Everday is a Day of Thanksgiving ---It's a Brand New Day!

It's a brand new day
No matter what comes my way.
I'm going to praise him anyway.
Cause it's a brand new day
It's a brand new day.
I'm going to lift my voice and sing
I'm going to let my praises ring,
Cause I'm still here.
I'm still here
To celebrate.
Lift my hands and celebrate.
Cause it's a brand new day.

I'm alive.
Thank God I'm alive.
He didn't have to open my eyes.
He didn't have to let me rise
Gonna praise my way through
Before the day is through,
I'm going to count my blessings one by one.
No matter what comes my way
I'm going to praise him anyway.
Gonna lift my voice and sing.
Gonna let my praises ring.
Cause it's a brand new day.
It's a brand new day.
Someday I may not rise.
I may not open my eyes
But until that day comes,
I'm going to begin each one
Giving thanks
Cause I'm alive
Thank God I'm alive.
It's a brand new day.

Thank God for a brand new day.

Copyright Patricia Newman-Harris 2014

I Just Want to Say Thank You

Lord, too many times I come to you

Crying, Lord, what can you do?

Day after day I make requests 

Forgetting how you have blessed me thus far.

And how faithful you are.

I have so much to be thankful for

But I never stop asking for more.

This Thanksgiving, I have no requests or petitions

Just a humble rendition

My praise to impart

With all the reverence in my heart

I just want to kneel in that secret place

And seek your face

I want to give you the praise and honor that you’re due.

Lord, I just want to say thank you.

Thank you for all the days you've allowed me to see

It didn't have to be

Thank you for the hand of mercy

That has kept me safe

Thank you for the awesome grace

That has brought me to this day,

And gives me the strength to face each new day

I don’t want to sit on your mercy seat

I just want to kneel at your feet

With a praise that is fresh and new

Lord, I just want to say thank you.

I don’t want to ask for more.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Today, I have no requests or petitions

Just a humble rendition

Of praise to impart

The reverence in my heart

Lord I want to give all praise to you,

I just want to say, thank you.

Copyright 2011 P. Newman-Harris

Giving thanks

Things to be thankful for

As a nation, we are blessed to have freedom of choice.
Let us be thankful for the blessing of freedom,
and remember those who continue to live in oppression.

In Foreign Lands

Lord, I’m praying for the coming of day

In foreign lands far away.

People are dying every day.

Gone, like ashes scattered in the wind

Never to be seen again

To us, they are people without face or name,

But they are people just the same.

Each one a part of the human race,

Regardless of the color of the face.

Help us to open our bowels of mercy.

Enable us to see

What we have not allowed ourselves to see.

Children alone

Without family or home

Never having an opportunity

To be a child, young and free

Loved ones gone without a trace

Babies left to carry on in their place

For them the surrounding darkness overshadows the light

They have no reason to believe there is hope in sight

May we be their beacon of hope on a darkened horizon,

A rising sun where there was never one

Father, remove the pain of disgrace

From a disease with no regard for person or place

May we no longer pretend that we do not see

People living in agony

May we be there to relieve their fears and dry their tears.

Help them to see past the trying years.

Erase their sorrows,

And bring a rainbow of hope for tomorrow

Help us to be a willing hand to hold

In a world that is hard and cold.

All they need is a chance

To invite life to dance

Without our help their lives will end

Let us be their opportunity to begin

Lord, I’m praying for the coming of day

In foreign lands far away

Young and old are dying everyday

Though they be people without face or name

They are people just the same

Each one a part of the human race

Regardless of the color of the face.

copyright 2010, Matters of the Heart, Patricia Newman-Harris

Veteran's Day Prayer

Today we honor those who willingly paid the price and
made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in peace.
May we, as survivors and benefactors of their sacrifice, honor them
by doing our part to make the dream of peace one day become reality.

Until we learn to live as one, we will continue to bury our young.
No matter where we are from, we all have the same needs.  We all feel
the pain of loss when someone we love dies.  We must come to realize
that it is a needless burden to bear.  When we think of the wasted years, the suffering,
the pain, the tears, the lives lost in the name of peace, we will realize that war has come
at a great cost.

Lord, every day I pray
Bless the soldiers far away.
Bless the young man who left his first love behind
Give him peace of mind
Bless the Father who left his family alone.
Keep them safe while he is gone
Lord, bless each and every one.
Let them know we appreciate all they have done.
Walk with those who have no one
I pray for each and every one.
Be their Father and their Mother
With you as their guide, they don't need another.
Keep them close to your heart I pray
Be with them every step of the way.
God, bless the young man who is barely twenty-two.
Let him know he can make it through.
Ease his fears
Dry his falling tears.
Lord bless the soldiers while they are away.
When their spirits are low, let them feel your touch.
Let them know we love them so much.
Then, Lord we pray that the fighting will soon cease
And that there will be an outpouring of peace
Open the door to each and every heart
So that the healing will start
Lord we commit our soliders to your care
This is our prayer
Lord, bless the soldiers while they are away.
Be with them each and every day.