Our Father, we wake each morning refreshed and thankful for the joy of living; for the air we breathe, the things we see, the sounds of nature's sweetest harmonies and all the beauty which surrounds our earthly life. May the wonders of the earth speak to us in witness of Thy love. Let springing-gra.s.s and opening flower remind us of the new life which is ours through the resurrection of our Lord. His blessing like the light of the sun runs everywhere, carrying with it morning and hope, springtime and gladness. The joy is in the song of the birds, the murmur of the waters, the children's laughter and the song of happy hearts.

Attune our hearts to notes of praise and make us glad upon the earth until Thou bringest us to perfect and unshadowed joys where we shall see Thee as Thou art and be like Thee. Amen.

J. W. STEPHAN.

March 15

_As to equality and inequality, all the beauty and glory of life come from inequalities. If we were all Beethovens or Shakespeares or marvelous in any one direction, life would be unbearable. Who shall tell me if an Easter lily is the equal of a rose, or if either is equal to an oak or a pine? The question of equality is out of the court. The one thing we need to do is to cultivate the finest and sweetest things in us; and then, whether we are one of the California big trees or the violet in a valley, we shall help on the beauty and glory of the earth._

ROBERT COLLYER.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the manifold beauties of Thy universe, the revelations of Thyself to Thy children. For those large wonders which stir men's minds and rouse their souls to awe, we thank Thee, but not less for the little things of life, filling their places well, and showing daily to the seeing eye that without them Thy universe could not be complete. Help us to grasp the lesson that they teach. If Thou hast given to us the great place, we thank Thee, but we thank Thee not less for the homely task, the humble duty, for it is all necessary to Thy plan. Help us, day by day, with stronger purpose, larger consecration, to fill our place, to do Thy will, in His name. Amen.

GEORGE F. FORTIER.

March 16

_There must be a way of taking worry rightly, so that it shall do us good and not harm. Worry, rightly taken, should train to quietness, humility, patience, gentleness, sympathy. It ought not to eventuate (though it naturally does) in making others suffer because we are uncomfortable; in making us a source of painful worry to others because we are worried ourselves._

A. H. K. BOYD.

Father of Love, Thy blessing it is which gives us another day. Help us to put before its cares the spirit that will banish care, to find in its beginning the power that will make labors happy and its ending sweet, and so to open our hearts to Thy light that no gloom of night shall linger round our way. If heaviness there be in ours or others' lives may every wholesome cheer make it less sore. If remembered faults and follies quench a better hope, send Thy patience and Thy will to be our courage and fresh resolve. Through all the noisy world may the secret music of Thy law swell in our b.r.e.a.s.t.s and every step keep time with its glorious march. Amen.

JOHN DAY.

March 17

_Therefore to whom turn I but to Thee, the ineffable Name?

Builder and maker, Thou, of houses not made with hands!

What, have fear of change from Thee who art ever the same!

Doubt that Thy power can fill the heart that Thy power expands!

There shall never be one lost good! What was, shall live as before; The evil is null, is nought, is silence implying sound; What was good, shall be good, with, for evil, so much good more; On the earth the broken arcs; in the heaven, a perfect round._

ROBERT BROWNING.

We thank Thee, O G.o.d, that each morning brings us fresh a.s.surance of Thy wisdom and goodness--that the days have taught us to believe in Thee and to trust Thee as our perfect Friend. We are glad that we can face the day in the faith that Thou art sufficient to the needs of the day--to all the needs of all Thy children. In this trust, we beseech Thee, make us more and more to rejoice in life and its high privileges. Help us to go on our way with gladness and peace in our hearts--to worship Thee hourly by honest work, by faithful service, by kind words, by helpful deeds, and so, to find life good by doing something to make it good.

Amen.

FLINT M. BISSELL.

March 18

_"If I were you," she said, "I should not worry. Just make up your mind to do better when you get another chance. One can't do more than that. That is what I shall think of: that G.o.d will give each of us another chance, and that each one of us will take it and do better--I and you and everyone. So there is no need to fret over failure, when one hopes one may be allowed to redeem that failure later on. Besides which life is very hard. Why, we ourselves recognize that. If there be a G.o.d, some intelligence greater than human intelligence, He will understand better than ourselves that life is very hard and difficult, and He will be astonished not because we are not better, but because we are not worse. At least, that would be my notion of a G.o.d. I should not worry if I were you.

Just make up your mind to do better if you get the chance and be content with that."_

BEATRICE HARRADEN.

O Lord, how often we have failed--how weak and frail we are--we have groped and stumbled along the pathway of life and have been defeated over and over again. Yet in the light of Thy providence and Thy love in spite of all defeats, we take heart and face the day with hope. In Thine economy no failure is ever final--we rejoice that Thou openest before us another opportunity. Let us be brave and earnest to seize the opportunities of these pa.s.sing hours. Amen.

GEORGE L. PERIN.

March 19

_To every life there comes a time supreme: One day, one night, one morning, or one noon, One freighted hour--one moment opportune, One rift through which sublime fulfilments gleam; One time when fate goes tiding with the stream, One Once in balance 'twixt Too Late, Too Soon-- And ready for the pa.s.sing instant's boon That shall in favor tip the wavering beam.

Ah! happy he who, knowing how to wait, Knows also how to watch and how to stand On life's broad deck alert, and at the prow, To seize the happy moment big with fate From Opportunity's extended hand When the great clock of Destiny strikes Now!_

MARY ASHLEY TOWNSEND.

Our heavenly Father! Thou art the Author of all our days, and all our times and seasons are hid in the unfolding mystery of Thy Thought and Purpose. It is not given to us to know what a day or an hour may bring forth, but the opportune moments come, ways are opened before us to larger life and usefulness and privilege and duty. May we, by faithfulness, and watchfulness, and the readiness of those on duty, be prepared for each divinely offered opportunity. Surrounded by blessings, may we live to bless. Ministered unto, may we minister. Grateful to Thee, may we show our grat.i.tude by service. In Thy name, Amen.

DWIGHT M. HODGE.

March 20

_Put out of your thought the past whatever it may be; let go even the future with its golden dream and its high ideal; and concentrate your soul in this burning, present moment. For the man who is true to the present is true to his best; and the soul that wins the ground immediately before it, makes life a triumph._

OZORA STEARNS DAVIS.

Almighty Giver of every good, we come to Thee amid the joys of a new morning, with its new blessings and opportunities. We would dedicate this day to Thy service. We would forget the past and waste not our time in idle dreaming of to-morrow, but with consecrated zeal we would apply ourselves to the tasks Thou hast appointed us for this present hour. Thy hand is ever opened to let down the tokens of Thy love. May all that is best within us rise up in answer, and may we be dedicated anew to our upbuilding in righteousness and the fulfilment of our duties to one another. May we this day follow the footsteps of the Christ and prove ourselves His faithful disciples! Amen.

R. PERRY BUSH.

March 21

_I believe that today is better than yesterday, and that tomorrow will be better than today._

GEORGE F. h.o.a.r.

_Make yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts, bright fancies, faithful sayings; treasure-houses of precious and restful thoughts, which care cannot disturb nor poverty take away from you,--houses built without hands for your souls to live in._

JOHN RUSKIN.

Dear Father in heaven, around Thy name cl.u.s.ter the most sacred and holy affections. Thy name, indeed, is above every name infinite in love, and awakening in each heart a sense of filial grat.i.tude. At this morning hour, therefore, we are mindful of the tie that binds us to Thee, that provides a nesting-place for pleasant and restful thoughts, that makes duty less irksome, home-love more tender, sacrifice more willing, and character more n.o.ble. In this spirit we pray Thee, O Father, send us forth to the labor which awaits us, only to realize, under Thy Providence, that this is the best day of our life, and full of a.s.surance and rejoicing for a still better tomorrow. In the light of faith, hope and love do we ask and offer all. Amen.

WILBURN D. POTTER.

March 22

_Scarce tangible may be the first glad sign, Yet how it shakes us with a vernal thrill!

The voice of the south wind behind the hill; Or an elusive bird-note faint and fine; A flush at dawn along the wan sky-line; A lyrical exuberance in the rill; A something working its mysterious will Both in majestic hole and tenuous vine!_

_It is the vernal spirit. In the earth It throbs and pulses; quickens in the air; And permeates all nature thro' and thro'.