Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

You know, Lord, the melody of that old hymn, "For The Beauty Of The Earth," brought to mind "Care of the Earth" and "Stewardship" and Psalms 24:1: "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it."

If we go to checking out the hymn itself, which was written by Folliott S, Pierpoint (1835-1917), one finds that there are two additional verses seldom printed in any hymnals - probably no wonder, as which song leader ever leads to sing all four - or for that matter, all seven verses of anything!! More is the shame, as each verse bears a special thought, and all verses together are a complete unit - a sacrifice of praise to You, oh Lord.

And the two forgotten verses? The last one gives thanks to You, our God, for all the joys and beauty of life - but more than all this, to Your "Only Begotten Son."

Let's check the verses out: "For the joy of ear and eye, For the heart and minds delight, For the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight: Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. For Thyself, best Gift Divine! To our race so freely given; For that great, great love of Thine. Peace on earth, and joy in heaven: Christ, our God, to Thee we raise This our sacrifice of Praise."

One could go on and on praising Your name for all You have done for us, for all You have given us. Thank You, dear Lord, for ear and eye as we delight in the beauty of the Earth that You have given to us to care for and to enjoy; and may we use ear and eye to accept the Glory of all that You have given to us, and we thank you!

Love, Mara