July 18

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. — Isa 35:1

Learn to admire rightly: the great pleasure of life is that. Note what great men admired; they admired great things; narrow spirits admire basely and worship meanly.
— W.M. Thackeray.

Our thoughts are often more than we are, just as they are often better than we are. And God sees us as we are altogether, and not in separate feelings or actions, as our fellow men see us. We are always doing each other injustice, and thinking better or worse of each other than we deserve, because we only hear separate feelings or actions. We don’t see each other’s whole nature.
— George Eliot.

Prayer

Eternal God, may I become more like thee. Give me the desire to associate myself with people and places where the divine spirit is supreme. May my soul breathe in the influence of all that is good and true; and may I use my life for thy honor and praise. Amen.