From the Foreword to 555 Affirmations from Psalms -- Positive Lines to Make Your Days Easier, by Maria Maris -- There Is God! I have tasted, I have seen, I know, and do hereby bear witness, that the Lord is good, all the time. Our mighty God is the same yesterday (in the past), today (at present), and tomorrow (in the future), and what He did for His people of old, He can still do for us today, and tomorrow, and forever. Praise the Lord! While a young girl, as soon as I could read and write, I realized that the old Elizabethan English in the King James version of the Bible wasn't always easy for me -- it didn't have the kind of flow I could relate to with my limited knowledge of the English language then. My parents, of course, never hesitated to give me some of the interesting passages in a modern-day English; and, as I made progress I quickly started 'translating' them myself -- literally putting them in my own words, writing down what the Holy Spirit led me to understand the passages were saying to me. My parents called it the 'Personal Essence' or 'Personalization' of the message. I had so much fun doing it, so much so that by the time I became a young adult, I had done so for nearly every passage in the Bible that interested me, from Genesis, to Revelation. This experience brought me closer to the Lord, and if I were to recount the miracles that have since ensued, this tiny book can't hold them. I hereby share my personal version of some Bible passages from Psalms which have blessed me and become my strong pillar in life, in the hope that they too could bless you. May your days be filled with God's love! And may His peace be with you and yours! -- Maria Maris
