. I sought to see You more in ’09, in the changes, and in the routines. You gave me opportunities, adventures.
To see by Your glow. 

Sometimes I walked in Your Sonlight.
Good choices.
Other times I failed and chose to shiver alone in the dark.
Bad choices.

But Your light shone on.

“Come and see,” You said. Your invitation never grew old. And I did see great glimpses of Your glory. . .Your eternal flame, Your beauty, and holiness, and faithfulness.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.                                             GENESIS 2:7

2009 is almost complete. I welcome in 2010. For me, I declare it the Year of Deep Breathing. Breathing Your sustenance in. Breathing Your praise out.

The theme has been too recurrent to ignore.

Even this afternoon, I will step into the office of a pulmonologist, a human doctor of human breath, for news about my dad’s organs of air.

But I know: You alone are the true source of Life, the giver of breath.

May I breathe deeply of You in this new year, as Your Spirit blows over me, through me, in me.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!                                       PSALM 150:6

* * *

What has been a recurrent theme in your life lately?

For more looking back on the old year and awaiting the new, join other pilgrims at Holy Experience.

My Walks with Him

2010: Year of Breathing Deep

When sin makes room for you, don’t breathe it in

Learned last week:
My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
Proverbs 1:10

I know nothing about Hebrew, but I like to read Strong’s definitions for the original meanings anyway. The Hebrew for entice is from a root word meaning: to open, be (or make) roomy, to be (or make) simple.

Is this how you’re convinced to sin?

Somebody else, or your own desire, opens you up to the possibility of finding satisfaction elsewhere. They scoot over and make plenty of room for you to join them in their sin: “There’s more than enough to go around. It’s so simple and fun. Quit thinking so hard about it; just join in!”

You’ve been enticed.

Instead, do the opposite of consenting. Consent in Hebrew means: to breathe after; to rest contented; be willing.

So don’t breathe in the lies of sinners. Get your breath straight from the Spirit. It’s fresh air. Only in God’s will is there true rest.

Learning this week:

5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
6  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
7  Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:5-7

* * *

It’s Memory Monday (see more verses at The Simple Wife).

“All Because of Jesus”

giver of every breath I breathe
author of all eternity
giver of every perfect thing
to you be the glory

maker of heaven and of earth
no one can comprehend your worth
king over all the universe
to you be the glory

i'm alive because i'm alive in You

it's all because of Jesus I'm alive
it's all because the blood of Jesus Christ
that covers me and raised this dead man's life
it's all because of Jesus I'm alive

every sunrise sings Your praise
the universe cries out your praise
i'm singing freedom all my days
now that I'm alive

 

God is Creator _ (Attributes of God)

8 ABC’s of God: Creator

ATTRIBUTE DEFINED
Creator: one that creates; a person who grows or makes or invents things

BIBLE VERSES
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Psalm 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
Zechariah 12:1 Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him.

CHRIST'S EXAMPLE
John 1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him.
Hebrews 1:2 He has spoken to us by his Son,... through whom also he created the world.

DIRECTLY TO ME
I see the Lord’s creation constantly, everywhere. And I see the imagery of his creativity in my own soul and through the hands of others. The innate desire to create, using the things he created for us, is breathed into us by his Spirit.

ECHO IT
A most beautiful and miraculous example of creativity is the creation of a new person from a man and a woman. Only from the hand of God can such a magnificent creation occur. We are all breathing testimonies to God’s creativity.

FORGIVE ME
Father,
Is our largest sin related to creativity our eagerness to take credit for it? Our pride over what WE create as our own, instead of reflecting the glory back to you? What do we create totally from scratch? Absolutely nothing. Herod died (Acts 12:23) because he did not give the glory back to you; please remove the pride of self-glory from our character, a trait in total opposition to your attribute of Creator.

Or is the larger sin in not recognizing that we are the created ones (Isaiah 45:9) and you are the uncreated one? Because you are our creator and sustainer, we live solely at your mercy—but there is no safer place to be.

GLORY TO GOD
Lord,
I praise you for being THE Creator of all things. Your work is evident in every sight I see, every sound I hear, every bite I taste, every smell I smell, every texture I touch. You are behind it all.

Let the physical things you created point me to the spiritual things, to your eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20). Because of you, I am a new creation in an invisible realm in an everlasting kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:17).

HIS WORDS
Memorize:
Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD series

My Favorite Spooky Stories

The Witch and the Dead Man
      King Saul needed a dead man’s wisdom. So come nightfall, he disguised himself and sneaked out to seek a medium.
      “Whom shall I bring up for you?” the woman asked.
      “Bring up Samuel,” he said.
      So rising out of the earth came Samuel! An old man, wrapped in a robe. He spoke, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” His words were fierce. Saul, full of fear, fell to the ground.
      And no one was more surprised than the medium.
~ 1 Samuel 28:1-25

Jack-in-the-Box
      The Israelites heard the Moabite raiders quickly approaching. They must hurry to rid themselves of the dead body they were burying. In their haste, they threw the dead man into the nearest tomb. Into Elisha’s tomb. Onto Elisha’s bones.
      What happened next was most unexpected—their dead friend walked back out!
~ 2 Kings 13:20-21

Talk to the Hand
      “Go back and forth, Ezekiel. Look at the dry bones, the very dry bones in this valley. Can they live? Talk to them!”
      So Ezekiel talked, and a rattling noise filled the air, bone connecting to bone. Skin from nowhere inched up to cover them.
      “Speak to the breath, Ezekiel. Tell the four winds to breathe life into these bones!”
      So Ezekiel spoke, and the bones breathed in the wind. And stood on their feet. An exceedingly great army was now formed!
~ Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Dead Live
      “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus cried. Then sent away his very own breath.
      At that very moment, the temple curtain tore; the earth shook; the rocks split.
      And the tombs split apart. The bodies inside? Rose up! They walked out into the city and were seen by many people.
      “Surely he was the Son of God!”
      Surely He is indeed!
~ Matthew 27:51-54

Breathe in, breathe out

I typically don’t bother reading Psalms from The Message because of the terribly unpoetic and literary distortion it creates. Today is an exception. To complete an assignment for meditating on a psalm, I am peeking at The Message, just to see.

And I like what I find. I still bristle at its painful colloquialism, but the meaning is Truth, so I glean the following.

Psalm 51:10
God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Every week is a Genesis week for a believer. Every day is a Genesis day. The Lord promised His mercies would be new every morning. He said it, and it is good.

Psalm 51:11
...Don't fail to breathe holiness in me.

The intimate imagery of God breathing holiness into me reflects how dear I am to Him, and how close He’s willing to get to me. I take a deep breath in...again...and again...inhaling sensory evidence that His Presence is indeed here with me, in me, in this very moment.

Psalm 51:15
Unbutton my lips, dear God; I'll let loose with your praise.

And as He breathes holiness into me, I breathe praise back out about Him. A divine rhythm, a measured cadence, an unbroken circuit. May it always be. Lord, You are worthy.