Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)
I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me.
I CHOOSE TO PRAISE ~
I have been sick for over a month with a cough. I woke up feeling frustrated because of lack of a good night's sleep and not being able to go to church. I don't need to take this cough around anyone. I know that wisdom but I had to override that frustration of now. I decided to write my blog on praise because I can always praise and give God thanks for the cough to go away, right!
Psalm 100 New International Version (NIV)
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
I CHOOSE TO PRAISE ~
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
I love the words forever and generations. God is faithful and I know that. I realize we get sick, things happen and our normal often changes. Yet, we can go back to the word of God and read how faithful God is throughout our lifetime. I can look back on my life when I was a teenager and thought life was done. I had just graduated high school and a couple weeks later, my dad would die inside our home and college would begin. My level of frustration was high and I ended up in the emergency room. I had a dad that just died and a mom who cried overnight to die to be with him. I was confused and needed help. Nobody really to turn to and mad at God. Now that's a story of truth and I had to make a decision. I had to choose to get better and not bitter.
Life moves on and I began to talk to my mom about God. She was mad too and I knew that she used to believe in him. So I asked her if I could drive her to her church and I would go in with her. She said yes and it's was there that I heard a little boy who was going to preach. That little boy turns out to be Terry (My husband now). I didn't know he was the same age as me until later. He said when he first saw me, he knew I was the one. That's didn't happen to me because I was dating someone else, plus I thought he was about 13 not 18. Life moves on and I kept taking my mom to church. One day, I realized I was missing God in my life and there is a time for us to be born, plus a time to die. I had to let go of anger. One year later, I would be dating Terry and my life started to change.
I guess you know there is more to the story but I'm ending it there today. I know what it feels like to be bitter, angry and hurt. I know the Bible says we can be angry but sin not. I've learned a lot and I've changed a lot. I'm not the same person I was at 18, 30, or in my 40's. I began a real life change in my 50's. I knew I need to step up and be the woman God has called me to be. Half my life seems over and how was I going to live the rest of my life. I choose peace, freedom, wisdom, and much praise. Praise I made it through hard stuff, praise to know the value of a new day and a heart that lives in love. That's me today and I'm confident in who I am in God. A changed person because I choose to live in praise. In the down times, I let it go if I can't change it. It's has taken me years to do this, but I purpose it.
I hope this blog helped today and I continue to pray for you, your family plus friends.
~ Sparkie