_And I, too, sing the song of all creation, A brave sky and a glad wind blowing by, A clear trail and an hour for meditation, A long day and the joy to make it fly, A hard task and the muscle to achieve it, A fierce noon and a well-contented gloom, A good strife and no great regret to leave it, A still night--and the far red lights of home._ H. H. BASHFORD. Almighty God, we thank Thee that Thou art our Father, and that Thou lovest us as though Thou hadst no other children; we adore Thee for the beautiful world in which Thou hast placed us; for trees and birds and flowers and sky, for friends and music and books and all the ten thousand mercies which crown our lives. We thank Thee too, for hard tasks and severe disciplines, for everything that is intended to make us strong and brave and true. Thou art the Lord of the day and of the night also. Give us grace to trust Thee and to believe in Thy motherly solicitude at all times. May Thy goodness lead us to repentance and to joyous unselfish living and may we so improve our opportunities for service that we shall make others think of Him who went about doing good and trusted in His Father with a perfect trust. Amen. DILLON BRONSON. January 8 _Have we not all, amid life's petty strife, Some pure ideal of a noble life That once seemed possible? Did we not hear The flutter of its wings and feel it near, And just within our reach? It was. And yet We lost it in this daily jar and fret. But still our place is kept and it will wait, Ready for us to fill it, soon or late. No star is ever lost we once have seen: We always may be what we might have been._ ADELAIDE A. PROCTER. O Thou, whose goodness is new to us every morning and fresh every evening, we bless Thee for Thy patient and unforgetting care of all of us. Though we transgress Thy beneficent laws and frequently lose sight of our cherished ideals, our hunger and thirst for righteousness never dies, for we partake of Thy Divine Nature. O that we might always be animated with Thy spirit of disinterested Love. We thank Thee this day for the inspiration of light and joy of our gifted poets and pray that we may meet the daily trials of life with a sweet and courageous spirit, remembering that "no star we have ever seen will cease to shine." Amen. WILLIAM G. BABCOCK. January 9 _The future is lighted for us with the radiant colors of hope. Strife and sorrow shall disappear. Peace and love shall reign supreme. The dream of poets, the lesson of priest and prophet, the inspiration of the great musician, is confirmed in the light of modern knowledge; and, as we gird ourselves for the work of life, we may look forward to the time when in the truest sense the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords._