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.

Cut the Weeds

Garden season is in full swing and I’ve found myself in my grandparent’s garden more than ever, taking on duties my grandpa can no longer do.  One of those things is hoeing the weeds out of the garden.  Grandpa has taught me this is the most important part of keeping up a garden, because weeds can suffocate the plants and make it more difficult to pick when the plants are ripe and ready to harvest. 

         I absolutely love working in the garden, and it’s a miracle I physically can.  But even though I love it, I have to admit hoeing is back-breaking work.  Just when I’ve hoed all of the weeds out of the green bean plants, the corn plants need to be hoed, and then when those are done, all of the weeds in the tomato plants have grown again and they need to be cut out.  It’s constant work and it’s a must if you want good and plentiful vegetables to can and enjoy throughout the year.

         I got to thinking how keeping a garden up is very much like working to stay strong in our Christian walk.  If we want to be successful, we must always be “hoeing,” the weeds out of our heart that can prevent us from growing spiritually.  Just like garden work is enjoyable, but hard work, the exact same thing can be said about the life of a Christian.  God is so good to us, He gives us amazing gifts, but if we want to reap good and plentiful fruit as a Christian, then those weeds have to be cut out of our hearts or else they will suffocate our spiritual fruit and make it hard to find our love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Being a Christian may seem daunting and overwhelming at times, but there are three things I think we can do as new creatures in Christ that will keep our weeds hoed. 

         The first thing I think of to keep my weeds hoed is serving others.  Galatians 5:13 says, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”  The most humble and selfless act of kindness someone can do is to serve someone else.  When you put others first, not thinking of your own wants and needs, love, joy, and peace will flood your heart and soul.  I have gone on six mission trips and I can tell you from experience when you serve someone else, giving or helping them obtain something they never thought they would receive, well I can tell you, will be on  spiritual cloud nine, because you will know that the service you provided to someone was only because God gave you the ability.  The action and knowledge of what serving can do for your Christian walk will help you keep your weeds hoed. 

         Another weed killer I think of is having Godly friends.  I mean friends who will pray for you, friends you can depend on, friends who will bear your burdens, friends who will challenge you—friendships that have depth and meaning.   We serve a relational God and He created us to crave relationships.  I love the saying, “Find Your Tribe,” and the Bible confirms this is something we need to do.  Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity,” as well as Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, do one person sharpens another.”  I have friends in my life who fit the definition of these verses perfectly.  They have all come in my life at the exact season I needed them.  They have stood by me in adversity and they have sharpen my walk with Christ. I am a stronger Christian because of the impact they have had on my journey.  My friends have helped me cut out any weeds growing in my heart, and if you allow your Christ-minded friends to be your, “iron,” they will help you hoe the weeds out of your spiritual garden as well.

         The third and final way to whack those weeds, and this is the most difficult one— pray for those who have mistreated you.  This is something God has actually been teaching me lately and I have been working hard to do.  Matthew 5:44 says, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.”  Ouch!  I think everyone can say this isn’t easy to do.  Why should you pray for someone who despitefully uses you when they are in the wrong? How does this make sense when you were striving to be in God’s will, doing what was right, and yet scripture commands you to bless the one who cursed you?  I truly believe Jesus commanded us to do this because it will help and benefit us.  Jesus knew this action would help prevent the weeds of bitterness and resentment grow in our heart toward that person.  I can honestly say that even though this is a profoundly difficult thing to do, it’s also the most profoundly freeing thing you can do.  Praying for people who have despitefully used my family or myself has lightened my burden and my heart.  This may be something you’re reluctant to do, but I assure you when you pray for the person who has been unfair or unkind to you, those weeds won’t stand a chance! 

         Whether it’s a literal garden or the garden of your heart, weeds are a difficult and tricky thing to get rid of.   But always remember and take heart in the fact that  God gave us the tools we need to cut the weeds.