Pause to Praise

Welcome to Day 27 of the series Speak Praise as part of the Write 31 Days challenge.

The discount store was crowded Friday afternoon. As I finished my shopping and took my bags out to the car, a woman hastily pushed a cart with her screaming child back to her vehicle. Her little boy was whining for something he wanted. This young mom was resolved in her answer "no", yet her son grew more and more persistent.

Sensing the stress in her body language, I closed the trunk of my car, and smiling in her direction I said, "Stay strong mama."

Hearing me, she instantly relaxed her shoulders as she made eye contact with me. Relief washed over her face as I sympathized with her. She told about what had happened moments before, when a man behind her in the check-out line gruffly criticized her child's behavior.

I'm sure in the moment of meltdown, this mom wished she could have had a cleaver come-back to the unwanted advice. Instead she coolly stood her ground with her child.

Audience of One

Some days I don't feel like praising. There are those days when I don't even want to get out of bed, because, you know? I am TIRED. That's a mom's life. But especially because I have been persevering to do the thing God has called me to do in obedience, and it is so far outside of my comfort zone it has it's own zip code.

Everyday, I can rejoice in one solid truth: God is good. All the time. That truth is not dependent on how I feel or how much sleep I got the night before. God's character is not on trial based on my feelings. God is still on the throne and he is always worthy. His mercies are new everyday.

Words Like Honey

a prayer of praise inspired by Psalm 119

Across the pages of news print words land like shrapnel in a war torn world.
Our generation is tangled in a web of media weaving sticky stories that seduce and ensnare.
O Lord, your word is a balm. Your word attracts a hurting and hungry world and gives it life.

Your kindness leads to a changed heart. The things I used to desire leave much to be desired. Only you satisfy and the more I get of you, God, the more I hunger for you! Your word has become like food and your Spirit like water to my soul. How sweet are your words--they are sweeter than honey to my mouth.

I never need to wonder if I can believe your promises, God. Your eternal word stands firm in heaven. It will not be shaken. You have said of your word, "I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it" (Isaiah 55:11). Let your word produce the work you have begun, for you are faithful to complete it.

God, you have taught us right from wrong and established truth in your Word, your only Son. He came so that we might worship in Spirit and in truth. Accept our praises and teach us your ways.

Let praise flow from our lips,

for you have taught us your decrees,

Let our tongues sing about your word,

for all your commands are right...

Let us live so we can praise you,

and may your regulations help us.

We have wandered away like lost sheep;

come and find us.

--see PSALM 119:170-175

Even When it Hurts (Praise Song)

Even When it Hurts (Praise Song) Official Lyric Video -- Hillsong UNITED

This album, Empires by Hillsong UNITED, has been playing on repeat in my house since it debuted a few months ago. I love this track with it's quick tempo in the up beat and heavy base layered below. It motivates to get up and keep moving forward in praise.

But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love. PSALM 59:16-17 (NLT)

A Way Through

I grew up in a mountain community from the time I was five years old. The roads are well developed, one or two lanes along wilderness paths, and a main four-lane highway making its steady incline around 117 miles of curves and horse-shoe bends. The best time to drive the mountain highway is during the day in clear dry conditions. Often rain or snow conditions make traveling treacherous.

During the colder seasons drivers are well acquainted with fog on the mountain. With peaks reaching upwards of 8,000 ft elevation, clouds hang like a wool blanket about the rocky fringes of the slopes and settle into valleys. I have memories of some unsettling car rides up the winding cliff-side route in poor weather conditions.

In the fog, drivers depend on a few things to guide them safely to their destination: head lights, tail lights, painted lines, and a guard rail. At times the fog is so dense, even during the day a driver can get lost in the heavy mist. Clouds envelop the vehicle so that the view out the front window is nothing but white. The only thing giving the driver any sense of direction is one dashed white line separating you from an on coming vehicle. And on the cliff-side, a feeble guard rail promises to prevent your car from plunging down the side of the mountain.

Why Praise?

Purposeful. The purpose of praise is to honor and raise up the object of our affections. Praise is the opposite of pride. It is inherently humble. To praise God is to reflect His glory with gladness. "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever" (John Piper, Desiring God, p.18).

Relational. How we relate to others and what position we give them in proportion to ourselves is at the essence of praise. Do we always think of ourselves? Are the eyes turned inward at self or are they looking upward? Praise is a revelation of how we relate to God. The habit of praise draws us into relationship, develops trust, heals hurts, and deepens our faith.

Authentic. There is no faking genuine praise. As an expression of admiration and true affection, praise cannot be manufactured. Praise happens when we are so filled with spontaneous adoration for God, that we cannot hold back our accolades.

Intimate. Our worship of God is so deeply personal. Read through the Psalms and you will see deep, soul wrenching worship. As one encounters the goodness of God and his grace, our gratitude should overflow from a thankful heart.

Praise is an outward expression of inward change. Intimacy with God begins with praise.

Sincere. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then praise causes us to imitate. When we recall what we know to be true about God through praise, we can see how all of his promises are fulfilled in Christ and we can't help but want to be closer to him and to be more like his Son, Jesus Christ.

Eternal. Praise is the language of heaven. Right now in the unseen heavenly realm choirs of angels are singing endless praise to the living God: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty! Who was and is and is to come!" When we praise we join all of creation in an eternal chorus through our words, the songs of our heart, and acts of worship as we serve one another in the name of Jesus.

When we humble ourselves to give praise and honor to the Lord, he does something for us in return. God encourages. We can boldly approach the throne of grace to bring everything before the King. This is especially meaningful in light of affliction and trials. We can rejoice in trials of various kinds because God gives the Holy Spirit to encourage our hearts, to strengthen and help us.

When we give God worship, He gives grace, love, peace, and joy! We in turn take the ministry of the Spirit to go and encourage others. So it is in this way that we pass on the gift of praise to others, what the Bible calls exhortation, when we offer words of encouragement to build each other up in our most holy faith.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my Spirit in you...”

EZEKIAL 36:26-27

Deeply Rooted

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

– Ephesians 3:17-18

On a recent camping trip to Mammoth, California, our family took a long hike into the mountains. Along the path we encounter monuments of the creation that sometimes leave one breathless and full of wonder. One such artifact was the huge remains of a tangled system of roots that had once been the foundation of a very large tree. As I observed the enormity of this root structure, I pondered the meaning as it relates to our spiritual foundation. I thought a lot about the importance of roots as the foundation of a tree as it equates to faith in Christ.

One of my favorite things about Summer is the lingering warm evenings and late sunsets. My family enjoys taking a leisurely walk around the neighborhood just before dusk. We have come to cherish our nature walks when we can marvel at the grace of God's creation through the eyes of our child. Our daughter skips merrily along the path, stopping every once in a while to stoop low and observe the movement of a bug on the ground.

On our tree lined street, many of the sycamore and magnolia trees hang low enough along the walk that our girl, a mere 40” tall, has to stand on tip-toe, reaching her hands high overhead to touch the leaves with her fingertips. Occasionally Daddy will lift her onto his shoulders to grab hold of a leaf as she gazes in amazement at the fine detail of every vein and stroke its velvety skin.

Then leaping down along the path, she delightfully lifts her hands in praise and sings, “Thank you Jesus for the sun, and the trees, and the shade!”

My favorite place in our house is seated right under the double windows in the front during the light of dawn. Where we live in the suburbs, tall sycamore trees line the streets, the fullness of their branches extending out and providing shade across the neighborhood. Last year city ordinance forced us to remove the tree out in front of our house, which had really become a beloved feature of our home. I had loved to sit in our large front windows on a breezy day and listen to leaves rustle and clap as if offering their adoration to God.

You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! (Isaiah 55:11-12)

One of the joys of being a parent is viewing the world through a child's eyes of wonder. It is even more remarkable to witness the faith of a child. Jesus said that unless a person can become like a little child one could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3). I learn more from my little girl about the love of the Father than I do from any book.

We make cherished memories on Saturday mornings, raking the large leaves in a pile and our girl jumping into it with childish abandonment. How I marvel at her free spirit and long for such freedom in my heart. How easily the cares of this life consume our affections and burden our hands from lifting in praise!

"Trees" by Lily

One of the best gifts my mother ever gave me was the gift of prayer, as we drove in the car on the way to school, while we sat on the couch at the end of the day, as she knelt over my bedside. Her example formed a foundation for me that has developed into a life of faith. I want to give my daughter the gift of God's love everyday.

My greatest desire in this life is to know God more and to impart the fullness of his love to my child. Yet as I watch her explore her world in wonder, I realize that the best way I can teach her the love of God is to live it. That I would plant my roots deeply in Christ, living love by example, through reading his word, taking time to pray, and serving others. The fruit of that will be a legacy of faith for my child. 

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. 

– Jeremiah 17:7