Woke up this morning and I saw the sun beaming through the windows. I looked over the field and trees and river behind my house and sighed. "Thank you, God, for this day."

I am focusing these days on gratitude, to the point of stopping what I am doing when I feel that gratitude coming over me and saying, "Thank you, God." It may seem like such a trivial thing on the surface, but it really isn't.

Saying thank you to God isn't something I've just started doing; I've remembered to be thankful for years. Maybe what's new is that I stop what I'm doing and speak out loud. Now, I know I could just think my thanks but speaking it out loud makes a huge difference to me and I hope verbalizing my thanksgiving is pleasing to God.

The other day I saw a man walking intently on Lebanon Road in North Berwick. He held rosary beads in both his hands before his face. I wondered if there were tears streaming down his cheeks from the way his lids were partly closed. His face was focused only upon those beads and his lips moved with inaduible words and then he kissed the beads clenched in his hands.

I was so moved, and I began to wonder about my own devotional life. Would I, could I, be so inclined to walk down the street with my faith streaming down my cheeks? I am envious of the freedom people have when they take their walk with their Rosary beads, shutting out the community around them and focusing so intently on the Lord.

What do you think? Have you ever wondered abouat ways to improve your devotional life? Could you do your devotionals while walking down the street? I pray when I walk, but nobody would know that I was doing so. When I ride my bike past your houses in the summer time, I send a "bicycle" prayer for you.

What are your unique ways of praying? I'd love to hear about them! Please write!

Reverend Donna