Bees in My Bonnet

Another from my effort to simplify language for children from the Puritan classic, Valley of Vision: Wonderful God, All around are so many traps I can fall into - Will You defend me? When I feel tired and lazy and want to just kick back and relax and not do what You ask me to, would You please show me just a little glimpse of heaven? When all I want is the stuff I see around me advertised in store windows and fliers that come in our mailbox, would You help me to grow in the wealth of Your house? When the pleasures the world has to offer me are tangling me up in their worthless causes, help me not to fall into the guilt that I'd feel if I gave into them. Help me to remember how much You've freed me from - Let me not ever be too busy to give attention to the important things of my soul. Please help me to be mindful of my eternal home when I get wrapped up in the busyness of my life and consumed with each hour's tasks - so that I can not only live for You now, but g...

Prayer to the Trinity, adapted for children Three together in one, One, but still Three - You are God Who saves me! Father in Heaven, Son Who delights the Father, and Spirit Who never ends, I love You as One Being, One God in three different persons - and I love You because You bring wrong-doers to know You and to become Yours. O Father, You have loved ME and sent Jesus to get me back from the mess I've found myself in; O Jesus, You have loved me and even became like me when You lived on earth, and still fully understand and exist as a real human person, You gave up Your life by shedding Your blood to wash away all the bad in me - when You did this You took Your own pure goodness and covered over all the ways I fail so often; O Holy Spirit, You have loved me and entered into my heart, and planted there an unending tree of eternal life - You have shown me how wonderful Jesus is. Three Persons and One God, I bless and praise You, for loving me when I really deserve no love, and ...

I sometimes pick up the collection of Puritan prayers and peruse its contents and am very blessed by it. Then I wish the language were just a bit more readable for a wider audience. So I decided to re-write some of it for the sake of simplicity and comprehension. I wanted it to be something a 10 year old can understand and an adult who gets tripped up by thee's and thou's can grasp. Here is the first one: The Valley of Vision Lord, high above me and holy - gentle and stooping to reach me, You have brought me to a valley where I can see clearly, where I live in a difficult place down below, but see You clearly high above; sometimes trapped by mountains of sin, I can still see You are wonderful and glorious! Let me learn from you even when things are puzzling - that the times I am down in the depths, then You are able to lift me up, that to be low is to be high, that when my heart is breaking you can heal it, that the sorry and sincere spirit is one that also rejoices a...