Our Father, when we remember the multitude of Thy mercies our hearts are filled with peace and praise and we are ashamed to murmur and complain. Turn our thoughts toward the love and joy that this day holds for us; its opportunities, its privileges and victories. Let the morning light dispel the shadows on our faces and the fears in our hearts. Thou hast glorified us and will glorify us again. Help us to be grateful for the rose that smiles amidst the thorns and the light that ever shines behind the clouds. Grant that the spirit of trust may prevail in us and send us on our way with power to conquer. Amen. ABRAM CONKLIN. January 18 _Simplicity is a state of mind. It dwells in the main intention of our lives. A man is simple when his chief care is the wish to be what he ought to be, that is, honestly and naturally human. And this is neither so easy nor so impossible as one might think. At bottom it consists in putting our acts and aspirations in accordance with the law of our being, and consequently with the Eternal Intention which willed that we should be at all. Let a flower be a flower, a swallow a swallow, a rock a rock, and let a man be a man, and not a fox, a hare, a hog, or a bird of prey; this is the sum of the whole matter._ CHARLES WAGNER. Dear Heavenly Father, we rejoice in the awakening of body and soul to new activities. We thank Thee for the gift of divinity in the soul and for opportunity to give it expression. We would be true to ourselves, knowing we can thus alone be true to Thee. O God, hush the voice of evil passion. Quicken every noble aspiration. Grant the vision of Thy holy love that Thy image within us may remain clear in the turmoil of our life. We pray Thee stir the heart and mind that both may grow up to the full stature of man as it was in Jesus, our Saviour. Amen. L. WARD BRIGHAM. January 19 _God has put the keys to His kingdom into your own hands. Your intelligence is a key, your affection is a key, your conscience is a key. With these keys you are to unlock the great doors of life, and gain access to its heavenly treasures._ JAMES M. PULLMAN. Master of life, as Thou hast opened our eyes to see the sun, open the eyes of our hearts to see the splendor of Thy law. And even as Thou dost bring to birth, through the marriage of our eye and the sun, all the beauty of this visible world, so through the union between our hearts and Thy holy will, create a world rejoicing in the beauty of truth and justice and peace. Lead us this day deeper into the mystery of Thy life and our life and make us interpreters of life to our fellows, through Him who by His death opened for us the book of life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. HENRY S. NASH. January 20