I'm never short on words when it comes to the Lord...I barge right into the Throne Room and boldly ask...and at times have been known to chatter His Heavenly ear right off - just because I love to pray. But I confess to coming up short on praise most of the time.
Gulp.
I became really aware of it the year I took Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts challenge; I carefully counted the blessings as I searched for them each day and found my heart gravitating toward praise.
And then I stopped counting...purposefully so, anyway...and my voice of praise quieted down. And I've noticed that just as searching for blessings led to praise...praying excessively about my problems leads me to sort of wallow in those things.
So I'm writing to you as a convicted girl today...one who wants to march into His courts with praise on her lips instead of a list of needs/wants/demands. One who wants to be thankful for all the goodness...because truly, even in the frustrations, there is so much good to be found.
* For the eighteen deer I counted on my way home from work yesterday...gorgeous, majestic deer that took my breath away {and kindly left my car in one piece}.
* For the very first walk of the spring...a long, leisurely, coffee-sipping, hand-in-hand walk with Ryan, in which we talked of dreams and hopes and joy.
* For antibiotics that cleared up my infection in a day, leaving me pain-free and able to function normally again.
* For a clinic staff that took care of this scared-to-death-of-doctors girl who sat on the edge of an examination table, swinging her legs and trying to push away worry.
* For a mother-in-law who sacrificed an entire Saturday to help us clean Ryan's house so we can get it on the market.
* For new friends in our Sunday School class at church who have made a place for us, not only around the learning table, but in their hearts.
* For a home that bears the mark of two people coming together in creativity to make it just that...a home.
For all this and SO much more, I choose to enter His gates to thank and praise Him. Join me in being thankful today? )
2 comments:
Every night we go around the supper table and say what we are thankful for. I love the fact that it opens my eyes to the small blessings in every day. Even on the so-called "worst days" we always find something to be thankful for.
That's a great practice! I know of families that do it with their kids, but there's probably no reason Ryan and I can't do it even though we DON'T have kids!
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