Dear Lord, please help me to be honest about my shortcomings and stay positive about my progress. Thank you for loving me right where I am today.”  Help me to remember what is written in 1 Timothy 4:15-16, “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to the teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” Amen