PRAISE PRECEDES........

11/18/11 God desires praise not perfection. Written in the frontispiece of my old NAS Bible---long forgotten by me, until the reminder this morning from Ann V.'s blog. "Praise, not Perfection . He wants my praise not my perfection..." is how she puts it.
This week has been one of falling back into old habits---the "perfection pursuit" mode. This malady usually occurs when company is coming or an event is planned at 1152. I know things won't be perfect but it seems like I want to make it just right---as right as I can make it---so all my bases are covered. My goal is "a good time had by all." Hm-m-m. If I'm in a dither, I know of one person who won't be having a good time.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss's "Power and Practice of Praise" teaches about the process of praise and the preparation of our hearts as we praise. He inhabits the praises of His people. (Israel) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. "Praise is God's address."

Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness....
6Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD. (Psalm 150:1, 2 & 6)

PREPARATION (for any event in my life) SHOULD FOLLOW PRAISE--NOT PRECEDE IT!

Grateful Heart

11/12/11 Grateful heart. My daddy had one. For as long as Daddy could make coherent speech, he would say, "I'm thank the good Lord for each day He gives me." He saw His days as a gift-- proof of all that the Lord had done for him, just by giving him breath for one more day. What a model for me!

"Gratitude. . .that heart-attitude that turned my "mourning into dancing" when I received the "C" diagnosis. The attitude of gratitude that I need more of in my life, now that I'm on the other side of that suffering. "A grateful person is God-centered and others-conscious." (Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Revive your Heart conference notes) A realization that God is at the heart of every aspect of my life will realign me with Him. God-centered = more gratitude. More gratitude = God-centered.

It's seeing more of God's hand of goodness in my life----eyes to see last night's full and glorious moon, the brisk temps that allowed me to wear my old comfy warm-up and the sound of Daddy's voice on a CD.

It's that praise tune that is whirring in my head. "Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son."

If that were all He had done, that would be enough!