BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The U.S. National Park system recently received a dramatic boost with the announcement of a $100 million commitment from Lilly Endowment Inc., the largest single donation in the National Park Foundation’s history. The National Park Foundation, the National Park Service‘s official fundraising arm, will use this historic contribution to support essential initiatives focused on maintaining and improving the park system’s more than 400 sites. “For over 50 years, private philanthropy has played a vital role in bridging the gap between park needs and available funding,” said Will Shafroth, the National Park Foundation’s president and CEO. “This grant will allow us to supercharge our efforts to ensure our national parks are for everyone, for generations to come.” The donation is not just a remarkable milestone for the National Park Foundation, but it is also the largest grant ever made to help US national parks. Education, conservation, history, and experience The $100 million funding will address four major priorities inside the national parks. First, the program will focus on increasing opportunities for young people to visit and experience parks, establishing a stronger connection to nature and outside places. This project seeks to ensure that future generations value and safeguard these natural assets. Conservation is another important area of concern. The funding will be used to conserve fragile ecosystems and species in the parks, solving some of the country’s most serious environmental issues. In addition to environmental conservation, the grant will help to portray a more inclusive and comprehensive story of American history. The National Park Foundation intends to promote the tales of communities whose contributions and experiences have frequently gone unnoticed, resulting in a richer and more diverse narrative within parks. Finally, the money will improve the overall visitor experience at all national parks. With over 320 million yearly visitors, the NPF is dedicated to offering a “world-class” experience, guaranteeing that everyone who enters a national park may fully appreciate and interact with these natural beauties. Legacy of Lilly Endowment’s commitment to the natural world Members of the Lilly family, the founders of the pharmaceutical behemoth Eli Lilly and Company, created the Lilly Endowment in Indianapolis in 1937. The Endowment has a long history of funding activities that connect people to the natural environment. N. Clay Robbins, chairman and CEO of Lilly Endowment, reflected on the family’s inspiration: “The group’s founders were inspired by the beauty and wonders of the natural world and supportive of research and educational programs about archaeology and the cultural history of our nation.” This major donation builds on that tradition, reaffirming the Endowment’s commitment to protecting the beauty and heritage of America’s national parks for future generations. As the NPF prepares to execute these projects, the impact of this gift will be felt across the country, ensuring that the natural and cultural riches of the park system are accessible and preserved for all.The post US National Parks get a historic $100 million boost first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

Former President Donald Trump spoke about a wide range of issues Wednesday during a town hall event that was initially scheduled to be a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.  The event was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, one of the most fiercely contested battleground states in the country.  Trump announced last month that his campaign reached agreements for a debate with Fox News on Sept. 4 and NBC News on Sept. 25.  However, the Harris campaign has only agreed to do one debate on Sept. 10 on ABC News that was already scheduled by the campaign of President Joe Biden before Biden dropped out of the race in July.  The town hall was hosted by Sean Hannity, a conservative host. Had it been a debate, it would have been hosted by news anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, Hannity said.   “I would have preferred a debate,” Trump said.  Here are the six key highlights from the event.  1. ‘More Terrorists’ in 3 Years Than 50 Years  Trump talked about the border policies under the Biden-Harris administration, noting that 21 million illegal immigrants have entered the country–“larger than New York.” “More terrorists have come into the United States in the last three years than I think probably 50 years, there has never been anything like it,” Trump said. “If they won, you would have not 20 million, you would have 100 million people.” “You won’t have Social Security, you won’t have Medicare, you won’t have anything,” Trump continued. “Already, if you look at the numbers, you’re not going to have anything. Already, if you look at the numbers, they are filling up and loading up Social Security and Medicare with illegal immigrants that have come into our country, many of them from jails, and many of them from very bad places. And we are not going to destroy our country.” Trump also talked about the high crime by illegal immigrant gangs in Colorado.  “Take a look at Aurora in Colorado where Venezuelans are taking over the whole town! They’re taking over buildings, the whole town,” Trump said. “They have AK-47s. They are knocking down doors and knocking down the doors of people. The people are petrified.” In Aurora, Colorado–a Denver suburb and sanctuary city–Venezuelans are about 40% of the immigrant arrivals. Members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua reportedly took over an apartment complex called The Edge at Lowry, which was the site of a shootout last month.  2. ‘Other Things Perhaps, But We’re Not Weird’  During the interview, Hannity mentioned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate. Hannity said Walz “wants free college education, legal drivers licenses [for illegal immigrants].” Trump noted that members of the Walz family endorsed him.  “I was so honored, his brother endorsed me, his whole family,” Trump said. “I saw the picture. Honestly, it was a very nice looking family. His brother endorsed me and the whole family endorsed me.” Tim Walz's family back in Nebraska wants you to know something…@realDonaldTrump @JDVance #SaveAmerica?? pic.twitter.com/zp08nuKAun— Charles W. Herbster (@CWHerbster) September 4, 2024 The New York Post reported that Jeff Walz, the brother of Tim Walz, had posted on Facebook, ““I’m 100% opposed to all his ideology,” referring to his brother and suggested in a comment he was considering endorsing Trump. Jeff Walz suggested in a later interview with NewsNation he was unlikely to play a public role, saying, “It wasn’t my intent, it wasn’t our intent as a family, to put something out there to influence the general public.” The Walz family members posted in the social media image were related to Tim Walz via his grandfather’s brother, reported the Washington Examiner.  Walz was among the first to refer to Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.”  Trump responded that Walz was weird.  “There is something weird with that guy. He’s a weird guy. JD is not weird. He’s a solid rock,” Trump said. “I happen to be a very solid rock. We are not weird. We are other things perhaps, but we’re not weird.”  3. The Debate and the ‘Most Dishonest Network’ Trump talked about the ABC News debate that will occur next week–so far the only debate that Harris has agreed to.  “They are the most dishonest network, the meanest, the nastiest, but that is what I was presented with. I was presented with ABC and George Sloppodopolous,” Trump said, a reference to ABC news anchor and commentator George Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton White House official and Democratic Party operative.  “He’s a nasty guy. I’ve had him up to here,” Trump said of Stephanopoulos. “He’s a very, very bad kind of a guy. But I watched his interview with Joe Biden, it was like the softest interview I’ve ever seen. It was softer than the CNN interview of Kamala.” “A lot of people are going to watch to see how nasty they are,” Trump continued. “I agreed to do it because she wouldn’t do any other network. Another thing, her best friend is the head of the network. Her husband’s best friend is married to the head of the network. I’ve already heard that they’re [Harris campaign] are going to get the questions in advance.” A Disney executive, Dana Walden, is reportedly close friends with Harris. “On paper, the potential for a conflict of interest seems obvious: ABC News, the host of next month’s high-stakes presidential debate, falls under the purview of a top corporate executive at Disney [Dana Walden] who happens to be longtime friends with the Democratic nominee,” reported the New York Times last month.  The outlet also reported that ABC News “says that the executive, who oversees 18 businesses across the sprawling Disney empire, is only involved in the news division’s corporate matters (like budgets and staff size) and that she has no say in editorial decisions.” He noted that Donna Brazile, a former Democratic operative, works for ABC News and in 2016 sent Hillary Clinton questions before a town hall on CNN that year. Brazile later resigned from CNN. “We have a clause in the contract, you can’t give them the questions,” Trump said. “You might give her the questions and give her the answers with the questions. I’m not sure it’s going to help her.”  4. ‘I Got Shot At. I Got Hit’ Trump made an almost joking reference to the assassination attempt against him from July 13 in Pennsylvania. He was making the case that he could have had better things to do than run for president.  “If Joe Biden had been a great president, I would be very happier than [him] being the worst president in the history of the country,” Trump said  “I have very nice places I could be. This is not easy,” Trump said of campaigning. “I got shot at. I got hit. I could have been all over the place. But you know what? It’s very simple. It starts with make America great again.” This prompted some laughter and significant applause from the audience.  5. ‘These Clowns … World War III’ Hannity showed clips of Harris saying she had the “courage” to not use the phrases “illegal immigrant” or “radical Islamic terrorist.” “She wants to be politically correct, and we can’t be politically correct anymore,” Trump said.  He referenced the Hamas terrorist attack last year on Israel and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Iran having the money to fund terrorism groups.  “We went four years without any blowups. We had no World Trade Center blow up,” Trump said. “We had no radical Islamic terror because we were very tough at the borders, we were very tough with our statements. The whole world was a safe place.” By contrast, Trump said now, “The world is blowing up.” He continued warning about the dangers of World War III.  “I understood nuclear for a long time, the power of nuclear weapons. You need a president that’s not gonna be taking you into war. We won’t have World War III when I’m elected. With these clowns that you have in there now, you’re gonna end up having World War III. It’s going to be a war like no other.” 6. ‘Even if You Don’t Like Me’ Hannity showed past clips of Harris saying that she wanted to ban fracking. She has recently reversed her position.  As a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris said “there is no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.”  But Trump said, “Pennsylvania cannot even take a chance” on what position she would take as president.  “If she won, you are not going to have any fracking in Pennsylvania. You have 500,000 jobs. Think of that. That’s your biggest business,” Trump said. “And you get a big majority of your income from fracking. You have someone who is not going to allow fracking. She’s not going to allow it. You can’t take the chance.” Trump stressed this is a case where voters might even put aside their personal feelings.  “You’ve got no choice. You’ve got to vote for me,” Trump said. “You’ve got to, even if you don’t like me, you can say I can’t stand that guy, but there’s no way I’m going to vote for her. You have to have fracking.” The post 6 Takeaways From Trump Town Hall That Was Supposed To Be a Debate appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Part II of CBS’s “Eye on America” culminates a black eye for the Tiffany Network, as it seeks to cast Trump-supporting evangelicals in an adverse light. As something far out of the mainstream of America, or what the left calls “the other”. Watch the introduction to tonight’s feature on Trump-supporting evangelicals- the second part of a series by Major Garrett: CBS EVENING NEWS 9/4/24 6:50 PM NORAH O’DONNELL: We are continuing our look at Donald Trump's relationship with evangelical Christians. In tonight's "Eye on America," CBS's Major Garrett has an interview with a man who doesn't talk to reporters often: a self-described Christian nationalist. He sees Trump's movement as more than defeating Democrats. LANCE WALLNAU: You can't make America great again until you restore an awakening with God again. MAJOR GARRETT: Under a massive circus tent in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Lance Wallnau is the ringleader, preaching Christian nationalism and political activism to a rapturous following. Not 30 seconds in, we have references to a circus and to a ringleader. Garrett leaves it to viewers to determine who the clowns and monkeys are. As our own Tim Graham pointed out when examining Part I of this series: Don’t expect a probe into black evangelical Christians and their fervent backing of Democrats. That kind of mix doesn’t bother CBS. For that matter, CBS is less concerned about Islamists mixing church and state in American politics. This isn’t so much a look into the political actions of religious people as it is a pointing out of religious people engaged in wrongthink, and encouraging others to do the same. Proof evident of that is Garrett trotting out Matthew Taylor, author of The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy, for the second part of this story.  And it’s deceptive, to say the least, to introduce the guy who thinks your interview subject is a threat to democracy as a “religious scholar”. Deceptive but instructive. Because, otherwise, we wouldn’t really know what to make of the boring interview of Lance Wallnau, who appears to have headlined the event at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, or of the series in general.  Its purpose, clearly, is to cast Trump-supporting evangelicals as a threat to democracy. By necessity, this also means that unapproved free speech is also considered a threat to democracy. Considering the authoritarian season we find ourselves in, this reporting seems extremely helpful. Terrifying, but helpful. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the CBS Evening News on Wednesday, September 4th, 2024:  CBS EVENING NEWS 9/4/24 6:50 PM NORAH O’DONNELL: We are continuing our look at Donald Trump's relationship with evangelical Christians. In tonight's "Eye on America," CBS's Major Garrett has an interview with a man who doesn't talk to reporters often: a self-described Christian nationalist. He sees Trump's movement as more than defeating Democrats. LANCE WALLNAU: You can't make America great again until you restore an awakening with God again. MAJOR GARRETT: Under a massive circus tent in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Lance Wallnau is the ringleader, preaching Christian nationalism and political activism to a rapturous following. WALLNAU: Unless you learn how to mobilize, and how to move in at a local level, then you are letting the devil dominate your culture. GARRETT: Wallnau is a business consultant and firebrand influencer in the growing Christian nationalist movement, reaching millions of believers across his platforms. He views Trump as a once-in-a-thousand-years figure: flawed, yet divinely chosen to navigate chaotic times. WALLNAU: I caught that idea in 2015 when I first met Trump. And I got a lot of pushback after he got elected because they were searching around for “how, why could, how could the evangelicals justify voting for some, you know, barbaric character like Trump, they are hypocrites, that they are”. GARRETT: Wallnau admits that Trump, twice divorced and roundly accused of other moral failings, does not align with traditional evangelical expectations. WALLNAU: I said listen, give the guy some time. He doesn't know who we are but his values resonate with our community. God’s raising up an outsider. If at the end of the day we haven't activated you to either be a poll watcher, poll worker, somebody involved with election integrity, or somebody who can help someone else get out and vote, I'm not sure that we have done what we have to do. GARRETT: What I watched today, was that about spiritual revival or political activism? WALLNAU: That's a combination platter. It's about spiritual activism. GARRETT: Can an energized Christian sit out this election? WALLNAU: I don't see how anyone with moral clarity sits out an election like this. I mean, the issues are so clear. I tell Christians, I say, “you know, what would you say during the Civil War?” GARRETT: The terminology at Wallnau's revivals is apocalyptic. WALLNAU: It's not us that's dangerous, it's them. GARRETT: Describing a spiritual battle between pious believers, and demons who speak through Democrats or liberals. WALLNAU: It's not just a person, it's a spiritual force. GARRETT: Demonic or…? WALLNAU: Demonic. Yeah. They can influence people with bodies. MATTHEW TAYLOR: They believe it was a demonic conspiracy that stole the 2020 election. GARRETT: Religious scholar Matthew Taylor has made a careful study of Wallnau and others in the charismatic Christian movement. TAYLOR: They are using the experiences of charismatic spirituality to galvanize Christians politically. And saying, now you've had these experiences, now you need to go and use that to change our country. GARRETT: Wallnau rarely grants interviews but is willing to describe, as he sees it, the forces arrayed against Trump. WALLNAU: He’s virtually up against academia, media, government, the intelligence communities, and to an extent, a whole lot of corporate businesses. GARRETT: He believes hyper-focused Christian political energy can overcome those perceived obstacles. WALLNAU: The tendency to just look at elections, pray about them, eat popcorn, watch the result and then go to bed is over. Christians as believers probably should be engaged in this process of shaping culture far more aggressively and intentionally from now on. GARRETT: As for their impact on the election, God only knows. For Eye on America, I’m Major Garrett in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  

The latest installment in the Regime Media’s ongoing “Hide the Bidenomics Suck” series features a new twist: omitting an unpopular policy prescription for the underlying problem mentioned in the report. Watch this CBS report on the proposed merger between two supermarket chains and see if you can spot what’s missing (click “expand” for transcript”): CBS EVENING NEWS 9/4/24 6:41 PM NORAH O’DONNELL: Tonight, there are new questions about what would be the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history. The CEOs of two major chains testified today at a trial defending Kroger's nearly $25 billion purchase of Albertsons. Federal regulators are trying to block the deal, saying it could hurt shoppers. Here is CBS's Jo-Ling Kent. JO-LING KENT: The prices you pay at the grocery store are now under scrutiny in federal court. SHOPPER: Nothing has gone down. It’s all going up. SHOPPER: Things that you used to buy, like eggs, it's just gotten really expensive. KENT: Today, the CEOs of grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons defended a proposed $25 billion merger under oath, saying the combined chains would be better positioned to compete with Walmart and Amazon. Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen promising in court, “the day that we merge is the day that we will begin lowering prices”, vowing that the combined company would invest $1 billion to lower prices if the merger goes through. The Federal Trade Commission has sued to halt this merger, alleging it would raise prices by reducing competition in some areas of the country. Is that an accurate argument? ANTHONY DUKES: I'm not convinced of that argument. So if they are somehow able to combine their stores, some of those cost savings through their wholesale prices could be passed onto consumers. KENT: The two chains combined operate about 5,000 stores. Currently, Walmart dominates the grocery market by dollars spent, as shoppers have faced stubborn inflation since the pandemic. Since 2019, according to the CBS "Money Watch" price tracker, a dozen eggs more than doubled. Bread jumped 54%, and chicken 33%. But wages have also risen 23%, keeping pace with overall prices. ANALYST: But that’s not how a lot of consumers think. They just see that grocery bill at the end and they are like, “oh, my gosh, this is so expensive”. And they are right. KENT: Now earlier in this hearing a Kroger senior director admitted that the grocery giant had raised prices for eggs and milk beyond inflation levels for a period of time, but since then, the CEO of Kroger has insisted prices would come down if these two chains are able to merge. Norah. O’DONNELL: Everyone watching that very closely. Jo-Ling Kent, thank you so much. It is oddly fascinating that, in a Regime Media report about a supermarket chain merger stalling due to concerns over pricing, there is no mention of Vice President Kamala Harris’s proposal to combat high food prices via the imposition of what amounts to price controls. It wasn’t that long ago that CBS’s Margaret Brennan suggested such characterizations were “false”, but never specified how. Now, they simply get left off the report. Food prices are the true heart of the story, as opposed to the merger proposal. The slide showing that wages are barely keeping up (if at all) with rising food costs is devastating. The real buried lede is that people still struggle with food prices. In fact, one recent CBS report suggests that an increasing number of Americans must choose between food and energy bills.  Somehow, this did not make it into the report. Also missing from the report: the fact that the grocery business is very low-margin. The report does enough sleight of hand so as to keep the viewer focused on supermarket chains without pointing out the real culprit of the increase in the price of bacon: Bidenomics.   

The daughter of Fani Willis, the anti-Trump Georgia prosecutor whose case was thrown into disarray by revelations about her relationship with a special prosecutor she paid more than $600,000 to work on…

THC is the 'victim'.

from NEM721:  TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Martin Armstrong, Armstrong Economics: A football team has never endorsed a political candidate. Pennsylvania is a battleground state where the Democrats are losing favor, so it was peculiar to see advertisements around the city of Philadelphia stating: “KAMALA: Official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles.” The posters featured a cartoon image of Kamala Harris in […]

September 5, 2024 When Life Isn't Turning Out Like You Thought It WouldLYSA TERKEURST Lee en español "Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.'" Jeremiah 18:5-6 (ESV) I want to be someone who trusts God no matter what. But when life isn't turning out like I thought it would, I can quickly shift from that place of wholehearted trust to one of desperately trying to be in control. How do we trust a God who allows heartbreak and pain to be a part of our story? Let's dig into a little further context around our key Bible verses for today. In Jeremiah 18, the prophet Jeremiah issued a warning to the house of Israel. Instead of turning to God, they continued to rebel against Him - fixing both their attentions and their affections on their false gods and high places. In response, God sent Jeremiah to the local potter's house, where Jeremiah received a message of correction from the Creator to His creation. "Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel'" (Jeremiah 18:5-6). Because of how familiar pottery making was in the Ancient Near East, this imagery made God's message an easy one for His people to understand, although we soon see it was not one they obeyed (Jeremiah 18:12). But I'm praying we will let this picture of God as the Divine Potter speak to our hearts today. Specifically, I believe this image can strengthen our ability to trust Him when we allow it to remind us of three truths: We can trust the hands of the One who made us, the One who loves to use dust. The Hebrew word for "potter" in Jeremiah 18:5-6 is yoser and means "to form or shape." Jeremiah was making a connection between the way a potter throws and forms his clay and the way God shapes "human clay" - starting with how He formed Adam from dust into a man bearing His image (Genesis 2:7; Genesis 1:27). I am amazed that out of all the things God could have used to make humans, He chose to use dust. When mixed with water, dust becomes clay. Clay, when placed in the potter’s hands, can be formed into anything the potter dreams up. We can trust the hands of the One who has good in store for us. For those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, our time on this side of eternity is only the beginning of a transformation we all long to experience. The Bible reminds us that in eternity with Jesus, there will be no more death. No more crying. No more broken hearts or broken circumstances. No more shattered realities. Friend, the more we choose to hold on to this eternal perspective, the easier it becomes to live fully surrendered to God, no matter what we face. We can trust the hands of the One who loves us and knows what is best for us. Just like the children of Israel, we need to be shaped and formed as God sees best. We need to stay moldable as He works in our lives. And our willingness to yield to God starts with remembering we can trust Him because He loves us. I don't know what hard realities you're facing right now. But I do know this: We can trust our God. Our greatest disappointments and disillusionments, those things that shake us and break us and make us wonder about everything, don't have to mean all hope is lost. We can place our lives fully in the hands of the Potter. We can trust He is making something glorious out of us. Father, I confess there are days I allow heartbreak and pain to cause me to doubt You. Please forgive me for all of the times I have tried to take control of my own life. I know You love me. I know You are for me. And I surrender every worry into Your loving and mighty hands. I trust You. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS You can stop carrying the weight of holding everything and everybody together - surrender what you're most worried about into God's fully capable hands with the help of Lysa TerKeurst's FREE resource, "Am I Trying To Control the Uncontrollable?" This gentle, guided resource is filled with prompts, reflection questions, prayers and more! Download now. ENGAGE Find real-life encouragement when you connect with Lysa TerKeurst here on Instagram. FOR DEEPER STUDY Isaiah 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (ESV). In what area of your life are you most tempted to reach for control, or where do you struggle to trust God? Which one of the three truths in today's devotion did you most need to hear today? We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments. © 2024 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post When Life Isn’t Turning Out Like You Thought It Would – Encouragement for Today – September 5, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

A Prayer to Dive Deep into God’s WordBy Chelsey DeMatteis Bible Reading“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” – Psalm 121:1-2 As school was letting out at the end of May, I knew clearly what God’s desire was for me this summer. It was to sabbath. And not just a little sabbatical, it was so take a step back from everything in life and ministry. This summer has been filled with time in prayer, time in the Word, and time just “being” with God. So often, our schedules allow for a sliver of time with Jesus, a verse here and there, and a quick prayer when we’re feeling frustrated or anxious. While I don’t want to diminish those moments, I also know that God wants more for us and offers more for us when it comes to our time with Him. For me, this has meant spending more time with the Lord while my youngest naps and my oldest has free reign of the house. It has also meant reading books that remind me about who God is, what He says, and how I can live by His ways. It has meant opening my Bible at midnight when I can’t shut my mind off rather than looking up recipes or researching the best ways to accomplish a project I’m planning. Diving deeper into the Word of God can only mean one thing: In return comes a deeper love for God. This is what I’ve seen to be true in my life and in the lives of those around me. I keep coming back to Psalm 121 as I ruminate on all this summer has taught me and meant to me. I needed this Sabbath to be reminded all over again that God is my help, my fortress, and my everything. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Psalm 121:1-8 This Psalm concretes the calling of knowing God deeply all the more. Our help comes from the Lord. He will not let us be moved to places He does not want us to go as we walk faithfully with Him. He is our keeper in the highest highs and lowest lows. He is the shade over us; he covers and carries us. He keeps us from all evil and is the One who holds all of our days. We are promised that He will be with us in our coming and in our going today and forever into eternity. What a promise, what a gift. What joy we have in placing our hope in Him. Without knowledge of what God has given us through His Word, we miss these glimpses into the goodness He has for those who love Him. As summer comes to a close, I pray that not only for my life but for your life, too, we will draw more closely to God. This could be through a sabbatical or keeping a diligent routine for spending intentional time with Him. Whatever it looks like, give yourself time to get to know your Creator more deeply. He is faithful in showing Himself to us day in and day out. We need to be faithful to show up for Him to learn more about His heart and desires for us and those He has entrusted to our care. Let’s pray: Lord, thank you for the gift of your promises. All throughout the Bible, you reveal your heart’s desires for us, and one of those desires you have is that we would seek to know you more deeply. Help me to keep my eyes fixed on you and my steps so closely behind the leading of your Spirit that I never have to question where you are leading me. I submit the rest of this summer and the remainder of the year ahead to you. May I faithfully show up for you and experience the gift of your presence. In Jesus’ name, amen. Photo credit: ©GettyImages B-C-Designs Chelsey is the voice behind the Living with Less Podcast and author of the 52-week devotional More of Him, Less of Me: Living a Christ-centered Life in a Me-centered World. She writes devotions for Lifeway Women’s Journey Magazine, Crosswalk.com, and iBelieve.com. She also writes Bible reading plans for the YouVersion Bible App. Chelsey lives in Ohio with her husband and two children. You can connect with her on Instagram @chelseydematteis and at her website ChelseyDeMatteis.com. Related Resource: Remember God’s Enduring Love for You in this Guided Meditation on Psalm 100! This guided Christian meditation from Psalm 100 will help you experience and praise God for his unending love for you. Become aware of God's presence with you, and praise God for his loyal and enduring love from the beginning of time and into the future. Listen to every episode of the So Much More Podcast on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode! Now that you’ve prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below! Visit iBelieve.com for more inspiring prayer content. The post A Prayer to Dive Deep into God’s Word – Your Daily Prayer – September 5 appeared first on GodUpdates.