Seven Times a Day Do I Praise Thee

         How often do I praise God?

         This is the thought I had after I read Psalm 119:64- “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgements."

        I must admit, I don’t praise God as much as I should, certainly not seven times a day.

Oh, I’ll thank God for sparing me from a situation or for the doors He has opened for me. But to really praise God for specific things in my life? I don’t do that every day.

This really convicted me because it’s really a practice I should be doing daily.  So today I am going to praise God seven times.

1)   First and foremost, I praise God for my Salvation.  I was ten-year-old when I asked Jesus into my heart.  I grew up in a Christian home, with Godly parents and they trained me up in the way I should go and I haven’t departed from it.  Many people praise God for saving them from worldly strongholds they couldn’t break themselves.  I praise God for my Salvation at 10-years-old because it helped keep me from the enticing strongholds of this world.

2)   I praise God for my family.  Not just my parents and my sister, because I believe that’s a given.  I know I’m blessed with the best parents and sister a woman can have.  But I also know I’m blessed with the best grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins someone can have as well. Not many 29-year-olds can say they still are extremely close to their extended family. Just yesterday I was bantering back and forth with one of my cousins and my grandma looks at my grandpa and says, “Goodness, you’d think they were brother and sister, not cousins.” Not all relatives can claim this familiarity, but I praise God I can say this is true with both sides of my family. 

3)   I praise God for my disease.  You’re probably scratching your heads on this one, so let me explain.  Because I wasn’t healthy I missed 75-100 days of school a year. I was a quiet, timid, introvert with absolutely no confidence and I didn’t have many friends. So the parties and the questionable things teenagers can get in to wasn’t an issue for me. The isolation was so difficult, but I believe my disease saved me from a lot painful regrets I could have today.  Therefore, I praise God for His insightful wisdom in allowing me to have a disease which spared me from a lot of heartache and made praise number 4 possible. 

4)  I praise God for my story.  It might sound cliché, but the saying is true, “God turned my test into a testimony.” My disease may have brought a lot of pain, but it’s given me a story to share with people.  Because of my story I have seen God’s faithfulness and I’m able to encourage others that there will be bad days, but there are More good days and that is what we have to hold on to. I praise God my testimony may help others climb their mountain, because that’s what makes my journey worth it.  

5)   I praise God for my health.  6 and a half years ago I was an extremely sick, underweight 23-year-old who was fighting for her life.  Now I'm a healthy 29-year-old who is getting to do things she never dreamed of doing.  I’m a Sunday School teacher at my church, I’m a volunteer for my church’s youth camp, I volunteer for a non-profit called the Immune Deficiency Foundation, I’ve gone on six mission trips, I’m able to manage the garden for my grandpa and I’ve watched in amazement as God’s opened doors for my writing and new opportunities to share my story.  But none of this would be possible if God had not begun healing me 6 years ago.  I praise God that by His stripes I am healed. 

6)   I praise God for my friends.  Growing up, I didn’t have many because of my illness. However, I knew exactly what kind of friends I longed for. I wanted friends who would be there for me through every season of life, friends I could depend on and knew would help me “hold my arms up,” during difficult times.  The friendships I have at this stage of my journey fit this description perfectly. The Good Lord knew I needed the friends I have and I praise Him for that. 

7)   I praise God for my vehicle.  My dream car had always been a Jeep Liberty, but the two first vehicles I could afford were Chevy Trackers.  In 2014, my Tracker’s engine blew.  I honestly didn’t know where another vehicle would come from or how I could afford one.  But not only did God have a Jeep Liberty for me, He had one I could afford. Desco Credit Federal Union granted me a generous loan, and I’ll always be thankful they trusted a young woman who had no assets to her name. In August, I’ll have paid off my Jeep Liberty. I praise God for this wonderful asset I can soon officially call my own. 

 For the rest of my life my blog posts could be 7 praises to God.  It's my prayer, I’ll always be mindful of what I have and daily give praise for the wonderful and bountiful gifts that come down from the Father of Lights.