Hi Friends!
"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."
Psalm 9:1-2
KINDNESS MATTERS
Stamps: Kindness Matters
Paper: Poppy Parade, Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery, Everyday Enchantment DSP, First Edition DSP
Accessories: Fun Flowers die, Elegant Bouquet EF, Vanilla Seam Binding, Vintage Brads, Spritzer Tool
This week's Psalms Bible Study with Wendy Pope looks at Psalms 9. Here is what my NIV Life Application Study Bible says about verse 1: "Praise is expressing to God our appreciation and understanding of His worth. It is saying "thank you" for each aspect of His divine nature. Our inward attitude becomes outward expression. When we praise God, we help ourselves by expanding our awareness of who He is. In each Psalm you read, look for an attribute or characteristic of God for which you can thank Him."
Wendy pointed out how, in this Psalm, David modeled prayer with praise first, thankfulness second, and finally with the "asking". So often our prayers are all about the asking, that we forget about the praise and thanksgiving (why I created a "thank you" card for today). "Praise lifts up the name of God for who He is, thanks celebrates what He has done."
Right now I am reading Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts. I highly recommend it. Such a beautiful read. Her writing is so poetic. In it Ann talk about how before many miracles that Jesus performed, he thanked God FIRST and then the miracle happened. Like with the loaves and the fish. "And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves." Matt. 14:19 First the thanks, then the joy of the miracle. Ann's premise is if we can live in thanksgiving, we will live in joy.
Here is what Matthew Henry has to say about Psalm 9:1...
"Holy joy is the life of thankful praise, as thankful praise is the language of holy joy: I will be glad and rejoice in thee. Whatever occurs to make us glad, our joy must pass through it, and terminate in God only: I will be glad and rejoice in thee, not in the gift so much as in the giver."
With praise and thanksgiving to God, we will find joy. "Our inward attitude becomes our outward expression."
This past Tuesday I had the privilege of participating in Challenge Day at our local high school. Challenge Day is a secular workshop that focuses on having every child feel safe, loved, and celebrated. What a powerful experience! It broke my heart to see all the "ugly" that kids face everyday. Many do not receive any love or encouragement at home. The stories I heard were heart breaking. They have no hope. I never realized just how blessed I was to live in a caring home, where I knew that someone would always love me no matter what. I wanted to hug each and every student and tell them that they do have hope. Hope in Jesus Christ who came to take away their brokenness. I did get to tell my "family group" of five students how very special they were. That they were created in God's very own image and that He created them for a purpose. I only had two minutes to talk, but I tried my hardest to share from my heart. If you think of it, would you please pray for Bardo, Francisco, Anna, Aurora, and Rosie this week. They could sure use your prayers.
Had to make a few "guy" cards for my 40 Days of Lent challenge. I need to send out a few more cards this weekend. What about you? When is the last time you sent a smile through the mail? :)
Thanks for stopping by today!
I pray you've been blessed!
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